We are now a J9 Safe Space

At Family Law Group, we have now received our training and are a J9 Safe Space. The J9 initiative aims to assist survivors and allow them to access support safely in their community. This means, as a J9 Safe Space, we can recognise and respond to survivors.

J9 understands that many survivors say they did not get the chance to tell someone as it was not safe to do so. It is hard for them to know whom to speak to and when. People are often prevented from speaking to others and are heavily controlled, meaning the perpetrator often knows their whereabouts. J9 opens the doors to that support and allows them to access it safely and easily.

The initiative is in memory of Janine Mundy, who was a mother of two, killed by her estranged husband after suffering high levels of abuse for years. In her memory, Janine’s mother set up the J9 initiative alongside the local police in Cornwall, in the hope of helping other domestic violence survivors. The name J9 was coined as Janine used to sign off her messages with ‘J9’. The aim of the J9 initiative is to create increasingly more safe places for survivors of domestic violence to enable them to access support safely and by trained professionals.

To date, J9 has trained three thousand professionals. People from job centres, GPs, local authorities, hairdressers, and police volunteers – survivors now have thousands of individuals ready to not only listen but also assist. As we have attended the training, we display the J9 logo, which alerts survivors that they have a safe place to access information, use a telephone, and contact support services. For a domestic violence survivor, seeing the J9 logo could mean the difference between life or death. That is why it is so important to get the message out there.

One in three women will be affected by domestic violence in their lifetime. Most victims are women. On average, two women a week are murdered due to domestic violence. It is irrelevant what profession you are in, what background you come from, or where you live; domestic violence can happen in any household. It is not just women who suffer; the Office of National Statistics states that one in 6 to 7 men also suffer domestic violence at the hands of their partner. Domestic violence does not discriminate.

At Family Law Group, we can be a supportive, safe space for the survivors of domestic abuse. We are now not only able to offer the legal support in terms of warning letters and injunctions, but we are also able to be a Safe Space. Any survivor of Domestic Abuse can look out for the J9 pink heart and come to us for a phone to use to get support, a place to get advice, and a helping hand during the hardest point of their lives.