No More Violence against Women

The WI movement once again showed their solidarity with survivors by attending the Million Women Rise march. The day began with a pre-march panel event where attendees heard from Shadow Secretary of Women and Equalities, Anneliese Dodds MP, Lizzy Dobres, Policy and Practice Manager from Women’s Aid England, and Dr Hannana Siddiqui, Head of Policy and Research at Southall Black Sisters.

The WI continued our work with specialist organisations within the sector including the IC Change campaign to call on the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul Convention. The Istanbul Convention is a legal framework that exists to tackle violence against women and girls, and sets minimum standards for governments to meet when tackling this issue. The full name is The Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. The Istanbul Convention is the gold standard framework for addressing violence against women and girls. The Convention recognises that violence against women happens in a context of gender inequality and sets out key measures to address the underlying root causes of this inequality, as well as discrimination and violence against women. After years of campaigning, in July 2022, the UK ratified the Istanbul Convention and it entered into force on November 1^st 2022.

WI Walk with Women: On Friday 19 March 2021, WI members and friends joined #WIWalkwithWomen to show their support for all women who have experienced abuse and harassment. Between 6pm and 7pm, members walked down their streets in their local areas with a candle or lantern to raise awareness of violence against women and stand in solidarity with survivors.

In March 2020 the WI movement attended the Million Women Rise march in London, showing our solidarity and support to survivors of abuse. NFWI hosted a pre-march panel discussion around the topic of domestic abuse. The discussion included an incredible panel of expert speakers from Women’s Aid and Southall Black Sisters and heard from WI members on their personal and professional experience.

Spearheaded by the UN, 16 days of activism against gender-based violence runs every year from 25th November (International Day to End Violence against Women) to 10th December (Human Rights Day). Taking inspiration from NFWI Wales’ Not in My Name campaign, in 2019 WI members took part in the 16 days of activism by collecting donations, fundraising for their local refuges, holding candlelight vigils to raise awareness and by engaging with decision-makers. Since then, the WI movement continues to take part in the 16 days of Activism every year to show our solidarity and support to survivors and to remember those we have tragically lost.