GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman, 8 July 2014:

Whilst the World Cup seems to have temporarily united the world with supporters and opposers coming together in the spirit of the game, there is a worrying and disturbing trend associated with World Cup fever of increased domestic violence.

Disappointment at team and betting losses, and excessive alcohol consumption make a recipe for disaster for spouses or partners of abusers.

This is a global phenomenon and it seems Cayman, sadly, is not exempt. Ania Milanowska-Sedgley, Executive Director of the Grand Cayman Crisis Centre confirms that, coincidentally, from the very start of the World Cup, there was a marked increase in the number of women seeking safe refuge at the Centre. This is happening to such a degree that on several occasions the Centre has been inundated, and whilst the cause has not been directly reported as due to the World Cup, the Centre’s clients have reported an increase in the level of aggressive behavior towards them since the start of the tournament.

More solid documentation is available elsewhere in the world, as evidenced by an anti-domestic violence campaign in the UK “Lets Show Domestic Violence the Red Card”, and newspapers reporting a 25% increase in domestic violence since the start of the tournament.

“It is really quite disturbing, and rather sad, that this increase in domestic violence quite clearly started when the World Cup kicked off. The “Beautiful Game”, which is such a great opportunity to unite families in their joint support of their team, does not seem quite so beautiful to these victims of domestic violence.” commented Ania Milanowska-Sedgley.

Domestic violence is an issue that we can all be involved in alleviating. One source has reported she was appalled to hear a gentlemen in the bar next to her apparently “joking” that it was “time to go home and beat the wife….because when I’m a loser, everyone’s a loser!” when his team didn’t make it through to the next round. Milanowska-Sedgley went on to say “It is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that people know this is not funny and it is not acceptable”.

The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre is always open to women in need and will never turn anyone away. Employees of the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre work tirelessly to provide help and support and confidentiality to victims and are reliant upon donations to carry out their essential work.

ENDS

The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre is a locally run charitable company that was established in early 2003 with a primary mandate of providing a safe haven for abused women and their children. The Crisis Centre has a 24-hour emergency hotline (943-CICC (2422)) and vital in-house programmes, including case and risk management, individual and group counseling, support groups, referral services and a Children and Youth Programme, which is sponsored by Hedge Funds Care Cayman.

For more information on this release, please contact Denise Gower at [email protected], or +1 345 945 8188.

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