Silent Night…Violent Night

Can you imagine all the excitement and magic of Christmas being crushed by the fear and worry of how your abuser is going to act?

Imagine trying to put on a brave face for your children and enjoy the magic of the holidays when you’re constantly walking on eggshells around your partner, not knowing what’s going to upset them.

Imagine being unable to prepare yourself for what upset the festive season might bring.

That’s the reality for women and children living with domestic abuse at Christmas.

This year, our staff have been and are working round the clock to make sure our services remain open and available for every woman and child who needs them. We know that it has been a tough year for everyone with the ongoing pandemic, but for women and children living with abuse the fear and isolation has only intensified.

Women and children experiencing domestic abuse are not only feeling the ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic – being trapped with their abuser during lockdown, increased and unbearable familial tension and heart-breaking isolation – but are also now facing the festive season with uncertainty and fear instead of excitement.

During the pandemic we found that women really appreciate vouchers or gift cards as they give them the choice to purchase clothing, food and anything else they or their children need. Self-help and mutual support is part of our core ethos and we believe that allowing women the autonomy to purchase the goods they want and need is aligned with our values.

We are asking you to pledge a donation through our JustGiving Christmas Campaign or to purchase vouchers or gift cards and send them to us. This enables women to buy whatever they need for themselves and their children, giving them the control that has often been snatched away from them by their abuser.

It is also important for us to minimise footfall to our Resource Centre in Adelaide Park to keep us all safe in these challenging times.

If you would prefer to donate items, we have a special gift list which has been compiled by the women of Belfast & Lisburn Women’s Aid which you can view, download and share below.

Please note, the final day we will be accepting item donations will be Friday 17th December. Any items donated after this date cannot be guaranteed to be delivered in time.

Helping our appeal as a business

If you run a business or work for a company who might be looking for a chosen charity this Christmas, we would love you to consider fundraising for our appeal. Below you can download our appeal poster to print and display with the QR code linking directly to our appeal page to encourage quick and easy pledges.

We also encourage you to get involved in the appeal by having some festive fun! Why not host a donate-to-enter Christmas jumper competition (you could choose the best, the cheesiest, the sparkliest!), a virtual festive quiz with your colleagues, or even a Christmas-themed bake-off or bake sale if you’re back working in-person?

However you choose to support our appeal, we’d love to see photos and give you a shout-out on our social media channels. Please send any festive snaps or fundraising enquiries to events@belfastwomensaid.org.uk.

We will strive to ensure that no woman or child engaged with our service goes without this festive season. Please help us fulfil this promise.