If you see more people than usual decked out in the colour purple, don’t be alarmed.
While many buildings around the city have been lighting up purple in support of the Shine the Light on Women Abuse campaign since the beginning of November, Wednesday, Nov. 15, is an opportunity for Londoners to show their support by wearing purple.
The aim of Wear Purple Day, and the campaign as a whole is to create awareness and start a conversation around the issue of women abuse.
“Even if you don’t plan to have a conversation with somebody, if you’re wearing purple, and somebody sees that other people are wearing purple, or you take a group photo or you do something like that, and somebody might say, ‘Oh, I wonder why they’re wearing purple today?’ That’s even a good conversation to have,” said Jen Dunn with the London Abused Women’s Centre.
Dunn said it’s important to raise awareness so people know help is available.
“Even if this campaign got to one woman, and one woman came and accessed our services and got the support that she needed, then it’s worth it for us,” she said.
Beyond awareness is actually helping those dealing with issues of abuse. Dunn says it can be extremely difficult for women to come forward.
“I think the number one thing would be to believe her. So if somebody approaches you and maybe, wants to talk about it, the number one thing would be to believe what’s going on,” she said.
The Shine the Light campaign has reached the international level. Dunn said groups in both Sweden and Australia are participating in the month-long movement.