Countdown is supporting a Women’s Refuge initiative that allows visitors to its website to access ‘The Shielded Site’, a portal enabling victims of family violence to safely seek help and access critical information without fear of detection.
Countdown is New Zealand’s largest online retailer with 120,000 visits to its site each week. Anyone in an abusive relationship who is seeking support or advice can now safely visit the Countdown website, click on the Shielded Site icon, and be provided with vital information without leaving a browser trail.
“More and more New Zealanders are choosing to get their groceries from us online and browsing our site to check out prices or get recipe ideas. Given our reach, we have enabled our website to be a safe platform for victims of family violence to access support without the risk of their abusers knowing," said Sally Copland, Countdown’s Head of Online.
‘The Shielded Site’ was created for Women’s Refuge by Saatchi & Saatchi and launched in late 2016. Countdown joins a group of New Zealand businesses including The Warehouse, ASB Bank, Sorted and Z Energy who have added the tab to their sites.
“Having the Shielded Site available on Countdown’s website is hugely significant for this initiative. When we launched, our ambition was to have the Shielded Site available everywhere and importantly, in the places people would visit in the course of a typical day," said Dr Ang Jury, CEO of Women’s Refuge.
