In 2020, when social isolation was established as a preventive measure against
COVID-19
, many people who suffer from
domestic violence
were trapped at home in a dangerous situation, unable to ask for help due to being watched or their contact with the exterior was minimal.
This is how the
Canadian Women's Foundation
launched the
'Signal for Help'
campaign
to prevent abuse at home, mainly targeting women.
Through social networks they showed how to ask for help in a simple and discreet way, to avoid attracting the attention of their attackers.
The signal consists of
showing the palm of the hand, lowering the thumb and hiding it with the remaining fingers
.
This can be done repeatedly, to signal an alert to whoever is observing.
This call for help was adopted by the
Women's Funding Network
also in 2020 and by other foundations seeking to end abuse against women around the world.
In social networks the story of a woman went viral who, through a video call in which she shared a cooking recipe, made the signal for help while her attacker remained in the same room and that was how her friend could ask help the police to get her out of that dangerous situation.
The video was first shared on TikTok by
Rashda Khalid
and became popular across all platforms.
Last week once again the signal for help took effect.
A
16-year-old girl
did it while traveling with her alleged kidnapper on a Kentucky highway.
The person who saw the girl making the signal immediately knew that something was wrong, called 911 and took on the task of following the vehicle in which she was traveling, so as not to lose her trail.
Kentucky police said in a statement that
61-year-old
James Herbert Brick
, the teen's alleged kidnapper, was arrested Thursday afternoon while driving near an interstate.
YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat explain their child protection filters to the US Senate.
Oct. 27, 202102: 51
Although the signal that the young woman made went viral on social networks to help victims of domestic violence, in this case, its popularity saved her life by finding a person who understood this type of language.
"The way this girl was able to ask for help was because she was able to imitate an alarm signal she saw on TikTok. What this is telling you is that social networks break up the information much easier for us of something we should all do to have access. For example, all boys, girls, women and men should have access to safe mechanisms to ask for help, "explains psychologist
Fabiola Anaya
in an interview for Hoy Día.
How to deal with domestic violence?
In the United States, one in four women experiences abuse every minute.
The expert
Patricia Castillo
, representative of the
Peace
organization
, shares some advice towards women who are victims of domestic violence.
How can we prevent domestic violence?
An expert explains it
Oct. 20, 202104: 09
Identify the signs of violence:
to start, be alert for red flags.
It may be difficult to distinguish between them at the beginning of a relationship, but they can appear as the relationship evolves.
“You see a process of isolation.
It starts little by little and it's so subtle that you don't even realize it, ”says Castillo.
Develop a safety plan:
“We advise survivors to seek help.
They need support, information and someone to guide them ”.
According to the
National Domestic Violence Hotline site
, a safety plan includes vital information tailored to the particular situation of the victim that will help prepare and respond to different scenarios.
In this case, telling friends and family about your situation and dealing with your emotions is part of this plan.
Have a support network:
Friends and family can help in these cases, but there are also organizations that specialize in helping victims of domestic violence.
They can also call the helpline
1-800-799-7233
Subscribe here to today's newsletter and receive the best of the show in your email!