Indicating a Crisis

In the British news at the moment is the question how one may signal that one needs help. I have a few times received calls where women said they needed help. I mean quiet calls for help while they were in the middle of a situation. In this moment, I can think of two younger women, and one eldely woman. The one "unforgettable" incident was where a husband was threatening his wife with a gun. He left the room for a moment, and she quietly called me. He was still holding the gun when I arrived. OBSERVATION: One can give signals that all is not well. There is one that I was taught, which I do not see in the British media: communicate something that is clearly not true, to indicate that all is not well. But people do not always catch on.