London, 20 May 2016 – Today, Hestia, a London charity and the largest provider of domestic abuse refuge services in the Capital, is launching a campaign to raise awareness about, and bring an end to domestic violence and sexual assault across the United Kingdom.

The UK SAYS NO MORE campaign aims to put an end to domestic violence and sexual assault by making it the responsibility of every UK resident to stand up, take note and take an active step to end domestic violence and sexual assault.

Each year more than 1 million women and almost 1 million children are affected by domestic abuse across the United Kingdom, which represents a public health crisis of epidemic proportions.
The UK SAYS NO MORE campaign follows the extremely successful campaign in the United States named NO MORE. NO MORE is a unifying symbol and movement to raise public awareness and engage bystanders around ending domestic violence and sexual assault. The campaign, which launched in 2013, has so far gained over 4.2 billion media impressions, and is the only anti-domestic violence and sexual assault public service announcement (PSA) to be shown at two consecutive Super Bowl broadcasts (in 2015 and 2016), each reaching over 100 million viewers.

“In our safe houses across London each year we support more women affected by domestic abuse than any other, and are proud to be launching the UK SAYS NO MORE campaign. We believe that ending Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault is everybody’s responsibility” said Patrick Ryan, CEO at Hestia. “We recognised the strength and success of the NO MORE campaign in the United States and formed a partnership with the team there to bring the campaign to the United Kingdom so that we too can say ‘NO MORE looking the other way’.”

“From the start, our vision for NO MORE was to create a platform for greater dialogue around domestic violence and sexual assault, in the belief that increased awareness and bystander engagement would help fuel enhanced funding for direct service, advocacy and prevention” said Jane Randel, Co-founder of NO MORE. “However in those early days we hadn’t imagined that only a few years later we would be standing in London, to witness the birth of UK SAYS NO MORE. It has been an amazing journey and we are honoured to be here to show our support.”

The UK SAYS NO MORE media launch at the Sanctum Soho in London on May 19, 2016, was attended by a number of the personalities who appeared in the UK SAYS NO MORE PSAs.

The event gave attendees a private first viewing of these powerful and impactful PSAs, before they were made available to the public today, May 20.

“I come from India, where the abuse of women and other vulnerable individuals is rampant,” said Shobu Kapoor, Actor/Writer/Producer (Roman Candle Productions).

“Even though we may not hear about it, it does go on. In India we assume that in prosperous developed countries the incidents of domestic abuse and sexual assault are minuscule, however I have been shocked to discover that this simply is not the case – It occurs everywhere. The issue does not discriminate. It affects women, men and children regardless of gender, social standing, sexual preference, age, race, colour or creed. Any form of abuse from one person on another is just unacceptable. I say NO MORE and call on the UK to SAY NO MORE!”

——-

About Hestia

We are a charity working with vulnerable adults and children, to bring about positive changes in their lives at a time when they need it most. We use our 45+ years of experience to support almost 9,000 adults and children across London each year, assisting anyone that needs help, whatever their circumstances. Across our broad range of services, we help people find a permanent home, manage their finances, take care of their health, and access work, training or education, while always providing emotional and practical support to assist people in succeeding in their daily lives. We believe in empowering adults and children to have a voice in the choices that benefit them, their families and their local communities – to enable them to change their lives for the better, fulfil their aspirations and live the most independent, healthy and enriching lives possible.

For regular updates of Hestia’s work and the UK SAYS NO MORE campaign, follow Hestia on Facebook and Twitter.

About UK SAYS NO MORE

Facilitated by Hestia – the UK SAYS NO MORE campaign involves a broad coalition of advocacy and service organisations, leading corporations, media companies and major advertising, branding, and design firms.

The UK SAYS NO MORE campaign promotes the use of a new national symbol to express support for ending domestic violence and sexual assault in our society. The UK SAYS NO MORE signature pin, worn and displayed by influencers, people working in the field of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and members of the general public, will raise visibility, create awareness, encourage conversation, and help break the social stigma surrounding domestic violence and sexual assault. You can find UK SAYS NO MORE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

About NO MORE

NO MORE is a public awareness campaign designed to engage bystanders around ending domestic violence and sexual assault. Launched in the USA in March 2013 by a coalition of leading advocacy groups, service providers and major corporations, NO MORE is supported by hundreds of national and local groups and by thousands of people who are using its signature blue symbol to increase visibility for these hidden issues.