Today, on International Women’s Day, Refuge and The Independent have announced a year-long charity partnership. The partnership represents the first of its kind for The Independent and the first year-long partnership with a news brand for Refuge.
The relationship will involve a number of commercial, editorial and internal initiatives at The Independent to raise awareness and funding for Refuge’s life-saving work, including always-on signposting of Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline. The partnership will enable Refuge to reach more people, raise more funds, and increase societal awareness of domestic abuse.
Ruth Davison, CEO of Refuge, said:
“Refuge is absolutely thrilled to be partnering with The Independent. In England and Wales, one in four women will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime, and two women a week are killed by a current or former partner. These statistics are not simply numbers – they are women’s lives. Lives irrevocably changed and lives lost as a result of male violence.
“As the country’s largest single provider of specialist domestic abuse services, Refuge is only too aware of the epidemic that violence against women and girls has become, and we are absolutely steadfast in our commitment to addressing it, and eradicating it.
“The Independent’s rich history of campaigning makes them the perfect media partner for us at a time when awareness of domestic abuse, and the different forms it can take, has never been more necessary.”
Geordie Greig, Editor-In-Chief, The Independent, said:
“I’m delighted to mark my first International Women’s Day as Editor-in-Chief by announcing our new partnership with Refuge. I’m proud to be able to demonstrate yet again our commitment to making change happen, and to equality, as a publication.”
Maya Oppenheim, The Independent’s Women’s Correspondent, said:
“I am delighted to hear of Refuge’s partnership with The Independent. In the almost five years as Women’s Correspondent here, Refuge is one of the charities I’ve worked most closely with. As England’s largest provider of shelters for domestic abuse victims, I am always in awe of the life-saving, life-changing work Refuge does to help domestic abuse survivors day in, day out. Domestic abuse has a higher rate of repeat victimisation than any other crime – destroying lives as we speak and in some cases ending them all together, with the annual figures for women killed by current or former partners remaining alarmingly and harrowingly high.”
