People experiencing domestic abuse can now walk into any of HSBC UK’s branches across London and access a Safe Space where they can seek specialist support and advice.

One in four women and one in six men1 will experience domestic abuse in their lifetimes. Domestic abuse makes up 13% of all reported crime in London with 94,457 cases reported in the height of the pandemic between April 2020 to March 20212.

Launched by London based domestic abuse charity Hestia and its UK SAYS NO MORE campaign, the Safe Spaces scheme is supported by funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The initiative, which was initially launched in pharmacies, aims to increase the availability of specialist support for victims of domestic abuse and provides a space for local people to phone a helpline, contact a support service or talk to a friend or family member.

To help support victims and as part of HSBC UK’s commitment to supporting the most vulnerable in society, HSBC UK has created a Safe Space in every one of its UK branches including Belgravia, Palmers Green, Walthamstow and Wimbledon in London.

A domestic abuse survivor who used a safe space in London said: “The consultation room became a safe part of my lockdown from hell. I called the local domestic abuse and violence partnership who immediately worked out the best plans to keep me safe in the first instance.

“I phoned my mum and sister for the first time in months (everything I did at home was monitored. I phoned a good friend and a solicitor. Over the weeks I used the Safe Space, I developed a plan to get the abuser out of my home.”

HSBC UK is the largest High St bank to offer the service which was originally piloted last year in Southampton. Specialist training on Safe Spaces has been delivered to over 4,000 employees across all HSBC UK branches.

Jerry* aged 60 was the first person to use the Safe Space at an HSBC UK branch having heard about the pilot on the radio. Jerry had relocated to Southampton but was officially homeless having fled an abusive relationship.

He said: “I came into your branch on Tuesday in some what of a panic after leaving a violent relationship which I had endured for nearly three years. I only wish that you had set up your Safe Space a while ago.

“Learning about your initiative seemed to be some sort of fate. Thank you for your attention, efficiency and kindness.”

Oliemata O’Donoghue, Head of London Region at HSBC UK said: “HSBC UK is proud to play a significant role in breaking the silence around domestic abuse. By providing a Safe Space in each of our branches, located at the heart of local communities, HSBC UK will help Hestia reach victims of domestic abuse, ensuring they get the specialist help and advice they need.”

Jerry was also able to open a bank account through HSBC UK’s No Fixed Address scheme which supports people experiencing housing issues. Available in 184 branches including Belgravia, Palmers Green, Walthamstow and Wimbledon in London, individuals are referred by charity representatives and can use the address of the charity to open the account. HSBC UK has so far opened accounts for around 100 men and women referred to us by domestic abuse charities.

Maxine Pritchard, Head of Financial Inclusion and Vulnerability at HSBC UK said: “A significant number of people experiencing homelessness in the UK have also experienced abuse. Like Jerry, many victims flee abusive sitations with just the clothes on their back and may not have the ID documents required to set up a bank account. Our No Fixed Address service was designed to ensure anyone experiencing homelessness is not excluded from banking.”

Patrick Ryan, Chief Executive of Hestia said: “We want to ensure that anyone who is a victim of domestic abuse has access to specialist help and advice and that they have the opportunity to build a life beyond the crisis. Jerry’s story highlights the importance of providing a Safe Space to victims of abuse and it helped him on his own survival journey and provided the support that he needed.”

“By working with HSBC UK it allows us to widen our support network for victims to over 6,000 Safe Spaces. Through the generous support of the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery we are pleased to be able to provide communitiies with Safe Spaces. We hope many more businesses will follow HSBC UK’s lead and support this scheme.”

The introduction of Safe Spaces complements HSBC UK’s support for customers experiencing abuse. HSBC UK sees an average of two customer calls every day mentioning domestic or financial abuse, about a third of these are people looking to separate their joint finances.The bank adheres to the UK Finance financial abuse code of practise and supports customers to:

Open an account with a sort code that is non-traceable to a geographic location – we were the first bank to do this
Separate joint accounts and remove additional cardholders to prevent any further abuse
Reduce their ATM limit and put an ‘auto-decline for credit’ marker on their account if they are currently in an abusive sitation – we are the only bank to do the latter
Appoint a trusted representative to deal with the finances on their behalf if they are not in the right frame of mind
Reset PIN and security details and change the address and method of communications
Report concerns to the Office of the Public Guardian where a Power of Attorney is the alleged abuser