Domestic abuse: developing a good practice response

SFHA, Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, Chartered Institute of Housing, Shelter Scotland, and Scottish Women’s Aid have developed guidance for social housing providers to help them develop a good practice response to domestic abuse.

The guidance is a result of the organisations’ joint work across the housing sector and shared concerns that housing policy and practice continue to fail victims of domestic abuse.

While Scotland has developed some of the most progressive policy in the world to respond to domestic abuse and to homelessness, work on their intersection has lagged.

Many social housing providers have told us that they want to do the right thing, but they need support to make sure that they are offering a consistently good response to those affected by domestic abuse.

This guidance is intended to support social landlords to develop an informed response that:

• prevents womens and children’s homelessness
• supports victims of domestic abuse effectively
• holds perpetrators to account

The guidance will be launched on 26 August at the COSLA Conference Centre, Haymarket Yard, in Edinburgh. A few places are still available, so get in touch if you would like to attend.