British Sign Language (BSL) users experiencing domestic abuse or forced marriage can now access new materials providing them with support.

National charity Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline has created new videos for BSL users.

And they are raising awareness of their 24/7 confidential helpline in a bid to make its services as accessible as possible.

It comes as figures released by the charity reveal the number of calls it received during the pandemic was 24 per cent higher than in the year pre-Covid.

Helpline Manager, Zara Gilmour, said: “Our Helpline is for everyone in Scotland and we want to make sure that anyone experiencing domestic abuse or forced marriage knows that we are here to speak to them in the language they are most comfortable using.”

The three new videos for BSL users explain what domestic abuse and forced marriage is and what you can expect when you contact the helpline.

BSL users can contact the helpline using Contact Scotland BSL, Scotland’s national BSL video interpreting service.

While reaching out for support can be daunting, the team at Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline offer you a space to share your concerns without judgement or them trying to tell you what to do.

The Helpline is available by phone on 0800 027 1234 and this number can be contacted using the Contact Scotland BSL Service.

The Helpline is also available via email and you can also have a web chat by visiting the site www.sdafmh.org.uk