Orkney ADP supporting ORSAS Peedie Birds Campaign

Friday saw the culmination of the ‘16 Days of Activisim’ campaign which has been promoted here in Orkney by ORSAS and Orkney Womens Aid. 

The campaign is run anually which calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. As a member of the Orkney Domestic Abuse Forum, Orkney Alcohol & Drugs Partnership recognises the vital importance of such campaigns and promoting the message here in Orkney that violence against women and girls is completely unacceptable. 

Alcohol use and Domestic Violence are very closely linked, a report by Alcohol Change UK found that:

• Two-thirds of ‘domestic’ incidents known to the police were found to involve at least one of the couple concerned being ‘under the influence’ of alcohol.
• There are peaks in such incidents at times of contentious football matches, but also during other significant cultural events involving alcohol such as New Year.
• According to alcohol screening tools, those convicted of domestic abuse were more risky drinkers and associated their drinking with aggression more in comparison to other groups.
• Interviewed participants considered alcohol to have a direct effect on their behaviour and did sometimes present alcohol as an exculpatory factor. However, alcohol’s role in conflict was not restricted to times of intoxication but extended across issues such as male entitlement to drink, control or prevention of his partner’s drinking and his spending from family budget to buy drink.
• There were clear indications of intertwined cultural, sub-cultural, familial and contextual influences on gender and alcohol use, such that when women were drinking they were held more accountable for any relationship conflict (victim blaming), whilst if men were drinking they were held to be less accountable (accused excusing).

Orkney ADP are proud to support the work of the campaign and work to reduce gender-based violence within our community. 

Orkney ADP's Substance Misuse Development Officer, Matthew Thomas, was joined by OIC Councillor John Richards, both of whom are speakers for the White Ribbon Campaign in attending the Cathedral green to support the ladies from ORSAS and Womens Aid, and to speak with members of the public, especially young men, regarding the importance of stopping gender based violence in our community. There was great engagement from members of the community on the Cathedral green with several groups of young men signing up to the White Ribbon pledges and also from hospitality outlets throughout Kirkwall who agreed to make use of the White Ribbon campaign promotional items in their venues. 

Moving on from the 16 Days of Activisim it is imperative that the message continue to be promoted that gender-based violence is unacceptable. Thus there is now a call for 365 days of Action to continue the progress being made on this issue.