Help for victims of domestic violence.

Yesterday morning I dropped into St Peter’s Church to attend an event marking the White Ribbon Campaign  which runs from November 25 to December 10 every year.  It was being run by a local organisation, Compassion, which addresses domestic abuse in Babergh and which is supported by the Babergh Community Safety Partnership of which the District Council is a member.

I was lucky to arrive early and so was able to photograph the wonderful cup cakes, complete with white ribbons, which had been baked specially to mark the event.  My cake was delicious and I expect that the display did not remain intact for very long.

The White Ribbon Campaign was started in 1990 in Canada out of respect for 14 women who were brutally murdered at the University of Montreal.  The founders at the time called on everyone ‘to neither commit, condone, nor stay silent about violence’.  Since that time the movement has grown internationally and is linked to 16 days of action to focus on raising awareness of domestic violence and abuse.  The campaign finishes on 10 December, which is the International Day of Human Rights.

The problem with domestic violence is of course that it is ‘domestic’.  It often remains hidden and people (not just women!) can suffer in silence for years.  It takes many forms and has a number of causes, but it is vitally important to expose and combat it, regardless of its level of intensity.  I first came across cases of abuse when I worked for a family law solicitor in my holidays as a law student, and I came then to understand how damaging and corrosive it is to victims’ lives and confidence.

Coincidentally, in today’s Times there is an article on a report about so called ‘honour attacks’, which are just one aspect of the problem.  These crimes, it appears, have grown exponentially in number in recent years.  In Suffolk alone in 2010 there have been 118 reported incidents which seems incredibly high to me.  According to the 12 police forces providing statistics to the report, such attacks appear to have grown in number by almost 50% year on year.  There may be some comfort to be derived from the increase.  Since these were ‘reported’ incidents, the willingness of victims to come forward may well have increased. 

It is hoped that events such as the one yesterday in St Peter’s will encourage victims of all forms of domestic violence in the Babergh area to seek help.

Compassion can be reached by contacting Cathy Press on 07966 592632 or e mailing cathy@compassion.org . The organisation runs programmes to help any woman who is affected by the impact of an abusive relationship.  These are free and all enquiries are treated in strict confidence.