Phone drop-off points launched in South West to help domestic violence victim-survivors

After noticing there was nowhere in the South West to drop of old phones to help women in domestic violence situations, a school chaplain took action. After action by Akita Princi there are now DV Safe Phone donation boxes at the Bunbury and Busselton libraries. The organisation collects old but working mobile phones to give to victims and survivors of domestic violence through shelters and law enforcement agencies. Ms Princi had been looking to donate her old phone to the charity after hearing about it online, but when she went to check the website for locations, she found no collection points in the South West. “The closest collection boxes were in Mandurah or Manjimup,” she said. “Which I thought was strange because DV Safe Phone has been delivering phones to the South West, but people here had no way of donating them themselves. “I called up and they said no one had put their hand up to get the collection boxes sorted, so I said I’d do it.” Ms Princi said part of the appeal of the charity came from the power it gave people wanting to help, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. “I know so many people are wanting to help, but are strapped for cash and can’t make donations,” she said. “So long as you have a working mobile phone, you can donate and really help out people in need.” Ms Princi was also motivated by raising awareness and education about domestic violence, particularly coercive control. A common type of coercive control is through mobile phone usage, such as tracking locations, spending habits, or damaging a victim’s phone to prevent contacting those outside the relationship. “The more we can push awareness on coercive control the better,” Ms Princi said. “People are familiar with physical violence, but may not realise these behaviours can also be abusive. “Giving someone a clean phone can actually save someone’s life.” This awareness comes as the WA State Government launched a $5 million, two-year add campaign aiming to shine a spotlight on coercive control. The boxes can be found at the City of Bunbury public libraries and the City of Busselton library.