We started The Crochet Collective during the first lockdown in England and we decided very early on that a proportion of our profits (if we made them) would go to a charity. A charity targeting covid seemed the obvious choice but we felt there was enough attention being paid towards the pandemic and instead chose Women's Aid to tackle a rising issue at the time: domestic abuse.
Refuge's National Domestic Abuse Helpline recorded 60% more calls during April 2020 and February 2021 than it did at the start of 2020. Of the 100,000 calls in the last year, 72% of these were from women experiencing violence and abuse with nearly 20% of calls saying the perpetrator had threatened to kill them.
Many of the women who had called were afraid to seek treatment for their injuries in case they overburdened hospital staff. Here's Rosie's story (not her real name):
"The lockdown started to happen really fast and I was very scared. I had been made redundant and I knew that he had been furloughed at the start of the pandemic. I was convinced - or he'd had me convinced - that he had changed his life around. I was in bed, it was a Sunday morning and he had been up all night. I was woken up by him dragging me out of bed by my hair. He dragged me around and was slamming my head against every kind of doorframe and surface along the way. He was drunk to the point that he was unrecognisable. At one point I tried to escape from the front door but he pulled me back so hard that my neck flew backwards. I had a fractured skull, we were in the middle of the pandemic and the hospitals were almost like a no-go area. But I decided after he carried on harassing me that I couldn't live my life in this way. I knew my life would be turned upside down and I couldn't live in my home anymore. I knew all these things were going to happen and I just needed to build up the courage to call somebody and get some help."
11 days after, Rosie called the police and her ex-partner was jailed for 25 months. To us, it doesn't seem long enough. At the time of writing we have made £395 of which 10% will go directly to Women's Aid at the end of the year and we hope to donate a lot more as The Crochet Collective grows.
For more information and support on domestic abuse, contact:
Police: 999 press 55 when prompted if you can not speak freely
Next Link: 0117 925 0680
Refuge UK-wide 24-hour helpline: 0808 2000 247
Welsh Women's Aid Live Fear Free 24-hour helpline: 0808 80 10 800
Scotland National Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriages 24-hour helpline: 0800 027 1234
Northern Ireland Domestic Abuse 24-hour helpline: 0808 802 1414
Men's Advice Line 0808 801 0327
References
The impact of covid19 on survivors and services: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/evidence-hub/research-and-publications/evidence-briefings-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-survivors-and-services/#1585739910691-6b8d326b-5792
Tech playing growing role in UK domestic abuse cases, experts say: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/12/tech-playing-growing-role-in-uk-domestic-abuse-cases-experts-say?utm_term=a6f160cf4d42fdf7c05f9e9c27fb0ced&utm_campaign=MorningBriefingUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=morningbriefinguk_email
Lockdown saw 'inevitable' rise in domestic abuse, police say: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-56032316
An epidemic beneath a pandemic: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56491643
#TheCrochetCollective #CrochetersOfInstagram #Fashion #EthicalFashion #EcoFriendly #SustainableLiving #Bespoke #CrochetLove #CrochetFashion #CrochetEveryDay #IndependentBusiness #ShopSmall #ShopLocal #SmallBusinessUK
Comments