Dec 8, 2010
I'M A CELEB star SHERYL GASCOIGNE today visits No10 Downing Street with a petition urging help for domestic violence victims.
It has been organised by national violence charity Refuge and cosmetics giant Avon.
Here Sheryl, 45 - who was beaten by her ex-husband, alcoholic footie legend GAZZA - explains why she is campaigning.
I AM passionate about the problem of domestic violence because of my own experience, I have been involved with Refuge for more than ten years, when I first spoke out about my experience.It took me a while to feel strong enough to speak about it, which makes me realise how difficult it is for all those families joining this protest. It is so raw and horrific.
I was stagggered when I was told the number of women killed by domestic violence in the UK had increased by 42 per cent between 2008 and 2009.
What the hell is going on? Why is nobody paying attention? We are going backwards.
The Government needs to listen and local authorities start doing something.
We can't let these figures go on increasing. We are walking to Downing Street to hand in a petition with more than 8,000 signatures.
It is to say: "This isn't good enough, you need to pay attention to what is happening!"
How much louder can we shout to stop these deaths? The economic crisis means cuts are happening.
These have to be made but the statistics show that local authorities still need to spend money on domestic violence services.
The stories of families affected by domestic violence break my heart.
These people are inspiring and illustrate what needs to be done.
It is very humbling to spend time with them.
The problem with domestic violence is that no one wants to talk about it - even I still find it embarrassing and find people are thinking: Why is she still harping on about it? It's still a taboo subject.
But if we don't continue to bring domestic violence out of the shadows, I fear the rate of domestic murders will increase even more.
There were 72 people killed in 2007-08 and in 2008-9 there were 102. What will the figure be next year?
How much more blood needs to be shed?
Enough is enough.
The more people talk about domestic violence, the less it is considered taboo and the more good can be done.
I will carry on supporting Refuge for as long as I am living and breathing.
Source: theSunUK
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