Professionals
Domestic Abuse is an issue for all organisations in North Somerset. Given that one in four women and one in six men experience domestic violence at some point in their lives domestic violence will affect both clients and workers of all organisations. In addition, domestic violence costs the UK £2,672,397,000 in lost economic productivity every year (Walby, University of Leeds, 2004).
Organisations, whether in the social or business sectors, should consider how domestic violence impacts on their work and how they can address this. Some approaches which organisations could consider:
- Encourage staff to become a Domestic Abuse Champion. They will receive additional information, regular newsletters and FREE training around domestic abuse
- Refer domestic abuse cases to the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences. There are monthly multi-agency meetings where information is shared on medium to high risk cases and action plans are drawn up.
To make a referral contact the MARACs co-ordinator NSMARAC@avonandsomerset.police.uk.cjsm.net - Give someone who is worried about their behaviour towards their partner a copy of the Make the Change leaflet – downloadable here
- Offices could display leaflets and posters advertising sources of help – contact the forum for details
- The North Somerset Domestic Abuse Forum can help organisations develop Domestic Abuse policies and procedures for dealing appropriately with clients who are experiencing domestic violence
- The North Somerset Domestic Abuse Forum can help employers develop domestic violence policies for their staff
- The North Somerset Domestic Abuse Forum can help your organisation develop training around domestic violence and related issues – see courses section of this site
- North Somerset Domestic Abuse Forum members work together to tackle domestic violence throughout the county. Contact the forum if your organisation would like to join or find out more
To contact the Forum please fill out the form on the right of this page.
Domestic Abuse can be a difficult issue to respond to. If you are attempting to assist someone in this situation it is important to remember that people who are experiencing abuse need to make their own decisions, they need to be given their options, but not told what to do. However, it is important to bear in mind that where children are in the household then the abuse must be dealt with as a child protection issue.
If you are unsure of how to handle a situation you should discuss it with your manager and look at your agency’s child protection and/or domestic violence procedures. If this does not resolve your problem discuss it with child protection professionals– contact details in the Children’s section or the Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator – Louise Branch telephone 01934 426343
