What support is available for Relationship or Familial Abuse/Domestic Abuse?

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In an emergency:

Report to A & E: Call 999 and request an ambulance (if you are on campus, you can also call the Security emergency number 020 7882 3333), or attend any hospital A&E department.

Report to Police: Call 999. There is an option for silent support if talking will put you in danger.

Specialist support available

If it is not an emergency, you can speak to your GP/healthcare professional or call the Police non-emergency number 101 or attend any local Police station.

Rights of Women have detailed advice about reporting to the police and a guide to criminal investigations.

There are also a lot of confidential and independent support organisations that can support you. 

• Freephone 24 hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: for women experiencing domestic abuse, their family, friends, colleagues and others calling on their behalf and this can be anonymous: 0808 2000 247.
• Galop: advice and support to people who have experienced biphobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexual violence or domestic abuse.  They also support lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people who have had problems with the police or have questions about the criminal justice system – 020 7704 2040.
• Men’s Advice Line: helpline for male victims of domestic violence: 0808 801 0327 (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm).
• Solace :  Free and confidential practical and emotional support to high-risk victims of domestic abuse living in Tower Hamlets. Including advocacy, referral and information. The domestic abuse does not have to have been reported to the police. Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) offer one-to-one support and referrals to other specialist agencies e.g. counselling.  Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm, Tel: 0203 795 5064; towerhamlets@solacewomensaid.org 
• Victim Support Tower Hamlets: provides free and confidential practical and emotional support to victim/survivors of domestic violence, including advocacy, referral and information. The domestic violence does not have to have been reported to the police. 0207 364 7957 – 0808 1689 111 (‘Supportline’ - 24 hr).
• Advance - Maia Service:  Advance’s Maia supports self-identifying young women and girls aged 13-25 who are at risk of, or who have previously experienced domestic abuse. This abuse could involve familial relationships at home and in their intimate relationships. 0800 059 0117  Email: maia@advancecharity.org.uk 
• Rights of Women have two Family Law Advice Lines for women needing advice on domestic violence, abuse and family law.  They also have an Immigration Law Line for women who have experienced gender-based violence and need advice on their immigration status.
• The Bright Sky app provides support and information to anyone who may be in an abusive relationship or those concerned about someone they know.  It offers a UK-wide directory of specialist domestic abuse support services with contact details and is available in English, Urdu, Punjabi and Polish.
• Hestia provide support in 21 refuges across 10 London boroughs for people affected by domestic violence.  Please contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 if you need a refuge space.

Queen Mary Support for Students

Report and Support: you can report an incident using the Queen Mary’s Report and Support system. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support by filling in the form with your contact details.  In the case of reporting with contact details and requesting an investigation, a member of the Academic Appeals, Conduct and Complaints team will discuss with you whether your report can be dealt with under the Code of Student Discipline. If requesting support, you will be referred to Advice and Counselling.

For Medical Students: If you experience of witness this during a clinical placement this should be reported via Report and Support. Your report will be triaged and referred to the Governance Manager and Student Academic & Pastoral Support Office within the School. Guidance on what SMD will do with such reports and the additional support available can be found on the QMPlus module here.

Advice and Counselling: the Advice and Counselling Service at Queen Mary is available for advice and guidance on further support options and for ongoing support for students. They provide a range of specialist, professional and confidential services to support students with financial, welfare, legal as well as emotional and psychological issues. You can request to be referred to them by completing a report with your contact details or contacting the team directly.

They have an information page on Domestic & Familial abuse here. 

Your Student Support Officer: They are your first point of contact in your academic school/institute. They can also arrange support if your studies have been affected, or will be affected, by what has happened. You can also arrange to see your personal tutor or academic adviser in your academic school.

Residential Support: If you are living in Queen Mary accommodation you can talk to the Residential Support team who are there to support all aspects of your wellbeing in halls.

Security: Queen Mary's Security team provide a 24 hour service.

The Students' Union Academic Advice Service: the Students' Union provides a confidential, non-judgemental and free service available to all current Queen Mary Students.  It is independent from the university, so issues discussed with the Academic Advice Service will not appear on your Queen Mary file without your consent.  The Academic Advice Service provides specialist advice and support on academic issues such as concerns about your university experience, the student complaints procedure, appeals, disciplinary hearings, academic misconduct investigations and applications for extenuating circumstances.

Queen Mary Support for Staff

 Report and Support: you can report an incident using the Queen Mary’s Report and Support system. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support by filling in the form with your contact details.  Your report will be progressed by HR and, in the case of reporting with contact details, a HR Adviser or HR Partner will discuss with you the options for dealing with your report informally or formally, under the grievance policy.  Employee Assistance Programme: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year support

• Confidential support, which is independent from Queen Mary
• Accessible via phone, e-mail, instant messaging and website
• No cost to you
• Professional consultation, counselling, information, resources and referrals to services in your local area
• No limit to the number of issues you can get support on

Trade Unions: Queen Mary recognises five campus trade unions: Unite, UCU, Unison, BDA, and BMA. Staff who are members can contact them for support and advice. 

Queen Mary Occupational Health: Occupational Health works to promote health in the workplace and forms part of the overall health and safety management system, focusing on the management of work related health risks. This can include the prevention of work related ill health, facilitating rehabilitation after illness and injury, and promoting physical and mental wellbeing. Occupational Health can provide advice signpost staff to appropriate services. Just email: occhealth@qmul.ac.uk.

Further support 

• Faith Regen Foundation: a multi-faith, BAME led charity in Tower Hamlets offering services to women affected by gender-based violence which include: support from a Domestic Violence worker, confidence building workshops, careers guidance, work experience opportunities, ESOL training and accredited vocational training Support is offered primarily to women currently experiencing abuse who are assessed as low to medium risk and those who have experienced gender-based violence in the past – 0207 650 3043.
• DV Assist: help with obtaining Non-Molestation Orders (injunctions), Prohibited Steps Orders, and Occupation Orders: call free on 0800 195 8699.
• DeafHope: domestic and sexual violence support service for deaf communities. 
• Chinese Information and Advice Centre (CIAC): part of the ASCENT consortium to provide linguist and culturally sensitive services to survivors of sexual and domestic violence and abuse – 0300 201 1868.
• Asian Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC): domestic violence and advocacy services available in five community languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu – 020 8961 6549/ 5701.
• Jewish Women’s Aid: specialist service with a helpline and counselling. The JWA helpline – 0808 801 0500 (9.30am–9.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday).
• Latin American Women’s Rights Service: offers advice, advocacy and practical support to Latin American women who are experiencing or have experienced Domestic Violence, Harmful practices or any other form of violence – Tel: 0808 145 4909, Tuesday to Friday 11 AM to 1 PM.  https://lawrs.org.uk/what-we-do/
• Nour: Nour provide trauma-informed, culturally competent services to adult survivors of abuse, including, but not limited to, survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and childhood abuse. They work with survivors from minoritised communities, particularly from the Muslim community, however, their services are open to any adult survivor of abuse. They offer free counselling, legal advice, emotional and practical support, financial assistance amongst other services. Email: support@nour-dv.org.uk
• Rights of Women: information sheets on a range of issues, including injunctions and navigating the criminal justice system.
• Solace Women’s Aid: free and confidential Advice service offering specialist short term support (up to a month) to women affected by domestic and sexual violence living in London. Provides immediate advice to women across all levels of risk and can refer on to our other services such as refuge accommodation, longer term advocacy support, counselling or specialist children’s services – 0808 802 5565.
• The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC): the UK’s leading national charity offering information and support to adult survivors of all types of childhood abuse, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect – 0808 801 0331 (10am-9pm Monday-Thursday and 10am-6pm on Fridays).
• Women and Girls Network: specialist gender-based violence counselling in some boroughs (including Tower Hamlets) – 020 7610 4678.
• Women’s Trust: free counselling and therapy (including support groups and workshops) for female survivors of domestic violence, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and other forms of domestic abuse – 020 7034 0303.

This page lists services based in the UK.  If you are working or studying outside of the UK at the moment and would like some guidance finding specialist support services near you, please contact:

• Students – Advice and Counselling
• Staff - Employee Assistance Programme

Support for those concerned about their behaviour:

• Respect: helpline for perpetrators of domestic violence – 0808 802 4040 (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm and webchat available Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am-4pm).
• Domestic Violence Intervention Project: programmes for men who want to change their abusive behaviour (can self-refer).