Report domestic abuse

Domestic Abuse

Habinteg is committed to dealing with domestic abuse sensitively. We aim to provide a confidential and non-judgemental service to any tenant reporting domestic abuse.

If you have any concerns, please contact Habinteg Direct by emailing direct@habinteg.org.uk or call 0300 365 3100.

If you’re experiencing any form of abuse, you can also speak to the police by calling 101. If you’re responding to an emergency, contact emergency services by dialling 999.

If you’re concerned that a child may be experiencing or is likely to experience abuse or neglect, and they’re not in immediate danger, contact NSPCC on 0800 800 5000 and share your concern.

If you’re concerned that a child or adult may be experiencing or is likely to experience abuse or neglect, and they're not in immediate danger, contact your Local Authority – Adult or Children Social Care and take advice. You can locate the relevant contact details from your local authority's website.

If you’re not one of our tenants, but you’re concerned about something you’ve seen or heard relating to a Habinteg resident, please contact us. If there’s an immediate risk to a child, young person, adult or yourself, call the police.

Download our full policy
Domestic Abuse Policy 2024.pdf 116KB

Domestic Abuse Policy 2024.docx 227KB

What is domestic abuse?

Domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between individuals who are or have been intimate partners, or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.

This definition covers, but is not limited to, the following types of abuse:

Emotional or Psychological: any type of abuse that involves the continual emotional mistreatment of an individual, including deliberately trying to scare, humiliate, isolate or ignore an individual
Physical: anything physical that is not consensual, including hitting, punching, kicking, slapping, hitting with objects, pulling hair, pushing or shoving, cutting or stabbing, restraining, strangulation, choking
Sexual: including rape and coerced sex, forcing a victim to take part in unwanted sexual acts, refusal to practice safe sex or use contraception, threatened or actual sexual abuse of children
Financial: including controlling money and bank accounts, running up debts in a person’s name, controlling how money is spent, refusing to allow them to study or work, and depriving them of essentials
Controlling behaviour: a range of behaviour which makes a person reliant and/or dependent on another person by isolating them from support, exploiting their resources and capacity for personal gain, depriving them of the means of independence, resistance and escape, and regulating their everyday behaviour
Coercive behaviour: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim
Cuckooing: when criminals target the home of a vulnerable person, to use the property for criminal purposes, such as drug-dealing, hiding weapons, and other criminal activities. They move quickly between vulnerable people's homes for just a few hours, days or longer.

Who might abuse someone?

Anyone can carry out abuse or neglect, including:

Spouses and partners
Other family members
Neighbours
Friends
Acquaintances
Local residents
Paid staff and professionals
Volunteers and strangers.

Abuse can happen anywhere, e.g. in a tenant’s own home, in someone else’s home, in the street or even in an environment where it should be safe.

Who is affected by domestic abuse?

Domestic abuse can affect anyone. Research recognises that there are more cases of domestic abuse against women. However, men are also victims of domestic abuse.

Abuse can occur in all types of relationships, including gay and lesbian relationships, and violence can occur from other family members, e.g. son or daughter being violent toward a parent. Domestic abuse can also affect more than one member of a household.

Who is responsible for dealing with reports of domestic abuse in Habinteg?

All Habinteg staff are responsible for dealing with reports of domestic abuse in accordance with the Domestic Abuse Policy and Procedure. Habinteg is also obligated to provide impartial and factual advice to both parties where a joint tenancy exists.

Scheme-based staff are responsible for responding to and acknowledging initial reports, and providing support to the victim. They are also responsible for reporting incidents promptly to their Neighbourhood Manager or Head of Housing.

Neighbourhood Managers are responsible for investigating more serious or complex cases, initiating and managing any legal action, monitoring and reporting of individual cases and closing cases.

All instances of domestic abuse will be treated as a priority and will be recorded and monitored throughout our investigation. We'll keep the person reporting the abuse informed of progress and what is happening.

How do I report domestic abuse to Habinteg?

Whether you're a tenant or another concerned person, you can report domestic abuse to us:

In person
In writing
Via the telephone
Via email
Via a third party such as a police officer, local authority or other partner organisation.

Please visit our contact us web page for full contact details.

What happens after domestic abuse is reported to Habinteg?

Where there’s a sole tenancy and the tenant is the victim of domestic abuse, Habinteg may decide that additional security measures to the tenant's home may help.

Where there’s a joint tenancy and the abuser is a tenant, the tenancy can only be determined by the courts. Habinteg will provide advice about, and where appropriate assist in, contacting the police, local organisations and support services who deal with domestic abuse.

We’ll work alongside organisations to help stop the abuse while respecting our residents' views, feelings and wishes where possible.

You should be aware that if you raise concerns, we may need to share the details with the local authority or other agencies in order for them to investigate further.

What if I’m concerned about myself or someone else?

If there’s an immediate risk to a child, young person, adult or yourself, please contact the police.

As every local authority has a safeguarding lead, you can also raise a concern about abuse directly with them. Call the council’s main number and ask to speak to the safeguarding lead or search for ‘safeguarding’ on their website.

You can report your concerns to a member of Habinteg staff. If the abuse is being carried out by a Habinteg employee, contact Habinteg Direct on 0300 365 3100 and ask to speak to a member of our Executive Management Team.