Feel unsafe at home?

If you feel unsafe at home for any reason, the first thing for you to know is that there are people who can help you, you don't need to deal with the situation on your own.

In an emergency situation, call 999.

Under 18?

If you are under 18 you can call Childline for free day or night on 0800 1111. They are there to support you through anything you are struggling with.

Over 18?

If you are over 18 and have been victim to or witnessed a crime in your home such as abuse, you can call Victim Support 24/7 on 08081689111

You can also call Samaritans day or night on 116123

All of these helplines are free to call.

Are you aware of a child who is victim to abuse and want to help?

Contact the NSPCC

Call: 0808 800 5000

Email: help@nspcc.org.uk

Whether you want to report child abuse and neglect or aren't sure what to do, NSPCC are there to listen, offer advice and support and can take the next steps if a child's in danger. This is all confidential.

Their telephone lines are open Monday to Friday 8am – 10pm and 9am – 6pm at the weekend.

You can contact them online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Head to https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/ if you’d like more information.

If you know a child is in immediate danger, please call the police on 999.

Abuse/ Domestic Abuse and Coronavirus

Although the government has asked everybody to stay home and practice social distancing, if you are experiencing abuse and need to leave home for your own safety this guideline does not apply to you. It does however; become even more important to tell the police if this is happening to you, as they then wont ask you to return home if found going against the coronavirus guidance.

Being asked to stay home due to Coronavirus may mean you are stuck living with someone abusive and are more severely affected because they are home all the of time. Support agencies, refuges and the police are still here for you.

Changes in day to day living because of Coronavirus may mean you feel you need to leave home for your own safety, and whilst this may well be the case, we would urge you to talk to a professional (from one of the agencies listed above) about it first, or speak to the police. Abuse and domestic abuse are illegal, so don’t worry that you aren’t justified in speaking to them - they will want to help you.

If you’d like to know more about abuse during Coronavirus, head to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-and-domestic-abuse/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-victims-of-domestic-abuse

Abuse

If you feel unsafe at home because someone is acting violently towards and trying to hurt you, you may be a victim of abuse. This is not something you deserve nor is it your fault and we want you to know that there are a number of support organisations that can help.

Being hurt or threatened by someone in your home can feel confusing, upsetting and very scary amongst other things. Are you able to tell someone you trust that this is the case? If so, we’d really encourage you to. It will put you a big step closer to making sure you are safe and stopping the abuser from impacting on you or anyone else.

If you are worried to tell someone you know, you can contact specific support agencies (Childline, Victim Support, Samaritans, call 999). These organisations are all run specifically to support people in your situation and will be able to help you.

Other things you can do if you are living with someone who is violent…

> Do you feel nowhere in your home is safe and you need to leave?

There is a lot more to leaving home than it may sound like at first and you need to make sure that you have a place to go and can do it without putting yourself in greater danger. Make sure you have a plan and talk about it with someone you trust e.g. a friend, or someone from a support organisation.

If you do leave home, whether you have a safe place to go and a plan or not, the most important thing is to do is talk to a professional from Runaway Helpline, Childline, Victim Support or Samaritans or the police about what happened. They will be able help keep you safe and find the best solution for you at that time.

You can call Runaway Helpline on 116 000 day or night if you are thinking about, or have run away from home.

> Want more information? Not ready to speak to somebody yet?

Here are the links to a number of organisations that have more information about abuse, how you can get support and ways to keep yourself safe.

Domestic Abuse

It may be that you have experienced your parents arguing and one of them hurting the other physically by for example hitting or kicking them. Perhaps you are in a relationship with someone who does this to you. This is called domestic abuse. It can also involve one adult threatening and being very controlling of the other adult, abusing them emotionally. Whether its you or someone else like a parent being harmed, you might feel responsible for causing it because the abuser blames you or perhaps you haven’t been able to stop it but have tried to or wanted to. If someone is abusing you or someone else in your home, IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. People are responsible for their own actions and you shouldn’t blame yourself for it.

Witnessing domestic abuse in your home could make you feel scared, angry, like you want to protect the person being hurt or you might feel upset and want to hide from it. Whether you heard it happening to someone you love in the next room or right in front of you, it can be damaging to you too. Maybe not physically - but emotionally. There are people here for you. Contact any of the organisations listed at the top of the page. Lets talk about it.

If you, or someone else is in immediate danger, the best thing you can do is always call 999. Even if you aren’t able to talk because you don’t want to get found out, the people helping you on the phone are trained for situations like this and will have ways to communicate with you without you having to make too much noise.

The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and offers confidential advice, 24 hours a day. You can call them on 0808 2000 247

If you don’t want to talk to somebody about it yet, but would like more information, here are some links to organisations that can offer that…

Feel unsafe at home?

Youth in Romsey