Janet, Joanne, Linda, Antonia, Kay, Michelle, Rosemary, Josephine, Caroline, Amber, Sarah, Hardeep... and so many others. Here are some names of amazing, strong, marvellous women who escaped domestic violence and are now fighting to raise awareness of domestic violence around them.

In November 2013 I will be climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, to support women and children who have suffered from domestic violence.

This journey will be the hardest physical and mental challenge that I have attempted, but I know many of these women have experienced greater pain every day with little or no hope for solution.

 

Therefore I want to dedicate every single step to them. I will climb this mountain as they have climbed obstacles to flee domestic violence. I will keep on moving and going up there until I have achieved my goal, as I know these women kept on going and moving forward regardless of the pain and difficulties until they found a safe place for themselves and for their children.

As a psychologist, my work in hospital settings and high court situations gave me a greater awareness of some aspects of the issues surrounding victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

According to Home Office figures, 1.2 women experienced domestic abuse this time last year in the UK, including half a million victims of sexual assault (ONS, 2013).

Therefore, my desire to work on this wide-ranging subject encouraged me to go abroad and support 'The Haven Wolverhampton' which provides support services to women and children experiencing domestic violence.

In 2011 The Haven Wolverhampton further concentrated its efforts on service user engagement and opened a Women's Resource Centre in the city which is available to all Haven service users.

The WRC aims to offer a space for women to gain essential skills for their personal and professional development in a safe environment.

Since 2011, I have put all my efforts into developing and managing this space. With the support of staff, service users and volunteers, we have strived to offer "Inspiring and Empowering Opportunities" in order to enable women to make informed decisions about their lives, and to help them to make preparations to move on in their lives.

Through my work at The Haven, I had the opportunity to meet courageous women full of drive, energy and aspirations who were for years minimised and humiliated by the people who were supposed to love and cherish them. They fought really hard to flee domestic violence, find a place of safety for themselves and their children and build back their lives.

The journey from victim to survivor is not without obstacles. It is a long, challenging and arduous journey.

Please help me on my journey to supporting these inspirational women and others like them. Please donate now and help me on my quest to conquer Everest!