Domestic abuse

What is domestic abuse?

Domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of violent, threatening or abusive incidents of behaviour between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family.

It can be physical, emotional, psychological, sexual or financial and can include:

• controlling, isolating, threatening or coercive behaviour
• family and partner violence, which can be in the presence of children
• forced marriage
• honour-based violence, used as an umbrella term to describe a collection of practices used to control behaviour within families or other social groups to protect perceived cultural and or religious beliefs

What to look for

If you believe that you or someone else could be a victim of domestic abuse, there are signs that you can look out for including:

• being withdrawn or anxious
• having bruises
• controlling finances
• not being allowed to leave the house
• monitoring technology use such as social media platforms

Help and advice

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse or sexual violence, a range of confidential advice and support is available:

We’ve been able to commission further support for Leicestershire residents thanks to government funding for the delivery of safe accommodation duty under the Domestic Abuse Act:

• Living without Abuse (LWA) provides specialist support for survivors of domestic abuse and/or sexual violence, who live in Leicestershire. This includes support for men and women: 01509 550317.
• Leicestershire GATE (Facebook link) offers holistic support for Traveller and Gypsy women seeking to leave abuse.
• Turning Point is a specialist service for people who are subject to domestic abuse but would also benefit from specialist interventions and support in relation to their substance misuse: 0330 303 6000.
• Leicestershire LGBT Centre offers domestic abuse counselling and one-to-one support for LGBTQ+ people and close allies aged 16 and above: 0116 2547412.
• Women’s Aid offers temporary refuge accommodation and support services for all victims of domestic abuse and violence, regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation: 0808 80 200 28.

If you live in Leicestershire, Leicester or Rutland

Other organisations and charities that can help include:

• Leicestershire Police - 101 (Ask for a Victim Liaison Officer)
• Women’s Aid Leicester - 0116 283 2225
• Leicestershire Citizens Advice - 0844 417 1025
• Men’s Advice Line - 0808 801 0327
• Galop - 0800 999 5428
• Age UK - 0800 678 1174
• National Domestic Abuse Helpline - 0808 2000 247
• NSPCC - 0808 800 5000
• Samaritans - 0845 790 9090

If you are in danger, always call 999 and ask for the police.

If you're unable to talk, listen to the questions from the operator and respond by coughing or tapping the handset if you can. If prompted, press 55 – this will transfer your call to the police. Please note that pressing 55 only works on mobiles and does not allow police to track your location.

Domestic abuse strategy

The Leicestershire Domestic Abuse Reduction Strategy 2022-25 outlines how Leicestershire County Council (LCC) will work in partnership to reduce Domestic Abuse and support victims and how the statutory duties associated with the provision of safe accommodation will be implemented, as required by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

This Strategy adopts the Government definition of domestic abuse which is outlined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The new definition emphasises that domestic abuse is not only physical violence, but can also be emotional, coercive or controlling behaviour, and economic abuse.

It describes how safe accommodation and support for domestic abuse (DA) victims and survivors will be provided over the next three years and outlines five objectives that will be the focus of delivery:

1. Early Intervention and Prevention
2. Targeted Support
3. Reachable Services
4. DA Act (Part 4) – Safe Accommodation
5. Strong Partnerships