According to Women’s Aid incidents of domestic abuse will rise over the Christmas holidays.
The organisation says more women reach out for support in the New Year, often after having tried to hold things together in front of family and friends during the break.
As Christmas is a time where the family are together for a sustained period of time, it can be can be a catalyst for severe and frequent incidents of violent assault, abuse and sexual abuse.
By New Year, survivors often say they cannot face another year living in fear of their partner, and that is when they reach out for help.
Hudgell Solicitors’ Criminal Injury team supports community organisations working with domestic abuse survivors and understands that domestic violence or abuse can happen to anyone, and anyone can be an abuser.
Read more: Teenager abused and stalked by boyfriend is awarded CICA compensation
Getting help and support for domestic violence and abuse
Domestic abuse includes physical, emotional and sexual abuse in couple relationships or between family members.
You do not have to wait for an emergency situation to find help. If domestic abuse is happening to you, it’s important to tell someone and remember you’re not alone.
If you decide to leave
The first step in escaping an abusive situation is realising that you’re not alone and it’s not your fault.
Before you go, try to get advice from an organisation such as: Women’s Aid or Refuge, there is also a Men’s Advice Line for men and Galop for those who identify as LGBT+.
Women’s Aid has useful information about making a safety plan that applies to both women and men.
Other ways to get support:
Women can call The Free phone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night. The staff will offer confidential, non-judgemental information and support talk to a doctor, health visitor or midwife
Men can call Men’s Advice Line on 0808 8010 327 (Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm), or visit the webchat at Men’s Advice Line (Wednesday to Friday 10am to 11am and 3pm to 4pm) for non-judgemental information and support
Men can also call ManKind on 0182 3334 244 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm)
If you identify as LGBT+ you can call Galop on 0800 999 5428 for emotional and practical support
Anyone can call Karma Nirvana on 0800 5999 247 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) for forced marriage and honour crimes. You can also call 020 7008 0151 to speak to the GOV.UK Forced Marriage Unit
In an emergency, call 999.
You can also email for support:
It is important that you specify when and if it is safe to respond and to which email address:
Women can email [email protected]. Staff will respond to your email within 5 working days
Men can email [email protected]
LGBT+ people can email [email protected]
The Survivor’s Handbook from the charity Women’s Aid is free and provides information for women on a wide range of issues, such as housing, money, helping your children, and your legal rights.
If you are worried that you are abusive, you can contact the free Respect helpline on 0808 802 4040.
You can also find help and support for domestic abuse on GOV.UK
Read more: Many victims receive more than £25,000 in awards from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Making an Abuse Claim
Whether you’ve been the victim of physical, or sexual abuse, you are entitled to receive compensation for your pain and suffering. We have a team of dedicated abuse claims specialists who are able to pursue claims to The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
Claims can be pursued even if there has been no conviction or even no charges brought against the perpetrator, claims can still be made if a those carrying out the abuse has since died or cannot be located or identified.
If you’ve been abused in any way and you’re unsure what to do, don’t suffer in silence any longer. The first step is to get in touch with our expert lawyers and discover how we can help you bring a CICA abuse claim.
