There are just 10 days until the first NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day – which has been officially recognised as a Day of the Year.
NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day is being launched by DAUK and the Medical Women’s Federation (MWF). It takes place on Wednesday 10 December.
Now the Days of the Year website has given official recognition for NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day.
Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK co-chair and MWF campaigns co-lead and an organiser of the day, welcomed the day’s official status.
Day of the Year
She said: “It’s fantastic that NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day has been formally recognised as a Day of the Year.
“It acknowledges the importance of the campaign and strengthens our calls for every NHS organisation to create a culture where victims of domestic abuse feel safe and supported.”
More than one in five people in England and Wales has experienced domestic abuse. Rates are especially high among female healthcare professionals. Research suggests they are three times more likely to experience it than the average person in the UK.
The campaign has the support of NHS Practitioner Health, Doctors in Distress, Surviving in Scrubs, BRIGHT (Bristol Research on the Intersection of Gender, Health, and Trauma), IRISi Intervention, Cameron Fund, Cavell, the Healthcare Leadership Academy, the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, and the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund.
NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day
Dr Sarah Jacques is DAUK GP co-lead, MWF campaigns co-lead and an organiser of NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day.
She said: “The support that NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day is receiving is fantastic.
“We’re delighted for it to be officially recognised as a Day of the Year, which reflects the growing momentum behind it.
“We hope it encourages more organisations to be part of the day. But not only that, we want to ensure that they adopt the policies and procedures that ensure all NHS staff know where to turn for support.”
NHS staff and patients can get involved on the day by wearing white ribbons, the global symbol of the movement to end men’s violence against women and girls.
#NHSDAAD
They can also post on social media using the hashtag #NHSDAAD.
Read more about NHS Domestic Awareness Day, and access NHS Domestic Abuse Day resources for healthcare professionals and organisations.
All of our committee members are volunteers. They speak to the media and campaign on the issues facing doctors in their own time. Please support their work by joining DAUK or donating to our GoFundMe.
