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Callum is National Director of CIH Scotland, joining the company in March 2018 and taking up his current role in September 2018.
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The approach to helping victims of domestic violence needs to change and our new guidance is aimed at addressing that, writes Callum Chomczuk
In Scotland, we are starting to rethink our approach to housing and human rights. The Scottish Housing Regulator is developing a framework so landlords give regard to equality and human rights.
And the Scottish government has set up a taskforce to consider how we can incorporate human rights into domestic legislation. But when it comes to the human rights of victims of domestic abuse, we have regrettably fallen short.
Every year in Scotland, there are around 60,000 victims of domestic abuse and on average, between one in three and one in five women will experience domestic abuse in the course of their lifetime. And we know that relationship breakdown remains the single biggest cause of homelessness for women in Scotland.
Victims of abuse need housing like we all do, and the sector has a responsibility to do the right thing, but landlords need support to make sure that they’re offering a consistently good response to those affected by domestic abuse. Few social landlords have formal policies on domestic abuse to help them respond effectively to tenants who experience or perpetrate domestic abuse, or indeed their own employees.
The consequence is that victims are often asked to leave their home time and again, and at times are made homeless by the very services that are meant to support them.
However, we can and must do better. Housing as a profession is well placed to help identify the signs, to deal with the outcomes and to help tackle some of the root causes of domestic violence. Housing professionals are in these homes more regularly than most other professions.
As such, the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland – alongside the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Scottish Women’s Aid and Shelter Scotland – has published new domestic abuse guidance (available below) for social landlords, which sets out how they can:
This doesn’t just mean providing refuge when it’s too late. It means helping people before, during and after their abuse and understanding that even when partners separate, women and children are not necessarily safe.
It is encouraging that a recent Scottish government report called for “clear policies on domestic abuse and ensuring that experience of abuse or violence does not lead to someone losing their tenancy”.
We need to ensure that policy reflects the reality for victims and allows social landlords to end a joint tenancy without making victims homeless.
When this happens, we want all social landlords to try and prevent homelessness, support victims’ right to stay in their home, address financial disadvantage as a result of domestic abuse, and ultimately reduce homelessness among women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.
“The guidance launched this week is a start. It will help landlords embed a victim-centred approach to helping victims of abuse but more change is still needed”
Speaking out about domestic abuse can be an incredibly difficult thing to do; when women come forward, they need reliable support and advice about their options.
The guidance launched this week is a start. It will help landlords embed a victim-centred approach to supporting victims of abuse but more change is still needed.
To fully embed the ambition of the guidance and ensure that victims are protected and perpetrators held to account, we need a culture change. The housing sector, along with local and national government, can ensure that every survivor receives the right response first time around. Only by making this everyone’s priority will we ensure that all women and children can live their lives free from fear and abuse.
Callum Chomczuk, national director, CIH Scotland
The ‘Make a Stand’ pledge has been developed by CIH in partnership with Women’s Aid and the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) – made up of Standing Together Against Domestic Violence, Peabody and Gentoo. It was launched under the CIH presidency of Alison Inman in 2018, and then continued by her successor as president Jim Strang.
As of 6 February 2018, 300 organisations had signed up.
As part of the pledge, housing organisations can make four commitments to support people who live and work in housing who are experiencing domestic abuse.
These four commitments are:
* To put in place and embed a policy to support residents who are experiencing domestic abuse
* To make information about national and local domestic abuse support services available on your website and in other places which are easily accessible to residents and staff
* To put in place a HR policy and procedure on domestic abuse, or to incorporate this into an existing policy, to support members of staff who are experiencing domestic abuse
* Appoint a champion in your organisation to own the activity you are doing to support people experiencing domestic abuse
Click here to read a piece by former CIH president Alison Inman explaining more about the campaign