Health, football and legal professionals launched #SARAHsays on 115th International Women’s Day.
Wake Smith Solicitors has teamed up with front line NHS worker and first aid business owner Kelly Wooller, Sheffield United Women and Rotherham United Football Club to save lives.
#SARAHsays is a grassroots movement to level the playing field for women everywhere. It addresses barriers to female resuscitation, and shares content that correctly demonstrates ‘how to’ resuscitate someone with breasts.
Today(March 8) #SARAHsays supporters will be shining a light on the stark health inequalities between men and women who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
European Heart Journal Research (2019) found that women who collapse in public are 28 percent less likely to be given CPR by a non-medic than a man would be. This means that women are more likely to die before professional help arrives. And female survivors will experience worse long-term health outcomes than men.
The research found that women requiring CPR may have symptoms that are less typical (and therefore less understood) than men. In 2020 the American Heart Association published a study to understand the gender-gap further by exploring ‘why’ people perceive women are less likely than men to receive CPR from a bystander. It concluded that a male rescuer could fear accusations of sexual assault, harassment or inappropriate touch, while female rescuers would be deterred by fears of causing physical injury or harm.
The bleak female CPR-rate statistic and perception study findings, combined with the misinformation peddled through online first aid videos, and outdated-training practices, were the catalyst for #SARAHsays.
Suzanne Porter, Director at Wake Smith Solicitors, said: “Effectively, from a legal perspective, the SARAH Act aims to take the fear away and shift the burden for a person going in to help another in need. If required, a judge must consider a member of the public has made an attempt to help another person, and not fear litigation from a potential act of heroism.”
Front line NHS worker and MD of ACW Medical Services, Kelly Wooller, said: “Health professionals know that women who require CPR can present differently to men. We know that when we administer CPR, and especially when we have to use a defibrillator, we may need to do this anatomically differently because of a woman’s breasts. But a member of the public, who might be the only person that can save your sister, mother or daughter, might not know or be confident to do this.
“There is a limited amount of research into all the reasons why women receive less CPR in public than men. What data there is, confirms what we as first responders experience on call-outs day in and day out; that embarrassment, fear and doubt are barriers to women receiving life-saving CPR.
“We can do better for women. Through #SARAHsays we want to level the playing field. We want to get people talking about the barriers to female resuscitation and show people how-to resuscitate someone with breasts to save lives.”
#SARAHsays is a nod to The Social Action Responsibility and Heroism Act (2015) acronym. The Act was introduced in England and Wales to encourage members of the public to get involved and take action in the event of someone needing a life saving intervention such as CPR. The Act extends protections to a person who is acting for the benefit of society, protecting the safety or interest of others, or acting heroically by intervening in an emergency to assist another.
Sophie Barker, Sheffield United Women Captain, said: “We were shocked to hear that there is such a difference between male and female resuscitation rates, and we’re super keen to team up with Kelly and help raise awareness and information to save lives.”
Through online conversation, female advocacy and educational videos #SARAHsays aims to mobilise communities to level the playing field for women everywhere.
Click here for further information:
- SARAHsays Landing Page: https://bit.ly/aboutSARAHsays
- SARAHsays YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/SARAHsayschannel
