Police at British military bases in Cyprus have praised the quick thinking and bravery of a child who used the international help signal to report an incident of domestic violence. Thanks to this, the child's father was detained and sentenced to prison.
The police statement was made on October 17, but the incident itself occurred in September. Police at the British base in Dhekelia received an anonymous report that screams were coming from one of the houses. When they arrived at the place and knocked on the house, the head of the family began to pretend that everything was fine, but the rest of the family refused to talk. Then one of the four children began to secretly show the police an international signal for help in cases of domestic violence.
The gesture was recognized by the police. The head of the family was detained, and the rest of the family members were taken under protection. After the trial, the man was sentenced to 25 months in prison.
“The situation in the family was extremely difficult, which could easily continue. The child showed exceptional courage in alerting us to the emergency and I am pleased that our officers were able to recognize the signal and help the family to safety,” said British Base Police Inspector Phanos Christodoulou.
The so-called signal for help in case of domestic violence or international hand signal for distress is a relatively new non-verbal sign introduced in 2020 by the Canadian organization Canadian Women’s Foundation and quickly became famous throughout the world through TikTok and other social networks.
It is intended to discreetly request help in cases of domestic violence, kidnapping or other threat.
The signal is performed as follows: – You need to raise your hand with your palm outward, as in a greeting. – Press your thumb inside your palm. – Lower the four fingers on top, as if “locking” the thumb.
The gesture seems to say, “I’m trapped.” This is a way to tell others that you are in danger when it is impossible to call for help with words.
Image: wikipedia.org / CC0
The Dhekelia incident shows how important knowledge of such international symbols is. Previously, the gesture had already saved people in different countries - for example, in the USA in 2021, it helped police save a kidnapped teenage girl when she showed a signal from a car window.
The text was prepared based on materials from Cyprus Mail.
