Students raise money for those suffering from domestic abuse during lockdown

A group of International Business students are raising money for Glasgow Women’s Aid – a charity supporting those effected by domestic abuse.

Second year students Hannah Smith, Ann Vallet, Bethany Diamond, Emily Morris and Katie Hilditch were given a community involvement project as part of one of one of their modules and decided to focus on a social mission which was affected by the pandemic.

Group member Hannah Smith said her team noticed the rise in domestic violence across parts of the world that were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic before the UK and therefore decided to focus on this issue:

“We saw the steep rise in domestic violence across various countries hit earlier by the virus and knew it was only a matter of time before we experienced the same.

Those that experience domestic abuse are often silenced and we believed it to be imperative to share their story and raise awareness of their plight, especially during a time like this where they can feel completely trapped.”

Hannah explained how The University’s gender based violence campaign ‘Erase The Grey’ motivated them to educate the public on how this type of violence can develop in all different ways:

“Domestic violence manifests in so many forms and the COVID-19 Lockdown provides more opportunity for abusers to be controlling, coercive and violent.

After being inspired by GCUs Erase the Grey campaign which illustrates the pervasiveness and variety of abuse that can occur, we knew that we wanted to further this message and remind the public that their help is needed.

At this time, it is so easy to become preoccupied with our own struggles, staying at home and keeping immediate family and loved ones as safe as possible, but others do not have this luxury.

The anxieties of the pandemic are causing tensions to run high and many women and children are trapped in volatile households and left exposed and vulnerable to abuse.”

The students have already reached their target of £800 through a Just Giving page and the donations still continue to come.

By Rebecca Meechan
Got a student story you want to share? Email me at rebecca.meechan@gcu.ac.uk