Abuse in the Home - the Voluptasse Refuge Appeal

We all know the statistics and we all know that it happens to Men, Women, Children and even Animals.

I could also sit here all day and tell you how unacceptable abuse in the home is but its something that we ALL already know and I dont want to preach to you about it. Its something that happens far too often and is far too often ignored...

What I do want to discuss today are the courageous people that find the strength to break away from this abuse and start their lives again.

I recently attended the trial of my Sisters ex husband after he denied hitting her in the face with a car door. In this trial the Prosecuting Solicitor went over the whole 15 years of mental and physical abuse and the suffering that both her and her children went through during the time that they were together, her ex partner denied everything but District Judge found him guilty of assault. He lambasted him for his behaviour and told him that he should be ashamed of himself. It was a small victory but it felt amazing! Finally someone had listened! It was during the two hour trial that I looked at my close circle of friends and realised that these incidents were not isolated incidents.

There was the girl who at 19 years old was hung by her legs from a 12 storey balcony (which he subsequently burned down that night) because she caught her partner buying drugs and dared to argue with him about it. Another friend who was beaten and sexually assaulted by her ex partner infront of her 3 daughters and another friend who will spend her whole life in hiding and in fear of a man she spend 5 hours running down a canal covered in blood to get away from. Her first thought whenever she has to move AGAIN is how far away she is from the nearest Police Station and how long it would take them to respond to a 999 call if she has to make one. She was regularly beaten with bats, stabbed with knives and hit with anything else that he could get his hands on.

These women all have one thing in common (apart from bad taste in men) and thats Courage. They all had the courage to leave and they all walked out with the clothes on their backs and nothing else.

Don't get me wrong, abuse in the home is caused by both Men and Women and is equally unacceptable by both sexes, as a retailer of Sex Toys I work in an industry that thrives on the fun aspect of a relationship. We aim to provide new thrills and pleasures that bring a couple closer together in a way that is fun and consensual and we celebrate these aspects of a relationship.

This Christmas, Voluptasse wants to celebrate the courage of those Men and Women who have broken away from an abusive relationship and remind them that they are not alone.

What we are asking people to do is contact their local Councils and ask them to help get in touch with their local refuge. Once you have spoken to the refuge, arrange a collection of Toys, Chocolates, Gift Sets, Mince Pies or anything that will help bring a little extra Christmas Cheer to someone who has had the courage to uproot their families, walk away and start again.

The gifts can always be dropped off at a safe point and distributed to the refuge at Christmas time. We did it on a small scale last year and it was a huge success so we are asking everyone else to do the same for their local communities and spread some happiness this Christmas :)