| West Oxfordshire District Council have been supporting an Oxfordshire-based charity, Reducing the Risk, to reduce the risk of domestic abuse and ensure the safety and wellbeing of victims and survivors. |
| The Council were given funding from the government as part of the Covid Outbreak and Management Fund (COMF) and local charity Reducing the Risk were granted some of this funding to enable them to go into communities and start conversations around domestic abuse.
Reducing the Risk delivered small local sessions in community settings to engage with individuals and to start to raise awareness of domestic abuse. The aim of the rural initiative was to strengthen the local community to reach and safely support victims of domestic abuse. Many of those who attended these sessions were unaware of the additional hurdles those suffering from domestic abuse face in rural areas. They agreed that communities do have a role to play in becoming more aware and addressing any culture that may tolerate or even hide domestic abuse. The COMF money also enabled Reducing the Risk to set up an online community within their resource hub for West Oxfordshire residents. This dedicated resource hub has a range of information for community volunteers, domestic abuse champions and practitioners. Anyone can access the information for free which gives them the tools they need to help those at risk. West Oxfordshire District Council are still actively working with Reducing the Risk and they have recently developed a new initiative called Reducing the Risk Friends, where people in the local area will be trained to listen and lend a hand to anyone experiencing domestic abuse. These ‘Friends’ will be able to make a difference to many residents’ lives and support those who need it most. To find out more about Reducing the Risk you can visit their website here – https://reducingtherisk.org.uk/about-us/ If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse please contact the Oxfordshire Domestic Abuse Service on 0800 731 0055 (Monday to Friday 10-7) or the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 200 0247 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). |
