Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower is lit in orange to mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday March 8th
On Wednesday 8th March, we will be celebrating International Women’s Day when communities around the world celebrate women and their achievements. The Spinnaker Tower will be lit up in orange as a beacon of support for our charity’s fight against domestic abuse and the city’s commitment to embracing equity and celebrating the strength of women in Portsmouth and around the world.
Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, but some people – particularly women – are more likely to be victims. International Women’s Day is a global awareness day reminding us to celebrate the power and strength of women and their social, economic, cultural and political achievements.
In the year ending March 2022, the number of police recorded domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales rose by 7.7% compared to the previous year, with 910,980 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police. (Source: ONS Domestic Abuse in England and Wales overview November 2022).
As a charity we are working towards a vision of a world without domestic abuse. Through staff, communities and businesses continued campaigning for the rights of domestic abuse victims, we are gathering more and more support to get our message out. For International Women’s Day, we are calling on both our staff and community to #EmbraceEquity and play your part in forging a world that is inclusive and equitable.
To support us and the #EmbraceEquity, tell us what equity means to you send us photos of you embracing women who are important to you - your mum, your daughter or your friends – and tag us on social media.
If you want to organise your own community event, are running the Great South run or doing a sponsored sky dive and would like to have Stop Domestic Abuse as your nominated charity, contact the team at changemaker@stopdomesticabuse.uk. We can support you by helping you organise an event, supply T-shirts to wear during your activity or even come and do a talk for your supporters.
Stop Domestic Abuse CEO, Claire Lambon says:
“We are delighted that this iconic landmark will be lit again this year in Stop Domestic Abuse’s orange colour to represent Stop Domestic Abuse and to mark International Women’s Day. We want to use this event to highlight the impact of domestic abuse on women.
Whilst both men and women may experience incidents of inter-personal violence and abuse, women are considerably more likely to experience repeated and severe forms of abuse, including sexual violence.
The latest figures show that out of an estimated 2 million victims of domestic abuse in the last year, some 1.7 million were women (Source: ONS Domestic Abuse in England and Wales overview November 2022). The majority (70 per cent) of victims of domestic violence deaths are female and only 18% of women reported abuse to the police.
On average over 90 per cent of defendants in domestic violence court cases are male and over 80 per cent of victims are female. Every week in the UK, two women are murdered by a partner or ex-partner.
We do need to challenge cultural stereotypes which still assume that the perpetrators of domestic violence are men and the victims are women. However, at the same time, we must recognise that the majority of perpetrators are men. We still live in a patriarchal society where men have more power, more sense of entitlement, and (on average) more income than women. To ignore the impact of gender on domestic violence does a disservice to people of any gender.
If you live in Hampshire, Portsmouth or Southampton and are experiencing domestic abuse, you can call the Domestic Abuse Advice Line on 0330 0533 630 or email advice@stopdomesticabuse.uk for confidential advice and support.