Domestic Abuse Policy - Housing and Social Investment

Overview

The Housing and Social Investment directorate at Kensington and Chelsea are working towards obtaining an accreditation on the handling of domestic abuse cases, awarded by the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA). This will be achieved through ensuring that our policies and processes, as well as the support provided to survivors of domestic abuse, are appropriate to the circumstances and tailored to ensure the best possible outcomes for victims.

The Home Office defintion of domestic violence and abuse is “any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those ages 16 or over who are or have been intimate family members or partners, regardless of gender or sexuality.”

Domestic abuse can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability or social background. Domestic abuse does not only occur between couples but can also involve wider family members, and people who have ended their relationship. The severity and frequency of domestic violence can vary but just one encounter counts as abuse.

Why your views matter

The Housing and Social Investment directorate at Kensington and Chelsea are now consulting on the Draft Domestic Abuse Policy and encourage you to read this draft policy before taking part in the survey. The Council are keen to hear from residents and service users about what domestic abuse support looks like for them. It is important that all stakeholders, especially service users, can inform and influence the Council’s policy on domestic abuse, especially at a time when the number of applications for social housing due to domestic abuse are increasing.

A draft policy has been produced, which has taken into account the recommended good practice by DAHA as well as other legislation, corporate policies and strategies, e.g. VAWG strategy. The main aim of this consultation is therefore:

• To inform the development of the policy

• To ensure that all stakeholders are involved in implementing the policy

• To ensure that service users are pivotal in agreeing the policy

• To ensure that the policy sets out the effective pathways for all service users

The information that you provide will enable the Council to understand your views on the proposed policy, as well as help us put effective solutions in place to support our service users.

Your participation in this consultation is voluntary. Should you choose to respond, information about how your data will be processed can be found at the end of the survey.

If you have any queries, require a paper copy of the background information or require assistance in other languages, please contact the Housing and Social Investment directorate using the contact details in the 'Contact' section of this page.