One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute.
On average, 2 women a week are killed by a current or former male partner.
These statistics are not nice to read, it could be one of your friends, family member, someone you know personally. So what can we do to try and turn things around?
Firstly to acknowledge it, secondly get professional help. There are a number of resources out there to help with domestic violence. There are the Women's Aid organisation, with many local branches throughout the UK, Rape Crisis, Refuge, Victim Support, the police are setting up Domestic Units who can provide help too, as well as local councils and social services.
Some women cannot acknowledge they are in an abusive relationship, so just be there to support them - drop hints, but do not force the issue as you could lose your friendship. Wait until they are ready to start talking about it, and be ready with information and places to go. Remember too, all information must stay confidential, if the abuser gets wind of what is going on, the abuse will escalate.
Some national help lines include:
England Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Wales helpline: 0808 80 10 800
Northern Ireland helpline: 0800 917 1414
All calls are confidential.
You can even look up information on the internet like:
http://www.womensaid.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/PixelProject
If however a child is at risk, please act immediately, no child deserves to suffer.
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