Addressing domestic abuse: An opportunity for change

Dr Kelly Henderson, ‘the great bringer together of people’, assembled leading practitioners and campaigners in domestic abuse at a national event to ignite action across the UK. As housing professionals, here are the key themes and developments we need to be aware of in addressing domestic abuse.

The new government is ambitious in terms of confronting the harm of domestic abuse and holds the pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade. The need is stark; Sam Millar, from the National Police Chief’s Council shared that in 2024, one in six homicides was a domestic homicide.

With the Autumn Budget set, the next few months will be critical for practitioners to influence the upcoming government VAWG strategy and the funding attached to it. The day’s keynote speaker, Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner, stressed that now is the opportunity to influence a civil service that is ‘working at pace’ to build an evidence body for this strategy.

Housing should be fundamental in developing this strategy to identify instances of abuse, build routes to safety and provide spaces to heal. Domestic abuse is the second most prevalent reason that homeless households are owed a relief duty and yet still, too often, the lack of affordable and stable options for accommodation prevents victims leaving their abuser or perpetrators leaving the home.

Across the day, speakers outlined the complexity of differing forms of abuse and how the persistent misconception of domestic abuse perpetuates stigma against victims and survivors and their ability to move on from abusive situations. Dr Mercy Denedo and Dr Liz Riley, from Durham University, presented ongoing research on the links between gambling harms and domestic abuse with a focus on women in social housing. Additionally, Dr Nikki Rutter, presented a needs-based framework for understanding child to parent domestic abuse and Professor Geetanjali presented on racially minoritised women and girls’ experiences of domestic abuse.

These misconceptions play out in formal settings such as housing, policing and accessing social security and the stigma is compounded when taking poverty, multiple complex needs and intersectionality into account. Where services aren’t designed alongside those with lived experience, pathways to support are likely to perpetuate harm. Dr Rebecca Shaw from the University of Leeds focussed on the dominant narratives to identify how existing paradigms prevent change.

There are key evidence gaps across multiple sectors that hinder our understanding of domestic abuse in society and how we currently treat victims and perpetrators. For example, the police often don’t record gender across their systems. These data gaps exist across all sectors and the need for better evidence to address this issue stands equally for housing organisations.

Sam Millar  |  assistant chief constable, National Police Chief’s Council

“We need our evidence base if we are going to change domestic abuse at a systemic level”

Beyond data, Laura Seebohm, chief executive at Wearside Women in Need (WWIN), reminded us that in our responses to domestic abuse we often focus on the head and not the heart. We each know somebody affected by domestic abuse. We must take responsibility to address domestic abuse when we see it and act on it, bringing it into the open. She called for a society-wide emotional connection to these experiences, to work on the trauma and focus our humanity to enact change.

Later this month we will be joining the annual international campaign to raise awareness of VAWG as part of the 16 Days of Activism. On 26th November join former CIH presidents Alison Inman and Jim Strang as they reflect on their joint presidential campaign to ‘Make a Stand’ at the Social Housing Roundtable. (Sign up to the event here). Closing the 16 days we’re hosting a webinar where Nicki Clarke from Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance will be speaking to Midland Heart and Islington Council about their organisations’ culture shift to address domestic abuse in their homes. (Sign up to the event here: ‘What it takes to make a stand.’)

If you would like to like to learn more about CIH’s ‘Make a Stand’ pledge and wish for your organisation to join over 400 housing providers in the UK in making a commitment to prevent, identify and address domestic abuse, Make a Stand, here.