We ask about whether the victim is experiencing any form of SEXUAL ABUSE in question 16

✓ Physical abuse can take many forms from a push or shove to a punch, use of weapons, choking or strangulation.

You should try and establish if the abuse is getting worse, or happening more often, or the incidents themselves are more serious. If your client is not sure, ask them to document how many incidents there have been in the last year and what took place. They should also consider keeping a diary marking when physical and other incidents take place.

Try and get a picture of the range of physical abuse that has taken place. The incident that is currently being disclosed may not be the worst thing to have happened.

The abuse might also be happening to other people in their household, such as their children or siblings or elderly relatives.

Sometimes violence will be used against a family pet.

✓ If an incident has just occurred the victim should call 999 for assistance from the police. If the victim has injuries they should try and get them seen and documented by a health professional such as GP or A&E Nurse. We ask about whether the victim is experiencing any form of SEXUAL ABUSE in question 16

Sexual abuse can include the use of threats, force or intimidation to obtain sex, deliberately inflicting pain during sex, or combining sex and violence and using weapons.

If the victim has suffered sexual abuse you should encourage them to get medical attention and to report this to the police. See above for advice on finding a Sexual Assault Referral Centre which can assist with medical and legal investigations.

It is important to understand and establish: the fears of the victim/victims in relation to what the perpetrator/s may do; who they are frightened of and who they are frightened for (i.e. children/siblings). Victims usually know the abusers behaviour better than anyone else which is why this question is significant.

In cases of 'Honour' Based Violence there may be more than one abuser living in the home or belonging to the wider family and community. This could also include female relatives.

✓ Stalking and harassment becomes more significant when the abuser is also making threats to harm themselves, the victim or others. They might use phrases such as “If I can’t have you no one else can...”

Other examples of behaviour that can indicate future harm include obsessive phone calls, texts or emails, uninvited visits to the victim's home, workplace etc, loitering and destroyed or vandalised property.

✓ Advise the victim to keep a diary of these threats, when and where they happen, if anyone else was with them and if the threats made them feel frightened.

✓ Separation is a dangerous time: establish if the victim has tried to separate from the abuser or has been threatened about the consequences of leaving. Being pursued after separation can be particularly dangerous.

✓ Victims of domestic abuse sometimes tell us that the perpetrators harm pets, damage furniture and this alone makes them frightened without the perpetrator needing to physically hurt them. This kind of intimidation is common and often used as a way to control and frighten.

Some perpetrators of domestic abuse do not follow court orders or contact arrangements with children. Previous violations may be associated with an increase in risk of future violence.

Some victims feel frightened and intimidated by the criminal history of their partner/ex-partner. It is important to remember that offenders with a history of violence are at increased risk of harming their partner, even if the past violence was not directed towards intimate partners or family members, except for ‘honour’-based violence, where the perpetrator(s) will commonly have no