26.07.2020

RUN 42.2KM          PACE 5.37 /KM          TIME 3H 57M

--

Karma Nirvana is an amazing charity that supports victims of ‘honour’ based abuse and forced marriage.

‘Honour’ based abuse is a form of abuse which is perpetrated in the name of ‘honour’. In this form of domestic abuse, violence and abusive practices are presented as acceptable cultural practices - practices including (but not limited to) forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). These practices are used to control behaviour to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and occur when it is perceived that shame or dishonour has been brought against a family or community.

It has been well documented across news platforms and socials that lockdown has caused a huge increase in domestic abuse, described by the UN as a “shadow pandemic” alongside Covid-19. Its thought that cases of domestic abuse have increased by 20% during the lockdown, and this increase has been evident for ‘honour’ based abuse too. Karma Nirvana received more than double the number of calls to its helpline over six weeks across March and April than the preceding six weeks. This is thought to be because lockdown has created the perfect conditions for families to exert total control.

Despite this, the government continuously fall short of doing enough to tackle the types of abuse that are more specific to BME backgrounds – the new domestic abuse bill only superficially covers ‘honour’ abuse, forced and child marriage, and FGM and fails to make explicit reference to specific safeguarding measures.

Consequently, the work of organisations such as Karma Nirvana is invaluable now more than ever.

Karma Nirvana delivers a range of invaluable services across the UK, including but not limited to a national helpline offering direct support and guidance to victims of honour-based abuse, training for teachers, police, NHS and social services and providing expert witnesses in court.

Whilst I have been furloughed during the lockdown, I have had the opportunity to put more focus on running and seeing as I missed out on being able to run the marathon I was signed up to do in May I thought I’d put my training to good use and run my own little marathon before I go back to work.

On the 26^th July, I will be running 26 miles (route TBC) by myself, with none of the water stations, cheering crowds and other luxuries of an official marathon, raising funds for Karma Nirvana. I would be so grateful for any donations to show your support for both me and this
invaluable organisation.

--

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.