9 hours Ago By The Independent
More than half of women in the UK are unaware of a potentially life-saving emergency helpline for who are too frightened to speak out loud, a new study has revealed. Some 53 per cent of women and 49 per cent of Britons were not familiar with the “999-55” silent lifeline, which connects victims to an operator aware that the caller is unable to summon help. Women’s Aid has now launched a campaign, , spotlighting domestic abuse as a public safety crisis and underscoring the life-or-death stakes of the insidious crime.
It comes as , in partnership with the leading domestic abuse charity Refuge, to raise funds to build two . The initial £300,000 target was surpassed thanks to generous donations from readers, with more than £500,000 in donations flooding in so far and plans already underway for a second home. Emma Armstrong, chief executive of I Choose Freedom which runs across , has told about the emotional, physical, financial, and sexual abuse she suffered from her ex-partner.
"I thought it was love that he wanted to know where I was, what I was wearing, who I was seeing, what I was doing," she said. The 35-year-old recalled trying to escape the relationship several times but explained he would always use to keep her trapped with him. One time when she tried to leave him, she said he physically attacked her: “He threw me out the bed, he smashed my phone against the wall, that was the seventh phone I had in that relationship.
I had no way of calling for help.” Ms Armstrong said it was an honour to now be able to support survivors in her role as a domestic abuse charity head. "You see a family and survivor come in,” she added.
“They are very broken, they are in a very difficult time of their life, and they do their journey with us and they leave at the end happy, safe, smiling, looking forward to their future and with hope." Silence can speak volumes, and this is one instance where that is particularly true. Society must come together and recognise domestic abuse as the emergency it is, equipped with the knowledge needed to stand up and protect lives.
Sarah Hill The charity polled over 2,200 people and found than half of women and 49 per cent of Britons overall were unaware of the phoneline’s existence. According to the research, we sought to emphasize the prevalence of domestic abuse, women are twice as likely to die at the hands of a partner than from smoke or gas inhalation, and over three times more likely to be killed by a partner than from not wearing a seat belt. If callers press 55 after ringing 999, the call operator transfers the call to the local police who can then find out the victim’s location, enabling individuals to receive urgent support and potentially saving lives.
The line was created as a silent lifeline for situations like domestic abuse where immediate help is required but it is too dangerous for the victim to speak. In recent years, an average of between two and three women have been killed by a current male partner or ex-partner every week in England and Wales. Sarah Hill, chair of Women's Aid, said: “Silence can speak volumes, and this is one instance where that is particularly true.
Society must come together and recognise domestic abuse as the emergency it is, equipped with the knowledge needed to stand up and protect lives.” Michelle Griffith-Robinson, an ex-Olympic triple-jumper who is an ambassador for the charity, said she hoped the vital campaign and the “powerful films that have been created as part of it, will be a real eye-opener for our society”. The Independent .
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