Did you know that domestic violence incidents increase by 38% when a World Cup game is lost, and by 26% even when it’s a win or draw?
We’re kicking off week three of our World Cup promotions, and this week we’re focusing on domestic abuse: spreading awareness, how to spot the signs and keep yourself safe, and how PA can support you if you find yourself a victim.
What is domestic abuse?
In line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, domestic abuse is defined as any incident or pattern of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse between individuals aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.
Domestic abuse may include:
- Physical violence or sexual abuse
- Violent or threatening behaviour
- Emotional manipulation, isolation and coercive control
- Economic abuse (control of finances or resources to restrict independence)
- Psychological or other abuse
- Stalking and harassment
- "Honour-based" violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), and forced marriage
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 also recognises children as victims if they see, hear, or experience the effects of abuse and are related to either of the parties.
How to spot the signs of domestic abuse
The average football fan watches a game without becoming aggressive, but studies have shown strong evidence that abuse against wives, girlfriends and partners spikes dramatically in the aftermath of matches – whether their team wins or loses.
It’s important to understand how an abuser acts and common behaviours they will show. This can include:
- Their daily life revolves around what they need/want
- They believe they are the head of the household
- They treat partners/family members more like servants
- When they want something, they want it now
If you suspect someone you know may be victim to domestic abuse, they might:
- Stop eating or sleeping properly
- Stay in more often and see less of family and friends
- Worry that certain actions or words will provoke their partner/family
- Give up having opinions of their own, believing their partner/family are right about everything
There are a variety of resources online too that can help you to figure out what the signs of domestic abuse are, across a variety of situations and questions you can ask yourself to understand whether your experience qualifies as abuse – see below.
Domestic abuse: recognise the signs - GOV.UK
Signs of Domestic Abuse & Violence · Information Guides · NCDV
What does PA have in place to tackle domestic abuse?
We understand that we are not the experts in domestic abuse and that we cannot singlehandedly provide victims and survivors with the best level of support. To tackle this, we work with the appropriate partner agencies alongside offering our own support.
However, we strongly believe that domestic abuse is unacceptable and will work with victims and survivors to make sure they are supported and our service is centred around them. Some of the commitments we have are:
- Making it easy to report incidents of domestic abuse to us
- Acting promptly and offering timely support following a report
- Conducting regular training for colleagues on equality, diversity, and issues related to domestic abuse, and how to recognise and respond to signs of abuse
- Being mindful of language to avoid language that could be triggering, blaming, shaming or judgemental
- Regularly reviewing and monitoring cases to identify trends and improve support provided, only closing cases when resolutions are achieved or further action is no longer feasible
- Keeping support available for survivors who choose to return to a perpetrator or experience recurring abuse
PA is also a proud backer of the CIH Make a Stand pledge, which is a commitment that our organisation puts in place and follows policies to support residents and members of staff who are affected by domestic abuse. The pledge also includes making information about national and local domestic abuse support services available where it is easily accessible for residents and staff and appointing domestic abuse champions at a senior level in the organisation.
Our domestic abuse champions are:
- Hannah Preston, Safeguarding Officer (Midlands)
- Isobel Anstead, Safeguarding Officer (London & South East)
- Louise Darvill, Antisocial Behaviour Officer (London & South East)
You can read all of our commitments and our full Domestic Abuse Policy below:
PA Housing Domestic Abuse PolicyRead more on our website about how to report concerns of domestic abuse to us and our supported housing offerings for victims and survivors of domestic abuse below:
Domestic Violence | PA Housing
If you’re living in a situation where you’re experiencing domestic abuse and worried about being able to browse our resources safely, don’t panic – we’ve recently added a Quick exit button to these pages to help you quickly switch to another, more neutral website if the perpetrator enters the room or looks over your shoulder.
Please note that the feature will not prevent anyone from seeing your browser history or from knowing that you were on the page if they are monitoring your device or internet activity remotely.
