Act until women and children are safe
Posted by Marc | 2-02-2007 22:17 | Category: Abuse, Social aid, Violence, Women's Issues
On 1st February 2007 Women’s Aid, the national domestic violence charity, launches a national domestic violence awareness campaign to ask everyone to ‘act until women and children are safe’– that is - admit domestic abuse is a problem, call it by its name and talk to someone about it . The campaign, which has been photographed by Rankin, uses head and shoulder portraits of famous female faces, made up to show the physical effects of domestic violence.
Women photographed so far include Fiona Bruce, Anne-Marie Duff, Anna Friel, Jemma Kidd, Honor Blackman, Fay Ripley, Miquita Oliver and Kate Thornton. The March edition of Marie Claire, out today, showcases a range of images from the campaign.
Anne-Marie Duff, who was photographed for the ‘act’ campaign said:
“I was proud to take part in such a groundbreaking campaign. Domestic violence affects 1 in 4 women at some point in their lifetime, yet it is still often ignored and women are suffering in silence. I was made up to show how I would look if my eye was bruised, but domestic abuse is not only about physical abuse – many women are psychologically abused by their partners, yet no one can see the emotional scars. All forms of domestic abuse ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children every year, and we can all do something to help.”
Nicola Harwin, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said:
“We want this powerful campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence, to get people talking about it, to make those experiencing it to realise that they’re not alone, and to get everyone to do something to help.
Women and their children who are victims of abuse often feel too scared or ashamed to tell anyone, or feel that no one can help. Friends and family may not want to admit it’s a problem or feel embarrassed to talk about it. Doctors, nurses, health visitors see it all the time but often don’t ask the vital questions.
But whether we are friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues, or helping agencies, we can all do something to help stop domestic abuse.”
The Act campaign is launched by the British Women’s Aid, the national domestic violence charity that coordinates and supports an England-wide network of over 500 local services working to end domestic violence against women and children.
Women’s Aid provides a package of vital 24 hour lifeline services through its publications (available in 11 languages), websites (www.womensaid.org.uk and www.thehideout.org.uk), and running the Freephone 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline in partnership with Refuge.
Advertiser:
Women’s Aid
Agency:
Grey London
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