Helping People Thrive
Helping People Thrive
The latest available figures from the Office of National Statistics show that around 6% of UK adults aged 16 - 59 experience domestic abuse every year.
To put that into perspective, that’s somewhere around 2.4 million people. Factor in the 280,000+ adults aged 60 - 74 who reportedly experience domestic abuse in England and Wales alone, and there’s no disputing the fact that abuse remains a serious problem throughout the United Kingdom.
While those statistics paint a pretty grim picture, it’s important to point out that, if you are experiencing abuse at the hands of a partner or someone you know, there is lots of support out there to help you.
In this guide, you’ll find important contact information for a number of organisations who are always on-hand to provide the help and support you need.
How to recognise signs of domestic and emotional abuse
When we hear the term ‘domestic abuse,’ many of us immediately think of physical violence, particularly towards women.
On the face of it, that’s hardly surprising when you consider that females were the victim in 73% of domestic abuse crimes and 93% of domestic abuse-related sexual assault crimes reported to the police in 2021.
However, it’s important to note that around 757,000 UK men also report experiencing domestic abuse in the UK, while LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall notes that as many as 25% of transgender individuals have also dealt with the problem.
It’s also equally as important to remember that domestic abuse isn’t limited to physical harm.
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The UK government’s guidance on domestic and emotional abuse outlines other tell- tale signs of abuse including, but not limited to: Being pressured, coerced, or blackmailed into sexual intercourse or other sexual activities Not being allowed to leave the house Those are just some of the more common forms of domestic and emotional abuse, but if someone you live with or someone you know is making you feel unsafe in any other way, it’s always worth reaching out for help. The following is the most comprehensive list of support services for those experiencing abuse in the UK. United Kingdom domestic and emotional abuse support services 1. Ask for ANI If your local pharmacy displays an ‘Ask for ANI’ sign, this means that the staff are trained to help get you the support you need. ANI stands for ‘Action Needed Immediately,’ and is a government initiative to help those experiencing domestic abuse. Walk into the pharmacy and ask for ‘ANI.’ The staff will then take you to a safe, private space and provide you with a phone so that you can contact the police, domestic abuse support services, or a trusted friend or relative who can help you out. Visit: https://uksaysnomore.org/get-involved/ask-for-ani/ |
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2. National Domestic Abuse Helpline - 0808 2000 247 The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is a freephone service available 24/7 which provides women with help and support. The service can help you find emergency accommodation if needed. The helpline also offers support in British Sign Language (BSL) between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm, Monday to Friday. Visit https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ Live Chat 3. Men's Advice Line - 0808 801 0327 The Men's Advice Line is a freephone helpline for men experiencing domestic abuse run by the charity Respect. Visit https://mensadviceline.org.uk/ 4. Safe Spaces A number of UK businesses have dedicated ‘Safe Spaces’ to provide support if you’re experiencing domestic abuse. These spaces can be used to reach out and make contact with a service or a family member, or simply used to get a respite from your abuse and plan what to do next. The following businesses currently offer safe spaces: Boots |
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5. Live Fear Free Wales - 0808 80 10 800 Live Fear Free is the national domestic helpline for people living in Wales. Visit https://gov.wales/live-fear-free Live chat 6. Scotland Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline - 0800 027 1234 The Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline provides 24/7 advice, guidance, and support to anyone who is experiencing domestic abuse regardless of gender, as well as concerned friends and family members. Visit - https://www.sdafmh.org.uk/en/ Email helpline@sdafmh.org.uk 7. Ireland Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline - 0808 802 1414 The Northern Ireland Domestic and Sexual Abuse helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is free of charge. The service can help you to report a crime without fear of further abuse, access emergency accommodation, or get any other help you may need. Visit - https://dsahelpline.org/ Email - help@dsahelpline.org 8. Victim Support - 0808 16 89 11 Victim Support provides free, confidential advice on what to do if you're the victim of domestic assault or any other crime. |
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9. Women's Aid Women's Aid provides live website chat and email support, as well as offering a detailed 'Survivor's Handbook' which contains a wealth of useful information about how to escape an abusive environment, find housing, take legal action and more. Visit https://www.womensaid.org.uk/ 10. FLOWS - Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors - 0203 745 7707 As the name states, FLOWS helps women to find the right legal support to take action against an abuser. Their helpline is available during normal 9-5 business hours, Monday to Friday. Email advice is also available. Visit https://www.rcjadvice.org.uk/family/flows-finding-legal-options-for- women-survivors/ 11. Mankind Initiative - 01823 334244 The Mankind Initiative runs a confidential helpline for males experiencing domestic abuse and domestic violence throughout the UK. The helpline's staff can direct you to services and support organisations to help you leave your current situation and take appropriate legal action if you require. The helpline also offers advice and guidance to friends, relatives, co-workers, and employers of men suffering from domestic abuse. Visit - https://www.mankind.org.uk/ |
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12. Hourglass - 0808 808 8141 Hourglass is a UK charity supporting older people who have experienced or are currently experiencing domestic violence or domestic and emotional abuse. Their freephone helpline is available 24/7, and you can also access the service via text message at 078 6005 2906. Both the helpline and text service also offer support and guidance to friends, family, and anyone concerned about an elderly person who may be being abused. Visit - https://wearehourglass.org/ 13. National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline - 0800 999 5428 UK charity Galop run the freephone National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline as well as offering signposting and advocacy services for LGBT+ individuals who have experienced domestic and emotional abuse. Visit https://galop.org.uk/get-help/ If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, we would advise you to call 999 to contact the police. |
Wellness Cloud & Parent Cloud give you easy remote access to experienced specialists, who can support you with mental health and relationships.
For further information, or to book a session online with one of our specialists, visit our website.
www.the-wellness-cloud.com
Helping People Thrive
The journey to becoming a new parent can be a challenging one and supporting team members through this transition and ensuring a successful return, can be a rewarding part of your role as a manager. We have designed a bespoke coaching programme for Managers of Parents within RBC to ensure you are equipped with everything you need to support team members on this journey.
We have a bespoke Parental Coaching programme for all RBC employees consisting of 4 1-2-1 Coaching sessions with a coach of your choice. Supporting you through your journey from preparing for your parental leave, making the most of your time away and also, setting you up for a successful return to the office. Book an initial chemistry call with a coach ahead of beginning your tailored programme below.
Wellness Cloud is a leading employee benefits platform, providing remote wellbeing support to employees, with one-to-one consultations, live talks and events, as well as a library of on-demand wellbeing resources, available through the Wellness Cloud Hub and App.
We provide support for a wide range of life challenges, including: pregnancy and parenting, fertility, mental health, menopause, financial wellbeing, professional and personal coaching, nutrition, relationships, women’s health, men’s health, elderly care, sleep, bereavement and neurodiversity.
As an RBC employee, you can access an initial entitlement of 3 one-to-one sessions with a range of Wellness Cloud specialists (see “Are any categories excluded from my allowance?”). Book a Session using the Coupon Code RBCWELLNESS to reduce the normal session price to £0. Once you have used your free sessions, if you would like to request further one-to-one sessions, please fill in the anonymous request form.
Should you wish to purchase a session, you can access a 10% discount, which means each 45-minute session will cost £67.50 instead of £75. You need to use code WELLNESS10 when booking a session to obtain the discount.
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There are a variety of guides under our mental health category, covering anxiety, depression, relationships, bereavement and more. In addition, we run a 90-minute mental health awareness workshop, which is aimed at managers and Wellbeing champions within the business. Our Wellness Cloud app also gives access to sleep stories, guided meditation and a Pocket CBT diary, where you can personally track your own mental health.
We have a dedicated category for parents, offering advice and guidance covering a number of topics from pregnancy and new-borns to teenagers. In addition, you can join our bi-monthly 3-part antenatal course for free. Or attend any of our Baby & Toddler classes which run on a weekly basis. As an employee you can also book in a 1-2-1 consultation with any of the parenting specialists on the platform for free, simply using your booking coupon code RBCWELLNESS.
We offer consultations with personal and professional coaches, who enable their clients to move forward in their careers by unlocking their full potential.
There’s a variety of support and guidance available on Wellness Cloud specifically to men, as well as a number of male specialists that can support you with your wellbeing.
You will find a variety of support and guidance for women’s health and wellbeing, including pregnancy and the menopause.
You will find guides on savings, pensions, investments and tips on improving your financial wellbeing within our expert resources section. Not all of this information will be relevant to colleagues outside of the UK, so please review carefully and seek local advice where appropriate.
Absolutely. There are written guides on the platform that you can find within the Expert Resources tab. Not all of this information will be relevant to colleagues outside of the UK, so please review carefully and seek local advice where appropriate.
Our online antenatal course is completely free of charge and available for you to access through the year. We run this course every other month and it’s easy to join – simply go to the Upcoming Events and Talks page on the Hub and look for the next Antenatal course.
We run over 150 baby and toddler classes each year, which are all free of charge and available for you to access as an employee. In addition, we run virtual drop-In clinics with our breastfeeding, antenatal, and infant sleep experts for you to attend. We also regularly run Q&A sessions with our experts, please keep an eye out for these events and you can join them or watch a recording at your leisure. To access any of these simply go onto the events tab in the Hub.
Everything is available outside of the UK and you can access any of our services, regardless of your location. We have also created some non-UK specific guides, which can be found within the HR & Manager section of our Guides page.
Our Fertility, Pregnancy, Antenatal courses, Baby & Toddler classes are open to family members who live with you.
1-2-1 consultations are available for employees of RBC only, however where appropriate, for example, our child behaviour, sleep, nutrition or parenting 1-2-1 consultations we would understand a partner attending with you.
Wellness Cloud provides a variety of useful support and resources for HR personnel and managers, including live events, workshops, mental health training, guides, videos and more. You are also able to book one-to-one sessions with our network of professional coaches.
Under the expert resources you will find a manager and HR section which has useful guides to help with supporting employees – for example with neurodiversity or bereavement. The live event and talks are often helpful in providing some education and understanding on topics affecting your employees and Wellness Cloud runs several Manager specific events throughout the year.
There are a variety of guides under the Mental health category covering Anxiety and depression, Relationships, Bereavement and postnatal depression. There are also remote Mental Health focused trainings and workshops to help you understand your own mental health and how you can best support others. These interactive workshops run for 90 minutes, every other month and are designed for Managers and other Mental Health first aiders or Champions within the business. In addition, you can book a one-to-one session with the Mental Health First Aid trainer, if you were looking for support or advice around a particular situation and needed clarity on how best to support yourself or a colleague.
There is access to one-to-one consultations with personal and professional coaches, who enable individuals to move forward in their careers by unlocking their full potential.
Please in the first instance contact your manager or your HR team who will help to provide guidance for you and your team.
For ad-hoc 1-2-1 & group support choose from
