Domestic violence is any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are, or who have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. This definition includes violence such as female genital mutilation (FGM) so-called ‘honour' crimes, forced marriage, and acts of gender-based violence.We will treat you with support and respect, and allow you to report an incident in a private meeting area at our housing offices, with an officer of the same sex where requested.

• We will listen to you and your circumstances, not be judgmental or advisory - and enable you to make informed choices about the next steps you want to take
• We will enable you to think about next steps by referring you to the partner agencies you need, who can provide a range of emotional and practical support and counseling services
• We can give you advice on the housing options and welfare benefits that are available to you depending on how you occupy your property, and what you need to do to take up these options
• We will prioritise any repairs needed as a result of domestic violence
• Your meeting with us will be treated in the strictest of confidence, and we will maintain and process the data you give us in accordance with our privacy statement and data protection requirements
• If you are the sole tenant of your property, and you have excluded a perpetrator from your home with a court order, we can assist you to arrange for additional security where necessary
• We will work with our partner agencies and take all necessary enforcement actions as a result of legal verdicts and police actions
• We will apply the Respect Standard for local government when dealing with both victims and perpetrators - we will try to find solutions for all parties
• We will work with our partners to monitor outcomes and incident rates and will involve residents in improving and publicising our services

To help us deliver a great service, you can help us by:

• Taking domestic violence seriously - it is a criminal offence
• Report incidents to us - if we cannot help you directly - we will know someone who can
• Report suspected domestic violence to us - we will ask the council to consider action