Vodafone provides organisations with free SIMs through its charities.connected programme. In turn, these charities can then provide refuge for people during the worst moments of their life.
In England and Wales, one in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. Thankfully, charities like Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service (NDAS) are working to support those who have managed to flee their abusive situation.
The organisation, however, deals with individuals rather than statistics. The women who come to its diverse-needs refuges all have different stories; their ages, cultural needs and grasp of English vary widely, for instance.
One thing they do share in common is the need for greater access to connectivity. After all, those in vulnerable situations are increasingly reliant on digital communication to deal with tasks such as applying for Universal Credit, making GP appointments or simply staying in touch with loved ones.
Digital Allies: Three quarters of women have used their smartphone to escape an unsafe situation
To mark the UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence, Vodafone has commissioned new research looking at the positive role smartphones play in connecting women affected by domestic abuse, or broader women’s safety issues, to expert support and advice.
In fact, as recent Vodafone research found, 75% of women seeking support for safety and domestic abuse concerns say they have considered using their smartphone to get out of an unsafe situation. Unfortunately, however, a phone is not always available.
“Very often, when people come into refuge, they have had to leave their mobile phones behind or it has been taken from them by their abuser,” explains a domestic abuse specialist working at NDAS.
“There are also occasions when the phone has been registered in the abuser’s name, so it is not safe for them to continue to use it.”
Take Ayesha*, a young Pakistani woman who came to an NDAS refuge in 2023. Having fled her house to escape her husband and his family in a separate part of the UK, she arrived at an unfamiliar police station with nothing other than the clothes she was wearing – and no phone in sight.
Though the police soon gave her a very basic phone for calls and texts, she was still not able to speak to family in Pakistan due to the phone’s limitations. Thankfully, this all changed when she arrived at the refuge, with NDAS finding her an old iPhone along with a Vodafone SIM card.
How a SIM card brought dignity and hope
For this London charity helping asylum seekers and refugees, mental wellbeing is a top priority.
Loaded with 40GB of data a month for six months, plus unlimited calls and texts, this meant she could speak to her loved ones over WhatsApp. And, just as significantly, it was free of charge.
“Most women we support have no access to benefits when they arrive and, usually, no money of their own. This makes it impossible for them to buy a new phone or even a new SIM with credit to use.
“Without the means to access the internet, a phone number or email address, however, it is difficult to open accounts or make applications.”
The SIMs provided by Vodafone help to break this vicious cycle, acting as a lifeline to the women that NDAS supports through its nine refuges across the country.
If you work for a charity, visit Vodafone’s charities.connected website to see how your organisation could apply for free SIM cards.
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* This name has been changed to conceal the identification of the individual.
