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No-one should live in fear of abuse.

Let’s all be part of the change.

Everyone can do something to keep women and girls safe.

Women and girls are disproportionally affected by abuse and harassment.

This page shows you how you can help tackle this issue, as well as providing information and support for victims.

What is abuse?

Abuse can be emotional, physical, sexual or financial.

The abuser can be a partner, ex-partner, family member, community leader, a friend, someone at work or a stranger.

It can happen to anyone: an adult or a child. A female or a male.

Abuse can happen at home or in a public place like a community centre, school or work.

It can be in person or online.

Abuse can include:

Abuse in a public place or online 

  • Unwanted sexual attention    
  • Inappropriate comments (including ones of a sexual nature), gestures or touching    
  • Staring at someone in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable   
  • Up skirting (taking pictures or filming up someone’s skirt without them knowing)   
  • Flashing (the action of showing one's genitals briefly in public)  
  • Groping (unwanted sexual touching anywhere on the body, which can be sexual assault)   
  • Asking for sexual activity in the workplace   
  • Asking for sexual acts in exchange for free or discounted accommodation  
  • Cyberflashing (sending someone an explicit picture they haven’t asked for)   
  • Stalking: either in person or cyber stalking (the use of the internet and other technologies to harass or stalk another person online)   
  • Sharing someone’s private sexual images without their consent  

Sexual abuse

  • Rape and penetrative assault  
  • Sexual assault (touching in a sexual way without consent)   
  • Getting someone to engage in sexual activity without their consent   
  • ‘Stealthing’ (removing a condom during sex without the other person knowing)   
  • Choking, slapping or spitting on someone during sex without their consent   
  • ‘Sex for rent’ (exploitative offers or exchanges of accommodation in return for sexual activity)   
  • Sexual exploitation (making someone else perform sexual activity for yours or someone else’s gain)
  • Grooming someone for sex   
  • Watching someone in private without their consent for sexual gratification  

Domestic abuse

  • Controlling or coercive behaviour (an intentional pattern of behaviour to exert power or control) 
  • Physical abuse (for example punching or kicking someone, or threatening them with this sort of behaviour) 
  • Sexual abuse (for example rape or sexual assault, or threatening someone with this sort of behaviour)    
  • Verbal, emotional or psychological abuse (such as using humiliation, or insulting, threatening or degrading language)  
  • Stalking (including monitoring someone’s phone or tracking their movements)   
  • Economic abuse (such as misusing someone’s finances, or controlling someone’s access to finances)   
  • Technology-facilitated abuse (such as placing false or malicious information about a someone on their, or others’, social media, or cyber-stalking or harassment)

Other forms of abuse

  • So-called ‘honour’-based abuse (harmful things that are done in the name of a family’s or community’s so-called ‘honour’)   
  • Female genital mutilation - a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there's no medical reason for this to be done
  • Forced marriage (where someone is required to marry against their will)   
  • Modern slavery (the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation)  
  • Spiking (when someone puts alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink or their body without their knowledge and/or consent)

If you have been abused

If you have been abused, there are organisations that can support you. It can be emotional support, practical help, health advice or legal support.

Some people who have been abused may feel afraid, ashamed or confused.

Some may worry they won’t be believed or worry what other people will think.

Some people may be scared about accusing someone in their community and might be worried about what could happen to them or their families.

Whatever has happened, there are people and organisations who want to help you. 

How to get support

You shouldn't have to cope alone. It is better to tell someone.

This could be a friend, family member or someone you trust in your community, or someone in a position of authority, like a police officer or doctor.

Organisations offering support

The organisations on this page offer help in your language.

Support Organisations by Supported Language

The 'Ask for ANI' scheme

If you are experiencing domestic abuse and need immediate help, you can ‘Ask for ANI’ in a participating pharmacy.

If a pharmacy has the ‘Ask for ANI’ logo on display, it means they’re ready to help. They will offer you a Safe Space, provide a phone and ask if you need support from the police or other domestic abuse support services.

Immigration status and receiving support

You will be treated as a victim first, regardless of your immigration status.

If you have a spousal or partner visa and need to leave a relationship within which you are being abused, you may be able to apply for temporary permission to stay for three months, which you can use to access healthcare, social housing and benefits in the UK. This is called a Destitution Domestic Violence Concession. You may also be able to apply for a permanent visa under the Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain Rules.

If you are not eligible for the Destitution Domestic Violence Concession, you may be able to access the Support for Migrants Victims Scheme. The scheme is run by independent specialist domestic abuse services for migrant victims and provides temporary accommodation, food, counselling, legal support and immigration and social care advice. It offers support in these languages: English, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Urdu, and interpreters for other languages can be hired.

Find your local Support Migrants Victims Scheme.
 

Reporting abuse  

If you or anyone is in danger, call 999.

You can also report abuse to the police, when it is not an emergency situation, by phoning 101.

You can also go to your local police station in person or report abuse online.

How to help stop abuse

Intervening doesn’t have to be dramatic or confrontational. Even small acts of recognition and support can help stop abuse.

Here are four simple ways to help you step in safely.

Say something (icon)
Say something (icon)

Say something

You can show your disapproval at what is going on for example, by not laughing and saying, ‘I don’t think that’s funny’. Or you could be more direct, if you feel it’s safe to do so, by saying it’s unacceptable and tell them to stop.

Tell someone (icon)
Tell someone (icon)

Tell someone

You could tell someone in charge, like the bar staff if you’re in a pub or club, Human Resources (HR) if you’re at work, or the train guard or bus driver if you’re on public transport. You could also tell another member of the public or a passer-by and see if they’re willing to help – joining forces can be a safer, more effective way to intervene. It’s important to check in with the victim on who they want to tell, or if they want to call the police.

Offer support (icon)
Offer support (icon)

Offer support

You can ask the victim if they’re OK. You could capture what’s happening on your phone and ask if they want the footage to report the incident, and you could offer to help report it. You could also back up others already giving support. If it’s someone you know, check in with them at a time when they are alone and offer to help or support them to report if they want.  If you think they might be in an abusive relationship, there is expert advice on what you can do and support available online or on the National Domestic Abuse Helpline.

Provide a diversion (icon)
Provide a diversion (icon)

Provide a diversion

Sometimes what’s best in the moment is creating a distraction to interrupt what’s happening and give the person being targeted a chance to move away or create an opportunity for others to get help by delaying what is happening. You could strike up conversation with the victim. You could ask for directions, or where the next stop is on the bus or pretend you know them. If you’re at work, you could make up an excuse to speak to them about an unrelated task. You could also try dropping something nearby or creating some other minor commotion.

Depending on the situation, where you are and who’s involved, you can use just one or a combination of these tactics. By standing against all forms of abuse, and holding perpetrators accountable, we can create a society where women and girls are equal, respected and safe.

If you think somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.  

Worried about your behaviour?

If you can think of a situation when your behaviour has hurt, controlled or coerced someone, be honest with yourself. It’s the first step to making a change for the better.

For example, have you ever:

  • Made sexual comments about a woman to your friends, either in front of her, or behind her back?   
  • Made suggestive comments to a woman when they were clearly unwelcome?   
  • Followed or tracked where someone is going?   
  • Pressured a woman (including your partner) into having sex?   
  • Made a woman at work feel uncomfortable, upset or afraid of being alone with you?   
  • Shared or shown an intimate photo of your partner without them knowing?   
  • Repeatedly told your partner you don’t want her going out with her friends, or told her what she should or shouldn’t wear?   
  • Seen your partner looking scared of you?   

It can be hard to admit to abusive behaviour.

By accepting this behaviour is wrong, you’re taking responsibility and choosing to change.

How can you change?

  • Always treat women and girls as your equal, not as people to be controlled.
  • Understand that some things are not appreciated. For example, making sexually explicit comments towards women and girls in the street. You may not think this is wrong, but it can be intimidating and frightening. 
  • Give women and girls space on the street, or on a train or bus. Women are often on constant alert in public spaces, so this can help them feel safer. 
  • Don’t assume that you’re entitled to sex - you’re not. Having sex without consent is sexual assault or rape. Consent can only be given with a clear and enthusiastic ‘yes’. Anything else – including silence – is a ‘no’ that must be respected.
  • Don’t think pornography is how sex should be. Just as films are not real life, pornography is not real sex. It often shows damaging behaviour towards women, without mutual consent or communication. 

Worried about someone else’s behaviour?

It can feel difficult to go against the crowd, but it’s the right thing to do. It takes one person to take the lead and speak up. Be that person.

If you have children

Domestic abuse can have a devastating impact on children and young people.

The Domestic Abuse Act recognises children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right where they see, hear, or experience the effects of abuse and are related to the victim and/or abuser.

Teach your children to respect one another, stand up against harmful behaviours and explain the importance of consent.

You can do your bit to help them grow up in a better world.