Types of Support Available

Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) provide practical and emotional support to both male and female victims of domestic abuse. The support is tailored to individual needs and is aimed at reducing risk and minimising harm through personalised safety plans.

The IDVAs are trained specialists who have extensive knowledge of the criminal justice system, civil court system and local services.

Independent Sexual Violence Advocates (ISVAs) provide practical and emotional support to both male and female victims of sexual assault.

The ISVAs are trained specialists who have extensive knowledge of the impact of sexual violence on a victim/survivor, the criminal justice system and specialist sexual violence support services. They are not counsellors and they are there to provide victims/survivors with information to help them make the right decisions for them.

MARACs, or multi-agency risk assessment conferences, are part of recent framework being implemented across the UK to protect the safety of individuals and families at very high risk of harm due to domestic violence. They involve all the key specialists from statutory and voluntary agencies in a borough meeting regularly to assign and agree actions that will keep individual victims/survivors safe. Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) are active participants in MARACs, supporting survivors directly through advice and safety planning.

Outreach services, sometimes called floating support, are designed to empower survivors/victims of domestic violence and/or abuse in or leaving abusive relationships. Many outreach services support people in their home or when they leave a refuge by offering emotional and practical confidential support which may help them understand the options available and make decisions about their lives.

Outreach workers help clients with risk assessment, safety planning, crisis intervention, legal and child care matters, assistance with grant and loan applications, finding work or accessing education, housing and resettlement support, advocacy and counselling and sessions may be offered on an individual, support group or group information basis.

A refuge is an emergency accommodation for those who need to flee their homes due to the abuse that they are experiencing.

Refuges have a specialist staff team of refuge case workers who will help families by offering emotional and practical support so that they can recover from their trauma. Many refuges have a children and families worker, whose sole focus is the wellbeing of the children in the refuge.

Many charities and service centres cross the UK work with children and young people affected by domestic violence and/or sexual assault ensuring that they are in a safe environment and providing specialist emotional and practical support tailored to the child/teenager’s individual needs. The majority of children and young people find it difficult to talk about sexual assault or any experiences of domestic violence, and the services aim at helping them overcome their traumatic experiences or address any behavioural issues they might display due to the abuse. These services include, but are not limited to:

• Telephone helpline for children
• Specialist counselling
• Group work sessions or discussions to help children express the feelings they can’t put into words (e.g. through playing, storytelling, writing, art, cooking, singing, gardening)
• Individual work sessions or discussions
• Help with homework
• Multi-agency safeguarding
• Advocacy and awareness support
• Empowerment programmes
• Refuge accommodation
• Telephone helpline for families
• Support for the non-abusing parent to ensure that they can best support their children

Many voluntary bodies offer also services aimed at preventing child abuse or sexual exploitation and several organisations provide support to adults who have been sexually abused as children.

The Parallel Group is a specialist service provided by Hestia in the London boroughs of Camden and Hillingdon. The project helps children recover from domestic abuse and help mothers explore how their experiences have impacted on their children. The 12 week long programme is delivered in age appropriate groups for children aged 4-16 who have been affected by domestic abuse. There is a separate group for mothers who are provided with support, to help their child with their healing process.

Drop-in support and drop-in centres, sometimes called one stop shops, help people who have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault providing them with information to reduce the risk and helping keep them safe. Drop-in sessions can be on an individual or group basis, and they offer an opportunity to discuss options and help available for the victim/survivor and their family members. This could include assistance with finding a refuge accommodation, information on the most appropriate specialist services or signposting to counselling.

Counselling is a type of talking therapy where people meet with a trained counsellor, psychologist or psychotherapist in a safe and confidential environment to talk about their problems and difficult feelings in order to identify possible ways of coping with them and/or positive changes to make in their lives. People usually seek counselling to help them explore emotional, psychological and relationship issues as well as behaviour patterns and way of thinking. Each session is usually tailored to the client and there are different counselling format, including:

• Face-to-face counselling
• Individual counselling
• Group counselling
• Telephone counselling
• Online counselling

Therapists specialise in specific fields and models of therapy based on a particular ‘theoretical approach’ or ‘modality’ even if they might consider using different techniques when they think this could be beneficial to the client. Other potential areas of therapy include art or drama therapy.

Visit Counselling Directory for more information today.

Group work is a safe and confidential space where victims/survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault meet other people who have gone through the same trauma and share their stories and coping strategies. One of the main benefits of group work is the way it challenges the feelings of isolation, loneliness, blame and shame that many victims/survivors experience.

Group work is different from group therapy as the sessions are completely led by victims/survivors, even if a moderator will be there to ensure that the space remains safe during the discussion. An example of group work is Hestia’s Butterfly Project, an award winning community based peer mentoring programme where sessions are run by a trained volunteer. The Butterfly Project currently runs across multiple London boroughs and offers a space to talk, join in group activities such as therapeutic art, plus empowerment courses.

A telephone helpline is a dedicated hotline where people who have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault can get support from a trained staff member. Telephone helplines are a safe and confidential service which enables victims/survivors to have a chat about what happened to them, get immediate help or suggestions about coping strategies, make a self-referral to other services or get information about the most suitable services in their area. Most telephone helplines also talk to victims/survivors’ friends and family and offer them advice on how to help or where to get support for their loved ones and themselves.

Web or SMS chat are online chat services where victims/survivors can talk to trained professionals using instant messaging technology. Online chat helplines provide the same emotional support people can get through telephone helplines, but they have proved to be very useful for people who don’t want to engage in a conversation via phone as this may cause them stress, triggers and being uncomfortable.

Online helplines are usually there to offer information and advice to victims/survivors’ friends and family on how to help or where to get support for the person they care about and themselves.

Nowadays smartphone apps have become useful tools in prevention, intervention and raising awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault. Many apps offer people a broad range of useful resources to recognise abuse, as well as aid to victims who are experiencing the trauma of an abusive relationship or are finding themselves in unsafe situations.

Apps can make it easier for anyone trapped in an abusive relationship or facing a dangerous situation to access potentially life-saving resources. They are also valuable tools for friends and family who are worried that a loved one is experiencing domestic violence.

The Freedom Programme is a 2-day intensive course that examines the roles played by attitudes and beliefs on the actions of abusive men and the responses of victims and survivors. The aim is to help them make sense of and understand what has happened to them, instead of the whole experience just feeling like a horrible mess.

The Freedom Programme also describes in detail how children are affected by being exposed to this kind of abuse and very importantly how their lives are improved when the abuse is removed.

Perpetrator programmes are violence prevention programmes conceived to address abusive behaviours patterns, help perpetrators understand the reason behind their aggressiveness, and promote anger management and safety. They are usually developed through group discussion, but they can include practical exercises to make the learning more realistic and relevant.

These programmes are either delivered through the criminal justice system with referrals from the criminal court (criminal justice based programmes) or run by voluntary sector organisations as part of their partnership with the statutory sector. In this case, referrals come directly from the perpetrator (self-referral) or other services (e.g. children’s services and family courts).