White Ribbon Day 2022: Raising awareness of gender based violence

The global theme for this year’s 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is “UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”. 

We are running events from today until 10 December. Details of the events timetable can be found on our website. Laurence House will be lit in orange between 5pm and 7pm on Friday 25 November – the colour orange symbolises a brighter future free of violence. We will be running a series of videos on social media on each day of the campaign to promote this campaign and the Athena helpline.

Domestic abuse can take many forms including psychological, economic, sexual, physical, digital, and coercive control. It may be difficult to recognise the signs of abuse so Refuge has created a list of questions to help people spot the patterns of behaviour of abusive partners.

If you need help or support, please visit www.lewisham.gov.uk/athenahelpline or call 0800 112 4052. Athena is a confidential, non-judgemental service to support those living in Lewisham who are experiencing gender-based violence. The service provides outreach programmes, independent advocacy, group support, refuge accommodation and a specialist service for young women.

The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is a team of highly trained female advisers who can empower you to understand your options and support you to make any decisions about the future. They offer support to increase your safety, including finding a refuge place or other specialist services.

Women’s Aid has created resources specifically for those experiencing domestic abuse, including a live chat service.

We will be marking White Ribbon Day for 16 days to acknowledge the different forms of violence and the range of people who may be victims. Although the statistics indicate that women are more likely to experience domestic abuse than men, we recognise that men and boys can also be victims of gender-based violence whether it be committed by another man or by a woman. Other sources for support include The Men’s Advice Line, a confidential helpline for male victims of domestic abuse, and Galop, a specialist helpline for LGBTQ+ people.

If you are in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police.

Lewisham Council is committed to ensuring that the borough is a welcoming place of safety for all. Each year thousands of people stand up, speak out and say no to violence. Help is available to anybody who needs it and we urgently need to work together to prevent violence and make sure our communities and homes are safe for everyone.