“A Housing Response That Saves Lives”: Nicki Clarke Speaks on BBC Radio Lincolnshire About DAHA and Survivor-Led Support

We were proud to hear Nicki Clarke, Head of Housing at Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, speak with Frances Finn on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, shining a light on the critical role housing providers play in the national response to domestic abuse. 

In this powerful and insightful conversation, Nicki detailed the work of the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) and what it means to take a survivor-led approach to safety and housing. She underscored the need for systemic change within housing—not just to support survivors, but to actively prevent further harm. 

Domestic Abuse is a Housing Issue 

Domestic abuse doesn’t just affect lives—it affects where and how people live. Without safe and secure housing, escaping abuse is almost impossible. 

DAHA was created to change that - https://www.dahalliance.org.uk/membership-accreditation/what-is-daha-accreditation/

Founded in 2014 by Standing Together, Peabody, and Gentoo, DAHA has led the way in embedding best practice across the UK housing sector. With more than 150 members and endorsed by the UK Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy, DAHA helps housing providers implement consistent, trauma-informed, and effective responses to domestic abuse. 

“By becoming DAHA accredited, housing providers are not only meeting a gold standard—they are saving lives and offering survivors a pathway to safety and dignity,” Nicki explained during the interview. 

DAHA provides a framework for housing providers to deliver safe and effective interventions for survivors. The accreditation process is structured around eight priority areas, including support, policies and procedures, staff training, case management, and partnership working—all underpinned by survivor voice. These areas ensure that housing providers can recognise and respond appropriately to domestic abuse, ultimately improving outcomes for survivors. 

A Survivor-Led Approach in Practice 

Nicki also reflected on DAHA’s survivor-led standards—guiding principles that ensure housing interventions are rooted in the lived experiences and needs of survivors. 

These include: 
- Ensuring confidentiality and safe disclosure routes for tenants, 
- Supporting target hardening or relocation where survivors choose to remain or leave, 
- Challenging gatekeeping by local authorities when survivors seek homelessness assistance, 
- Building emotional trust and transparency between housing officers and tenants, and 
- Embedding survivor feedback into policy and service design. 

Nicki emphasised the importance of survivor-led approaches and the work of DAHA in transforming housing sector responses to domestic abuse. She noted that this comprehensive approach enables housing professionals to become proactive allies in the safety and recovery of survivors. 

From Personal Experience to National Impact 

Reflecting on her own journey, Nicki shared how housing played a critical role in her recovery as a survivor of domestic abuse. “I didn’t know how to name it,” she said, speaking of the silence and shame many survivors feel. That experience now drives her commitment to ensuring housing systems become enablers of safety, not barriers. 

Nicki often delivers public talks nationally, and regionally, and shares insights from her personal journey as a survivor, underscoring the importance of embedding survivor voices in shaping services. Her lived experience informs her work, ensuring that the housing response to domestic abuse is empathetic, effective, and centred on the needs of those affected. 

Nicki’s advocacy is deeply rooted in both professional and personal experience. As Domestic Abuse Lead at Westward Housing, she led the organisation to DAHA Accreditation in 2022 and co-created a national training video for contractors on spotting abuse. She is also a long-standing member of the Experts by Experience Group with Surviving Economic Abuse. 

Today, she leads the Whole Housing Approach at Standing Together, supporting local authorities and housing providers nationwide, and sits on the National Domestic Abuse and Housing Policy and Practice Group, helping shape survivor-informed, evidence-based policy. 

Celebrating a Life of Advocacy and Impact 

Nicki’s voice on the airwaves is a powerful reminder that housing can—and should—be a frontline response to domestic abuse. Her work represents a much broader movement within the UK to ensure housing is recognised not just as a basic right, but as a gateway to recovery, protection, and autonomy. 

We’re grateful to BBC Radio Lincolnshire and Frances Finn for creating space to highlight this work—and proud to stand behind the powerful legacy of DAHA and survivor-led advocacy.