‘Take control’ campaign helps women across Tameside seek help for domestic abuse

'Take Control'

Women in Tameside are standing shoulder to shoulder to empower others to seek help for domestic abuse with a new campaign providing support.

Tameside Council and partner Jigsaw which provides the ‘Bridges domestic abuse support service’, has worked with Diversity Matters North West and women from the local South Asian community to develop a campaign to raise awareness of what domestic abuse is and the help and support that is available.

The ‘Take Control’ campaign aims to highlight that behaviours such as controlling someone’s money, where they go, what they wear or who they see is illegal. It hopes to give women experiencing this abuse the confidence and information they need to take control themselves get help.

Bridges have set up a bilingual helpline for the duration of the campaign, which runs from the 17th June until the 14th July on 07792957812.

There is also an ongoing 24-hour helpline on 0800 328 0967 for advice, support and emergency refuge placements for all genders. In an emergency you should always call 999.

Women and representatives of organisations involved in developing the messages are taking part in a ‘power walk’ to launch the campaign and help raise awareness. Some of those taking part remained anonymous to highlight that women can seek help while also protecting their identities.

The campaign will be taken right into the heart of target communities with outreach sessions in schools for parents as well as posters, roadside banners and adverts on buses, bill boards and bus stops.

Tameside Council Executive member Councillor Allison Gwynne, who is responsible for community safety said, “One in three women and one in six men experience domestic abuse at some point. We know that domestic abuse s under-reported on every level- gender, age, ethnicity and sexuality- but data shows that an even smaller proportion of referrals for help come from the local South Asian community.

We also understand, from our work with relevant community groups and charities, that South Asian women who are abused are less likely to report it – this can be for many reasons such as fear, shame, culture, family pressure and lack of understanding that domestic abuse is illegal in the UK.

We want to ensure we reach out to all our communities to ensure they are aware of support services available. We’ve run several previous domestic abuse awareness campaigns – our most recent one targeting male victims - but this time we want to particularly reach this group of local women to ensure they too know how they can get help.”

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