Bondholders back campaign preventing violence against women

Marketing agency MacMartin is spearheading a campaign aimed at preventing violence against women and girls following reports of a “significant” rise in cases.

The Derby Changemakers project aims to engage with organisations across Derbyshire to support important campaigns, the first being the prevention of violence against women and girls in the county.

MacMartin, which specialises in behaviour change campaigns, recently launched the hard-hitting project at a packed Marketing Derby Bondholder event, where business representatives heard some shocking statistics revealing the prevalence of sexual abuse in the county.

Guests watched a powerful video on the topic created by Derby Youth Alliance and heard from Anna Hutton, director of communications and behaviour change at MacMartin.

They also heard from SV2 – a Derbyshire charity which supports victims of sexual abuse – and Safe & Sound, which supports young people and families across the county whose lives are affected by child exploitation.

MacMartin asked for pledges of support from businesses to support the campaign, which aims to highlight the issue of violence against woman and girls and help prevent it.

Anna said MacMartin had been blown away by the number of businesses whp have already pledged support for its Derby Changemakers project.

She said: “At MacMartin we are committed to using our marketing skills to create behaviour change campaigns which aim to have a positive effect on the societies where we work.

“We are very proud to be fronting the Derby Changemakers project, a name which was voted on by representatives attending the launch event.

“Violence against women and girls has got to stop and we are going to do all in our power to create a campaign that changes behaviour.

“We will be using the support pledged by businesses to conduct research, create campaign assets, help establish significant reach, and measure the changes in attitudes and behaviours.”

Rachel Morris, chief executive of SV2, said: “Sexual violence simply shouldn’t exist, and no-one should deal with it alone.

“The stark reality is however that the incidence of sexual abuse rises year on year and, in Derbyshire, SV2 supported 955 children, young people and adults between March 2022 and March 2023 which is a significant increase compared with the previous year.”

Tracy Harrison, chief executive of Safe & Sound, also shared some hard-hitting statistics with representatives in the room, including the fact that one in five women in Derbyshire had been victims of sexual assault or attempted assault, and that one in four girls in school had experienced unwanted touching.

To get involved in Derby Changemakers or find out more about MacMartin’s campaign e-mail hello@macmartin.co.uk or call 01283 703626.