Where to find help if you are an adult
- Make an appointment to see your GP. They will be able to offer you early advice and support.
- Be Safe – find out about local and national help. 24 hour helplines and websites give advice for people experiencing domestic abuse and perpetrators.
- Open the Door – bringing domestic abuse out into the open. This website aims to open the door on unhealthy relationships in Cheshire. Visit the webpages for free support, tips, advice and local stories sharing lives and experiences of others you may relate to.
- Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare’s Law) – a formal way to apply for a police check into the past of a person where there is a concern that a relationship may be, or may become abusive. Available to anyone in a relationship or anyone who has concerns for another person who is in a relationship.
- Refuges – information about safe houses in Cheshire West for survivors and children escaping domestic abuse.
- Services for men - men may find it difficult to disclose abuse and to get the help you need and deserve. All of Cheshire's statutory agencies undertake to meet men's needs in the same way that they respond to women experiencing abuse.
- Sexual violence may be part of the domestic abuse or may be perpetrated by someone not known to the victim.
- Domestic Violence and Immigration – the Government website gives information for people on a partner visa to claim public funds (benefits) while applying to settle in the UK because of domestic violence.
- Legal rights – you have the right to legal protection from an abusive partner. This might be through criminal law (contacting the police and pursuing a prosecution) or through civil law (contacting a solicitor to apply for a court order to prevent the abuse or keep him/her away from your home.)
- Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass) - work with children and young people in family court cases. Their primary role is to safeguard the child and ensure their best interests are represented. They assist the court to carefully balance their decisions so that children and adults are kept safe and children are able to maintain a relationship with both parents where this is safe and in their best interests.
