Cheshire and Merseyside domestic abuse campaign reveals true scale of the problem
CAMPAIGNERS raising awareness about
domestic abuse across Cheshire and Merseyside have been staggered by the number
of people who have shared their experiences and come forward to tell their
stories as part of the initiative.
Nearly 20,000 people have engaged with the:- 'Be a Lover not a Fighter'campaign which was launched by award winning actress Crissy Rock just over a
month ago.
The campaign has taken place via Facebook, online and at face to face engagement
events which have been taking place across the 9 local authority areas
involved.
Aimed at the general public, the campaign intended to breakdown boundaries and
uncover the scale and impacts of domestic abuse, often hidden issue in
communities. It asked people to pledge their support to help put an end to
domestic abuse and encouraged people to talk more about it.
Many have talked about it, with survivor stories being shared daily with the
team at their various engagement event locations or on social media.
1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have suffered domestic abuse with 2 women killed
every week in the UK by their partners. But it's not just physical violence;
emotional and psychological abuse is less well acknowledged but is also domestic
abuse.
'Be a Lover not a Fighter' is the latest campaign run by Champs, a public health collaborative of the Directors of Public Health across the nine local authorities in Cheshire and Merseyside. It aims to generate discussion about domestic abuse, its signs and impacts, while offering help through local services, listed on the website, to bring the subject out into the open.
Matthew Ashton, the Director of Public Health spokesperson for the campaign
said:- "We expected that this campaign would get people talking and raise
the debate about domestic abuse generally. Encouraging people to talk about
domestic abuse is hard - people are often afraid to talk openly and the social
norm can be to accept that it is happening, so this is success. Through aiming
to raise awareness amongst the general public, we knew that we would also engage
with those who have experienced domestic abuse; support for this approach from
the public and survivors alike has been overwhelming.
What has also been highlighted is how common peoples' experience of domestic
abuse is; including the extreme outcomes of domestic abuse such as the murder
of a family member. We received so many survivor stories and pledges of support
for what the campaign is trying to achieve and how more needs to be done to
encourage people to talk, seek advice and report it."
Crissy Rock, who stars as Janey York in the hit TV series Benidorm said:-
"As a survivor of domestic abuse myself, I know how hard it can be to talk about
it. I commend those people who have come forward and shared their experiences so
that other people might be able to relate to what is happening and leave an
abusive relationship. Well done, if it's saved just one person it's been worth
it."
Other celebrity support has come from, Shameless actress Karen Bryson, Hollyoaks
actress Jennifer Metcalfe, Everton Football Club's Ambassadors Ian Snodin,
Graham Sharp and Graham Stuart, and Miguel De Foro, from Britain's Got Talent's
MD Productions. They have all shared videos of support showing their 'heart
hands' on social media for the public to join in with their own.
For more information about the campaign go to:-
LoverNotFighter.Org.UK.
