Hi everyone,

I, Elle, over-sleeper and iced bun enthusiast, am doing the London triathlon this year. The actual, full Olympic distance, London triathlon. And no, it's not a joke.

The reason I've decided to do something so incredibly masochistic is to raise money for nia; a charity working to end violence against women and children. After spending 2 years working in sexual health, I encountered a depressingly high number of women who had been victims of sexual and domestic violence, and their stories were universally heartbreaking. Unfortunately, the austerity measures implemented in recent years have taken their toll on the services available for these women, with a lot of them closing in recent years, including the charity Eaves, who provided services to trafficked women, women exiting prostitution, and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

To get an idea of the scale of the problem, and in case anyone was in too good a mood, here are some utterly depressing statistics: 

• 1 in 5 women in the UK have been victims of sexual offences, with  1 in 20 having been victims of rape or "serious" sexual assault
• Only 15% of rapes are reported to the police, and of these less than 7% result in convictions 
• 28% of women who have been raped don't tell anyone (including friends and family) about the incident (all stats from joint ONS, MoJ and Home Office report)

• 28.3% of women in the UK (an estimated 4.6 million women) have experienced domestic violence since the age of 16
• On average, the police receive a call related to domestic abuse every 30 seconds
• On average, 2 women are killed by their partner or ex-partner every week in England and Wales (all stats from Women's Aid)

If you'd like to donate some money, please give anything you can; nia are doing wonderful and life-saving work. They currently run a rape crisis centre in East London, and a refuge for women with substance misuse issues escaping domestic violence amongst many other wonderful projects. They also do a lot of work with young people around relationships and consent, and as a Public Health person, you know I've got a deep love for prevention work. Have a look at their website; http://www.niaendingviolence.org.uk/ if you want to see all the fantastic things they do.

Thanks for the support!

Elle

Just quickly, I have already had some raised eyebrows and pointed questions about my choice of charity. Because these questions depress me, I'd like to answer the two most common ones below, so no-one ever has to ask me them again.

Why have you gone for a feminist charity? You know you'd probably raise more money if you went for something more common/less political. Firstly: it is common. See statistics above. And it shouldn't be political; it's offering support and a safe haven to people who have been victims of crime. Secondly: if it raises less money, that's a sign that it's a charity that is generally not getting as much funding from the public, and all the more reason to try to get it some more. And thirdly: I've chosen nia because they do work I care about. That's why.

What about men? They suffer domestic violence and rape too. Yes, I know. However, male survivors have different needs and there are a number of different charities that help them. I have chosen this charity because I encountered a lot of female survivors in my previous job, not because I don't care about men. I am also not raising money for Cancer Research; doesn't mean I'm cool with cancer. If you want to donate to a charity that helps male survivors, please feel free to donate to Survivors UK or ManKind, both of whom do fantastic work. If you just like complaining about women's charities, maybe you should look into Men's Rights Activism.