Plasterer who was raped at 17 and now fixes homes wrecked by violent partners for FREE is left overwhelmed after a crowd-funding plea for materials sees her raise £60,000
- Naima Ben-Moussa, 36, from Derbyshire, was left shocked after visiting homes of domestic abuse survivors and seeing damage caused by violent partners
- After her own difficult childhood – she was raped at 17 – Naima decided to put her new plastering qualification to good use
- She started a crowd-funding campaign to help fund materials so she could continue to volunteer her services for free and pay for materials
- The fund is now poised to reach £60,000 after generous donations poured in
A plasterer who repairs houses where walls have been destroyed by domestic abusers for free has revealed that a crowd funding campaign to fund materials and employees has raised £60,000.
Naima Ben-Moussa, 36, from Buxton, Derbyshire, who suffered a traumatic childhood and was placed in foster care at a young age with her brother and sister, now volunteers to help people whose homes have been destroyed by violent partners.
The 36-year-old grew up in Devon but moved to the Derbyshire town after being raped at 17 in the seaside resort of Torquay and now runs her own business, Lady in Red Plastering.
Naima Ben-Moussa, 36, from Derbyshire, was left shocked after visiting homes of domestic abuse survivors and seeing damage caused by violent partners (pictured during her recent college course learning to plaster walls). Right: She vowed to set up a charity to help repair damaged homes for free
The newly-qualified tradeswoman, who says she’s faced sexism in an industry traditionally dominated by men, says she was inspired to crowd-funding after repairing the home of a woman who had suffered ‘horrific abuse’ for ten years.
She wrote: ‘Yesterday, I went to visit a beautiful strong woman. I walked into her home and saw the mess a man had left her in. For 10 years suffered horrific abuse. She told me that one assault lasted for 4 hours, my heart broke for her.
‘I went to plaster her home to make it beautiful again, so she herself can rebuild her life, and start her life in the way she always deserved.’
She revealed that the mother-of-three had offered to pay for materials from her benefits but said she ‘couldn’t bear that’ and decided to set up a crowd fund so she could help other survivors.
Naima’s crowd-funding efforts are now poised to reach £60,000 after generous donations have poured in to help her set up a charity
After appearing on the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 in June, Naima has seen donations rocket to almost £60,000 – and she says she’ll now be able to employ other tradespeople to do similar work.
One domestic abuse survivor wrote on Facebook: ‘I’m in tears after hearing your story which really resonated with me. I spent 24 years with just such a man and when I finally got my house back, it was full of holes, smashed glass etc. Bless you for all you do.’
She has been open about her own traumas including being raped as a teenager.
Naima has said: ‘I still think of Devon as home – my family still live there. But one of the reasons why I moved away was that I was raped on Torquay seafront at 17.’
The plasterer, who says she’s faced sexism in the male-dominated trade, hopes to now employ others to help her repair homes for free
An example of Naima’s work as a plasterer: she said she was inspired to ask for money from strangers after visiting the home of a survivor of domestic abuse, saying: ‘I walked into her home and saw the mess a man had left her in’
On her Lady in Red Facebook page, she expressed her shock at the level of donations: ‘Reading through some of the first comments that were made here, you say it brought tears to your eyes. I’m here too with tears in mine! Your kind words and support have meant so very much.’
‘The thing is it’s not just me doing this now, it is all of you too helping and we are standing together to help these survivors and I thank you so very very much.’
‘To the ones that have suffered too I’m so sorry you went through what you did. I’m so glad you got when you could, I just wish you all the best and love for the future.’
Naima had previously told the Buxton Advertiser that mental health problems had made it hard for her to complete the Level 2 in Plastering course at a local adult education centre, and when she did qualify prejudice amongst male builders made it difficult for her to get a job.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SPIRALS ACROSS EUROPE FOLLOWING LOCKDOWN EASING
Europe has seen a resurgence of deadly violence against women as abusers experience a ‘loss of the control’ they enjoyed throughout the coronavirus lockdowns.
In Spain, for example, since the state of emergency ended in May, one woman has been killed every three days, compared with an average of one a week before.
Flowers are placed at the scene where Chahinez was shot in the legs and burned to death in Bordeaux
In Belgium, 13 women have died from violence since the end of April compared with 24 in the whole of 2020, while in France, 56 have been killed so far this year compared with 46 for the same period a year earlier, NGO figures show.
La Fondation des Femmes president Anne-Cécile Mailfert (pictured at a protest) in France has called on the government to act on the rise in gender violence
Many of their faces are making headlines and sparking protests, such as Chahinez, a French mother-of-three who was burnt alive by her estranged husband, or the five women killed in three weeks in spring in Sweden.
‘With women gaining more freedom, the aggressors feel as if they’re losing control and react with more extreme violence,’ explained Victoria Rosell, head of the Spanish government’s taskforce against gender violence.
‘In the case of the increasing numbers we’ve seen in recent months, we’ve seen how easing the restrictions has exposed another underlying pandemic, that of male violence.’
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