PW_2_2021

Sports

It’s All About the Victims Neil Hallam , Editor

Anna Hopkins wears her orange cape for international day of elimination of violence against women

Dr Anna Hopkins is a Lecturer in Policing at The Open University. Her lecturing and her PhD, titled: From reporting to retracting in Domestic Violence , makes her one of the UK’s foremost authorities on the effects of domestic violence. However, unlike many academics, Anna also witnessed the effects first-hand through eight years as a Police Officer with Greater Manchester Police. W ith deaths through domestic violence increasing dramatically during the first lockdown, Anna wanted to do something practical for victims and their families. She set herself a running Anna Hopkins (centre) with Ruth Colbridge and Suzee Tylee

challenge, with proceeds going to the charity AAFDA – Advocacy After Domestic Abuse. AAFDA supports families who have lost a relative through fatal domestic abuse. During November 2020, Anna completed three, ten mile runs every week. Speaking before the challenge, Anna said: “I’m not a natural runner, so I’ve been in training for this for two months. It’s been a massive struggle and every part of my body hurts, but the victims’ stories that I take with me on my run keep me going. It is a sad fact that two women a week are killed by their partner or ex-partner, and during lockdown this figure increased to three. I want to remind people that domestic abuse can happen anywhere and to anyone.” Anna’s challenge was not just about raising money, she wanted to raise awareness about the scale of the problem too. Anna said: “I didn’t want people to say, ‘well that’s sad, but it couldn’t happen to me’. It could happen to you.” For each run, she shared the story of a different victim on her fundraising page, with a note against their name, saying: “this run is for you”. The victims highlighted by Anna were all murdered by partners, or ex- partners in the North West of England, between 2014 and 2019. They were: Maggie Smyth, Rosie Darbyshire, Rachel Evans, Regan Tierney, Katie Wilding, Gemma Leeming, Joanne Harrison, Chrissy Kendall, Magdalena Pacult, Yvonne Davies, Anne-Marie Cropper, Jenna Marie Roberts and Cherylee Shennan. In true hero style, Anna wore a cape during her running challenge. Her bright orange cape was in recognition of international day of elimination of violence against women. The orange theme, which is the movement’s chosen colour, continued in a banner carried by Anna’s supporters. Anna’s running challenge did not end with her 130 miles, she added an extra 13 mile half marathon, to support the UN’s 16 days of activism campaign for the elimination of violence against women. She ran each mile of the half marathon with a different person, while holding a banner raising awareness of domestic homicide. Anna’s daughter Eva also joined her on the run, which finished on Morecombe Sea Front. At the finish line Anna paused to pay tribute to the 13 victims she had run for. Anna’s achievement made the local and national newspapers, as well as featuring on the BBC, raising much needed awareness for the many victims. IPA members have also done their bit in adding international support to Anna’s campaign. Several IPA members joined Anna on the actual run. Birmingham West-Midlands Branch member Andy Gregory and his wife Joanne, swam two miles at their local baths. Saskia, a Section Germany member and serving officer, ran at the same time in Germany. Mirjam Moore, a Gimborn Interpreter, also walked 13 miles on the same day. To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anna-hopkins7 To learn more about the work of AAFDA: www.aafda.org.uk

Anna Hopkins runs 125 miles to raise awareness of domestic violence

Anna Hopkins and her supporters carrying the victim’s names

POLICE WORLD Vol 66 No.2, 2021

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