Info for Adults and Professionals

What is Domestic Abuse?

Domestic abuse occurs when an adult in an intimate relationship, such as a parent, bullies, manipulates, or attempts to control another adult. It happens when they live in the same house or different houses. The impact of domestic abuse can affect children, as they may see, hear, or feel the effects of the abuse, which can hurt them.

Honour-based Domestic Abuse

Honour-based domestic abuse happens when someone uses abuse to protect or preserve the “honour” of their family or community. This type of abuse can involve controlling someone, using threats, physical violence, or emotional harm. It’s often used to punish or control someone, usually a woman, for actions that bring shame to the family.
This can include things like forced marriage, stopping someone from making their own choices, or using violence as punishment. While it may be linked to cultural or family expectations, the core issue is that the abuse is about power and control. Honour-based abuse is never acceptable and is treated as a serious crime in Scotland.

It’s important to remember that domestic abuse is never the victim’s fault.

The person causing harm is responsible for their own actions.

We understand that experiencing domestic abuse can be scary and overwhelming. We aim to provide a safe space for all who are seeking help. Any information shared will remain private, but if it’s believed that someone is in danger, certain details may need to be shared with others to ensure safety. We will fully explain the process should this situation arise.

Here’s How We Can Support the Child or Young Person You are Referring:

Listening: It is important that the child or young person feels listened to, believed and understood by us, we will not judge or criticise them.
Help Their Mum/Main Carer: We will work to support the child or young person and their mum; our Women’s Service can help support their mum/main carer through her own journey.
Help find a Safe Place: If needed we can work to help find them a safe place to stay, like a refuge or temporary accommodation.

We can also:

Support the Children or Young Persons Feelings and Connect Them with Help: We’ll help them talk about and understand their feelings, and if they’d like, connect them with other organisations that can offer support.
Advocate For Them: If the child or young person wants, we can speak up for them and share their thoughts and feelings with other people and organisations that can help.
Meet Others: Help them to connect with other young people who have been through similar experiences through being part of our advisory group. Please contact us if a child or young person wishes to be part of this group by email on referrals@grampianwa.com or by telephone on 01224 593381.
Flexible Meetings: We can meet the child or young person as often as they need, whether that’s once, weekly, or whenever works best for them. We can meet in a safe place, like their school or a community centre.

Communication Barriers

Grampian Women’s Aid can support children and young people with sight or hearing impairments, mental health challenges, or those for whom English is not their first language.

Criteria for Referring a Child or Young Person to Grampian Women’s Aid

Location: Does the child or young person reside within the Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire Local Authority areas?
Age: Is the child or young person aged between 4 and 18 years?
Domestic Abuse: Is or has the child or young person experienced domestic abuse or honour-based domestic abuse, as described above?

As circumstances can vary, we recognise that our service may not be the right fit, at this time for the child therefore not all children may be accepted for our support.

Referral Process

If you wish to refer someone to our Children and Young People’s Service, please complete the online referral form. We may contact you initially for additional information but may have minimal further contact thereafter.