Where can I seek support for domestic abuse?

In the last 12 months, it is estimated that more than 800,000 children in England and Wales have lived or continue to live in an abusive home.[1] Domestic abuse and violence remains a major concern for many families and can cause social services becoming involved in yours and your children’s lives. However, there is support available for both victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse to make change for the better, ensuring their children remain safe.

Domestic abuse and violence are one of the most frequent and major reasons for social services involvement, with the police recording more than 1.4 million domestic abuse related incidents and crimes in England and Wales from March 2022 to March 2023.[2] Domestic abuse can take many forms, including but not limited to physical, emotional, financial, sexual, and controlling behaviour. It is vital to address domestic abuse and the behaviours exhibited by domestic abuse perpetrators as soon as possible, not only for your benefit but also for your children. A charity called “For Baby’s Sake” has recently been in the news for the work they are doing with domestic abuse perpetrators. The charity aims to address issues of domestic abuse directly with perpetrators and victims through counselling, therapy, and direct work to understand the impact of domestic abuse on the whole family, including children. For Baby’s Sake aims to offer support to families for 2 years, to ensure that children are not exposed to domestic abuse throughout their early lives, prevent significant trauma occurring.

You do not need to wait until social services become involved with you and your family to seek support. Whether you are a victim or a perpetrator, it is important to address these issues as soon as possible to prevent any harm to your children and social services becoming involved. Whilst For Baby’s Sake does not currently offer support in the Leicestershire area, there are many other charities and organisations that offer similar support, such as:

• FreeVA Support[3]
• The Jenkins Centre[4]
• The Freedom Programme[5]
• The Voice Programme[6]
• The Zinthiya Trust[7]
• Living Without Abuse[8]

How can we help?

We understand that the Local Authority being involved with your children can be very stressful and that is why we are here to help and provide advice. We have experience in assisting parents at all stages of Local Authority involvement. Please contact Johnson Astills at either our Leicester office on 0116 255 4855 or our Loughborough office on 01509 610 312 and ask or a member of the Care Team. Alternatively you contact us through our free online enquiry form or email us at careteam@johnsonastills.com and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.