We are currently supporting three domestic abuse charities through various fund-raising activities this year and through an ongoing collection of 5ps.
We supported the very recent Domestic Abuse Bill which has passed through the House of Commons and it will make a huge difference to the lives of many women. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/07/07/7626/
True Honour
True Honour is a charity founded by a survivor of honour-based abuse , Sarb, who gave evidence in the Honour Killing of her sister-in-law by close members of her family. True Honour educates both the South Asian and wider communities by raising awareness of the awful practices of honour-based abuse, honour killing and forced marriage as well as training the whole range of professionals who may have to deal with these crimes. Their mission is to empower & enable young women (and men) in the community to gain freedom from violent and restrictive practices, applying the ‘one chance rule’ where a victim may only have one chance to report and ask for help.
Since 2017, this Club has supported True Honour, and Sarb has become a member. We are now supporting True Honour to develop their plans for the future, starting with a move to new office premises and an award of £16,000 from a successful bid to the London Community Response Fund. Through this bid, and fundraising events such as tonight’s, this charity’s invaluable work will be sustained for the future.
Sarb, recently spoke about her experience at one of our Club events.
https://www.truehonour.org.uk/
East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services (ESDAS)
East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services, abbreviated to ESDAS, is a charity which supports adults and children through a variety of outreach provision. Specialist advice is given alongside advocacy, information and support. This includes children’s services, counselling, volunteering and various programmes such as the Freedom programme, Recovery Toolkit and drop ins for groups. They have a weekly legal advice clinic. Change that Lasts, a Women’s Aid initiative, was piloted by ESDAS and is now in its fourth year and involves transforming services and communities to enable the needs of survivors to be met swiftly and without the barriers that they had faced previously.
In 2019, two members attended an ESDAS conference and circulated leaflets and stickers with information about domestic abuse and ESDAS to 38 companies in Mole Valley District, to raise awareness of the problem and give the contact details for ESDAS. We are actively supporting their work through fundraising.
Isolation and Lockdown have severely impacted on survivors so it has been very important to provide potentially lifesaving safety advice. There has been a 48 % increase in referrals to ESDAS since this time last year ( Oct 2019) so it is vital that we continue to support them through this present crisis and beyond.
Here is a video produced by ESDAS with more information about the service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRPn2nG7tls
Reigate and Banstead Women’s Aid (RWBA)
Last year, we invited Chief Executive Officer, Charlotte Kneer, to speak to the club about the work of the Refuge in Redhill. During Lockdown, they opened another local refuge which was highlighted on Channel 4 news. Now, more than ever, women need support as they face the restrictions that Lockdown has imposed.
Diana Porter recently spoke about RWBA at a cooking fundraising event:
“Without local support, the refuge could not do what they are doing to enable women and children to escape from appalling home situations. It is particularly special to them that we are women supporting women which fits with what they do every day. Early in Lockdown, when I read that 5 women were being killed each week in their homes, rather than the usual 2, I was horrified. I was therefore delighted to note that during the Summer, Charlotte had been able to open another refuge in Surrey, to provide more facilities for women and their children escaping domestic violence. Needless to say, that has put an enormous strain on the staff and the team who are now trying to keep 2 refuges going.”
Two members had a preliminary discussion with Charlotte, before Lockdown, to consider how we will best be able to support the work of the refuge and the women and families they are helping. Here are 2 videos, produced by RBWA, as the Lockdown developed.
Originally posted 26 July 2020.