On Sunday 7 September, mobile phones across the UK will ring and vibrate in response to the government’s emergency siren test alert. With extreme weather events increasingly common, initiatives such as this have become more more prevalent. For those who suffer from domestic violence, however, there’s a risk, and activists online are trying to get the message out:

Emergency siren

The Instagram user Wheelie MS Advocate (wheeliemsadvocate) is a writer, podcaster, and volunteer. In an post from 2 days ago, she warned of the emergency siren (emphasis added):

On Sunday September 7th, around about three pm, the government’s emergency alert system will sound. It’s designed to warn us about life threatening events like severe weather, danger nearby, [or] a bomb.

The alerts come through as a loud siren sound and a message on your phone. But there’s something really important to know. If you’re a victim of domestic abuse and have a secret or secondary phone that your abuser does not know about, even if your phone is on silent, the alert will still sound, and make a very loud noise and light up the screen. That could put you at serious risk if your phone is hidden.

To keep safe, you can switch these alerts off on your hidden phone.

Go into your settings, search for ’emergency alerts’ or  ‘severe alerts’ and turn them off.

The government website ‘Opting out of emergency alerts‘ provides guidance on how to turn the alerts off on different devices.

Domestic abuse in the UK

The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) report that “1 in 5 adults experience Domestic Abuse during their lifetime” (1 in 4 women / 1 in 6-7 men). They add that, as per the Domestic Abuse Act 2001:

Domestic Abuse consists of any of the following:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Violent or threatening behaviour
• Controlling or coercive behaviour
• Economic abuse
• Psychological, emotional or other abuse

Where the victim and perpetrator(s) are aged 16 or over and are “personally connected” to each other. It does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct.

NCDV have a referral form for victims of domestic abuse which you can access here. Citizens Advice provide a list of many other domestic abuse charities and support groups, including those which cater to different genders, ethnic groups, sexualities, and more, which you can access here.

The emergency siren is due to sound this Sunday.

Featured image via UK Government