Many women face a real anguish when asking for help in contexts of sexist violence, because they are aware that it could involve additional risk. The presence of the aggressor limits their possibilities to speak openly about their situation and pushes them to look for subtle and discreet ways to warn about the danger they are in. Given this need, they have developed methods that allow victims to call for help without exposing their safety, at least immediately.
During the pandemic, for example, as many women were confined with their abusers, increasing their vulnerability, these channels were emphasized. The Canadian Women’s Foundation launched the Signal for Helpa manual distress signal which quickly went viral and is still being used today. This morning, in fact, the news broke that The Mossos d’Esquadra had arrested a man just after his partner made that gesture of help in Lloret de Mar (Girona).
This movement, a raised hand with the thumb folded over the palm and the fingers closing over itallows victims to communicate modestly that they need help, without excessively alerting their perpetrators. The signal was designed during the first wave of Covid-19, so it is especially designed for situations in which a victim is in front of a camera or on a video call. However, it serves, as has been seen, in many other contexts and there are already entities such as Amnesty International and various observatories against gender violence that have recently promoted it.
Other similar strategies are added to this strategy, such as the British initiative Ask for Angela. This code was born in 2016 in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, as response to incidents of violence and sexual harassment in entertainment environments. With this key, a person in danger can go to the staff and ask for “Angela”, implying that they need help.
Staff, who should be trained, would then respond by discreetly providing assistance, which may include escorting you to a safe location or even a call to the authorities. This code for public spaces has been replicated in multiple countries and, in fact, in some establishments their own versions of the initiative have been created.
The proliferation of these methods reflects the efforts of groups and communities that understand the importance of enabling safe and effective environments for those facing situations of violence. In addition, they confirm how leisure places, shops and health institutions can become a protection space, where staff learn to respond appropriately when someone uses any of these distress signals.
The effectiveness of these strategies, among other things, lies in their simplicity and the collaboration of the community to respond to them. However, The challenge remains that many women still do not know these resources or they lack environments in which they feel safe to use them. For those in danger, these avenues can be the difference between isolation and confinement, or hope and a future of freedom.
#hand #gesture #saves #lives #victims #sexist #violence
