Almost 40% more abuse victims seek help from Peterborough charity
Peterborough Women's Aid is backing this year's White Ribbon campaign
A Peterborough charity which has seen almost 40% more people needing its help hopes more services like theirs can tackle violence against women and girls.
Cambridgeshire Police and other local organisations are backing White Ribbon UK's 16 days of action, calling on men to speak up and challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours.
"We can always do more and I think it would be lovely to see local sports clubs, businesses, which are predominantly male getting involved in the White Ribbon campaign," Mandy Geraghty, CEO at Peterborough Women's Aid (PWA), said.
PWA were one of the groups involved in raising the White Ribbon flag at Peterborough Town Hall last week.
In the last 12 months, the charity - which helps women and children fleeing domestic abuse - has had more than 1,300 victims seeking help and support, a 38% increase on last year.
"Raising the White Ribbon flag has got a lot of coverage, so that's positive that people are seeing what we're doing and knowing they can access support through agencies like ours," Mandy added.
"I think lots more needs to be done and we need to get to the root cause of the problem, in terms of educating our young boys and men, letting them know what's right and wrong, making them feel confident to challenge their peers if they're sexist or misogynistic."
Joanne's story
Joanne - not her real name - was stalked for six years and hopes sharing her story can raise awareness of stalking.
“I used to love going for runs; it was my time to clear my head," Joanne said.
But in the end, I was afraid to even take the bins out; I felt like I was being watched all the time.”
Joanne was introduced to her perpetrator at a children’s party in 2018.
“I had seen him in passing before as our children went to the same school; I didn’t even know his name," she said.
“He seemed very quiet, very serious – quite boring.
“But when he did speak, I found him a bit patronising; I thought that was just the way he was.”
Joanne brushed her first impressions aside when he was invited to join a small running group she attended.
However, it wasn’t long before the newcomer started to make Joanne feel uneasy.
“He started sending me messages, nagging me about when we were next going out for a run," Joanne recalled.
"He also followed me on Strava and questioned why I wasn’t running with him when I went out on my own."
'Gobsmacked'
Feeling uncomfortable, Joanne tried to distance herself, but the messages intensified.
“He said that he had made ‘an observation’ that as I was no longer running with him, he didn’t feel appreciated.
"So, he was going to give me space but would always be my friend.”
Joanne was left feeling gobsmacked and sent other members of the running group a screenshot for advice.
“I was baffled; I didn’t know how to respond,” she said.
Over the next few days, Joanne received a flurry of apologetic messages from the man asking if they could run together again.
Joanne said to try and move on, but he continued to message Joanne, which she likened to “having an annoying fly buzzing round my head”.
Rape threats
She blocked him on social media, but he continued to find ways to contact her, which included sending a Christmas card stating that “the angels were looking down” on her.
“But the message which crossed the line for me, was when he said he had run to my husband’s grave to ‘pay his respects’," she said.
"I didn’t know how he would know where this was, I felt violated.”
Though the messages eventually slowed, they never fully stopped.
In 2021, he resurfaced under a different name, following Joanne again on Strava and sent her friend requests.
In October 2024, he then sent Joanne a series of sexually violent messages, including threats to rape her in her own home.
He also said he was not going to “share her with anyone else” and that he liked to drive past her house.
“He was so deranged,” Joanne said.
“I was very scared for my safety due to what he had been saying – he wanted me to be part of this weird fantasy that he had built up in his head.”
'My stalker showed no remorse'
Joanne contacted the police and her stalker was eventually sentenced to more than two years in prison and given a 10-year restraining order.
Although Joanne was relieved to hear her stalker was behind bars, the psychological trauma had taken its toll.
“I felt guilty I had ‘put someone in prison’ – I barely slept that night," she added.
"I told the detective how I was feeling, but he explained that my stalker was in prison for what he did.
“My stalker showed no remorse – he’s a very dangerous man.
"I dread to think what would’ve happened had he not been stopped.”
Joanne hopes her story will encourage others to seek help and report stalking behaviour early.
"On and off, I was stalked for six years but now, I have my freedom back," she said.
“The first time I went for a run, it took me ages - I was able to stop and take as many pictures as I wanted - I realised I was no longer living in fear looking over my shoulder.”