Students at York have been praised for their innovative upcoming Domestic Violence awareness event, Ring of Care.
A group of third-year Psychology students have designed the Ring of Care event, in which they plan to string together postcards around the campus lake with messages of support for victims of Domestic Violence.
They hope to collect 2012 postcards throughout week 8, which should reach over half a kilometre in length.
Daniel Bennett, one of the organisers, spoke to Vision about why they decided to plan such an ambitious event. “I was reading an article by Amy Moss in Vision a few months ago about how our age group is the most at risk from domestic abuse, miles apart from the stereotype of it happening to more mature couples. The story about the girl from this University who ran away to Asia really touched me and I thought it was time to say something about what healthy relationships should be.”
One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute in the UK, and on average two people die each week at the hands of their abusers.
In order to collect such a large number of postcards, Bennett and the other volunteers have arranged for teams to compete against each other in order to get as many cards signed as possible. There will be prizes for the teams that collect the most, with prizes being provided by the Fudge Kitchen, Lush, Rituals and more.
YUSU Welfare Officer Bob Hughes said of the initiative: “I think this is a fantastic way of raising awareness of issues around domestic violence, especially with so many support centres being closed down nationally. I applaud all the hard work that has been put into it, and I think it is a very innovative and visual way of getting that message out.”