The Duchess of Cornwall is an impassioned supporter of causes that fight against domestic violence, and she put pen to paper for a new article on the topic for The Women’s Institute (WI).
Camilla is pictured on the cover of the November/December 2021 issue of the organisation’s magazine, WI Life. The piece, which can be read in full on the WI website, was written by the Duchess of Cornwall as a personal note to the WI’s members about their work to combat violence against women.
“Charity starts at home,” she wrote. “So does domestic abuse.” The Duchess of Cornwall noted that in the lead-up to Christmas, “rates of domestic violence rise significantly, but with abusive partners at home more, it can be harder to call for help.”
Inviting WI members to “press on until we see the retreat of domestic abuse forever,” Camilla wrote about the life-saving work of the charity Refuge and dreaming of a day when their services are no longer necessary.
She also shared the sobering statistics that one in four women in the UK is impacted by domestic violence and that across England and Wales, two women are killed each week by an abusive partner or former partner.
Praising the WI’s work to prevent domestic abuse, Camilla wrote ahead of the organisation’s 16 Days of Action Event, held from 25 November to 10 December 2021. She shared that WI members will be “raising awareness and offering advice on how to help those who may be caught in this terrible situation.”
The Duchess has a dual membership to both the Tetbury WI and Llandovery WI and wrote of her pride about being a member, sharing a humorous anecdote about the strength of the organisation. “As my great friend, the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, once wrote about the WI: ‘Even Genghis Khan would retreat in the face of this lot.'”
Ann Jones, Chair of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, thanked Camilla for her article, stating that “The Duchess’ fellow WI members share her passion for addressing this issue and creating a safer world for women.”
Camilla’s piece in WI Life follows the passionate speech she made at the Shameless! Festival of activism against sexual violence in October. “We do not, in any way, hold all men responsible for sexual violence,” Camilla said. “But we do need them all on board to tackle it. After all, rapists are not born, they are constructed.”
