We are committed to creating a compassionate and inclusive council and we take an intersectional approach to supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse from marginalised backgrounds.
This means we consider and respond to how structural inequality impacts on the lived experiences of people with intersecting identities.
Experiences of racism, sexism, ageism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, religious discrimination and ableism can mean that victims and survivors disproportionately experience abuse and face additional barriers to accessing support.
This could be due to:
- a lack of informed support or knowledge and expertise of services
- a distrust of authority figures or police
- lack of perceived or real support for their communities
- fear of (or actual) bias and discrimination
- language barriers
- accessibility barriers
- fear of rejection by the wider community.
We will always consider the additional needs and barriers a victim or survivor may experience and will work with them to overcome these, as well as consider how additional needs and barriers can impact their engagement with services and support.
Officers will:
- be supported to access training around the needs of marginalised communities experiencing abuse
- consider or explore what other harmful practices a victim or survivor may be experiencing when receiving a disclosure of domestic abuse
- always make use of language translation services and accessible communication formats for disabled victims and survivors such as signing services, braille, text to speech and easy read formats. This includes asking if letters and emails need translating, even if they have a good grasp of conversational English
- support victims and survivors with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) through advice, signposting, and onward referral even if they are ineligible for accommodation assistance
- support disabled victims and survivors to access accessible accommodation
- work jointly with community groups and by-and-for domestic abuse organisations and services to meet the needs of survivors with multiple disadvantage.
Where disabled victims and survivors request rehousing and support, officers will work to the council's commitment to independent living.
This means working with the survivor to support them to live safely within the community and through accessing support services such as direct payments, floating support, and social care alongside domestic abuse support.