Zac and Sadiq asked to pledge to end violence against women & girls
Imkaan and EVAW launch Manifesto and 'VAWGmayorwatch' with hustings event set for 12 April
Powerful new film - Black women speak out about racist sexual harassment
Imkaan and EVAW have created a new short film, 'I'd just like to be free'
85% of younger women in UK have been sexually harassed in public
New YouGov survey and short film reveal scale and impact of sexual harassment
EVAW Coalition monthly bulletin
Our monthly bulletin is packed with the latest news and developments on violence against women across the UK.
March 2016 Bulletin from the End Violence Against Women Coalition
- EVAW at Downing Street and new Government VAWG Strategy welcomed
- Survey on sexual harassment in UK reveals it is most common form of abuse
- Young Black women speak out about racist sexual harassment
- London Mayor and Assembly elections – manifesto and ‘VAWGmayorwatch’ launched
- Come to our London Mayor hustings, 12 April
- Staff news – new Director(s) appointed
- Please support us to maintain our independent feminist voice
EVAW at Downing Street and new Government VAWG Strategy welcomed
EVAW representatives and many of our members were pleased to meet and talk with Prime Minister David Cameron at a Downing Street reception for International Women’s Day this month.
On the same day we welcomed the Government’s new Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy for 2016-2020 which indicates the Government’s continuing commitment to addressing abuse of women and girls in all its forms by supporting survivors, responding to perpetrators and trying to prevent abuse before it happens.
The new strategy notably makes a strong commitment to ensuring that refuge accommodation, helplines, Rape Crisis centres and BME specialist services remain available at a time when unprecedented levels of survivors are seeking support, and when local commissioners have shown patchy understanding of the independent, women-led specialist support services that survivors prefer. We recognise the good intention in the “National Statement of Expectations” which will be developed for local commissioners, and EVAW and our members look forward to working with the Government on this.
We also welcomed news that the Universities UK Taskforce recognizes a new response to sexual violence is needed, and the next stage of the Home Office prevention campaign Disrespect NoBody which speaks out clearly on difficult issues facing young people face including rape, sexting and pornography.
Survey on sexual harassment in UK reveals it is most common form of abuse
We were glad to be invited onto BBC2’s Victoria Derbyshire show this month to discuss the findings from our new YouGov survey on British women’s experience of sexual harassment in public places. The survey reveals that 85% of women aged 18-24 have experienced unwanted sexual attention in public places and 45% have experienced unwanted sexual touching. The survey also found that significantly more women than men say they feel unsafe in public places, and almost half are doing conscious “safety planning” if they go out in the evenings, such as avoiding public transport and paying for taxis, leaving early and taking a different route.
Young Black women speak out about racist sexual harassment
Alongside our survey, we launched a powerful short film with our member organisation Imkaan featuring young black and minority ethnic women in the UK talking about their experiences of being sexually harassed in public places and how it is often inextricably linked with racist stereotypes and abuse. We are delighted with the response to the film on social media and hope it will continue to provoke discussion.
London Mayor and Assembly elections – manifesto and ‘VAWGmayorwatch’ launched
Looking ahead to 5 May elections, EVAW and Imkaan today published a joint ‘manifesto for ending violence against women and girls in the capital,’ alongside a new ‘VAWGmayorwatch’ website which will track all Mayoral and Assembly candidates’ pledges in this area. After Easter we will issue recommendations on Police and Crime Commissioner candidates’ obligations to tackle violence against women and girls.
Come to our London Mayor hustings, 12 April
Please join us on Tuesday 12 April 2016, when EVAW and Imkaan will host a London hustings to find out what the next mayor will do to end VAWG in the capital. Chaired by Afua Hirsch (Sky News), the hustings will put questions to speakers Sian Berry (Green Party Mayoral candidate), Yvette Cooper MP (Labour Party, on behalf of Sadiq Khan), Stephen Greenhalgh (Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Conservative Party, on behalf of Zac Goldsmith), Annabel Mullin (Liberal Democrats Assembly Member candidate) and Sophie Walker (Women's Equality Party Mayoral candidate). The hustings will be held 6-8pm at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in centrsl London. Please email admin@evaw.org.uk to reserve a place.
Staff news – new Director(s) appointed
We are delighted to share that our Board has appointed Rachel Krys and our current interim Director Sarah Green as new permanent Directors of EVAW in a job-share.
Please support us to maintain our independent feminist voice
EVAW relies on generous supporters and funders to enable us to campaign with an independent, feminist voice – please donate today if you would like to help!
We are very grateful for the support of all our supporters and funders, including Esmée Fairbairn, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Trust for London, the Coutts Foundation, and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
Follow us on Twitter @EVAWuk
For more information about EVAW seewww.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk
Schools Safe 4 Girls
EVAW is calling for schools, parents, students and the government to work together to ensure that girls are safe. Read more and take action here.Protecting Women's Services
We work with our members in lobbying and campaigning to ensure that specialist VAWG support services are available for all women and girls who experience violence. We have recently published a briefing on the rights of women and girls to access specialist services in the UK, laying out recommendations for the Westminster and devolved governments and have written to Communities Secretary Greg Clark asking him to make women and girls’ rights a reality.
Previously, we have also published research exposing the patchy provision of specialist women's support services.
Women Students: Safe & Equal #UniversityChallenge
EVAW, our supporters and students all over the country are asking universities and colleges to improve their policy & practice on violence against women. Read more and take action.
Media Sexism & Pornography
With members Eaves, Equality Now & Object we gave evidence on media sexism at the Leveson Inquiry and continue to press those who will determine the shape of the new press regime to ensure that there is a robust complaints mechanism that works for women.We supported our member Rape Crisis South London in their successful #banrapeporncampaign to criminalise the possession of pornography depicting rape.
We worked with members Imkaan and Object on Rewind+Reframe, supporting young women to speak out against racism and sexism in music videos and calling on the music industry and regulators to take action.Women’s and human rights groups from across the UK came together in 2005 to form the EVAW Coalition and to campaign for a joined up approach to ending all violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Our joint campaigning has led to joined up strategies to end VAWG in Westminster, Wales, London as well as several local areas. We have exposed the postcode lottery of women's support services in the Map of Gaps campaign, given evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about media sexism and made sure governments keep their promises to take action on VAWG. In the last 12 months we have called for the UK to sign up to the new European Convention on Violence Against Women, which the PM recently committed to doing.
We work creatively to expose and challenge attitudes that tolerate violence against women – for example publishing surveys revealing the scale of sexual harassment in schools and beyond.
Our influences reaches the highest levels, including Downing Street (see our Co-Chair Marai Larasi with the PM on International Women's Day below), and is drawn from the experience of our members at the grassroots.
More on our impact here.
Support us by donating here.
