Merlin announces new measures to help tackle domestic abuse
22 Aug 2008
New life-saving measures to protect residents have been launched by Merlin Housing Society.
Two women are killed by their current or former partners every week in the UK, and one in four women will fall victim in their lifetimes to domestic violence. And yet only a third of victims report the crime. The rest will suffer in silence, perhaps thinking that there is no one who can help them.
Today, Merlin Housing Society announces new procedures designed to change that view.
Hazel Gray, Merlin’s Domestic Violence Response Coordinator, said: “We’ve always had a policy for dealing with domestic violence but no detail on how to implement it, which meant it was difficult for us to respond to this crime consistently across our organisation.
“At its core, this is all about saving lives and giving staff the ability to recognise the signs that someone is suffering from domestic abuse and what they can do to help them. Cases of domestic violence often come up from a report of anti-social behaviour, with a neighbour reporting people shouting.
“We need to get staff to think about things other than rent arrears or taking action against people for anti-social behaviour and that things may not always be as black and white as first seems.
“It’s also about giving residents the correct support, helping them to get out of an abusive relationship if they want to and knowing who they can go to for more advice.
“This toolkit will mean that our housing staff have the resources at their fingertips to be able to help survivors of domestic abuse at the first crucial point when they decide that enough is enough and that they need to tell someone what is happening to them.”
“Staff can provide advice on what other options are available to them. We can offer support and advice and help them make a decision about whether they want to leave the relationship and can give them protection if they do make the decision to leave.
“We can also help with emergency accommodation if the person feels they will not be safe if they remain at home.
“This is our commitment to dealing with domestic abuse. Since November, when we started recording incidents we have added 31 cases to the file.”
The procedures have been drawn up by Merlin working in partnership with Safer South Gloucestershire.
Charlotte Badlan, Domestic and Sexual Violence Coordinator for Safer South Gloucestershire, said: “We know that domestic violence is massively under-reported. A large organisation like Merlin with such direct links with communities and residents will provide an ideal mechanism for helping to increase reporting, by identifying and supporting victims. This is an important milestone for partnership working to tackle domestic violence, not just for South Gloucestershire but as a blueprint for the South West region.”
Merlin’s domestic violence policy protects survivors of domestic abuse by helping them either stay securely in their own home or move to another property, taking legal action to keep abusers away from the property, and working in partnership with other agencies.