National Domestic Abuse Helpline website to be accessible free of data charges

Refuge welcomes the agreement reached between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and mobile phone providers to make access to websites which are providing support during the Covid-19 crisis data free of charge.

Commenting on the announcement Refuge’s Director of communications and external relations, Lisa King said: “Since lockdown began, Refuge has seen a spike of more than 950% in visits to its www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk –  many thousands of women every day need the specialist support Refuge provides and now more than ever need to access this information digitally.

We know that during periods of isolation the window in which women experiencing domestic abuse are able to call our Freephone Helpline becomes narrower –  so ensuring women are able to access Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline website which hosts our contact form and live chat support, free of charge and without using their data allowances, is an important step in ensuring more women are able to access the support they need.”