Domestic abuse
One of our key duties and priorities is to keep you and your children safe. We know that domestic abuse is common and occurs in all types of families. Separation can be a particularly dangerous time for those in abusive relationships, and we will always explore with every client whether this might be relevant to them.
If you’re in an abusive situation, help is at hand. We’re highly experienced in taking legal action to protect our clients. We can support you in planning a safe exit route from the relationship, and introduce you to specialist support, including domestic abuse advisors. We can also obtain emergency orders including ‘Non-Molestation Orders’ to prevent the abuser from contacting you or interacting with you in certain ways, and ‘Occupation Orders’ which can order the abuser to leave your home (even if they own it).
If you need broader advice and support on domestic abuse, you can contact a specialist helpline such as:
- The National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247
- The Men’s Advice Line on 0808 801 0327
- Galop’s LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0800 999 5428
Abuse can affect any person, in any kind of relationship or family – and every victim is entitled to and deserves the protection of the law. If you’re concerned about court hearings, it’s worth knowing that the court can consider special measures, so you don’t have to directly see your abuser during the process.
What does domestic abuse cover?
It is now recognised that controlling and coercive behaviour is at the heart of domestic abuse. There are many ways in which control may be exercised by an abuser, including:
- Violence, physical harm and damaging possessions
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional or psychological – like threats, humiliation, intimidation and manipulation such as gaslighting
- Stalking or monitoring someone’s activities or communications
- Economic or financial – if you don’t have access to money, someone’s taking or restricting your income, or you’re not allowed to work
- Alienating children from their other parent
- Mistreating, neglecting or exploiting older or vulnerable people.
Our family and relationship experts
To help you navigate sensitive situations, we need to really get to know you. Let us start by introducing ourselves.
