Reese Witherspoon backs UK domestic violence campaign

Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon visited the House of Commons today to raise awareness of domestic violence.

The Legally Blonde star has backed a joint campaign by Avon and the charity Refuge to get more Government funding for victim support services in the UK.

She said: "There remains what can seem like an impenetrable wall of silence around violence and we must all play a role in breaking this silence."

An Avon-commissioned YouGov research was published today, which suggested that 92% of people think they do not know anyone suffering from domestic violence when in fact one in four women will do so in their lifetime.

Ms Witherspoon said the problem is a "pandemic" across the world.

She said: "I cannot tell you a person that I've met on Earth who hasn't had this experience.

"I've seen so many people who have suffered in silence and who are embarrassed or ashamed."

When asked what her message would be to a woman suffering abuse at the hands of her partner, she said: "You're not alone and if you reach out there's someone next door to you in your life who is ready to give you support and care and love and it's important to know that."

The actress was spurred on to support the campaign by a friend's experience as a young woman.

She said: "She was a young woman and felt intimidated and ashamed and I was lucky enough to be in a situation where she confided in me."

Witherspoon signed a petition today calling on the Government to provide more funding for domestic abuse services so there is complete coverage across the UK.

Refuge trustee and criminal lawyer Baroness Kennedy, who has defended women on trial for murdering abusive partners, also spoke at the event.

She said: "The energy that's coming into this campaign from women from all parts of this country is very sustaining to us but it has to be a campaign that's taken up by men too. It isn't acceptable that women are being beaten and women are suffering at the hands of their partners.

"Today we are in the company of great glamour and great beauty, but there is nothing more terrible than seeing a beautiful young woman who has been abused and battered."

The peer said attitudes across society must change and she is considering the possibility of legal action against police forces who fail to protect victims.

The Avon and Refuge campaign, called Four Ways To Speak Out, focuses on encouraging people to sign the funding petition, to speak to friends and family about the campaign, and to put up a poster to publicise where to get help.

Avon is selling an "empowerment" necklace to raise funds for domestic violence charities and plans to double its funding for the cause next year.

Refuge chief executive Sandra Horley said: "Domestic violence affects people from all walks of life. Rich, poor, educated, uneducated, all races, all classes, all religions. It could be your sister, your mother, your next-door neighbour, your colleague. It could be your best friend.

"The odds are you will know someone experiencing domestic violence although you may just not realise it. Domestic violence is everywhere, it affects all of us."

She said there is a "shameful postcode lottery" in the provision of support services for victims.

TV presenter Wendy Turner Webster, who was a victim of abuse during a five-year relationship, has also backed the campaign.

She was forced to beg for mercy to live and said she stayed with her former husband because her confidence was completely eroded.

She said: "The basic fact is that you have no mental resources available to you to get away. Quite simply, you have been reduced to nothing. You believe you are nothing."

Today's event marks the midpoint of 16 days of activism to launch the campaign.