Description
Fighting domestic abuse is a cause very close to my heart, and I am really pleased to work with Refuge by having our scented candles and wax melts from our Coconut Dreams collection raise awareness for it and the amazing work that Refuge do to stop domestic abuse and save lives.
In England and Wales, 1 in 4 women experience domestic abuse during their lifetime and two women a week are killed by a current or former partner. These figures are shocking, disturbing and the fact that 85% of those experiencing domestic violence sought help from professionals an average of five times before they received effective help to stop the abuse is completely unacceptable and needs to change.
Leaving an abuser can be an extremely dangerous time for a woman; in the recent Femicide Census, of the 888 women killed by partners or former partners over the last 10 years at least 378 (43%) were known to have separated, or taken steps to separate, from the perpetrator. This is why services like the Helpline – and the specialist domestic abuse services Refuge can refer women to – are so critical.
COVID-19 has had an impact on domestic abuse, as activity on the Refuge Helpline shot up over the first national lockdown – between April and June of 2020, whilst women were asked to stay at home, the average number calls and contacts logged on their database every month was up 65% compared to the previous three months.
If you, or someone you know needs support, contact Refuge’s 24 hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247
or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk and access live chat support (Monday-Friday 3-10pm)
