This month, UK postal service Royal Mail created Online Safe Spaces: a discreet, digital portal designed for those suffering from domestic abuse. Around 61% of UK women who live with their abuser report an increase in abuse due to social distancing restrictions. Created in partnership with crisis organization Hestia, the portal exists on the Royal Mail and Parcelforce websites. It provides information on domestic violence – helping survivors identify whether they’re experiencing abuse, emergency services, when they should involve law enforcement, and more. Additionally, each Online Safe Space is easy to quickly exit and does not show up in browser or search histories. The portal is free for any business to add to its own site.
You’re busy. You’re figuring out how to manage your business in a pandemic, ensure your offerings are still relevant for customers, help your staff adjust to the so-called ‘new normal’...it’s a trying time for businesses, maybe yours especially. That said, this unique situation has placed loads of people in their own uniquely horrible situation – one worse than you yourself might be able to imagine. One that eclipses your busyness or the compromised state of your business.
So take just a few minutes to think about who could be faring worse than you or your brand and how you could help them. There are plenty of innovative social organizations out there that can show you with surprisingly easy yet extremely effective ways you can do your part – no ideating-from-scratch or NASA minds required. If you’re in the UK, you can place resources like the Online Safe Space portal (remember, it’s free!) on your site. You can simply open your doors to those in need; Hestia did just that with its UK SAYS NO MORE initiative, which lets domestic abuse survivors access take shelter at pharmacy retail outlets (including Boots and Morrisons) across the country.
Who could your brand make a measurable difference for, and which social enterprises might you partner with in the process?
Stay healthy,
The TrendWatching content team
