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Human Rights Day 2022

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Today is the final day of 16 Days of Action against Domestic Abuse, ending on Human Rights Day.  

Human Rights Day is every year on 10 December, the day the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The UDHR states the rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Find out more: Human Rights Day | United Nations 

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world. In the UK human rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998. Some of those rights include; your right to life, your right to personal liberty, your right to freedom of expression, your right to non-discrimination and your right to not be treated in an inhuman way. 

You can find out more about Human Rights in the UK on the Citizens Advice website here, as well as what to do if you feel your rights have been breached: Human rights – Citizens Advice 

16 Days of Action is all about raising awareness of the presence of domestic abuse and violence towards women and girls in our society. Human Rights Day is an important reminder that everyone has a right to be treated fairly, and humanely.  

Everyone deserves to access support like ours, to help them live a better, safer life for themselves and their family.  

You can find out more about our Domestic Abuse Services at Richmond Fellowship here. 

For immediate support please see the below helplines: 

16 Days of Action against Domestic Abuse

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16 Days of Action against Domestic Abuse

16 Days of Action25 November marks the beginning of 16 Days of Action, an important campaign that raises awareness and calls for change to end domestic abuse. It begins on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, an awareness day aiming to make women and girls safe from abuse and ends on International Human Rights Day.

The 25 November also marks White Ribbon Day, a day inspired by The White Ribbon Pledge led by men who campaign to stop violence against women and break down long established harmful attitudes and behaviours around masculinity.

Did you know:
Globally, an estimated 736 million women—almost 1 in 3 —have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life. As well as this, approximately 400,000 perpetrators per year cause medium and high levels of harm, yet fewer than 1% received specialist intervention that might stop the violence.

Our Domestic Abuse Services are an important part of Richmond Fellowship, and the wider Recovery Focus Group. They have been pioneering in the fight to end violence against women and girls for over 30 years now.

Our skilled staff work hard to ensure we take action against domestic abuse every day. Our Perpetrator and Survivor services move the accountability over to the perpetrator and shift blame away from the victims and survivors. This is a vital approach in addressing domestic abuse at the root cause.

Over on our Richmond Fellowship Facebook and Twitter, we’ll be raising awareness and signposting to support. We’ll also be talking about the work of our specialist domestic abuse services. Make sure you follow and reshare our posts to help keep the conversation going and spread awareness as part of 16 Days of Action.

Find out more about our Domestic Abuse Services.

Looking for support?

  • Refuge, 24-hour National Women’s Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
  • Respect, Men’s Advice Line: 0808 8010327
  • Galop, National LBGTQ+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0800 999 5428
  • If you are at serious risk of harm or immediate danger to life, call 999.
  • Ask for ANI, in your local Pharmacy.

International Men’s Day 2022 – Karl’s Blog

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As part of International Men’s Day 2022, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the issues affecting men and boys and showing that a career in the charity and care sector is something men can aspire to.

Karl began receiving support from Richmond Fellowship in 2016 after being out of work for many years.

Since 2019 he’s worked as a Peer Support Coordinator at our Kirklees Employment service in Yorkshire. Karl explains how taking up learning and development opportunities has helped him get where he is today.

“With the supportive guidance of my Employment Advisor, I began the first tentative steps in my recovery journey. I attended several courses organized by Richmond Fellowship, specifically designed to help me rebuild my confidence, remain well and develop the practical skills to help me attain either voluntary or paid employment.

Witnessing the inspirational ways in which volunteers co-facilitated these groups alongside full-time members of staff, led me to enquire about the voluntary opportunities available at Richmond Fellowship. After completing the application process, I began my volunteer role, which involved assisting people we support with a basic IT course. I went on to volunteer on other courses and this culminated in my enrolment on the Level 2 accredited volunteer training course, where   I developed a range of new skills and improved existing ones. I found this to be an extremely rewarding and eye-opening experience.

Not long after this, my Peer Support Coordinator told me that she was going on maternity leave and, with her encouragement, I was able to draw on my newly awakened sense of self-worth and my positive experiences as a volunteer to apply for her post. Much to my surprise and excitement, I was offered the job.

I have found my role as Peer Support Coordinator to be a thoroughly enjoyable, enriching, and positive experience. I look forward to going to work every day and I also have the privilege of helping other people (both people using our services and volunteers) on their own individual recovery journeys.

Without meaning to sound overly dramatic, Richmond Fellowship and the services it provides has transformed my life completely and enabled me to leave my debilitating mental health issues in the past”.

Throughout his time as Peer Support Coordinator, Karl has completed several training and development courses including Train the Trainer, Recruitment and Selection, Suicide Intervention and the Deliver and Assessing course, which will enable him to run the accredited volunteer training.

As well as taking part in many of the courses himself, Karl also continues to work hard to look at new ways of involving the people we support, through improving existing training courses and creating new ones to meet people’s individual needs and goals.

Inspired to work for us? Check out our latest vacancies on our online jobs portal today.

If you’re a man struggling with your mental health or experiencing domestic abuse, please see our need urgent help page to signpost you to the correct services.

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity and we welcome donations and fundraising to help support our frontline services. Click here to fundraise or donate to us today!

International Men’s Day 2022 – John’s Blog

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As part of International Men’s Day 2022, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the issues affecting men and boys and showing that a career in the charity and care sector is something men can aspire to.

As one of the largest mental health charities in England, people we support often come to work for us themselves. Lived experience is something we’re passionate about as an organisation.

John, an Employment Advisor at our Cambridgeshire Employment service tells us about his journey from a person we support, to his current role in our charity.

“Like everyone, we all have a story to tell, something that shapes us into who we are today. My story is a long one so I will try and make this as concise as possible.

I am a 48-year-old male. I would say I first experienced mental ill health in my early to mid-teens. I can say now that I didn’t fully acknowledge my wellbeing or respect the connection to my physical health as I was growing up but that was the attitude and culture of the day at the time.

I had a pessimistic attitude. I had a breakdown in February 2012 due to work and I made the decision to leave my employment the following month. My GP referred me to Richmond Fellowship straight away and I got to speak to an Employment Advisor quickly. I was receiving support from another mental health charity at the same time.

The support I received from Richmond Fellowship was exactly what I needed. That holistic approach to my recovery was key. I was also getting conflicting advice from the other charity regarding my employment situation, and I didn’t feel that they really helped with my mental health, not the way Richmond Fellowship did.

I noticed a vacancy for an Employment Advisor, while I was accessing the service and was supported to apply for the role I am doing today.

I was now embedded in a team where there were no issues between colleagues, and everyone wanted me to succeed and took the time to help me learn my job. I quickly realised that my attitude was changing from pessimistic to optimistic.

My job is to support individuals to find work or stay in their job but imbedded in that support is advice and guidance on maintaining and improving their mental health. I get to make their recovery a reality!

There are various figures out there. Basically men are three times more likely than women to take/end their life.

As a society we are slowly moving in the right direction, getting men to open up and talk about their mental health, moving away from the macho ‘men don’t cry’ and ‘man up’ culture. Having man caves, Men’s Sheds, Andy’s Man Club and other smaller charities are an excellent opportunity for men to talk”.

Inspired to work for us? Check out our latest vacancies on our online jobs portal today.

If you’re a man struggling with your mental health or experiencing domestic abuse, please see our need urgent help page to signpost you to the correct services.

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity and we welcome donations and fundraising to help support our frontline services. Click here to fundraise or donate to us today!

International Men’s Day 2022 – How we’re recognising it

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Today is International Men’s Day.

The day looks to highlight some of the issues affecting men and boys in the UK and around the world.

This includes:

  • The high rate of male suicide (suicide remains the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK)
  • Male victims and survivors of domestic abuse and violence (1 in 6 to 7 men experience a form of domestic abuse in their lifetime)
  • Highlighting positive male role models

One of the areas the day also looks to shine the spotlight on is sectors and workplaces where men can be under-represented.

At Richmond Fellowship, less than 25% of those in our workforce are men. As one of the leading mental health charities in England we’re aware of how important it is to have a diverse workforce across our organisation and we must do more to ensure we reflect society as a whole.

A career in social care or the charity sector is something men can aspire to. Across today on our social media, we’ll be sharing stories from two men, Karl and John who used Richmond Fellowship services and now work in frontline roles to inspire others on their recovery journeys.

Robert Templeton, Director of Operations at Richmond Fellowship previously worked as a social worker himself. Robert says:

“I started my career as a social worker. It is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve done. The fact you’re able to support some of the most vulnerable in society at the most challenging points in their lives is something that always stays with me. I’d urge any man who thinks a career in the mental health sector isn’t for them to read our inspiring staff blogs from today – as you too, can really make a difference.

We are aware of the alarming rate of men taking their own lives. Suicide in men remains the biggest killer under the age of 45. This is something that must be tackled as priority in society, and we must make sure mental health services are addressing this issue head on.

As an organisation, we are also aware of the impact domestic abuse has on male survivors and we have men with lived experience of this within our staff teams and the people we support. There are dedicated charities and partners we signpost to and work with, to ensure those men most at risk receive the tailored support they need.

International Men’s Day is a great platform for us to talk about these important issues”.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @rfmentalhealth.

Inspired to work for us? Check out our latest vacancies on our online jobs portal today.

If you’re a man struggling with your mental health or experiencing domestic abuse, please see our need urgent help page to signpost you to the correct services.

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity and we welcome donations and fundraising to help support our frontline services. Click here to fundraise or donate to us today!

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Richmond Fellowship is part of Recovery Focus, a group of charities with the shared aim to Inspire Recovery Together www.recoveryfocus.org.uk

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