On Thursday 26 October, the Sure Start Children’s Centre in Vega Close will be holding an activity event to mark ‘White Ribbon Day’. Local children and their parents and guardians are invited to come along to enjoy arts and crafts, a children’s entertainer, bouncy castle and face painting between 11.00am and 1.00pm.
Children’s Centre staff will also be on hand to offer advice to parents about various issues including domestic abuse.
The Hailsham event is just one of a series of initiatives planned to highlight the issue. White Ribbon Day itself is on 25 November and events are being promoted by East Sussex County Council’s Safer Communities Team.
Domestic violence costs East Sussex millions of pounds per year and tackling the issue continues to be a key local and national priority. The County Council and its partners recently launched a new Domestic Violence Strategy aimed at providing better help to the victims of domestic violence and their families. The strategy seeks to develop services to increase reports of domestic violence and reduce repeat incidents.
Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Cabinet Member for Community Safety at the County Council, said: "The statistics on domestic violence make very grim reading. Every three days a woman is killed in a domestic violence incident nationally. On average a woman is assaulted 35 times – 90% of the time in front of her children – before she has the courage to contact the Police. In Wealden there were over 900 incidents of domestic violence reported to the Police during 2005/06.
"This is why the County Council’s Safer Communities Team and its partners have developed a Domestic Violence Strategy and also why we are promoting the various White Ribbon Day events planned across East Sussex.”
You can find out more about Community Safety and domestic violence issues in East Sussex and see a copy of the Domestic Violence Strategy in our section on domestic violence.
Notes to editors
The Hailsham event is on Thursday 26 October from 11.00am until 1.00pm at the Sure Start Children’s Centre, Hailsham East Community Centre in Vega Close. You are very welcome to send a reporter and/or photographer to cover the event.
People can contact the Hailsham Children’s Centre Domestic Abuse Worker on 01323 444877. Anyone affected by domestic violence can call the 24 hour domestic violence helpline on 0808 2000 247 run by Women’s Aid and Refuge.
Local Services:
- Sure Start Children’s Centre Hailsham: 01323 444877.
- CRI Domestic Abuse Service:
Hastings and Rother 01424 716629
Eastbourne, Lewes and Wealden 01323 414224.
- Refuge East Sussex Outreach Service:
East: 01424 775691
West: 01323 511100.
- Sussex Police, Adult Protection Team:
East: 01424 456143
West: 01323 414147.
Reference:
1137
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