Domestic Violence - the unspoken epidemic

Until April this year, I thought I only knew one person who had been affected by domestic violence. Through this person I learned about the impact domestic violence both physically and mentally.

I learned how the perpetrator can cut the victim off from their friends and family until they have total control and I learned how the victim is made to feel completely helpless… and the victim is made to feel that it’s all their fault.

In April I launched DV Safe Phone with some business colleagues, when I learned that the mobile phone is often one of the first items to be smashed or taken, which completely cuts the victim off from the outside world.

Since launching DV Safe Phone, I have learned that many of my friends and business colleagues have been victims of domestic violence, but never spoke a word about this with me until now.

I am shocked at the amount of people coming forward with their own experiences of domestic violence and it has driven me to ensure that every victim has access to a “safe phone” here in Australia.

The domestic violence industry has told me that they will never have enough phones for all the victims, so I’ve made it my charter to solve this problem for them.

I’m currently self-funding DV Safe Phone through my own business, however I’m in the process of registering the trademark and setting this up as a full Not For Profit Charity, to ensure full transparency in what we do, as we grow this into a movement that every person and every business in Australia can get involved in, whether that be through conversations with your friends, donations of spare working mobile phones from home, conversations with your place of work about donating their fleets of mobile phones as they refresh hardware, or financial assistance/donations, which will soon be fully tax deductible.

Domestic Violence has reached epidemic proportions here in Australia, there’s no denying this… and its getting worse as we’re being forced to stay home as wave two of Covid19 sweeps our country.

I want to give a huge shout-out to everyone who has supported me since I launched this in late April 2020. We have already received 584 mobile phones and distributed 291 phones to victims of domestic violence here in Australia... and we're just getting started

How can you help right now?

1. Have a conversation with your friends and colleagues about domestic violence. If they're in danger please get them to call 000, if they need someone to talk to, 1800RESPECT offer 24/7 support for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse.
2. Share this with your friends, find your old phone, ensure you’ve signed out of iCloud/Google and remove your PIN.
3. Drop it off to your local Jeep dealership anywhere in Australia.

If you’re in Queensland, we can also receive your phone directly at any King IT store (Coomera, Caloundra, Kawana, Maroochydore, Bundaberg and Harvey Bay) , 12Round Fitness Centres (Buderim, Mooloolaba and Sippy Downs), or Rotary Club (Maroochydore, Caloundra and Mooloolaba).

If you are a victim and need a safe phone, please contact Red Rose Foundation directly through their page here: https://www.redrosefoundation.com.au/index.php/contact/

Thank you for taking the time to read this, lets help make Australia a safe place and put an end to domestic violence.

Ashton Wood

Ph: 0412 281 900

Email: [email protected]

https://www.dvsafephone.com.au