News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

2 March 2016 10:00 ~ Domestic abuse: responding to coercive control in Wales – Welsh Women’s Aid seminar – Cardiff

Featuring Professor Evan Stark
Until 16:00 at the SSE SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff

“Coercive control is a strategic course of conduct designed to dominate a partner through a pattern of physical and sexual coercion, intimidation, exploitation, isolation, regulation and the deprivation of basic rights and liberties … Ironically, as abuse continues and a victim’s entrapment becomes more comprehensive, the service response often becomes more perfunctory.”
(Coercive control; how men entrap women in personal life, Professor Evan Stark)

You are invited to join us for this unique opportunity for Welsh Public Services, Criminal Justice and Third Sector professionals to hear directly from Professor Evan Stark, who conceptualised coercive control and advised the UK Government on its criminalisation.

Professor Stark will be leading this one day seminar, and will be joined by other experts in the field in Wales, to examine how health, social care, housing, police, offender managers, specialist services, and other professionals in Wales should identify and respond to survivors and perpetrators where coercive control is being used in relationships and in families.

That coercive control is now a criminal offence (from 29 December 2015) means this is not only a crime against liberty which reduces women’s ‘space for action’, but also shifts our understanding of injury caused by abuse to harms against personhood, autonomy, liberty and dignity. Understanding coercive control as being central to experiences of domestic abuse is essential if we are to reduce and prevent violence and abuse across all public services, and for all families and communities in Wales.

To book a place, please click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/welsh-womens-aid-seminar-domestic-abuse-responding-to-coercive-control-in-wales-featuring-professor-tickets-21080647785?utm_term=eventurl_text

Please note, this event is free for Welsh Women’s Aid members, South Wales police and the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office and £40 for all other professionals.

For any more information please contact AliceMoore@welshwomensaid.org.uk

This Welsh Women’s Aid seminar is sponsored by the Office of the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner.

January 29, 2016

Help raise £400 to send sanitary items to women in Greece – Supporting Sisters

We’re raising £400 to Send sanitary items to women in Greece because Dignity is not a luxury

Supporting Sisters distribute sanitary products to women throughout the UK who cannot afford any themselves. We also have an ongoing project supporting sisters in Calais.

Donate online at https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/supportingsistersuk

Supporting Sisters believe that all women, whatever their circumstance, deserve to be comfortable during their period.

To help achieve this, we collect sanitary products and underwear for displaced women, distributing them from our collection centres. We work with, amongst others, food banks, night shelters and other charities.

Our HQ is in Colchester and we have branches in Southend, Birmingham, Lancaster, Braintree, Stoke Newington, West Suffolk, Suffolk Coastal, Kent, Clacton. The number of our branches is growing every month. If you’d like to set up a new branch, get in touch via our Contact Page. We’d love to hear from you!

See more at https://supportingsistersuk.wordpress.com/

Also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/supportingsistersuk

January 29, 2016

SARSVL’s £2016 in 2016

Can you help to raise a grand total of £2016 this year to support SARSVL’s work all year round?

Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SARSVL) is the only specialist charity in Leeds that supports women and girls who have been affected by sexual violence of any kind at any time in their lives. We also promote survivors’ needs and rights, and campaign to end rape and sexual violence.

Volunteer-led, independent, and at a time when government funding for such services is tight, SARSVL entirely relies on donations from the public and a small amount of grant funding.

Any donation of any size will be gratefully received and every penny you give will go towards supporting women and girls in Leeds.

Please make a difference in 2016 and make a donation today – thank you!

http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/sarsvl/sarsvl2016

January 29, 2016

Women’s Asylum News – December 2015 / January 2016 issue

Download as a pdf from http://d2ihhomkd2yhtk.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Womens-Asylum-News-133.pdf

See more at http://www.asylumaid.org.uk/category/publications/womens-asylum-news/

January 29, 2016

Muslim Women’s Council response to English Language Support for Muslim Women

Whilst we welcome the additional funding pledged today by the Prime Minister for English language support for Muslim women, we do not agree with the assertion that there is a link between a lack of English and extremism. David Cameron is conflating these two issues and is further isolating the very same group of people that he is trying to reach and assist. The funding announced is in fact a reduction in real terms as it was only six months ago that funding of £45 million was cut for 47 colleges for ESOL courses by the Department for Business.

The ability to converse in the English language should apply to all communities including Eastern Europeans. To single out Muslim women in this manner appears to be a lame attempt by this Government. For many years, first generation parents have instilled values and principles in their children without necessarily being able to speak English. Whilst there is a need to learn English in order to help families in their journeys to become British Citizens, this has certainly not stopped parents and their children from working hard and becoming successful British citizens.

The statements from this government regarding Muslims continue to further demonise and marginalise the Muslim community and are counter-productive towards the stated aims of the government of a One Nation Britain.

In order to combat the scourge of extremism together, we urge the Prime Minister to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Muslim community. This policy could have been announced in a much more sensible manner, instead the Prime Minister has chosen to further malign the Muslim community, which will further alienate Muslims at a time when more must be done to make Muslims feel part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Press Release at http://www.muslimwomenscouncil.org.uk/muslim-womens-council-response-to-english-language-support-for-muslim-women/

See also David Cameron doesn’t understand British Islam or Muslim women – Shabana Mahmood Birmingham Ladywood MP at http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/david-cameron-doesnt-understand-british-10756859

January 29, 2016