Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

University club comes to aid of Fife families seeking refuge from domestic abuse

Post Thumbnail

Families seeking refuge from domestic violence can now stay connected thanks to support from St Andrews University students.

The university’s Lumsden Club, an all female club supporting women and children’s charities, has helped Fife Women’s Aid provide internet access across its refuge accommodation.

Kate McCormack, manager at Fife Women’s Aid, said: “We are eternally grateful to everyone involved in making this substantial project a reality.

“Thanks to Fife Council, who have rapidly responded to the lockdown and the impact of this on families experiencing domestic abuse, more women and children are now in safe accommodation.

“We are also in awe of the work of the Lumsden Club, who continue to support and fundraise for us on an ongoing basis. They have increased their efforts during lockdown to fund the installation of internet in our refuges, which is an act that will truly transform the lives of families during these most daunting of times.”

Fife Council recently provided six more refuges for women fleeing domestic abuse after a surge in demand during lockdown.

Fife Women’s Aid said requests for refuge accommodation more than doubled between March and April this year, from 14 to 38.

Providing internet access means 41 women and 39 children across Fife can maintain contact with family, friends and their community online.

It also provides children in refuge much-needed access to schoolwork.

The roll-out of digital access was completed by Edinburgh-based Commsworld in less than a week.

One woman revealed that before the internet access was provided she had not been able to afford the data package on her phone while in refuge and had been unable to have video calls with family.

Another woman had been forced to use an expensive pay as you go contract to gain internet access so she could continue working from home.

Ms McCormack added: “Commsworld have also been fantastic throughout the entire process, creating a bespoke product that ensures each refuge comes kitted out with a 4G router in order to keep families connected.

“We are also grateful to the Women’s Fund for Scotland for awarding us a grant to purchase tablets for each refuge. Generous donations from a range of individuals and organisations has added to this funding to ensure we can provide this for all, including the new refuges.

“Without each of these partners, none of this would have been possible.”

A spokesperson for the Lumsden Club said: “Since lockdown began, we have scattered all over the world.

“Our hearts have remained in Fife, as we watched Fife Women’s Aid face up to the tremendous challenge of lockdown with creativity and resilience. We are extremely proud to have supported the purchase of broadband for all refuges to allow online communication, education and recreation.

“Once again, Fife Women’s Aid covers all bases and empowers women to live independently.”