THE CEO of Basingstoke-based Taking Steps is reaching out to victims of domestic abuse by walking hundreds of miles to every town covered by the charity.

Gerrie Jordan hopes to raise awareness of domestic abuse through her 310 mile mission, and let victims know that if she can walk to their town, then the charity can support them and they can ask for help.

The 49-year-old said: “It is very much a challenge for me, it’s going to kill me but what’s the point of doing something that’s easy? What I’m asking victims to do isn’t going to be easy. If I can walk to the town, then Taking Steps can get to you.”

The mother-of-four will begin the walk, which is set to take three weeks, on August 3, starting in Basingstoke before heading to Aldershot then Farnborough.

She will receive training from Basingstoke Sports Centre, which is sponsoring her walk.

She said: “As a society we make it very difficult for victims to come forward because the first thing we say is ‘why don’t you leave?’. And it places the emphasis back on the victim to do something about it. Let’s make it easier for victims to come forward – male and female victims.”

Gerrie said that one in four women and one in six men are affected by domestic abuse.

She added: “There are around 32 incidents before someone reports it. There are lots of reasons for this – shame, thinking that no one will believe them, low self-esteem. A perpetrator will go through a period of remorse and revert back to the nice charming person their victim fell in love with. It’s in our nature to forgive. We want to believe that people will change.”

The grandmother-of-six said many victims will have a variety of reasons why they believe they cannot leave the abusive relationship, including if children are involved or if they have nowhere else to live.

This is where Taking Steps can help. Gerrie said: “We offer on-going support and out reach services. We also offer young people and children support.”

Taking Steps hopes that companies in the areas where Gerrie is walking will support her challenge by holding cake sales or dress down days to raise funds for the charity, to ensure it can continue helping victims and expand its services in other communities.

It is hoped that the mission will generate £10,000 for each of the 20 towns that Gerrie is visiting, which will enable the charity to provide support in each area and a 24-hour help line.

Gerrie said the chances are we all know someone who is a victim, without realising it, because people often suffer in silence, adding: “It could be your best friend, or your brother or sister.”.

For more information about Taking Steps visit takingstepsproject.com.

Or to donate to Gerrie’s challenge text GTSP15 £ (the amount) to 70070.