Domestic Abuse MARAC and Sanctuary Scheme

This page is for professionals dealing with Domestic Abuse cases. If you need support with Domestic Abuse, please visit our Domestic Abuse Support page. 

If you’re in immediate danger, always call the police on 999. For non-emergency police enquiries call 101.

If you need to speak to someone within office hours, please call Victim Support’s Supportline on 08 08 16 89 111. Outside of office hours, the National Domestic Violence Helpline is always open and free to call. Call 0808 2000 247.

Be aware of who has access to your screen. If you’re worried someone might see you have visited this page, the Women’s Aid website tells you how to view a web page anonymously and delete your internet history.

For victims residing in the Square Mile

A Domestic Abuse Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) is a meeting where information is shared on the highest risk domestic abuse cases between representatives of local police, health, child protection, housing practitioners, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), probation and other specialists from the statutory and voluntary sectors.

After sharing all relevant information regarding the victim and perpetrator, the representatives discuss options for increasing the safety of the victim and turn these into a co-ordinated action plan.

The primary focus of the MARAC is to safeguard the victim. The MARAC will also make links with other services to safeguard children and manage the behaviour of the perpetrator. At the heart of a MARAC is the working assumption that no single agency or individual can see the complete picture of the life of a victim, but all may have insights that are crucial to their safety. The victim does not attend the meeting but is represented by an IDVA who speaks on their behalf.

The City of London Community Safety Team coordinates the conferences on a monthly basis and accepts referrals from any frontline agency representative that undertakes a risk assessment with a victim, which is deemed high-risk. IDVAs, police and health professionals commonly refer high risk victims to MARACs.

Please contact the City of London MARAC coordinator if you require further information.

Please follow the link below to make an online MARAC referral. The DASH Risk Assessment is included in the referral form.

Sanctuary Scheme

The Sanctuary Scheme is a victim focussed initiative run by the City Corporation in partnership with the City Police. This scheme is not an emergency measure, but a process that prevents homelessness by providing households affected by domestic abuse with the option of safer housing through additional security measures. It is not suitable for victims still living with the perpetrator.

Eligibility:

• Victims must live in the Square Mile or in a City of London Corporation property
• The perpetrator/alleged perpetrator must not reside with the victim
• The scheme is primarily for victims of domestic abuse, but may be able to assist other vulnerable people e.g. hate crime victims or elderly people
• Housing tenure should not be a barrier to eligibility, but checks may be required to approve cost/type of work

Referrals to the scheme may be made by relevant statutory/voluntary agencies. If eligible, an assessment is carried out by the City  Police whereby they make recommendations on security measures and any recommendations made are funded by the City Corporation.

Please note

The City of London Corporation has housing estates across seven London boroughs, information on making a referral for a City estate in the different boroughs is included in the City of London Sanctuary Scheme referral process. Further details on the City estates is available on the Housing Estates pages.

More information

For further details and referral information email the Community Safety Team. You can also contact the Homelessness Team or call them on 020 7332 1804.