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The Isle of Wight Domestic Abuse Forum defines domestic abuse as:
Domestic abuse is any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. This includes issues of concern to black and minority ethnic (BME) communities such as so called 'honour based violence', female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage. Domestic abuse frequently co exists with child abuse.
Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse
This can also involve the misuse of power and control
(psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional)
This includes movement restriction and imposition of social isolation.
between adults
The Isle of Wight includes young people aged 16/17 years of age in this definition.
who are or have been intimate partners or family members
Family members are defined as mother, father,son, daughter, brother, sister, and grandparents, whether directly related, in laws or stepfamily
regardless of gender or sexuality
Also, age, race, wealth, and geography
This includes issues of concern to black and minority ethnic (BME) communities,
e.g. so called 'honour based violence', female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage (FM).
Also, other groups such as older people in relation to elder abuse, men, same-sex relationships and people with disabilities. It also includes those who have no recourse to public funds
Domestic abuse frequently co-exists with child abuse.
Child safeguarding must always be considered
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, you should always dial 999 and ask for the Police.
If you are a victim then it is important to remember that you are not to blame. Domestic violence is a crime, but taking action against a partner/ex-partner or family member can be hard. There are organisations that can and will give you all the support and advice you need.
Violence increases when a person leaves or has recently left an abusive partner. Please seek advice if you are considering leaving.
Although domestic violence is most commonly experienced by women and perpetrated by men, remember that men have exactly the same rights as women to be safe in their own homes and are entitled to the same help if they experience domestic abuse.
For women the National Helpline 0808 2000 247 (which was launched in December 2003) operates on a 24-hour freephone basis. It joins the existing help lines of Women's Aid Women's Aid and Refuge http://www.refuge.org.uk/ and now offers both women and children help in finding emergency accommodation, information, planning on safety issues as well as a translation service. The Island Women’s Refuge 24 hour helpline number: 01983 825981.
For male victims of domestic abuse, support can be provided by Men's Aid. They can be contacted on 01334 474348 or by email support@mensaid.org Men's Aid is run by volunteers and is open Monday to Friday 10am-3pm. For lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people experiencing domestic abuse, support is available from Broken Rainbow on the helpline number 0300 999 5428 (LGBT) or by email mail@broken-rainbow.org.uk. Opening hours for the helpline are: Mondays 2pm-8pm, Wednesdays 10am-1pm and Thursdays 2pm-8pm. You can also find further information on Broken Rainbow from their website http://www.broken-rainbow.org.uk.
We have developed a directory of services for domestic violence. Visit the Isle of Wight Safer Communities Partnership website www.saferwight.org.uk to view the domestic abuse directory for contact details of organisations that can help.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse or feel you may do in the near future, you should organise a safety plan using the steps below:
· Talk to someone you trust
· Arrange a safe place to go if you need to leave quickly
· Prepare a bag of clothes, medication and any important documents such as driving licence, passport, birth certificates, benefit books etc. If it is too risky to keep the originals then take a copy. Leave the bag with a friend or a family member
· Have a code word for family, friends, neighbours or children so that they can call the Police for you in an emergency
· Keep a diary of events and any abusive letters, emails or text messages
· If an argument starts avoid the kitchen, bathroom, garage or any room where there is no escape route or where there is easy access to potential weapons
· If you have a mobile keep it with you at all times
Recent Press releases
Summer campaign highlights the risks of honour based violence Forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) are both types of honour based violence (HBV), and are the focus of a summer campaign being launched by partnership agencies across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Cases of forced marriage or female genital mutilation are often organised prior to the summer holidays. Therefore, the focus of this campaign is on children and young people who go missing from school around this time, or do not return in the new term.
Teachers, education staff, police, GPs, school nurses, youth offending teams, and all other professionals who may come into contact with children and young people are being targeted. The aims are to raise awareness of the issues around HBV, provide an understanding of the background and nature of the subject and, importantly, provide information on what to do with cases or suspected cases of HBV.
HBV is defined by the Association of Chief Police Officers as “…a crime or incident, which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or community”.
It’s something which is associated with cultures from Asia, the Middle East and Africa as well as gypsy and traveller communities, but it cuts across all cultures, nationalities, faith groups and communities and transcends national and international boundaries.
Local authorities and the police are working together collectively to respond to local issues around HBV. Training events are taking place across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for relevant professionals, and a number of resources are being provided, enabling people to respond appropriately when presented with possible cases and publicise the issues further in their places of work.
Inspector Nigel Scott said, “Honour based violence comes in many forms, and it ruins lives. Our ultimate aim is to protect those who are vulnerable to these crimes, and in order to begin doing this we must first help people in key positions across our counties understand what the issues are, what indicators they might see in children and young people, and how they can respond.
“Our message is clear; honour based violence is a crime, and should not be ignored or tolerated. There is always help.”
For more information see http://www.hampshiredomesticabuse.org.uk
Visit the Domestic Violence page of the DirectGov website for more advice on this subject.
For information on Domestic Abuse in Teenage Relatioships, please click here
Hampshire Domestic Abuse Forum - http://hampshiredomesticabuse.org.uk/
Professionals Hampshire Domestic Abuse Forum - http://www.hdaf.org.uk/
