Services and resources
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As friends and family, we don’t have to have all the answers, we don’t have to fix it, we don’t have to sort it all out there and then. And it can be hard for us to say to our friend or our family member; “Do you know what, I’m not the best person to do all of this with you. And I can be with you while we find that right person, and I can be by your side, if you want me to be, when you’re talking about this, or after you’ve had a support session or a counselling session, but I’m not the right person to be continuing all this with you. I don’t have the skills, I don’t have all the knowledge, but we can find the right person together.
(Family member of a survivor)
Remember in an emergency situation you should always call 999 for the Police. If you cannot talk, you will be asked to press 55 to be put through.
Use 999 BSL for a British Sign Language interpreter to connect you to emergency services.
There are many organisations in the UK which offer services and support to people experiencing domestic abuse. As a friend, family member, neighbour, or colleague of a survivor, it can be useful to know about these organisations, so that you can give the details to the person, when they are ready to reach out for help.
Some of the organisations also offer support directly to friends, family members, neighbours, and colleagues. You can contact these organisations yourself to ask for support, information, and advice. Sometimes you’ll have your own experiences of abuse and supporting someone in this situation can trigger you to relive these or to need some additional support.
You can contact most of these organisations anonymously, in other words, you can ask for advice about the situation without needing to tell them who you are, or who the survivor is.
It can be challenging to work out who to contact in different situations, or for particular types of support, so we have collected information about some of the national organisations, across the UK, that you can contact, as a friend, family member, neighbour, or colleague. We also provide a brief description of the types of help they can offer.
Understandably, many survivors are nervous about contacting professionals. If the person you know indicates that they are ready to take this step, you can support them by creating opportunities to get in touch safely, for example by letting them use your computer or telephone. You could also telephone the organisations yourself, with the survivor sitting beside you, and hand over the phone to her when she is ready to speak. To help her to access face-to-face support, you could offer to drive her to appointments, accompany her (if this is what she wants), or offer childcare whilst she attends.
Information and support for survivors
Our domestic abuse services provide a wide range of information and support to survivors of abuse from fully trained, expert female support workers. Many are for survivors only, but it’s useful to know what we provide so you can share them with your loved ones experiencing abuse.
Women’s Aid is not an emergency service. If you think you might be in danger, call the police on 999.
If you are a professional, currently working with a survivor of abuse, Women’s Aid runs the dedicated service for professionals to support you.
Our Women’s Aid services include:
Useful Links
We've gathered useful links to websites and organisations who can provide you with information and support. This includes legal advice, support for children and young people, emotional support, and more.
Women’s Aid Live Chat
Speak with a trained female support worker who can help survivors explore their options, in the safest way. Our Live Chat is open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends. We know talking to someone about abuse can be hard, especially for the very first time. We’re here for survivors, ready to talk.
Women’s Aid email service
Survivors can send an email to a Women’s Aid domestic abuse support worker who will respond within 5 working days if it is safe to do so.
When sending an email, it’s important to specify:- If it is safe to respond. If we are given any information which suggests it could be unsafe to respond to, we won’t be able to respond. This is because we don’t want to escalate the abuse.
- Which email address is safe to respond to.
Survivor’s Handbook
This handbook provides practical support and information for women experiencing domestic abuse, with guidance on seeking support and reaching safety.
Survivors’ Forum
Survivors of abuse can speak with other women in our supportive community of domestic abuse survivors on our Survivors’ Forum. It’s a safe, anonymous, space for women (over 18) who have been affected by domestic abuse to share their experiences and support one another.
No Woman Turned Away
The No Woman Turned Away project provides dedicated support and telephone advocacy to women experiencing domestic abuse who face barriers in accessing a refuge space or safe accommodation. Survivors can find out more about the No Woman Turned Away project by getting in touch with our expert support workers through Live Chat.
Domestic Abuse Directory
Our directory contains up to date information about domestic abuse support services across the UK. It is regularly updated by the services listed so you’ll be able to find the right local support, when you need it most.
People providing support to a friend, family member, neighbour, or colleague have asked us, in particular, for more information about the Police. Often people are unsure when to contact them, what will happen if they do, what the responsibilities of the Police are in situations of domestic abuse, and how to make sure that the Police meet their responsibilities. It may be helpful to look at the Police and the Criminal Prosecution Process section of The Survivor’s Handbook.
For some women, their GP is the person they are most likely to tell. This is because doctors are seen as trusted individuals, who can help survivors to manage any health and wellbeing symptoms they experience as a result of abuse. GPs also have a role in referring people who have experienced domestic abuse for specialist support, and for recording details of abuse in the person’s medical record. This recorded information may be helpful at a later date if the abuse, or the relationship separation, results in a court case. It’s important to be clear with the GP the need for confidentiality – a survivor can use the “104” code to prevent automated online access to a medical record, and can ask the GP to remove specific records from online visibility so anything relating to abuse can’t be seen. If you’re concerned about an abuser having online access to medical records, you can find out more information on how to prevent this in our Cover Your Tracks Online guide.
