When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe and eventually made its way to North America, communities scrambled to find protection against the infectious disease. But at the Toronto-based Canadian Women's Foundation, there were other safety measures underway.
The foundation's leadership team knew that quarantines during a time of global panic would lead to more domestic violence. In April 2020, they launched the "signal for help," a hand gesture that has led to the rescue of endangered women.
"We knew gender-based violence would spike during the pandemic," says Andrea Gunraj, vice president of public engagement at the Canadian Women's Foundation. "Abuse often happens behind closed doors and spikes in times of crisis. We also knew there'd be an increased use of video calls. It seemed like the right time to launch a tool to signal, 'I need you to check in with me.'"
The foundation spread the word using social media, traditional media, and partners in domestic violence intervention. By the time a poll was issued in June, 1 in 3 Canadians knew of the signal. Since then, it has been popularized on social media sites and apps, particularly TikTok.
The gesture has three steps: hand up with palm out, thumb tucked, and fingers folded down.
Since then, there's been a handful of known cases in which the signal was a lifeline for survivors of abuse.
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