Hartnell Chanot: Divorce/Family Law Solicitors Exeter, Devon

Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse and violence is a pattern of controlling and aggressive behaviours from one adult towards another, within the context of an intimate relationship.

• It can be physical, sexual, psychological or emotional abuse.
  
• Financial abuse and social isolation are also common features.
• The violence and abuse can be actual or threatened and can happen once every so often or on a regular basis.
• It can happen to anyone, and in all kinds of relationships - heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT).
  
• People suffer domestic violence regardless of their social group, class, age, race, disability, sexuality or lifestyle. The abuse can begin at any time - in new relationships or after many years spent together.
• Children are affected by domestic violence both in the short and the long term.
• Less frequently but still wholly unacceptable, men are abused by their partners, both male and female. (See Men as victims for more details).
• All forms of abuse - psychological, economic, emotional and physical - come from the abuser’s desire for power and control.
• All forms of abuse - psychological, economic, emotional and physical - come from the abuser's desire for power and control.

Local Specialist Agencies

If you're experiencing domestic violence you can contact one of the following organisations or your solicitor for immediate support.

• ADVA - Against Domestic Violence and Abuse, Devon
• Exeter Women's Aid - Domestic Violence
• IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate)
• Police Domestic Violence Unit
• Refuge Accommodation (for Women)
• Victim Support

Specialist Agencies for Male Victims of Domestic Violence

• Devon MALE

Other Websites for Men

• www.hiddenhurt.co.uk
• www.bbc.co.uk

Children and Young People

• The Safe Project
• The Hideout
  

Black and Ethnic Groups

Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Victims