'Five brave individuals' receive help from Wyre solicitor's first domestic abuse against women event

A Wyre law firm held its first domestic abuse against women event last Monday (November 25), with five women attending to receive help and advice about their own experiences.
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PHH Solicitors has offices in Cleveleys and Fleetwood and held the event in conjunction with White Ribbon UK.

White Ribbon UK is a charity that aims to end male domestic abuse against women, and associate director and children panel solicitor Tom Harrison organised the event as an ambassador for the charity.

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He said: "Five brave individuals came along, which was absolutely fantastic.

"Clearly it was very difficult for them and others to attend and with it being so close to Christmas, some people may be concerned about causing issues in their home life with such an important event close by.

"That is something that I have thought about for future events."

The event also included support, help and advice from Kathy Ridgway from Fylde Coast Women's Aid, and Nicola Dewhurtst from Lytham Road-based law firm Barker, Booth and Eastwood- who assisted PHH with any potential conflict of interests in cases to prevent the solicitors from having to turn anyone away.

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Mr Harrison aimed to bring awareness to the issue of domestic abuse against women, and said he felt the event had been a huge success.

Despite the charitable nature of the day, the initial announcement received some concerns from the public online, with accusations of sexism and "denial"' that men could be victims of domestic abuse too.

In response to concerns, Tom said: "Some of the comments were extremely disappointing, but not unsurprising and were indicative of why we need to raise awareness of this issue.

"I think quite a few people had not actually read the article properly before passing comment."

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Mr Harrison confirmed that a similar event would be held for male victims of domestic abuse between January 13 and 17, to be finalised during the New Year.

Domestic abuse is not limited by race, gender or sexual orientation and the firm are more than happy to help anyone who needs advice about this issue, he said.

PHH Solicitors offers free legal advice to all victims of domestic abuse, male or female, during its open hours on Tuesdays between 3pm and 5pm (Poulton Street, Fleetwood office) and Saturdays between 10am and 1pm (York Avenue, Cleveleys office.)