North Star is committed to tackling domestic abuse. No one should live in fear of abuse from a spouse, partner, former spouse or member of their household.
Help is available.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 999 and ask for the police.
You can access help, advice and support from the following organisations:
National Support Services
www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk is also a 24-hour domestic abuse helpline run by Women’s Aid and Refuge.
Free phone: 0808 20000 247
Local Support Services
Harbour – Support for men and women, both victims and perpetrators
Telephone: 03000 20 25 25 www.myharbour.org.uk
My Sisters Place – Support for women experiencing domestic abuse
Telephone: 01642 241864 www.mysistersplace.org.uk
Halo
Support for men and women, Specialists in honour-based abuse, forced marriages and female genital mutilation.
Telephone: 01642 683045 www.haloproject.org.uk
You can talk to the police in confidence on 101.
You can also report domestic abuse to us. We have trained staff to help you.
We conduct all interviews and conversations with you privately. You can meet staff at one of our offices or at another safe venue. You can also agree on the best way to contact you to arrange meetings.
We may occasionally have to share information with the police or social services if we are concerned and need to protect you and others from harm.
We are signed up to the Chartered Institute of Housing Make A Stand Pledge.
This demonstrates our commitment to both our customers and employees who may experience domestic abuse.
The pledge sets out four commitments:
- Put in place and embed a policy to support residents affected by domestic abuse
- Make information about national and local domestic abuse support services available on your website and other appropriate places accessible for residents and staff
- Put in place a HR policy or amend an existing policy, to support members of staff experiencing domestic abuse
- Appoint a champion at a senior level in your organisation to own the activity you are doing to support people experiencing domestic abuse
How we are fulfilling the pledge's commitments:
• We have a policy in relation to supporting people experiencing domestic abuse
• We have developed a HR policy specifically in relation to supporting Staff experiencing domestic abuse
• Our front-line staff have been trained by Harbour to recognise the signs of domestic abuse, and regular refreshers are arranged bi-annually
• We have 6 nominated domestic abuse champions across the organisation, both male and female
• We have dedicated safeguarding lead officers
• We have updated our intranet to promote our commitment to support staff, along with a toolkit with valuable information
• We post regular updates and information via our website and social media for tenants to access
• We deliver a policy overview to all managers
• We include an overview of the Make a Stand pledge to all new staff via their induction
The Scale of the issue
Reported instances of Domestic abuse are on the increase.
- One in four women and one in six men suffer from domestic abuse in their lifetime
- An estimated 1.9 million adults aged between 16 5 and experienced domestic abuse in the last year
- Domestic abuse takes place at all levels of society, regardless of gender, social class, race, religion, sexuality or disability
- Two women are killed each week by a current or former partner
- 62% of children exposed to domestic abuse are directly harmed
To view our Domestic Abuse Policy, please see below: