Queen Consort Camilla has shown great kindness to women in shining a light on domestic violence.
Domestic abuse charity SafeLives, of which she is patron, celebrates the Queen Consort's profound act of kindness - her gift to really listen to survivors and speak to them directly.
Suzanne Jacob OBE, Chief Executive of domestic abuse charity SafeLives told HELLO!: "Her Majesty The Queen Consort first learnt about the work of SafeLives at a visit in 2016, where she heard from survivors of domestic abuse, and left with a desire to do what she could to help. She has since been a long-standing ally in our ambition to end domestic abuse for everyone, for good.
"Listening is a profound act of kindness. The way Her Majesty listens to survivors and speaks to them directly, helps to unravel some of the harm and trauma they carry with them every day. Abusers tell them that they don't matter, that nobody cares about them, that nobody will believe them, and Her Majesty is making it absolutely clear that that is not true. That anybody who lives with an experience of domestic abuse is valuable, is going to be listened to.
"We are so grateful for her continued support and commitment to making families safer, sooner." Earlier this year, the Queen Consort opened Allie Crew's photography exhibition I Am in Manchester featuring portraits of domestic abuse survivors.
At the time, Camilla had praised the images for being "incredibly moving and inspiring". Now the photographer behind the exhibition has lifted the lid on Camilla’s gentle and kind nature as she spent a lot of time with each of the survivors present.
Photographer Allie told HELLO!: "HRH Camilla the Queen Consort came to Manchester in May 2022 to open my portrait exhibition in which many survivors of domestic abuse participated.
"We were all so excited as she brought national news coverage both to our project, and our desire to challenge the way we think about violence within the home. I spent some time with her looking at the portraits and was humbled by her calm in depth knowledge of the issue. She clearly had spent a lot of time working with SafeLives, the charity behind the exhibition and she clearly cared.
"She spent time with each survivor present, a lot of time. Her kindness in these meetings was hugely appreciated. Each person felt valued. Perhaps it was her gentle and sincere attention that gave the day such gravitas for us all.
"With her onboard it felt as if change can happen in society and the shadow pandemic, as the UN has called domestic violence, might be a crime we can face together."
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