What to do if you need help
It is not unusual to be unsure if your experience, relationship or fears mean you are experiencing ‘abuse’. You may have suddenly experienced an incident or something happened that you know is wrong. You may find it hard to see yourself as ‘a victim’ or the person you know or love as an ‘abuser’. It is important to know that abuse can happen to anyone irrespective of life experience or background.
- 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
- 1 in 6 men will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
- Southampton has 4 times the national average reports of Domestic Abuse
- 7.5% of adults aged 18 to 74 years experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16 years
- 20% of women and 4% of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16
Abuse comes in many forms – you can see our definitions of abuse and use that as a checklist or a list of possible signs of abuse. Or visit Women’s Aid website where they have a short ‘test’ to see if your experiences may be domestic abuse by clicking here