Women's Aid are experiencing a rise in cost of living related calls in the lead-up to Christmas.
The national helpline explained that they have heard of ex-partners that use Christmas as a way to control and abuse women and their children by withholding maintenance, not honouring access arrangements and using presents for the children as a coercive bargaining tool. The organisation’s 24hr National Freephone Helpline will be open all day, every day during Christmas including the 25th and 31st of December. They are expecting to see a 17% rise in calls over the Christmas period.
CEO Sarah Benson said: "December and Christmas is a tough time for women and often the abuse they are suffering is more frequent and more severe with women disclosing that they have been assaulted, hospitalised, being degraded and called the most horrible names.
