Jordan Eggington – Tuesday 15th September 2020 – 9.00am.
“Then, at that moment, I heard what she said. She grabbed at the chance to set herself free when she murmured – just loud enough – you – pushed – me.”
‘Arrest’ – by Hannah Brockley
Call assessor Hannah Brockley has been with the Trust for almost a year after making the move from being an English teacher. In the space of a year, she’s experienced every 999 call you can imagine, with some of those, sadly involving domestic abuse.
She’s decided to combine her passion for poetry and the experiences she’s had as a call assessor to create a very honest and raw piece of work exploring the issue of domestic violence through the perspective of a 999 call. Hannah has submitted her performance to ‘Poetry Archive’, a project which documents poems from the year. Only 20 entries will be chosen to join the ‘Poetry Archive WordView 2020 Collection’ from the hundreds of entries submitted. The characters in Hannah’s poem are fictional and the piece is not based on one specific patient.
Hannah said: “Domestic violence is all too prevalent in our society and has been particularly so over the course of this pandemic. I am lucky enough to be in a very happy and loving relationship, but I have been in a coercive relationship in the past and understand how it can be so hard for people to get out of these situations.”
“This year has been hard for an awful lot of people, but I think it is so important to raise awareness of the crippling issues around domestic violence and get the message out there to those people who feel trapped in these situations – there is help available. It is never too late to speak out and change your path. It takes an awful lot of courage for people to do this, but they so deserve the rewards of being free from that kind of cruelty and oppression.”
You can see the full written version of Hannah’s poem ‘Arrest’, below.
Domestic abuse is not always physical violence, there are many different sides to it. If you believe that you or someone else could be a victim of domestic abuse, there are signs that you can look out for.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are in danger and unable to talk on the phone, call 999 and listen to the questions from the operator and, if you can, respond by coughing or tapping on the handset.
There are many domestic abuse charities which can help if you fear you or someone you know is in a dangerous relationship:
National Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0808 2000 247
The Men’s Advice Line, for male domestic abuse survivors – 0808 801 0327
The Mix, for under 25’s in the UK – 0808 808 4994
National LGBT+ Abuse Helpline – 0800 999 5428
Samaritans, 24/7 service – 116 123
ENDS.