Women’s charity warns festive period can intensify pressures at home
Anawim says abuse and financial stress can spike over Christmas but support remains available
A Birmingham women’s charity is warning that the Christmas period can create a “pressure cooker” environment at home, with abuse and financial pressures often intensifying behind closed doors.
Alice Rosenthal from Anawim said while the charity is only open for limited hours over the festive period and may see fewer people in person, the issues women face do not disappear.
“Abuse and domestic violence and issues at home and obviously financial issues can spike over that time,” she said. “It’s that usual cocktail of people being in confined spaces, people are at home more, the situations are pressured, you’re on top of each other, there’s more alcohol, the kids are off school.”
She explained that Christmas can be a time when tensions that have been building suddenly escalate. “Things can turn into a sort of pressure cooker situation,” she said. “That thing that’s been niggling you for a while might suddenly start to really annoy you. Or it might be a time when people can isolate people from each other.”
Rosenthal stressed that help is still available even when some services reduce their hours. “The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available 24 7 obviously 999 is available,” she said.
She added that January often sees a rise in people seeking support after the festive period. “We see a spike normally in January of relationship breakdowns and that obviously comes off the back of the Christmas period,” she said, as services return to full operation and women feel able to come forward.
Rosenthal highlighted one of the stark realities faced by women trying to leave abusive situations. “One of the most depressing facts is that if a woman is leaving a violent situation it normally takes seven tries before she can do that successfully,” she said.
She encouraged women to trust their instincts over the festive period and to prioritise their own safety and wellbeing. “If you think that you’re going to be put into a situation that you don’t want to be in over Christmas, it is okay to say no,” she said. “I don’t want to do that. Actually, I’ve planned a day. I’m going to hang out by myself or I’m going to go to my friend’s house.”
For women considering reaching out to Anawim, Rosenthal said taking the first step does not have to feel daunting. “Do come and see us,” she said. “It might be making a phone call, it might be popping into our clothes hub to have a chat with the staff there or staff at a different charity shop in the town while you’re doing your Christmas shopping.”
She added that many organisations take steps to protect women’s privacy online. “All of the websites will have a button to take you straight back to a different place like Google so that people won’t know necessarily if you’ve been doing your research,” she said.
Rosenthal said services across Birmingham want women to know they are not alone. “Don’t be shy, take the first step,” she said. “We’d much rather hear from somebody than not.”