It’s important that our policies are easy to understand, with clear definitions and processes, and that we clearly signpost customers to these policies.
Seven customers recently participated in an online review and provided valuable feedback and recommendations for our current domestic abuse policy.
They reviewed sections of the current domestic abuse policy and were asked to provide feedback on Selwood Housing’s procedures for clear and understandable explanations.
What happened next?
All customer feedback and recommendations were noted and presented to the executive team for final approvals, ahead of the policy renewal date.
The executive team wish to express their thanks to the customers involved and confirmed all recommendations have been approved.
Here is our new domestic abuse policy:
| You said | We did |
|---|---|
| It was suggested that regular features on domestic abuse and the role Selwood Housing plays in supporting their customers be included in the customer update. | We take part in the 16 days of action every year in November which is part of a global campaign aimed at raising awareness and taking action to end domestic abuse and gender-based abuse. We use the customer update and social media to bring this to our customers’ attention. Approved: Raising awareness of domestic abuse will be promoted twice yearly. We will include content in our customer update, website and social media platforms during the 16 days of action campaign in November and then again in July. |
| We will ensure we direct our customers to the domestic abuse section on our website, which can be found on our wellbeing pages. | An explanation of MARAC and its role can be found on the FAQs section of the Domestic abuse page of our website. Approved: The website definition of a MARAC will be added to the policy, plus a link to the domestic abuse page on our website. |
| The definition of ‘MARAC’ is not clearly explained. | An explanation of MARAC and its role can be found in the FAQ’s section of the Domestic abuse webpage.
Approved: The website definition of a MARAC will be added to the policy, plus a link to the domestic abuse webpage. |
| We asked the customers to provide their suggestions on communicating with a victim. All points raised by the customer are already detailed in the policy. |
No changes required. |
| We asked the customers to review the timescales when responding to a report of domestic abuse. All customers recommended an immediate/within 24-hour response. |
Our domestic abuse procedure sets out the advice that staff should give to victims of domestic violence in emergency situations. In view of this, the timescales given to contact the victim and interview them is considered to be reasonable, bearing in mind that one day is the maximum timescale within which the victim should be contacted. |
