The Domestic Abuse Team (DAT) is a specialist domestic abuse service offering support to individuals over 16 who are being subjected to domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse refers to a pattern of controlling, coercive or violent behaviour directed towards a current partner or ex-partner. This can happen in the home, in the community or online. Anyone can experience domestic abuse regardless of age, gender, sexuality, culture, religion or social group.
This behaviour may include:
- Coercive control: making it difficult for you to see family and friends, threatening to “out” you to family, friends or your colleagues, preventing you from accessing medical care
- Physical abuse: Hitting, slapping, pushing, restraining you or throwing items at you
- Psychological/emotional abuse: constant criticism, humiliation, name-calling, undermining you in front of your children, constantly accusations of cheating without evidence
- Stalking and harassment: turning up at places they know you will be such as your workplace or home, making unsolicited phone calls, sending unwanted letters or parcels.
- Financial abuse: controlling finances or your access to money, putting you in debt without your knowledge or consent
- Sexual abuse: non-consensual sexual acts or coercion, sharing – or threatening to share – intimate images with others or online, taking intimate videos or images of you without your knowledge or consent
- Tech-enabled abuse: sending constant and/or abusive text messages, demanding access to your devices, using your device to track your whereabouts.
DAT aims to support individuals to increase their safety and wellbeing, providing a non-judgemental service that is flexible to your needs. Sometimes it can be hard to recognise whether you are experiencing abuse in your relationship and it may be helpful to talk things over with someone who understands. You do not need to be planning to leave a relationship to seek specialist advice. DAT offers information and guidance across a wide variety of areas to support you to make your own choices. This includes tailored safety planning, providing emotional support or a “listening ear”, information on housing rights and support to explore housing options, information about civil and criminal legal processes, court support, information about financial support and other resources available to you to support your mental health and wellbeing.
For more information about the service or to make a self-referral please contact DAT by emailing us at DomesticAbuseTeam@aberdeencity.gov.uk or calling the Support Line on 0800 0304 713 who will pass your details on to the team.