IDAS, from York Women's Aid#
IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services) began as York Women's Aid in 1977, when a local businessman donated a two-bedroom flat for a refuge. It worked as a feminist collective for many years, took on community services in North Yorkshire and support for male victims in the 2000s, renamed itself to match its wider remit, and merged with Harrogate Women's Aid and with services in Craven and Selby. It now works in York, North Yorkshire, Barnsley and Sheffield, supporting anyone affected by domestic abuse or sexual violence, whatever their age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability or immigration status.
What IDAS says about changing your name#
IDAS's Your safety page has a short section on protecting yourself after you have left. It lists ways that can increase your safety: making your home security as effective as it can be, getting a legal order, changing your name, altering your routines, changing your mobile phone, swapping bank accounts, blocking your former partner and anyone linked to them on social media, and making sure there are no tracking devices on your phone or tablet.
That is all it says about names: changing your name is one item on the list, with no explanation of how. The page adds that the right measures depend on your circumstances, and that IDAS workers will help you develop your own safety plan. So the place to decide whether a new name would help, and when, is a conversation with an IDAS worker.
The same page has a packing list for leaving. Among the papers on it: something that proves who you are, every family member's birth certificate and passport, any visa or work permit, your licence and car documents, benefit cards, tenancy or mortgage papers, and police reports or court orders about the abuse.
What that step involves#
In England a change of name is usually made by deed poll: a short signed statement, witnessed by two adults, that you have given up your old name and use the new one. From 16 you can write it yourself, copying GOV.UK's model text, and no former partner or relative has a say. Kept as a private document, it appears on no public list. Only if you choose to enrol it at the High Court does it become public, with your name and address printed in The Gazette (GOV.UK says you may ask a judge to limit what is published).
The deed itself is the easy part. The new name protects you only as well as the records you update with it, and the order matters: shared accounts and anything your former partner can see first, then ID, then everything else (changing your name to stay safe). Children are a separate matter: a child's new name needs the agreement of all who hold parental responsibility, or a court's order (names after domestic abuse), and who could find out a new name sets out what is and is not public.
Helplines, live chat and referral#
IDAS has two helplines, one for North Yorkshire and Barnsley and one for Sheffield, open 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 11am to 8pm at weekends and on bank holidays. Calls are not recorded, translation can be arranged, and so can a British Sign Language interpreter. Live chat on its site runs on weekday afternoons and can be translated. You can refer yourself online, and professionals have their own form.
Places to stay#
IDAS's refuges are for women and children, from heterosexual or same-sex relationships, including women with no recourse to public funds; children up to 18 can come, with older teenage sons considered case by case. It also has self-contained houses, and Safe Havens, a hosted scheme in which vetted volunteers offer a room for a night or two up to two months, for anyone of any gender.
This page describes what IDAS publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. IDAS has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
