{"id":373,"date":"2025-11-16T20:37:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T20:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/resources-for-doctors-experiencing-domestic-abuse\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T08:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:33:15","slug":"resources-for-doctors-experiencing-domestic-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/resources-for-doctors-experiencing-domestic-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Resources for doctors and HCPs experiencing domestic abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>More than one in five of us in England and Wales has experienced domestic abuse. For a range of reasons, healthcare professionals may experience domestic abuse at especially <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/15248380211061771\">high rates<\/a> and face <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/occmed\/article\/74\/7\/514\/7738357\">a number of profession-specific barriers<\/a> to recognising abuse and getting support.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Healthcare workplaces generally offer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/13814788.2025.2571600\">no, or inadequate, support<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>You may think you are the only doctor or HCP this has happened to, but <b>you are not alone.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Specialist Support<\/h3>\n<p>Multiple specialist organisation exist to assist with specific types of abuse and are listed on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/domestic-abuse-get-help-for-specific-needs-or-situations\/domestic-abuse-specialist-sources-of-support\">government website<\/a>. We&#8217;ve listed the largest organisations with resources below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/information-support\/\">Women&#8217;s Aid<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/information-support\/the-survivors-handbook\/\">The Survivor Handbook<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/information-support\/the-survivors-handbook\/i-want-to-leave-my-relationship-safely\/\">Making a safety plan<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.womensaid.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/FINAL-ACCESSIBLE-Break-the-silence.pdf\">Break the silence: Telling your story<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/information-support\/friends-and-family\/\">The Friends and Family Handbook<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/information-support\/womens-aid-directory\/\">Find local support near you<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/refuge.org.uk\/\">Refuge<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/refuge.org.uk\/what-is-domestic-abuse\/my-rights\/\">What are my rights?<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysupportspace.org.uk\/\">Victim Support<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h6><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncdv.org.uk\/\">National Centre for Domestic Violence<\/a> (emergency injunction service)<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freedomprogramme.co.uk\/\">The Freedom Programme<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><b>Financial Support<\/b><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/rmbf.org\/about\/\">Royal Medical Benevolent Fund<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cavell.org.uk\/get-support\/domestic-abuse-fund\/\">The Domestic abuse fund for nurses and midwives<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cameronfund.org.uk\/\">The Cameron Fund (GPs)<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cavell.org.uk\/get-support\/domestic-abuse\/\">Cavell (nurses), nursing associates and midwives)<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Post-Separation Abuse<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h6><a href=\"https:\/\/idas.org.uk\/16-days\/post-separation-abuse\/\">IDAS<\/a> provide advice on PSA<\/h6>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/parentingspecialchildren.co.uk\/parents-carers\/support-groups\/post-separation-parenting-support-group\/\">Post Separation Parenting Support Group<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h6>\n<h3>Bright Sky app<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hestia.org\/brightsky\">Bright Sky<\/a>\u00a0is a mobile app and website for anyone experiencing domestic abuse, or who is worried about someone else.<\/p>\n<p>The app can be downloaded for free from the app stores. Only download the app if it is safe for you to do so and if you are sure that your phone isn\u2019t being monitored.<\/p>\n<h3>Hollie Guard app<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hollieguard.com\/\">Hollie Guard<\/a> is a personal alarm, deterrent, evidence catcher and more<\/p>\n<h3>Clare&#8217;s Law<\/h3>\n<p>If you are concerned that a new, former or existing partner has an abusive past you can ask the police to check under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (also known as \u2018Clare\u2019s Law\u2019). This is your \u2018right to ask\u2019. If records show that you may be at risk of domestic abuse, the police will consider disclosing the information.<\/p>\n<p>A disclosure can be made if it is legal, proportionate and necessary to do so.<\/p>\n<p>If you are concerned about a friend or family member, you can apply for a disclosure on behalf of someone you know. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets\/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme-factsheet\">More info here<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Get a court order to protect you or your child<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re a victim of domestic abuse you can apply for a court order or injunction to protect yourself or your child from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>your current or previous partner\n<\/li>\n<li>a family member\n<\/li>\n<li>someone you currently or previously lived with\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is called a non-molestation or occupation order.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/injunction-domestic-violence\">Get a non-molestation or occupation order if you\u2019ve been the victim of domestic abuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Safe Spaces<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uksaysnomore.org\/safespaces\/\">Safe Spaces<\/a> are safe, confidential rooms where victim-survivors can take some time to reflect, access information on specialist support services or call friends or family.<\/p>\n<h3>Helplines<\/h3>\n<p>If you want to access support over the phone, you can call:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk\/\"><b>National Domestic Abuse Helpline<\/b><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 0808 2000 247 (run by Refuge) (Please note wait times can be over an hour)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/aanchal.org.uk\/about-us\/\"><b>Aanchal Women&#8217;s Aid<\/b><\/a> 0800 0124 924 (available English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mensadviceline.org.uk\/\"><b>The Men\u2019s Advice Line<\/b><\/a>, for male domestic abuse survivors \u2013 0808 801 0327 (run by Respect)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themix.org.uk\/get-support\"><b>The Mix<\/b><\/a>, free information and support for under 25s in the UK \u2013 0808 808 4994<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/galop.org.uk\/\"><b>National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline<\/b><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 0800 999 5428 (run by Galop)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.samaritans.org\/\"><b>Samaritans<\/b><\/a>\u00a0(24\/7 service) \u2013 116 123<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rightsofwomen.org.uk\/\"><b>Rights of Women<\/b><\/a>\u00a0advice lines, there are a range of services\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rightsofwomen.org.uk\/get-advice\/advice-lines\/\">available<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rapecrisis.org.uk\/get-help\/want-to-talk\/\"><b>24\/7 Rape &amp; Sexual Abuse Support Line<\/b><\/a> 0808 500 2222<\/p>\n<p><b>Surviving Economic Abuse Financial Support line<\/b> 08081968845<\/p>\n<p><b>Refuge4Pets<\/b> &#8211; helping people and animals escape DA &#8211; for animal fostering while the survivor leaves 0300 4000 121 info@refuge4pets.org.uk<\/p>\n<p><b>For those causing harm who want to stop<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/respectphoneline.org.uk\/\"><b>Respect phone line<\/b><\/a> &#8211; if you are worried about your own or someone else&#8217;s behaviour 0808 802 4040<\/p>\n<p><b>Talk, Listen, Change<\/b> 0161 872 110 enquiries@talklistenchange.org.uk<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h6>Locations specific, free, confidential support and advice is available to victim-survivors and their concerned family members or friends, 24 hours a day<\/h6>\n<p>England:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk\/\">Refuge\u2019s National Domestic Abuse Helpline <\/a>0808 2000 247<\/p>\n<p>Northern Ireland:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dsahelpline.org\/\">Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline\u00a0<\/a>0808 802 1414<\/p>\n<p>Scotland:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sdafmh.org.uk\/\">Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline\u00a0<\/a>0800 027 1234<\/p>\n<p>Wales:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/gov.wales\/live-fear-free\">Live Fear Free<\/a> 0808 80 10 100<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than one in five of us in England and Wales has experienced domestic abuse. For a range of reasons, healthcare professionals may experience domestic&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":394,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions\/394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}