Tomorrow marks ‘Elimination of Violence Against Women’ day

This international campaign, which raises awareness of key issues around violence against women and girls, starts on November 25 to mark ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’ ending on December 10.

The Partnership brings together key agencies within the Southern Area to share knowledge and experience on domestic and sexual violence, to undertake awareness raising and to address local issues.

Collaborating with children and young people, four animations telling the stories of those effected by domestic abuse will be released over the awareness drive from the different organisations in the partnership, including Women’s Aid and the PSNI in conjunction with Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland.

The campaign will also see the launch of the DASS project – Domestic Abuse and Safety Support Service, in the Trust.

DASS is a pilot scheme co-managed by Women’s Aid and is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, offering confidential onsite specialist support to female victims of domestic abuse within an acute hospital setting.

Statistics show that over 80% of women* in a violent relationship seek help from health services and these are often a woman’s first, or only, point of contact. Additionally, almost a quarter* of high-risk victims and one in 10 of medium risk victims attended ED because of acute injuries.

“We’ve had great feedback from service users, women have felt safe and understood with DASS giving them the confidence to access other support services.

She added: “The next steps for DASS is securing recurrent funding, trialling an out of hours service and increasing the number of referrals.”

Donna Murphy, Chair of the Southern Area Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership and speaking at the launch said, “Domestic abuse can be any threatening behaviour, violence or abuse inflicted by a partner or family member regardless of gender or sexual orientation. It can be psychological, physical, verbal, sexual, financial or emotional in nature. This includes coercive controlling behaviours

Chief Executive of the Southern Trust Dr Maria O’Kane said, “Our staff are often the first point of contact for people suffering from domestic abuse and the work of the Southern Area Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership and the success of DASS, shows that our health professionals have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in people’s lives.”