work with sex, money and violence. It's a great contrast." So jokes Penny Dill who juggles a demanding job with insurance juggernaut XL with dedicated charity work with the Women's Resource Centre.

But ultimately the roles are not that dissimilar ? it's all to do with risk, points out Ms Dill.

"At XL we are dealing with risks affecting property and casualty with money involved.

"And this side, where my passion is, the risks are those that people find themselves in ? in their relationships."

At XL she works in the investor relations department liaising while she also has a corporate social responsibility role ? something which dovetails nicely with her position as WRC executive director.

The twin roles involve long hours ? lunchhours and after work she heads to the WRC's Reid Street base and also spends most of Saturday there.

She's been at it for years. She first trained to become crisis hotline volunteer for the Women's Resource Centre while working in a civilian role for the Police in the early 1990s.

"In those days we had to man the phone from home from six in the evening to six in the morning. You couldn't leave the house and you were on call for a week at a time."

Calls, often distressing, would come in at all hours. Some women whispered down the line because their abuser was in the next room.

"I had a woman threatening suicide, those calls are the most difficult to deal with because you don't know what happened.

"I tried to keep her on the phone but she hung up on me and there was no way for me to contact them. It can get very intense."

Nowadays hotline volunteers get debriefing from life and death calls.

Ms Dill stayed as a volunteer for 13 years, working her way up to heading the board and for the last three years has been in her present post.

The work at the WRC is, by its nature, harrowing. The worst moment for Ms Dill was the 2002 murder of Chena Trott. Initially the WRC did not know the name of the victim ? only that it was one of their clients. "It could have been one of three people," said Ms Dill who sadly recalls the grim wait to find out which woman had been slain.

And it is domestic violence which is once again in the spotlight. Ms Dill admits some frustration with women who think they can change men with a history of violence against women.

"They have gone into a relationship knowing the man has assaulted his previous girlfriend. They think it's going to be different with them. I find that very frustrating."

Even high-powered professional women were capable of deluding themselves notes Ms Dill, by thinking bringing a child into that relationship could make it better. "It doesn't."

All it does is create an extra burden on the woman who now has an extra person to care for and indeed fear for.

One of the points about the Fight Back campaign is to get people talking about the subject so women will warn each other about males with violent tendencies.

However some victims are in denial ? they try to shield their family from their plight out of false pride, particularly from parents who will only say they never liked their daughter's partner anyway.

Counselling is the first step in helping restore shattered self esteem for abuse victims but it takes a while, particularly for those who have been in long relationships.

Initial crisis counselling will typically be six to eight sessions with follow ups scattered throughout the year but those with a long history of abuse need far more attention. "It also depends on whether there was a history of abuse in their family when they were growing up so it becomes acceptable."

A change in attitudes is needed.

"We still look at offences against women as the women's fault that it happened, whether it's sexual assault or domestic violence.

"Women still need to be able to realise that although we have the same rights in the workplace we need to empower ourselves in our relationships as well. Yes, there are opportunities out there but unless we can deal with our other relationships we are never really going to make it."

But breaking up with an abusive partner and branching out on your own is even harder on an island where accommodation is pricey even for dual income families on good incomes.

The WRC works closely with Bermuda Housing Corporation which has emergency shelter for women, while the Physical Abuse Centre also has a shelter. But some women don't like the stigma of going to the shelter and prefer to try to protect themselves where they are.

"In some cases the woman is paying the majority of the rents so we ask can you spin it all by yourself? Talk to your landlord and be the one on the lease."

She is also frustrated about the limited resources available to those in crisis and needing an escape route.

The Bermuda Housing Corporation has less than 100 family units, the Physical Abuse Centre has far fewer while The Salvation Army don't take children.

Bermuda's small size also precludes battering victims moving to the other end of the country to successfully escape their tormentors.

"We can only do so much. They have to be able to do the rest themselves.

"You sometimes feel you are powerless to do anything. Somebody has so many issues to deal with.

"I try not to take it home with me, sometimes I think what else could I have done? What else could I have said?"

It takes a toll and sees little time left for much else. Despite the depressing slog there are moments it all seems worthwhile.

After being slated by a dissatisfied client on a talk show a depressed Ms Dill was pondering the public lashing when another client who had heard the item approached her in the street.

"She threw her arms around me, hugged me and thanked me for helping her a number of years ago.

"She had also called into the show to say what great work we were doing. That meant so much to me. I was thankful to her. I needed that!" laughs Ms Dill.

Although open and friendly Ms Dill often pauses to choose her words carefully and explains the WRC treads a middle course between being media-shy and commenting on everything.

"We have a quiet voice rather than saying something for the sake of it.

"Sometimes people say we should be out there more but we want to be out there for the right reasons."

Certainly the Fight Back campaign is giving the WRC the highest profile it has ever had.

"We have had a lot of comments about how powerful the ad campaign is. It's very 'in your face'. It's very plain, easy to read, it catches your eye."

She is aware of the dangers of her public visibility, despite taking care not to hog the limelight.

"When I make comments I always think will that be an excuse for somebody to do something? But that won't stop me doing what I am doing.

"It hasn't happened yet but I know something could happen. It's always at the back of my mind.

"I joke about it to my family and friends that someone is going to knock me off one day."

Three grown-up daughters support what she does and sometimes help out. They haven't been put off by years of stern lectures from mom.

"When my daughters were in their teens I was much more protective because I knew some of the things that could happen from working with the Police and doing this work."

Although dedicated and serious, Ms Dill is charming company with a ready sense of humour. It's needed to lighten the burden of an emotionally demanding job.

"You have to have a sense of humour. People who work here deal with serious issues, in some cases life and death issues. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and get mad.

"It's good as a group to share frustrations, joke about things, in the right context."

She adds: "And we don't hate men. People think we tend to be male bashing but we are not. None of our staff have a problem with men," she laughs.

"They think Women's Resource Centre, feminist, hate males ? we don't. We are not that way and I hope we never will be," said Ms Dill who is originally from Kent, England where she trained as a nurse before marrying a Bermudian.

"But we do believe in empowering women and what women have gained in society we need to keep and improve upon it."

Things have also improved at the WRC. The charity she now heads was set up in 1987 based just on volunteers but now has seven people on the payroll, even though the rewards aren't much.

"Before I leave I want to have a substantial amount of funding so we can pay our employees what they are worth." She also wants greater public recognition for what the WRC has achieved so she won't have to spend so much time fundraising.

Setting up a scholarship for clients to get further education is another ambition.

"I would like to reduce my hours but I can't because I have to keep raising money and keep on with the awareness campaign. But it's my goal, say in two years, to step down say in two years and have an on-site executive director."