News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

National FGM Support Clinics – NHS

National FGM Support Clinics (NFGMSC) are community-based clinics that offer a range of support services for women with female genital mutilation (FGM).

  • This service is available to women aged 18 or older who are not pregnant when they seek support. If you’re pregnant If you’re under 18

How the clinics can help

National FGM Support Clinics are a place for women with FGM to discuss their health needs in a sensitive and non-judgmental environment.

The services are provided by an all-female team and include:

  • physical assessments and treatment (including deinfibulation if required)
  • emotional support and counselling
  • general information
  • access to FGM Health Advocates
  • referral to a specialist consultant, if needed

How to access a clinic

National FGM Support Clinics run either weekly or every 2 weeks.

Referrals from GPs and other health professionals are strongly encouraged, but you can also access a clinic through:

  • walk-in appointments
  • using a self-referral service

Where to find a clinic – go to https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/national-fgm-support-clinics/

September 17, 2019

Less than three minutes for new mums’ mental health – NCT and Netmums

Nearly half (47%) of mothers who’ve recently given birth get less than three minutes or no time at all to discuss their mental and physical health at a postnatal check, according to new research by NCT (National Childbirth Trust) and Netmums.

The recommended six-week postnatal check-up with a health professional is meant to uncover mums’ and babies’ health difficulties, but research found:

  • Nearly a third (31%) of new mothers got less than three minutes to discuss their own health at the appointment, as most of the time was devoted to the baby.
  • Additionally, around a sixth (16%) of mums were given no time at all to discuss their own health, with the whole appointment focused on their baby.
  • A quarter (25%) of mothers were not asked about their emotional or mental health during the appointment.

These new statistics are released as part of NCT’s #HiddenHalf campaign, which calls for full funding of the six-week check so that health professionals have the time to give all new mothers their own appointment, rather than squeezing it in with an examination of their baby. Without funding, many GP surgeries are unable to provide specific maternal appointments.

Sarah McMullen, Head of Knowledge, NCT, said:

“Many new mums don’t find it easy to admit they are struggling so it’s impossible to make them feel comfortable enough to discuss their concerns in less than three minutes.

“It’s vital mothers are given adequate opportunity to discuss any health problems to prevent them from getting worse. If they aren’t given the support they need at this crucial time it can have a devastating impact on the whole family.”

NCT research has also found that 82% of mothers who received treatment for their emotional or mental health said it helped. Dr Stephanie de Giorgio, a Kent GP, said:

“As a GP who’s looked after postnatal women for years, I know many of them can find it difficult to talk to us for all sorts of reasons. Dedicated time for them is vital so we can find out who is struggling and let them know how to seek help if they start to find things too difficult.

The only way that health professionals are going to be able to do this is if the government and NHS England agree to fund an appointment solely for new mothers.”

Anne-Marie O’Leary, Netmums Editor in Chief, said:

“We are doing the nation’s families a huge disservice by continuing to neglect the mental health of mums postpartum, which this new research from NCT brings into sharp focus. Maternal mental health is a key predictor in future outcomes for children, so it’s in all of our best interests to act now to better support mums with newborns.

Netmums wholeheartedly supports the call for full funding of a dedicated six-week check for mums – we know from the overwhelming number of mums who come to the Netmums forum, struggling with their mental health, that not providing support early on to mums who’ve just had a baby only leads to bigger problems, and greater suffering for all the family later on.”

Join the #HiddenHalf campaign

NCT and Netmums urge people to sign up to the Hidden Half campaign and bring postnatal mental illness out of hiding.

https://www.nct.org.uk/about-us/media/news/nct-and-netmums-less-three-minutes-for-new-mums-mental-health

 

September 6, 2019

11 October 2019 ~ Tampon Tax Community Fund – Application Closes

The Tampon Tax Fund allocates the funds generated from the VAT imposed on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls.

Local not-for-profit organisations across the country can apply now for a grant to run local projects and services directly benefiting women and girls facing issues such as period poverty, domestic and sexual abuse, mental health and long-term unemployment.

Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 (up to £15,000 in London) are available for a duration of up to 12 months.

Projects must meet one or more of the following objectives:

  • Building skills and confidence – supporting women and girls to learn new skills, giving them the ability to apply for new jobs and/or return to the workplace.
  • Improving health and well-being – teaching women how to look after and improve their own mental or physical health and live in good health for longer.
  • Building social networks – connecting women to others they can share similar experiences with, supporting them to feel less lonely, more valued, more able to pass on that support.

The funding can be used for volunteer expenses, activity costs, and project staff/sessional staff costs.

The Tampon Tax Community Fund is being delivered locally across the UK through a partnership between the UK Community Foundations and its local Community Foundation members.

UK based organisations with a local or community reach can apply. Groups should visit their local community foundation website for further details about the eligibility requirements of the scheme in their area as well as the local closing date for applications as these may vary slightly.

In general, the deadline for applications is 11 October 2019.

https://www.grantfinder.co.uk/archive/tampon-tax-community-fund-accepting-applications/


The Tampon Tax Community Fund supports women and girls of all ages across the UK to build their skills, confidence and self-esteem

Charities and community groups can apply for grants of up to £10,000 to run projects and services directly benefiting women and girls facing issues such as period poverty, domestic and sexual abuse, mental health and long-term unemployment.

The programme seeks to reduce the risk of crisis at different life stages. This may be by helping women and girls get into or back work, raising awareness about health issues, or by creating and developing peer networks.

Priority will be given to grassroots organisations, organisations working with women or girls facing multiple challenges, user-led organisations and sustainable projects providing long-term solutions.

The Tampon Tax Community Fund is delivered through our network of Community Foundations. The first round of the programme opened in September 2018 and a further round is due to open for applications in early September 2019, although some members are running to a slightly different timetable.

For more information on the programme or to apply, groups should get in touch with the Community Foundation closest to them which is administering the programme. Please refer to this list to find which Community Foundation is managing the programme in your local authority area.

The Tampon Tax Fund allocates funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. It is managed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which awarded UKCF a grant to set up the Tampon Tax Community Fund.

For more information contact grants@ukcommunityfoundations.org.

https://www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/our-programmes/tampon-tax-community-fund

September 6, 2019

3 October 2019 18:30 ~ Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: national action plans and beyond – Centre for Women, Peace and Security – London

Until 8:00pm @ Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building , LSE

Speaker

  • Professor Laura J Shepherd
    Professor of International Relations, University of Sydney

Chair

  • Dr Paul Kirby
    Assistant Professorial Research Fellow with the Centre for Women, Peace and Security

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on ‘women and peace and security’, it is timely to consider the remarkable successes of the policy architecture formalised by the resolution.

There are now nine related resolutions drawing attention to various dimensions of gendered power in peace and security processes and institutions; these resolutions form a robust framework for many efforts and initiatives aimed at ameliorating gendered inequalities, exclusions, and harms in conflict-affected settings. The resolutions themselves guide implementation across the UN system and, for implementation at the national and regional levels, states and organisations have devised national and regional ‘action plans’ outlining the priority areas for action under the broad auspices of the ‘Women, Peace and Security agenda’. This talk provides an overview of these mechanisms for implementation and introduces a new database that presents quantitative analysis of the 81 current national action plans to identify trends and emerging issues.

Speaker:

Professor Laura J Shepherd (@drljshepherd) is Professor of International Relations at the University of Sydney and Visiting Professor in the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Laura’s primary research focuses on the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda. She has written extensively on the formulation of UNSCR1325 and subsequent Women, Peace and Security resolutions, and her research engages the motifs of participation and protection that characterise debates about women, peace and security in global politics.

Chair:

Dr Paul Kirby (@ is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow with the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, and a Co-Director of the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub. Paul’s research focuses on the politics of the Women, Peace and Security agenda; the various manifestations of the claim that rape is a ‘weapon of war’; and critical international political theory, especially feminist and gender theory.

The Centre for Women, Peace and Security (@LSE_WPS) is an academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists and policy makers to develop strategies to promote justice, human rights and participation of women in conflict affected areas.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEWPS

This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For any queries see LSE Events FAQ or contact us at events@lse.ac.uk or by calling 0207 955 6043.

http://www.lse.ac.uk/women-peace-security/events/Current-Events/Implementation-of-the-Women-Peace-and-Security-Agenda-national-action-plans-and-beyond

 

September 2, 2019

Challenging Inadequate Sentences for Coercive Control and Stalking – Please Sign our Petition

AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse), with the support of the Victims’ Commissioner Vera Baird QC, has set up a petition to request that the Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme covers coercive control.

The Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme allows anyone to complain to the Attorney General that a sentence is too low. But it does not include serious domestic abuse, e.g. coercive control, for which there are frequent poor sentences which often seem to disregard Sentencing Council guidelines.

The scheme has not kept up with the devastating effects of coercive control.

Referring sentencing for this offence to the Court of Appeal would ensure senior judges reiterated the crime’s gravity and followed sentencing guidelines.

Please sign the petition and add your voice:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/264830

You can help us by sharing it with your networks:

At 10,000 signatures, government will respond to this petition

At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament

https://aafda.org.uk/blog/challenging-inadequate-sentences-for-coercive-control-and-stalking-please-sign-our-petition/

September 2, 2019