Raising awareness of domestic abuse

A 'Giving Tree' has been placed at Newbury College to mark International White Ribbon Day

A TREE has been placed at Newbury College to help raise awareness of domestic abuse in the lead up to Christmas.

Following the success of previous years, the ‘Giving Tree', organised by West Berskhire Domestic Abuse Forum, is returning to Newbury on The Street at Newbury College to mark ‘International White Ribbon Day' and raise awareness of domestic abuse.

The main message of the campaign is that domestic abuse can take many forms and is not just violence.

The tree has been decorated with labels and white ribbons, with each label giving a description of a person who is being supported by A2Dominion (A2D).

Students at the college, staff and members of the public are invited to take a label and attach it to a gift they would like to donate and to wear a ribbon.

The gifts can be up to the value of £10 and should be placed under the tree unwrapped so that A2D can assess the age and suitability of each gift and match it to the recipient.

West Berkshire's executive member for safer communities, Anthony Stansfeld (Con, Kintbury) said: “Nationally, one in four women and one in six men experience domestic abuse at some point during their lifetime.

“In 90 per cent of cases reported, children were in the same or next room when the abuse took place. These are shocking statistics, but people can be helped to change and there is a range of support available locally for those looking to break this destructive pattern.”

West Berkshire's local police area commander, Supt Robin Rickard, added that campaigns such as White Ribbon helped to create awareness of domestic abuse, which he said many people find difficult to speak about.

He said: “We encourage the reporting of domestic abuse so that victims, their families and perpetrators can get help and support.”