National Domestic Abuse Helpline
Speak to a member of our Helpline team at any time, day or night, for confidential, non-judgmental support and information on your options. Need to talk now? Call 0808 2000 247.
Help is just a phone call away.
Consider the Helpline your portal to all the support Refuge offers.
You may not know yet what kind of help you need, or if you’re even ready to ask for help. That’s okay. Calling the Helpline is the right place to start: An expert advisor will listen to whatever you want to tell her. She’ll offer confidential and non-judgemental information, and if you’d like, help you make a plan.
Our aim is to work with you to keep you safe and give you information so you can make informed choices. We will never tell you what to do.
Sometimes it can be difficult to pick up the phone. That’s why we also offer a live chat service where you can chat with an adviser in confidence — and in silence. Chat to us online, live: Monday – Friday, 10 am – 10pm.
"I no longer label myself as a victim, I see myself as a survivor. I can see and feel the passion my outreach worker has in her job – this shines through her support and advice. I thank her for lifting my spirits and helping me on my journey of finding myself again.”
Frequently asked questions
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is for women experiencing any kind of domestic abuse and concerned friends, family and colleagues looking to support someone who may be experiencing domestic abuse.
Yes.
The Helpline uses the services of Language Line to provide access to interpreters for non-English-speaking callers.
We have a British Sign Language (BSL) service available weekdays between 10am -6pm that provides access to qualified BSL interpreters via video call at touch of button. You can access that service on this website.
Online Live Chat is also available, Monday – Friday, 3pm – 10pm.
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is open 24 hours a day and every day of the year.
Our Live Chat service is available Monday to Friday, 3pm – 10pm.
Our BSL interpreter service is available Monday to Friday, 10am – 6pm.
- In an emergency, always call 999
- Please keep trying; we try to answer as many calls as possible. Quieter periods are often evenings, nights and weekends
- When we are busy and you don’t have time to wait, you may prefer to send us a secure webform, stating a safe time we can call you back. We will always endeavour to get back to you within 48-hours or at the safe time you specify.
- You can chat to us live online through our Live Chat Service. This service is open Monday to Friday, 3pm – 10pm.
- If you don’t need to speak to someone immediately, there is lots of useful support information on our website.