Beyond legislation: Building a culture that supports survivors of domestic abuse

New powers under the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 have now come into force, giving social landlords in Scotland the power to evict a domestic abuse perpetrator from a joint social tenancy and transfer it to the victim/survivor. This is a welcome and important step, but legislation alone isn't enough to deliver real change.

Landlords also need the right training, culture and support in place. In this guest blog, Claire McGraw from Govanhill Housing Association shares how they're making real changes to deliver the best outcomes possible for anyone experiencing domestic abuse.

At Govanhill Housing Association, we believe everyone deserves to feel safe in their home.  Our role goes far beyond providing a home and collecting the rent.  We have an important part to play in supporting people experiencing domestic abuse and we want people to know they can come to us if they need help.

For many people, home isn't always a place of safety.  As a housing association, we are often one of the organisations that has the most regular contact with tenants.  That gives us a real opportunity to notice when something isn't right, listen without judgement and help people get the support they need.

Over the last couple of years, we've made a real commitment to improving how we respond to domestic abuse. We know this isn't something that can be achieved with one policy or one training session – although we are very proud of our Domestic Abuse Policy which recently received a mention in the House of Commons.

The most important thing is creating the right culture, giving our staff the confidence to respond, and making sure tenants know they will be listened to, believed and supported.

One of the first changes we made was to our Allocations Policy, making sure we can rehouse someone quickly where domestic abuse means they need to move to safety.  Having the flexibility to respond quickly can make a real difference to someone at a very difficult time.

We also held an all-staff session on domestic abuse with Glasgow Women's Aid.  From that session, we set up a Domestic Abuse Staff Working Group. The group gives staff the chance to come together, share ideas and talk openly about domestic abuse.  It's a safe space to brainstorm, ask questions and discuss what more we can do. Staff from across the organisation bring different experiences and ideas and those conversations have already helped shape many of the changes we're making.

One message came through loud and clear: we need to be seen as a trusted organisation that people feel comfortable turning to when they need help.  We want people to know they'll be listened to, believed and treated with kindness, dignity and respect.

The group also reminded us that supporting people isn't just about responding when someone tells us they're experiencing abuse.  We also have a role in helping build stronger communities. One of the ideas we're now exploring is creating more opportunities for women to come together through community activities and groups.  Building friendships and support networks can help reduce isolation, improve wellbeing and give people the confidence to reach out if they ever need help.  We are now putting those ideas into practice.

We're developing a new Domestic Abuse Procedure to give staff clear guidance on how to respond when concerns are raised or someone tells us they're experiencing abuse, including using the DASH risk assessment.  We're also creating a set of FAQs to give staff practical guidance and confidence when dealing with these situations.

As well as this, we’re actively working with the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) and Say Women.  Their knowledge and experience will help us strengthen our approach, develop our staff and make sure we're providing the best support we can for our tenants.

We've also introduced new triggers within our housing management system. This allows us to identify repeat repair requests, such as repeated damage to doors or walls, which may indicate that someone needs extra support.  It won't tell us that domestic abuse is happening, but it gives us another opportunity to ask the right questions and make sure people know help is available.

We're proud of the progress we've made so far, but we know this is only the start and much more still needs to be done.

Domestic abuse is everyone's business.  We can't solve the problem on our own, but we can make sure that when someone needs help, they know Govanhill Housing Association is a safe place to turn.