[Amount raised: £1,512Last Updated 12th April 2016]
1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men suffer from domestic abuse in the UK. And their children?
Children walk on eggshells.
Where domestic abuse happens, children live in fear. They are constantly at risk of seeing the violence, hearing it, understanding the suffering of a parent and being involved in incidents. Children know it is happening and this is harmful to their development and wellbeing.
Domestic abuse is disruptive: children may experience fear, guilt, shame, sleep problems, sadness, depression and anger. There are often loss of ability to concentrate and developmental delays, which result in poor school performance and attendance.
Bromley Women’s Aid believe children should never have to walk on eggshells. We work to help child victims of domestic abuse understand what they are going through and give them the future free from abuse every child is entitled to.
WHO WE ARE:
We are a charity based in South London that has helped victims of domestic abuse for over 40 years. We run 7 refuges that cater for up to 60 children at any given time. In 2014/2015 we gave refuge to 111 children from across the UK, and we met 1474 children in 23 schools in Bromley.
We employ two Child support workers who work in the refuges, whose posts are funded by BBC Children in Need. We also run prevention programmes in primary schools on Healthy Relationships and give support to children who have disclosed abuse during school sessions.
We urgently need funds to run activities in and out of refuge for children who have experienced domestic abuse. We need to raise £5,000 to be able to continue our projects with children who are victims of domestic abuse, including activities in playrooms, outings and trips and emergency needs when they flee their homes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
• You can help Rafael, who lives in a refuge. He’s now been placed into a local school, where he has new friends, but his mum doesn't have the money to afford a new uniform, after school clubs and trips.
• You can help Julie, who has witnessed violence in his family for years. She can become upset and violent at school. Thanks to the Healthy Relationships programme we run in her school, she is able to talk through issues and control anger.
• You can also help Sarah, Nabilah and Matt, who live in refuge and have never been on a day out with their mums because not allowed to leave the house. We organise outings for them during school holidays to swimming pools, museums, the seaside, community events, parks & farms.
• You can fund Fun Days in the refuges, because… they’re children! And children deserve to have fun.
• You can support Lisa and Paul, who have development delays and need tailored support. Our Child Support Workers do one to one work them using drawing & talking therapy, creative play, arts and crafts, sand play & cookery.
• You will help Mia, who fled to refuge with her mum and little brother straight from school. As they arrived with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, you can pay for their emergency needs – nappies, food, clothes, bedding, toiletries & toys – until their benefits are in place.
• You might also pay for the fuel of Dan the Van that will take the children living in refuge one their first ever trip to the seaside and, eventually, to a life free from abuse!
Join us to end domestic abuse
...because Easter is all about eggs and no child should be left walking on eggshells!