Women’s Aid launch public awareness campaign ahead of 16 Days of Activism bringing attention to the ignored emergency
Ahead of 16 Days of Activism, Women’s Aid have launched a campaign, created in partnership with House 337, to show that domestic abuse is a national emergency.
In England, one in four women will experience abuse in their lifetime, and at least one woman a week is killed by a current or former partner.
Despite this, domestic abuse is often not seen as the public safety emergency it is, with many turning a blind eye to the danger faced by countless women and children.
To tackle this gap in public awareness, Women’s Aid has launched a new campaign to ensure that domestic abuse is recognised as a public emergency on a scale with fire and traffic accidents. The campaign highlights the stark reality that:
- Women are 50 times more likely to be injured by their partner than in a house fire
- Women are twice as likely to die at the hands of their partner than from smoke and gas inhalation
- Women are over three times more likely to be killed by a partner than by not wearing a seatbelt
- Four in five Brits don’t believe the scale of the issue of domestic abuse in the UK is greater than that of a car accident/house fires
While public safety campaigns around house fires and car accidents have existed for decades, the same has not been seen for domestic abuse, despite the fact it poses a larger risk to the lives of women than these other emergencies.
The Ignored Emergency has been launched to help people realise how prevalent and deadly domestic abuse is in England and features two key films ‘Fire Safety’ and ‘Car Safety’. Each film is styled like a classic safety video, depicting familiar emergency scenarios that audiences instinctively know how to respond to.
A new survey, conducted as part of the campaign, found that 49% of Britons do not know there is a dedicated emergency line, 999-555, designed as a silent lifeline for situations, like domestic abuse, where help may be urgently needed but speaking is not an option.
Pressing 55 after dialling 999 leads the call operator to transfer the call to the local police who will track the location of the caller, allowing them to get the urgent help they need, quite literally saving lives.
Sarah Hill, Chair of Women’s Aid stated, “The statistics are harrowing; one in four women experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and at least one woman a week is killed by a current or former partner.
“Silence can speak volumes, and this is one instance where that is particularly true. Society must come together and recognise domestic abuse as the emergency it is, equipped with the knowledge needed to stand up and protect lives.”
Women’s Aid Ambassador, Michelle Griffith-Robinson OLY, said, “I hope that this important campaign, and the powerful films that have been created as part of it, will be a real eye-opener for our society. It’s time to stand up and take notice of the reality and prevalence of domestic abuse in this country.
“We need to come together to take action against this dangerous form of gender-based abuse to protect women and girls and save lives.
Notes to Editors