On 3 November 2016 the Live Fear Free Helpline will celebrate its rebranding to provide support to anyone affected by domestic abuse, sexual violence and other forms of violence against women, and launch its new webchat service, with an event at The Millennium Centre, Cardiff between 11.30am to 1.00pm. Speakers will include Carl Sargeant AM, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children.
This comes at a time when the number of calls made to the Helpline are increasing. The Live Fear Free Helpline has received 29,377 calls in the last year; this included an increase of almost 8 per cent between April and September 2016 when compared to the same period in the previous year.
The Live Fear Free Helpline is a 24 hour helpline for women, children and men experiencing domestic abuse, sexual violence or other forms of violence against women. It is a main point of contact in Wales to access support, information, safety-planning, advocacy, refuge and counselling services. Friends and family who are concerned about someone’s safety and well-being are also able to call for advice and support. The Live Fear Free Helpline is provided by Welsh Women’s Aid and funded by Welsh Government.
Survivors will now also be able to access the advice and support of the Live Fear Free Helpline via a new webchat function enabling them to get help through multiple channels of communication depending on what is best for them.
Eleri Butler, Chief Executive of Welsh Women’s Aid, said:
“The Helpline provides a fantastic service to survivors of abuse across Wales, and their friends, families and professionals, at a time when demand for this invaluable support is on the rise.
The Helpline offers a 24-hour 365-days a year lifeline for survivors and our team of specialist, trained support workers are fully equipped to provide advice, support and access to local services that best meets survivors’ needs. Anyone affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence should call the Live Fear Free Helpline on 0808 80 10 800.”
Rhian Lewis, Regional Services Manager of Welsh Women’s Aid said:
“Many of our callers have not disclosed to anyone before, and our service is crucial in providing specialist support and information to women, children and men affected by domestic abuse, sexual violence or any form of violence against women in Wales at a time when they need it the most. The service has also widened its accessibility by introducing a webchat service to expand our provision to ensure survivors have multiple channels of communication to contact us on depending on what is most accessible and right for them.”
If you have any queries or want to attend the event contact [email protected]