On the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women The Seafarers’ Charity, UK P&I Club and TK Foundation have joined forces to commit three years of funding for the next stage of development of Safer Waves.

Safer Waves, a maritime charity established in 2020, supports seafarers who have experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment or gender discrimination. The commitment of three years of partnership funding will provide stability for the charity as it moves to the next stage of its development and employs their first member of staff to help them meet the growing demand for their support services.

‘The issues of sexual violence and gender discrimination continue to affect seafarers of all backgrounds across the globe. Experiences such as these can have an enormous impact on the physical and mental health of a seafarer, and can also affect their family life and career.

At Safer Waves, we provide information and support, with the intention of alleviating some of the distress that is felt after experiencing abuse.

We have seen the demand for our services rise as awareness has grown about what we can offer and we are grateful for the interest and support received from The Seafarers’ Charity, UK P&I Club and TK Foundation. This new funding will allow Safer Waves to grow and build our operational resilience and support more merchant seafarers who have suffered abuse or harassment.’ – Becky Newdick, Chief Executive at Safer Waves.

‘I am delighted that we have been able to bring together this funding partnership to support the work of Safer Waves. However, I am sad that the need for this service reveals that there is still a long way to protect all seafarers, not just women, from sexual violence, harassment and discrimination at sea’ – Deborah Layde, Chief Executive at The Seafarers’ Charity.

‘The Club is delighted to be able to continue to support the important work and overall development of Safer Waves.’ – Patrick Ryan, Sustainability Director and Head of Club Secretariat at UK P&I Club.

‘Projects that tackle sexual violence and gender discrimination are at the heart of our goal to promote seafarer’ welfare and we are a long-term supporter of the work of Safer Waves in addition to our support for other organisations around the globe involved in both raising awareness and developing responses to this important issue. We are delighted to be being involved in this project to further develop the work of Safer Waves.’ – Dennis Treleaven, Maritime Program Officer at the TK Foundation

Seafarers who have been impacted by this issue can access confidential support on this email address: support@saferwaves.org

Source: The Seafarers’ Charity