What does domestic abuse look like? Could you spot someone in trouble if they were afraid to ask for help? How would you get help if you couldn’t talk because the perpetrator is right with you?

Thanks to some Canadian women at the Women’s Funding Network, in connection with the Canadian Women’s Foundation, a new hand gesture was created at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown as a way for victims of domestic abuse to indicate non-verbally that they needed help.

TikTok Video Goes Viral

The hand signal has become recognized as an international signal for help. A video demonstrating the gesture went viral, but we need to make sure that more people know how to use the gesture and that even more people recognize and act upon it.

Teen Saved thanks To Signal

Recently, it was used to rescue a 16-year-old girl who had been abducted. Thankfully, she knew what to do. Thankfully, someone who saw it knew what to do! Read: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-distress-signal-teen-north-carolina-kentucky-1.6241242

Learn This Signal!

Members of Na’amat know all too well the effects of domestic violence through our work with shelters in Canada and Israel. We also know that the rate has increased since the start of the pandemic. Become proactive and learn the hand gesture here: https://canadianwomen.org/signal-for-help/