Sophie is raising money for Reducing the Risk!

 

Sophie, one of our amazing Associate Trainers, is taking on the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge on 16th & 17th May and is fundraising for RtR. She will be walking 58k.

Here is an explanation in Sophie’s words:

In May, I am taking on the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge; 58 kilometres and 1,700 metres of climbing, coastlines, cliffs and whatever the weather throws at us, with amazing friends and my lovely husband. I am raising money to continue spreading awareness of domestic abuse.

I lost myself in a relationship with an abuser. I lost my voice, my sense of self and nearly my life. In the years that followed I was ashamed and angry at myself. I constantly blamed myself for what had been done to me. I didn’t have the support that exists today, and I felt it.

That’s why organisations like Reducing the Risk matter so much. They help people understand what happened to them not carry it as shame, but make sense of it. They support people to reconnect, rebuild and move forward. They also train professionals so that more people in more places know how to help, creating impact across communities and workplaces.

So why 58 kilometres?

In the UK, 58% of women killed by men are killed by a current or former partner, often after years of violence, abuse and coercive control. (Femicide Census / Karen Ingala Smith)

And 58% of suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse involved coercive and controlling behaviour, each one a life that could have been different. (Project Hope)

Every kilometre I walk represents something that should never have happened, and the work that means it doesn’t have to keep happening.

Perhaps you’ve been affected by domestic abuse or someone you love has. Perhaps you’ve never thought about it, but you know someone who carries something they have never named. Whatever brings you here, a donation, a share, just reading this thank you for continuing to spread the awareness.

Sophie has set up a Just Giving page, please do share it as far and wide as possible. – Sophie Hobbs is fundraising for Reducing the Risk