'Domestic abuse can happen to anyone' - Council unveils new policy to protect employees

While the local authority does have some internal guidance a comprehensive policy has yet to be implemented. The local authority has now drafted a domestic abuse policy, which will encourage employees and managers to spot the signs of domestic abuse as well as report and respond to cases.

The policy also stipulates that managers must be trained to be able to support and direct victims to the correct services. 

The council’s report on the draft policy currently states: “The absence of a policy can lead to a lack of clarity regarding how to deal with domestic abuse which may impact on an employee’s ability to maintain attendance/performance as well as exposing the Council to potential legal liabilities.

It continues: “Gateshead Council recognises that domestic abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of disability, gender, gender reassignment, disability, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, sex, sexual orientation.” 

Earlier reporting from the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that Gateshead Council deals with 37 domestic abuse referrals a week, a total of 1908 in 2024/25. Although this demonstrated a drop from the previous year’s figure of 2,298 it was still branded as “the tip of the iceberg” by domestic abuse charity Refuge. 

In 2023/24, 313 people were made homeless as a result of domestic abuse in Gateshead, making it the leading cause of homelessness ahead of families no longer accommodating individuals and the end of private rental tenancies. 

Gateshead Council’s women and girls committee will gather next Thursday to discuss the draft policy.