Duchess of Cornwall visits safe space to learn more about domestic abuse support

Today, 28th July 2020, Hestia was honoured to speak with Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall about our domestic abuse support and our national campaign UK SAYS NO MORE's Safe Spaces scheme. The scheme provides an opportunity for victims of domestic abuse to seek support in pharmacy consultation rooms.

Patrick Ryan, Hestia’s Chief Executive was joined by Lyndsey Dearlove, Head of UK SAYS NO MORE and Jo Tilley-Riley, Director of Communications and Fundraising at Boots Piccadilly Circus to meet the Duchess of Cornwall in person in the store's consultation room.

Inside, she spoke warmly of Hestia’s domestic abuse services and our Bright Sky app, of which she was already familiar with.

During the visit, The Duchess of Cornwall heard the experience of Amber, not her real name, who had been in an abusive relationship for 10 years which escalated under lockdown. When shielding, Amber ran out of vital medication and went to the Boots website. During her search, she read about Safe Spaces and when shielding finished, Amber went to her local safe space. Whilst in the consultation room, Amber contacted her local support service and was able to speak with her mum and sister for the first time in 5 months. Since then, the perpetrator has been removed from her property and she is now safe.

The Safe Spaces scheme was launched in response to the desperate situation facing many victims isolating with perpetrators during lockdown.

Now, 1 in 4 pharmacies across the UK facilitate Safe Spaces in their consultation rooms, enabling victims of domestic abuse a space to contact specialist support and advice services.

We hope her visit today will help more victims of domestic abuse to know that they can come to a safe space to reach support.

Find your nearest safe space here

---