Wiltshire charity 'ready to help anyone' seeking to change harmful behaviours
FearFree say more people are reaching out for help
People in Wiltshire with concerns their actions harmful to their loved one are being encouraged to reach out to a local charity.
FearFree insist they will help anyone who wants to change their abusive behaviour to build healthier relationship.
The charity told us more people are seeking help to correct their behaviour, but has also moved to reassure anyone wanting help that they won't be judged, saying it is understandable for people to be anxious about reaching out.
Head of Service, Gemma Vinton said: "I would go so far as to say almost all people in their relationships, they want to be feeling happy, they want their partners to be feeling happy, they want to have healthy, loving relationships. They want their children to feel safe and secure.
"And if that's not happening, let's unpick why that's not happening. And let's try and give people the tools and techniques to make that happen."
Gemma added that domestic abuse is a complex issue and it's signs can be as subtle as they are obvious.
"It does include things you might think of like physical abuse, but it also includes emotional abuse, controlling, coercive behaviour, sexual abuse, things like that, and actually, some of them can be quite tricky to understand," she said.
One example Gemma gave of abuse being slightly less obvious was a person affecting their partners ability to work.
"If you've got a partner who is discouraging you from being at work and maybe you find that your keys are going missing regularly, so you're constantly late for work, that kind of thing that actually might be a form of controlling coercive behaviour and abuse," she told us.
And while success in changing a person's behaviour will look different for each individual, Gemma said it's important that everyone the charity works with recognises the harmful actions.
But it's just as important to understand what could be causing the abusive behaviour.
Gemma said: "There is never any excuse for abuse and people are responsible for their own behaviours.
"But sometimes people have grown up in environments where they don't actually necessarily see a healthy relationship demonstrated, you know, their family environment and upbringing might actually have been quite harmful and quite abusive.
"So sometimes success might actually be teaching somebody what a loving relationship looks like and what should happen in those kind of relationships."
FearFree run behaviour change courses for people aiming to build better relationships. Anyone seeking help can find out more information here.