Where can I find help and support? 

There are organisations within County Durham that can help and support you or someone you know regardless of gender and sexuality. See Help and support for domestic abuse victims for further information.

What is domestic abuse?

There are lots of different signs of domestic abuse many of which people don't realise. See the What is domestic abuse? page for details.

Domestic abuse isn't just about individual incidents but also the repeat nature of these and how they can get worse.

How do I cover my tracks online?

There are steps you can take to make sure your recent browsing history is not available for others to see. See Domestic abuse - cover your tracks online.

Domestic abuse campaigns

We are involved in various campaigns targeting different issues. 

Here we identify the most recent campaign targeted at raising awareness of domestic abuse. See Domestic abuse campaigns for further information.

'Sorry's not enough' campaign

Sorry's not enough provides support throughout County Durham and Darlington. The aims are simple - to raise awareness that there is no excuse for abuse, that victims will be treated with dignity and provided with the help they need and that anyone who is committing abuse will be brought to account for their actions. There is no excuse for abuse.

Clare's Law - the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, known as Clare's Law gives you a formal mechanism to make inquiries:

• if you are concerned that your partner may pose a risk to you
• if you're concerned that the partner of a member of your family or a friend may pose a risk to that individual.

The scheme allows the police to disclose information about a partner's previous history of domestic violence or violent acts. To find out more about Clare's Law and information on how to make an application visit Clare's Law - the domestic violence disclosure scheme.

Guidance for professionals working with victims of domestic violence

• County Durham Multi-Agency Domestic Violence and Abuse Referral Pathway (PDF, 235.3kb)

A strategy to tackle domestic abuse

Tackling domestic abuse is a key priority of the Safe Durham Partnership, of which we are a member. The Safe Durham Partnership have published a strategy to tackle domestic abuse in County Durham. See A strategy to tackle domestic abuse and sexual violence for details.

Read about our objectives in terms of reducing domestic abuse, and how we aim to achieve these in our  Domestic abuse Plan on a Page (PDF, 608.3kb) .