Duchess Camilla Launches #EveryonesProblem Hashtag to Raise Awareness on Domestic Violence

The Duchess of Cornwall has been a passionate advocate for ending domestic violence in the U.K. and around the world for over 10 years, and now she is taking her efforts online.

At tomorrow’s Women of the World (WOW) festival in London, Duchess Camilla will join a number of charities to launch a digital campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence and coercive control. #EveryonesProblem will be backed by the organizations Refuge and SafeLives, both of which Camilla has work with closely, and aims to widen the conversation around a subject that many still consider taboo.

In a speech at the March 6 conference, the duchess will speak openly about her work championing the issue and why there is still so much left to be done. “I find it almost impossible to think that any friend of mine might be living under that horrific threat, without my knowing it, but that is the power of coercive control and violence in the home,” she will say. “It is characterized by silence–silence from those that suffer–silence from those around them, and silence from those who perpetrate abuse.”

Her speech continues, “This silence is corrosive; it leaves women, children and men carrying the burden of shame. It prevents them from speaking out about the abuse and it prevents them from getting help. And at its worst it can be fatal.”

Britain’s Office of National Statistics revealed that in 2018, 4.2 percent of men and 7.9 percent of women in the country suffered domestic abuse—approximately 685,000 men and 1.3 million women. At a SafeLives engagement at Clarence House in February, Camilla said domestic abuse “affects everybody” and urged people to “get up and talk about their experiences. No one knows what goes on behind any front door. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the national hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) in the U.S. or 0808 2000 247 in the U.K.

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