Spotting the Signs
The UK government’s definition of Domestic Abuse is “any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional.
Know the signs
Warning signs that someone may be in an abusive relationship: Domestic Abuse
- Changes in appearance
- Avoiding contact with friends and family
- Declining invitations to social events
- Appearing stressed often with physical symptoms
- Sudden changes in behaviour
- Defends the abuser and minimalises or justifies his/her actions
- Increased sickness from work
- Hypersensitive to noise or sudden movements
- Perpetrator contacting them excessively at work
Clare’s Law
Clare’s Law is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered in 2009 by her ex-boyfriend who had a history of violence against women. The scheme allows you to ask about the information held on a person in relation to domestic abuse offences and convictions. Visit https://www.lincs.police.uk/reporting-advice/domestic-abuse/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme-dvds-clares-law/ for more information and to make an application or call the police on the non-emergency number 101.
The Statistics
- An estimated 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 years experienced Domestic Abuse between March 2019 and March 2020 (1.6 million women and 757,000 men)
- The police recorded 758,941 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales, an increase of 9% from the previous year
- Each year more than 100,000 people in the UK are at high and imminent risk of being murdered or seriously injured as a result of Domestic Abuse
- Women are much more likely than men to be the victims of high risk or severe Domestic Abuse: 95% of those going to MARAC or accessing an IDVA service are women
- Seven women a month are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales
- 130,000 children live in homes where there is high-risk Domestic Abuse
- 130,000 children live in homes where there is high-risk Domestic Abuse
- 62% of children living with domestic abuse are directly harmed by the perpetrator of the abuse, in addition to the harm caused by witnessing the abuse of others
- On average, victims at high risk of serious harm or murder live with Domestic Abuse for 2-3 years before getting help
- 85% of victims sought help five times on average from professionals in the year before they got effective help to stop the abuse
Words from victim-surviors we helped
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