We are honoured to support Bede House Domestic Violence Services in Southwark
The Bede Starfish Domestic Abuse Project works with people affected by domestic violence. We aim to help you and your children live free from fear. If you are being abused within a relationship, we can offer advice and support to help you protect yourself, take action and rebuild your life. Nearly ninety percent of our clients live more safely as a result of our help.
During the Covid-19 pandemic we have adapted our regular services to ensure that we meet health and safety guidelines. Please contact us for further details.
The Fight Like a Girl team started it's journey supporting and working with Bede - Della O'Sullivan in from Southwark and wanted to support a smaller charity close to where she grew up. Bede have also contributed to Della's Book in chapter - 'Relationship Red Flags' where they provided their expert advice on how to spot them.
A note from Della:
'I would like to formally say, that self-protection is a secondary solution, and it is not going to end or slow down violence against women, it will merely give those who want to learn a chance to respond.
The problem is; we SHOULDN'T have to outsource self-defence for our survival. We SHOULD be able to feel safe, or at least not have the fear of something terrible happening to us so often. From my understanding from the women & girls I teach, this fear is becoming more prevalent in their minds.
Self-Defence is your prerogative not your duty. The onus is on perpetrators and those who have the power to make change to increase our safety so that we are less likely to need to defend ourselves.
Self-Defence skills are there as a response not a solution and I don't believe it is right to present it as a solution, it should only be presented as a path to empower yourself with a tool kit to respond.
It was a path that helped me, but I still on a regular basis face the same issues. Just because I can defend myself should not mean I should have to.
I offer training to those who wish to learn, and one day I hope that my services are outsourced less, and I have more women & girls coming to learn because they have the interest, because they enjoy it, because its a great tool to have and not because they feel their life depends on it.'