The fact that both the woman and the passer-by knew the hand signal, in both cases, gives the Montreal sisters who made it popular the hope that it is really widespread.
It was not clear to them at first whether the signal would take off as it is, or why, Marie-Emmanuelle Genesse, one of the sisters behind the TikTok account that spread the idea, told CTV News.
Often, women who “verbally” express a risk they face are not believed, Genesse said.
“People, when they see a physical sign like the hand sign … I do not know, it worked in their brain to [help them] “Believe women,” he said.
“For us, it’s just beyond words how happy we are that really makes a difference in people’s lives.”
In Tennessee last weekend, a woman silently asked for help at a convenience store after her ex-boyfriend made a brief stop after locking her in his car, according to local news.
Genesse, who has domestic violence awareness accounts on Instagram and TikTok with her sister, Florence-Olivia, said one of their followers alerted them to the incident and they investigated.
“I think she was a woman, she was at her brother’s house and … her ex-boyfriend took her and then fell in love with her when she tried to tell him she was leaving him,” Genese said.
He learned that the man had threatened to kill the woman.
“He was driving and locking the doors so he could not escape,” he said. “They stopped at a gas station and that was when she was able to go out with him.”
The local WKRN news agency reported that the woman repeatedly flashed the sign in the store, urging the employee to call 911.
A fellow shopper named Eric Streeval told the store that he also told him the word “help”. He went out and lowered the license plate number of the truck from which he had come.
Police arrived quickly and chased the truck as it left, eventually using a Taser on the 31-year-old who was driving it, arresting him and allowing the woman to go home unharmed.
Streeval said he was part of a group of motorcyclists helping women try to escape domestic violence and said he applauded the “courage” of the woman who asked for help and that it was important for people to know that they could rely not only on family and friends, but also “a complete stranger” if needed.
The hand mark includes holding one hand, with the palm facing out, towards another person and closing all four fingers above the thumb.
It was invented by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, but the Genesse sisters wanted to spread the word, so they made videos showing how to use it on their social media accounts.
These videos have been viewed by more than 20 million people, Genesse said.
The sisters, who are both about to graduate in domestic violence-related fields and are going to start their doctorates, said they were inspired by the fact that many people do not want to read complicated research on the problem, but are hungry for immediate, ” quick and easy “ways to help.
“We thought, why not give them advice, both for the victims and for the people who want to help?” he said.
They were still amazed at how much people “invested” to spread the idea even further, he said.
It hit the nerve that he did not realize well that he was there, he said: the willingness of people to take seriously an emergency signal of physical discomfort when sometimes they do not do the same for a verbal cue.
And also, that strangers can sometimes act more urgently in cases where sometimes people who are closer to those in danger hesitate.
“Most of the time, when women come out with abuse in their relationship … they do not believe them when they say ‘I’m in an abusive relationship, I need help,'” she said.
“People are on the lookout for, you know, ‘It’s not really our place to intervene.’
Last fall, the hand signal was used by a 16-year-old who was also abducted by car.
