It’s time to #Reflect on your behaviour

From today, Monday 21 November, you’ll once again see the #Reflect campaign being shown across the county, which encourages perpetrators of abuse to come forward and help change their behaviour. The campaign directs people to the county-wide charity The Change Project for support.

The two-week campaign first launched on Wednesday 10 August by the Southend, Essex and Thurrock Domestic Abuse Board. Since then, the campaign has generated more than 100 requests for contact and 10 self-referrals for the behaviour change intervention.

Through support, The Change Project aims to break the cycle of domestic abuse by helping perpetrators recognise their abusive behaviour and then working with them to prevent it in the future.

Not only could this make victims safer – and could mean that some people never become victims – but it could also make real, lasting change and hopefully drive down domestic abuse offences.

The campaign focuses on different types of abuse – from physical abuse, to controlling behaviour, stalking and harassment, and unmanaged emotions like humiliation or anger aimed at your loved ones.

Using posters and rest room stickers across Essex GPs and hospitals, libraries and community areas, restaurants and pubs, and digital media including social media posts that will be shared across a number of channels, we hope to continue encouraging perpetrators to recognise behaviours they might be exhibiting – asking them if they’re isolating, punishing, or controlling their loved ones, for example – and the emotions they feel after committing the abuse.

After research with perpetrators who were helped through The Change Project, the words anger, guilt, regret, remorse and shame were placed onto mirrors to mimic the moments where they reflected on their behaviour and knew they had to make a change.

If you recognise any of the behaviour mentioned in this article and have been reflecting on your actions, it’s not too late to make a change.

Please call The Change Project on 0845 372 7701, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or visit The Change Project for advice on how to make a difference to you, your family, and your partners in the future.

If you’re a survivor of abuse looking for community support in your area please visit the Essex Compass website. For more information on reporting offences, visit our advice and information pages.