‘Ask for Angela’ campaign launches in London

London Abused Women’s Centre’s ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign is designed to help women in violent or human trafficking situations. CTV’s Reta Ismail reports.

The London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) has launched a new program to support survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and human trafficking.

It’s called, ’Ask For Angela,’ and allows anyone in London and Middlesex to walk into a Loblaw store (Loblaws, Joe Fresh, Real Canadian Superstore, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills, Valu-Mart, and Your Independent Grocers) and ask a staff member for ‘Angela.’

The code-phrase will indicate the person requires help with their situation and a trained member of staff will then look to support and provide a private space to the survivor to allow them to contact LAWC, the police, or other community resources for support.

“Every staff member at each of the Loblaws stores is trained on what to do. Should a woman come forward and ask to speak with Angela, they are not by any way expected to counsel women,” explained Jennifer Dunn, executive director, London Abused Women’s Centre.

“I think that it’s so important for women and girls to have multiple access points to service,” Dunn added. “And so by having trained employees at the Loblaws company stores, it makes it so that there’s maybe a discreet access point to access service.”

The Ask For Angela campaign originated in England in 2016, following the femicide of Angela Phillips (Crompton) by her husband in 2012, with her name becoming the codeword for people to use to seek help.

The campaign has since spread the United States, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

Other participating communities in Ontario include Chatham-Kent, Caledon/Dufferin, Durham, Peel, Toronto, Waterloo, and Wellington County.

—With files from CTV News London’s Reta Ismail