#SafeAtHome
Everyone has the right to be safe in their own home
What if home was a place of fear, not a place of safety?
That is the reality for the estimated 1.9 million adults who experience domestic abuse every year in the UK.
We know that some victims need to leave their homes, accomodation-based services are a vital aspect of domestic abuse provision. However, of those receiving support for domestic abuse, only around 20% access a refuge. There is one person that is making home a place of fear: the perpetrator. So why do we expect the victim to leave their home and community? There is a clear need to support people to stay safely in their own homes.
We need to stop asking "why doesn't she leave?" and start asking "why doesn't he stop?". Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (Idvas) and other specialist support workers based in the community play a crucial role in this process.
That's why we asked every candidate in the general election to sign our pledge, and fight for their local Idvas. See who signed.
What is an Idva?
An Idva is a specialist professional who works with a victim of domestic abuse to develop a trusting relationship. They can help a victim with everything they need to become safe and rebuild their life, and represent their voice at a Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference (Marac), as well as helping them to navigate the criminal justice process and working with the different statutory agencies to provide wraparound support.
The impact of an Idva
Following support from an Idva service, at the closure of their cases:
• Nearly 60% of victims reported cessation of abuse
• 84% of victims reported feeling safer
• 81% of victims felt their quality of life had improved
The Pledge
Two out of three Idva services tell us they don't have access to sustainable funding. Idvas are overworked, undervalued and underfunded. If we're going to keep more people safe at home, this has to change.
We called on every parliamentary candidate to sign our pledge and fight for the Idva services in their area. We asked them to sign a copy of our pledge card, and show their support by sharing a photo.
In Scotland, this type of support is provided by an Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate (Idaa). We asked candidates in Scotland to sign our Idaa pledge.
Take action
- Spread the word on social media: use the hashtag #SafeAtHome
- Tweet your MP and ask them to sign the pledge.
Tweets about #SafeAtHome
Flick through the slideshow to see the pledges we've received on Twitter
No one should live in fear. Domestic abuse is not acceptable, not inevitable – and together, we can make it stop.
See who's signed the pledge
Aaron McIntyre - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Lagan Valley
Abi Ajoku - Christian People's Alliance, Blackley and Broughton
Adam King - Green Party, Oldham West and Royton
Adam Van Coevorden - Green Party, Cheltenham
Ade Adeyemo - Liberal Democrats, Solihull
Adrian Holmes - Green Party, Norwich North
Adrian Tett - Liberal Democrats, Ipswich
Aisha Mir - Liberal Democrats, Edinburgh South West
Alan Bullion - Liberal Democrats, Sevenoaks
Alan Harvey Stone - UKIP, Basingstoke
Alan Hilliar - Liberal Democrats, Aldershot
Alex Sobel - Labour and Co-Operative Party, Leeds North West
Allen Cowles - UKIP, Rotherham
Allen Simpson - Labour Party, Maidstone and The Weald
Amanda Hopgood - Liberal Democrats, City of Durham
Andrea Cantrill - Green Party, Wolverhampton South West
Andrea Jenkyns - Conservative Party, Morley and Outwood
Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne - Liberal Democrats, South Suffolk
Andrew Garcarz - UKIP, Solihull
Andrew Johns - Green Party, Walthamstow
Andrew Hollyer - Liberal Democrats, Derbyshire Dales
Andrew Selous - Conservative Party, South West Bedfordshire
Andrew Simpson - Liberal Democrats, Daventry
Andy Brown - Green Party, Skipton and Ripon
Andy Croy - Labour Party, Wokingham
Andy McDonald - Labour Party, Middlesborough
Andy Merryfield - Labour Party, Wells
Andy Newman - Labour Party, Chippenham
Andy Thomas - Labour Party, Harborough
Angela Crawley - SNP, Lanark and Hamilton East
Angie Smith - Labour Party, Wealden
Ann Clwyd - Labour Party, Cynon Valley
Anna Coda - Labour Party, Hereford and South Herefordshire
Anna Tarrant - Liberal Democrats, Reigate
Arran Rangi - Green Party, Ashfield
Ashley Dalton - Labour, Rochford and Southend East
Bally Singh - Labour Party, Kenilworth and Southam
Becca Thackray - Green Party, Grantham and Stamford
Becky Thomas - Liberal Democrats, Sherwood
Ben Bradshaw - Labour Party, Exeter
Benali Hamdache - Green Party, Islington South and Finsbury
Beth Miller - Labour Party, Corby
Bethan Lant - Green Party, Poplar and Limehouse
Bikatshi Katenga - The Yorkshire Party, Huddersfield
Bill Cashmore - Green Party, Chelsea and Fulham
Brig Oubridge - Green Party, Salisbury
Cait Clucas - Liberal Democrats, Tewkesbury
Camilla Beaven - Labour Party, Vale of Glamorgan
Cara Hilton - Labour Party, Dunfermline and West Fife
Caroline Fife - Labour Party, Arundel and South Downs
Caroline Hynds - Liberal Democrats, Hove
Caroline Lucas - Green Party, Brighton Pavillion
Caroline Nokes - Conservative Party, Romsey and Southampton North
Caroline Russell - Green Party, Islington North
Carolyn Harris - Labour Party, Swansea East
Cate Cody - Green Party, Tewkesbury
Cate Tuitt - Labour Party, Richmond Park
Catherine Rowett - Green Party, South Norfolk
Catherine Shelley - Green Party, Croydon South
Charles Barraball - Green Party, Wimbledon
Charles Dundas - Liberal Democrats, Livingston
Charles Lawley - Liberal Democrats, High Peak
Charlotte Armstrong - Green Party, Ipswich
Charlynne Pullen - Labour Party, Milton Keynes North
Chas Spradbery - Green Party, North East Hampshire
Cheryl Gillan - Conservative Party, Chesham and Amersham
Chris Foote-Wood - Liberal Democrats, Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Chris Jones - Labour Party, Norwich North
Chris Lofts - Liberal Democrats, South Northamptonshire
Chris Ostrowski - Labour Party, Watford
Chris Southall - Green Party, Clacton
Christopher Garghan - Green Party, Birmingham Yardley
Christopher Walford - Green Party, South West Wiltshire
Christopher Wilford - Conservative Party, Poplar and Limehouse
Claire Lasko - Green Party, Whitney
Claire Wright - Independent, East Devon
Claire Young - Liberal Democrats, Thornbury and Yate
Clarke Roberts - Liberal Democrats, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
Dan Greef - Labour Party, South Cambridgeshire
Daniel Zeichner - Labour Party, Cambridge
Dave Crowther - Liberal Democrats, Crewe and Nantwich
David Davies - Conservative Party, Monmouth
Dave Naghi - Liberal Democrats, Faversham and Mid Kent
David Dews - UKIP, Hemsworth
David Drew - Labour and Co-Operative Party, Stroud
David Harrison - Liberal Democrats, New Forest East
David Hodgson - UKIP, Middlesbrough
David Hughes - UKIP, Bournemouth East
David Kesteven - Green Party, North East Derbyshire
David Nagle - Labour Party, Elmet and Rothwell
David Omamogho - Christian People's Alliance, Croydon South
Debbie Caplin - UKIP, Wallasey
Della Reynolds - Independent, Esher and Walton
Diana Johnson - Labour Party, Kingston upon Hull North
Diana Warner - Green Party, Filton and Bradley Stoke
Dinah Keal - Liberal Democrats, Thirsk and Malton
Dinah Mulholland - Labour Party, Ceredigion
Don Davies - Independent, North Somerset
Don Jerrard - Justice and Anti-Corruption Party, Romsey and Southampton North
Doug Lawson - Green Party, Penrith and The Border
Doug Swanney - Labour Party, North East Hertfordshire
Ed Carlisle - Green Party, Leeds Central
Elaine Bagshaw - Liberal Democrats, Poplar and Limehouse
Elcena Jeffers - Independent, Brent North
Eleanor Bell - Liberal Democrats, Southampton, Itchen
Elizabeth Hughes - Labour Party, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
Ellie Chowns - Green Party, North Herefordshire
Emma Bishton - Labour Party, South Suffolk
Emily Frith - Liberal Democrats, Lewisham East
Emily Tester - Liberal Democrats, Brighton Kemptown, Saltdean, and Peacehaven
Eric Broadbent - Labour Party, Scarborough and Whitby
Faith Miracle Fisher - Christian People's Alliance, South Thanet
Fiona Hall - Liberal Democrats, Hexham
Fiona Radic - Green Party, Peterborough
Fred Grindrod - Labour Party, Mid Worcestershire
Gareth Barrett - Labour Party, Brentwood and Ongar
Garth Harkness - Liberal Democrats, Oldham West and Royton
Gary Lawson - Green Party, Stockport
Geoff Seef - Liberal Democrats, Harlow
Geoff Williams - Liberal Democrats, Camborne and Redruth
Geoffrey Bernard Bastin - UKIP, Bexhill and Battle
Gerald Hartley - Green Party, Gloucester
Geraldine Coggins - Green Party, Altrincham and Sale West
Gill Westcott - Green Party, Tiverton and Honiton
Gordon Marsden - Labour Party, Blackpool South
Graham Bliss - Green Party, Rugby
Graham Brady - Conservative Party, Altrincham and Sale West
Graham Eardley - UKIP, Wolverhampton North East
Greg Stone - Liberal Democrats, North Tyneside
Harini Iyengar - Women's Equality Party, Vauxhall
Harriet Harman - Labour Party, Camberwell and Peckham
Hazel Thorpe - Liberal Democrats, Worthing West
Heather Barrie - Green Party, Chichester
Heather Wheeler - Conservative Party, South Derbyshire
Helen Belcher - Liberal Democrats, Chippenham
Helen McFarlane - Labour Party, Airdrie and Shotts
Helen Spiby-Vann - Christian People's Alliance, Hornsey and Wood Green
Helena Windsor - UKIP, East Surrey
Henrietta Bewley - Liberal Democrats, Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
Henry Vann - Liberal Democrats, Bedford
Howling Laud Hope - Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Maidenhead
Huw Merriman - Conservative Party, Bexhill and Battle
Hywel Williams - Plaid Cymru, Arfon
Iain Simpson - Labour Party, Broadland
Ian Chandler - Green Party, Monmouth
Ian McCargo - Labour and Co-operative Party, Pudsey
Ian Middleton - Green Party, Banbury
Ibrahim Dogus - Labour Party, Cities of London and Westminster
Iris White - Christian People's Alliance, North Thanet
Ivan Lewis - Labour Party, Bury South
Jaimes Moran - Green Party, Leeds East
James Calder - Liberal Democrats, Dunfermline and West Fife
James Davies - Conservative Party, Vale of Clwyd
James Smith - Something New, Horsham
Jamie Christian Scott - Liberal Democrats, Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Jamie Paul Wildman - Green Party, Daventry
Jan Ross - Labour Party, East Devon
Jane Brophy - Liberal Democrats, Altrincham and Sale West
Janet Richards - Green Party, New Forest West
Jason Halsey - Pirate Party UK, Bournemouth West
Jason Pilley - Independent, Southend West
Jason Winstanley - Pirate Party UK, Gower
Jayne Clough - Green Party, Birkenhead
Jayne Kirkham - Labour Party, Truro and Falmouth
Jeffrey Donaldson - DUP, Lagan Valley
Jeremy Lefroy - Conservative Party, Stafford
Jerry Roodhouse - Liberal Democrats, Rugby
Jill Hope - Liberal Democrats, Northampton South
Jo Platt - Labour and Co-operative Party, Leigh
Joan Ryan - Labour Party, Enfield North
Jodian Rodgers - Money Free Party, Bristol West
Joe Levy - Green Party, Exeter
Joe Naitta - Liberal Democrats, Derby South
Joe Richards - Liberal Democrats, Hackney North and Stoke Newington
John Boadu - Christian People's Alliance, Croydon Central
John Cryer - Labour Party, Leyton and Wanstead
John Leech - Liberal Democrats, Manchester, Withington
John Otley - The Yorkshire Party, Leeds East
John Woodcock - Labour and Co-operative Party, Barrow and Furness
Jon Ashworth - Labour and Co-operative Party, Leicester South
Jonathan Essex - Green Party, Reigate
Jonathan Fryer - Liberal Democrats, Dagenham and Rainham
Jonathan Hornett - Green Party, Wellingborough
Julia Brown - Green Party, Kingston upon Hull East
Julia Cambridge - Liberal Democrats, South Holland and The Deepings
Julian Critchley - Labour Party, Isle of Wight
Julian Huppert - Liberal Democrats, Cambridge
Julian Ware-Lane - Labour Party, Southend West
Julie Hilling - Labour Party, Bolton West
Kalvin Chapman - UKIP, Manchester Central
Karen Roberts - Liberal Democrats, Rhondda
Karen Wheller - Green Party, Lewisham West and Penge
Karen Wilkinson - Liberal Democrats, Kingswood
Kate Hoey - Labour Party, Vauxhall
Kate Smith - Liberal Democrats, Amber Valley
Katherine Dunne - Labour Party, Twickenham
Kerry McCarthy - Labour Party, Bristol East
Kim Parkinson - UKIP, Doncaster North
Kirstein Rummery - Women's Equality Party, Stirling
Kirsten Johnson - Liberal Democrats, Oxford East
Kirsty Jones - Green Party, Nottingham North
Kizzi Johannessen - Green Party, Reading East
Lana Hylands - Labour Party, Esher and Walton
Larry Sanders - Green Party, Oxford East
Laura Bannister - Green Party, Manchester, Withington
Laura Collins - Green Party, Mitcham and Morden
Laura Coyle - Liberal Democrats, Henley
Laura Davison - Labour Party, Folkestone and Hythe
Lee Rhodes - Labour Party, West Dorset
Leonard Amos - UKIP, Bracknell
Leslie Groves Williams - Green Party, East Worthing and Shoreham
Lewis Sturrock - Something New, Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Lily Clough - Green Party, Wallasey
Lisa French - Liberal Democrats, Mid Bedfordshire
Lisa Smart - Liberal Democrats, Hazel Grove
Lois Davis - Green Party, Battersea
Loraine Birchall - Liberal Democrats, Barrow and Furness
Lorna Howe - UKIP, Saffron Walden
Louise Irvine - National Health Action Party, South West Surrey
Lucy Bywater - Green Party, Bedford
Lyndsay McAteer - Green Party, Warrington North
Madeleine Moon - Labour Party, Bridgend
Marc Green - Labour Party, Mole Valley
Margaret Ritchie - SDLP, South Down
Margot James - Conservative Party, Stourbridge
Maria Caulfield - Conservative Party, Lewes
Mark Garnier - Conservative Party, Wyre Forest
Mark Hooper - Plaid Cymru, Cardiff Central
Mark Keir - Green Party, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Mark Lindop - Green Party, Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Marie Chadwick - Liberal Democrats, Newton Abbot
Martin Paul Costello - UKIP, South Swindon
Martin Power - UKIP, Blackley and Broughton
Martin Whitfield - Labour Party, East Lothian
Martyn Day - SNP, Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Mary Morgan - Green Party, South Leicestershire
Matt Western - Labour, Warwick and Leamington
Matt Wright - Conservative Party, Delyn
Matthew Hancock - Conservative Party, West Suffolk
Melissa Wilson - Green Party, Sedgefield
Michael Desmond - Labour Party, Faversham and Mid Kent
Michael Thompson - Labour Party, Bromsgrove
Michael Wyatt - Liberal Democrats, North West Leicestershire
Mike Freer - Conservative Party, Finchley and Golders Green
Mick Gregg - Green Party, Bosworth
Mike Katz - Labour Party, Hendon
Mike Plummer - Liberal Democrats, Poole
Mike Powell - Liberal Democrats, Pontypridd
Mike Smith-Clare - Labour Party, Great Yarmouth
Molly Scott Cato - Green Party, Bristol West
Morwen Millson - Liberal Democrats, Horsham
Naomi Rylatt - Labour Party, Filton and Bradley Stoke
Natalie Bennett - Green Party, Sheffield Central
Neil Blackburn - Pirate Party UK, Manchester Central
Neil Carmichael - Conservative Party, Stroud
Neil Dawson - Labour and Co-operative Party, Morley and Outwood
Neil Puttick - Labour Party, Macclesfield
Neil Taylor - The Liberal Party, Altrincham and Sale West
Nick Yeomans - Independent, Brighton, Pavilion
Nicky Shepard - Liberal Democrats, North East Hertfordshire
Nigel Dodds - Democratic Unionist Party, Belfast North
Nigel Hennerley - Green Party, Tatton
Nik Johnson - Labour Party, Huntingdon
Nina Dluzewska - Labour Party, Chesham and Amersham
Olivia Bell - Labour Party, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Oliva Heald - Conservative Party, North East Hertfordshire
Patrick Canavan - Labour Party, Christchurch
Patrick Cox - Green Party, Birmingham, Hall Green
Patsy King - Labour Party, Edinburgh East
Paul Bullen - UKIP, Huntingdon
Paul de Hoest - Green Party, South West Hertfordshire
Paul Jacobs - Green Party, Spelthorne
Paul Ray - Liberal Democrats, Lichfield
Paul Rowlinson - Plaid Cymru, Delyn
Penny Mordaunt - Conservative Party, Portsmouth North
Peter Aldous - Conservative Party, Waveney
Peter Baldrey - Labour Party, North Wiltshire
Peter Hirst - Liberal Democrats, Congleton
Peter Shearman - Labour Party, Windsor
Peter Smith - Labour Party, South West Norfolk
Peter Thomson - Green Party, Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Phélim Mac Cafferty - Green Party, Hove
Rachel Parkinson - Green Party, St Helens North
Rachel Sadler - Liberal Democrats, Tunbridge Wells
Rebecca Connick - Green Party, Gedling
Rebecca Forrest - Liberal Democrats, Bolton West
Rebecca Lury - Labour Party, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
Richard Bradley - Green Party, Houghton and Sunderland South
Richard Chaloner - Green Party, Montgomeryshire
Richard Graham - Conservative Party, Gloucester
Richard Hadwin - Independent, Somerton and Frome
Richard Knight - Green Party, East Hampshire
Richard Mallender - Green Party, Rushcliffe
Ritchie Cunningham - Liberal Democrats, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Rob Pocock - Labour Party, Sutton Coldfield
Robina Barton - Labour Party, Orkney and Shetland
Roger Godsiff - Labour Party, Birmingham, Hall Green
Roger Mullin - SNP, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
Ros Brown - Green Party, Keighley
Rosalind Garton - Labour Party, North East Fife
Rose Doman - Christian People's Alliance, Stretford and Urmston
Rosemary Warrington - Green Party, Ilford South
Rosina Robson - Liberal Democrats, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Ross Shipman - Liberal Democrats, Bolsover
Royston Smith - Conservative Party, Southampton, Itchen
Rupa Huq - Labour Party, Ealing
Ryan Bate - Liberal Democrats, Halton
Sabrina Poole - Green Party, The Cotswolds
Sally Keeble - Labour Party, Northampton North
Sally Pattle - Liberal Democrats, Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Sally Symington - Liberal Democrats, Hemel Hempstead
Sally Woodhall - Independent, Redditch
Sara Hyde - Labour Party, Bromley and Chislehurst
Sarah Champion - Labour Party, Rotherham
Sarah Heald - Conservative Party, Manchester, Withington
Sarah Jones - Labour Party, Croydon Central
Sarah Osborne - Liberal Democrats, Mid Sussex
Scott Mabbutt - Green Party, Northampton South
Shaka Lish - Green Party, Brent Central
Sharon Galliford - Green Party, Surrey Heath
Sharon Lovell - Women's Equality Party, Vale of Glamorgan
Sharon Taylor - Labour and Co-operative Party, Stevenage
Shaun Stammers - Labour Party, Forest of Dean
Simon Beard - Liberal Democrats, Dartford
Simon Fell - Conservative Party, Barrow and Furness
Simone Reynolds - Liberal Democrats, Bexleyheath and Crayford
Sinead King - Green Party, Chingford and Woodford Green
Sophie Cook - Labour Party, East Worthing and Shoreham
Sophie Walker - Women's Equality Party, Shipley
Stella Creasy - Labour and Co-operative Party, Walthamstow
Stephen Burke - Labour Party, North Norfolk
Stephen Crosher - Liberal Democrats, Holborn and St Pancras
Stephen Kinnick - Labour Party, Aberavon
Stephen Morris - The English Democrats, Barnsley Central
Stephen Priestley - UKIP, Folkestone and Hythe
Stephen Psallidas - Liberal Democrats, Sedgefield
Stephen Todd - Christian People's Alliance, Harwich and North Essex
Stephen Twigg - Labour and Co-operative Party, Liverpool, West Derby
Stephen Williams - Liberal Democrats, Bristol West
Steve Beasant - Liberal Democrats, Great Grimsby
Stewart Dickson - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, East Antrim
Stuart McDonald - SNP, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
Stuart Tuckwood - Green Party, Cambridge
Sue Dann - Labour Party, Plymouth, Moor View
Susan McDonnell - The North East Party, Easington
Susan van de Ven - Liberal Democrats, South Cambridgeshire
Tabitha Evans - Green Party, Broxbourne
Tamara Galloway - Green Party, Orpington
Ted Grant - Green Party, Liverpool, Wavertree
Teresa Murray - Labour Party, Rochester and Strood
Terence Smith - Labour Party, Brigg and Goole
Terry Bridgeman - Labour Party, Basingstoke
Tess Seddon - The Yorkshire Party, Leeds North East
Thangam Debbonaire - Labour Party, Bristol West
The Iconic Arty-Pole - Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Louth and Horncastle
Thomas Brake - Liberal Democrats, Carshalton and Wallington
Thomas Stewart - Green Party, Berwick-upon-Tweed
Tim Dawes - Green Party, Havant
Tim Lee - Green Party, North East Hertfordshire
Tim Norman - The Yorkshire Party, East Yorkshire
Tim Young - Labour Party, Colchester
Tony Hill - Liberal Democrats, Maidenhead
Tony Lloyd - Labour Party, Rochdale
Tony Pearce - Green Party, Stafford
Tracey Hague - Green Party, Croydon Central
Tracy Harvey - Labour Party, Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
Ukonu Obasi - Liberal Democrats, Walthamstow
Venetia Sams - Christian People's Alliance, Milton Keynes North
Vernon Coaker - Labour Party, Gedling
Veronica German - Liberal Democrats, Monmouth
Victoria Borwick - Conservative Party, Kensington
Vicky Ford - Conservative Party, Chelmsford
Vicky Foxcroft - Labour Party, Lewisham, Deptford
Vikki Slade - Liberal Democrats, Mid Dorset and North Poole
Vince Maple - Labour Party, Chatham and Aylesford
Virendra Sharma - Labour Party, Ealing, Southall
Vix Lowthion - Green Party, Isle of Wight
Warren Fox - Liberal Democrats, Bolton North East
Wendy Taylor - Liberal Democrats, Newcastle upon Tyne East
Wera Hobhouse - Liberal Democrats, Bath
Wes Hinckes - Labour Party, Bridgwater and West Somerset
Wes Streeting - Labour Party, Ilford North
William Edwards - Labour Party, Bury St Edmunds
William Forster - Liberal Democrats, Woking
Willow Winston - Independent, Lewisham East
Zöe Franklin - Liberal Democrats, Guildford