Since May 7, people experiencing domestic abuse have been able to access “safe spaces” in Superdrug pharmacies and receive help from its teams, as part of the nationwide UK Says No More campaign.

“We believe this initiative has saved lives and are assured that victims have been able to seek specialist support and contact their loved ones after a long and difficult period of time,” a Superdrug spokesperson told C+D on August 28.

Just under 4,000 pharmacies, including multiples and independents, across the UK have signed up to the “safe spaces” scheme as part of the UK Says No More campaign, Lyndsey Dearlove, head of the campaign at domestic abuse support charity Hestia, told C+D last month (September 2). UK Says More is an initiative launched jointly by Hestia and No More, an organisation committed to ending domestic violence.

“The biggest [participators] are Boots, Superdrug and Morrisons, and then there are independent pharmacies – just over 400,” Ms Dearlove added.

She said that Hestia’s goal is to see at least half of the total number of community pharmacies in the UK signed up to the “safe spaces” scheme.

“Ensure the availability of safe spaces”

“We are very proud of the work both Hestia and our pharmacy teams are providing to ensure the availability of safe spaces for victims in vulnerable environments and giving them the support and advice they need to move forward,” the Superdrug spokesperson said.

People experiencing domestic abuse can visit a pharmacy involved in the scheme and ask to use their “safe space”, housed in one of the pharmacy’s consultation rooms.

There they will find  “specialist domestic abuse support information” – including details on how to get in touch with domestic abuse services – and will be in a secure environment to make calls for help, according to the website set up for the campaign.

“With lockdown restrictions changing and those consultancy rooms being used for other things, they’re still vitally important and we’re really chuffed to see that Boots, Morrisons and Superdrug have all come forward to say they will continue delivering the project within their pharmacies,” Ms Dearlove said.

One in four women and one in six men “are likely to experience domestic abuse in their lifetime”, Ms Dearlove added.

In May, the Home Office said victims of domestic abuse could be given a “codeword” to get help from shop workers, including pharmacy teams. At the time, the Home Office was unable to explain to C+D how the codeword would work in practice.

Read more: C+D's deep dive into how the service is helping communities around the UK