Charity launches podcast to raise awareness on domestic abuse
A NEW podcast has been launched in North Devon to bring domestic violence and abuse out from the shadows by telling the stories of those whose voices have been silenced.
Behind Closed Doors is a brand new initiative from North Devon Against Domestic Abuse (NDADA) and a new weekly podcast series that launched on March 8 as part of International Women’s Day.
The 10-episode series will be available from Spotify plus other platforms via the charity’s website and social media. It will tell the stories of staff who work at the charity’s refuge as well as the stories of survivors, plus there will be segments with people in the community and surprise celebrity interviews too.
NDADA wants to greatly raise awareness of domestic abuse, which sadly continues unseen and under reported everywhere, including in North Devon and Torridge.
Behind Closed Doors will offer advice on how to get help to those currently suffering abuse from a partner or a family member, but also to increase awareness in the community, businesses and other organisations, so this ‘hidden’ crime no longer has anywhere to hide.
It will let people know the kinds of signs to be alert for if someone is suffering domestic abuse and what they can do to help a friend, family member or employee if they think something is going on.
NDADA has run a refuge in North Devon for women and families fleeing domestic abuse for almost 50 years and it also operates safe houses in the area, as well as providing a wide range of outreach and support services.
The Behind Closed Doors podcast project is led by Jess Taylor, a community independent domestic violence advocate for the charity.
Jess said: “Behind Closed Doors is about raising awareness of domestic abuse and what goes on in our community.
“It is a really challenging subject for a lot of people and it’s so vital that we all learn more. The biggest part of doing this is to open the eyes on domestic abuse and make it less of a taboo subject.
“There are not really any podcasts out there for survivors of abuse and there’s also not much information out there for people to identify what domestic abuse is.”
A new episode of the podcast will be released each Friday and the first two focused on the NDADA refuge and how it helps women in crisis.
Jess added: “We wanted to start with the refuge because that’s the hub of the organisation and where it all began. Initially we speak to members of the team and find out more about what they do, but the third episode will feature a survivor’s story and the fourth is an interview with our CEO Hannah Ashford.
“We wanted to open the doors on the refuge and to let people know what life is like in the house, but also to cover the other services we provide and to reach out into the local area, how we link in with other organisations and hopefully how we can connect with more.”
Jess is the interviewer and narrator for each podcast. She said: “I am really pleased with how it is going and the conversations have been interesting, to hear the perspectives of different people.
“It is just so important that more people are aware that domestic abuse is going on unseen, so we can all shine a light onto it and make a positive change.”
CEO Hannah Ashford added: “I am very excited about the launch of the first series. This initiative should help to engage listeners across generations as podcasts and audio books have continued to increase in popularity.
“We have a diverse range of people interviewed, which will aim to break the stereotype of domestic abuse victims and highlight this is an issue which affects people of all genders and ages.”
Download the podcast from Spotify or other outlets via the NDADA website at https://ndada.co.uk