Women's Views on News |
- Protest against ‘heat or eat’
- Events: 25 November – 1 December
- Sports round-up: 18-24 November
- Vigil for domestic and sexual violence victims
| Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:01 AM PST
On 26 November, the day that Winter Death statistics are released, protestors will be taking action against price rises introduced by Npower and the other Big Six energy companies. Last year there were 24,000 'excess winter deaths' in England and Wales. And according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) around 30 per cent of excess winter deaths can be attributed to cold indoor temperatures – which based on current figures means around 7,200 people died last year due to cold housing in the winter months. And this year, as the Big Six energy companies hike up their prices we were told the only answer is to put on a jumper. But millions of people will be forced to live in fuel poverty this winter, and families, pensioners and those with low incomes will have to choose between heating or eating. The energy companies want us to believe that 'green taxes' are to blame, but the real problem is the privatisation of the UK's energy for profit and the skyrocketing cost of dirty fossil fuels. UK Uncut wants warm pensioners and a publicly-owned, tax paying, renewable energy system that isn't wrecking peoples lives or the planet. So gather your kids, neighbours, grandparents your warmest jumper and your latest energy bill and join anti-austerity groups, including Fuel Poverty Action, UK Uncut, Disabled People Against Cuts, and the Greater London Pensioners Association on their protest. Acting together under the banner of 'Bring down the Big Six – Fuel Poverty Kills!' direct action groups will hold 'an outrageous, creative and inclusive' protest at the London office of the German energy giant Npower at midday on 26 November. They will meet at 11.30am at Royal Exchange by Bank tube station and will march to Npower's Supply and Trading Offices, at 60 Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8HP, to protest against winter deaths, price hikes and their devastation on the planet. Npower is the UK's most complained about energy company. It received 202 complaints per 100,000 customers between April and June – double those of its nearest rival EDF Npower also increased its prices higher than any of the other Big Six this year at 9.3 per cent electricity and 11.1 per cent for gas. Npower has also defended seeking a 5 per cent profit margin which is widely regarded as excessive. Added to which, Npower has paid no corporation tax for the past 3 years despite reporting a 34 per cent profit rise of £413million last winter due to price hikes. Profit and price hikes as an estimated 300,000 people were pushed into fuel poverty. Sarah Price of UK Uncut said: 'The Big Six are an example of incredible corporate greed. 'Huge profits are extracted from the public whilst they suffer at the hands of austerity. 'David Cameron and his cabinet of millionaires are only too happy to stuff the pockets of big business while ordinary people are left out in the cold. 'The combined wealth of cabinet ministers is £70 million and they will never feel the pain of those who can't afford their energy bills this winter. 'People must be put before profit, and with creative direct action, we will stand with the elderly, the poor and vulnerable to fight for our power. 'Fuel Poverty must end.' Joseph Murphy, of Disabled People Against Cuts, said: 'Another harsh winter will mean more disabled people will find themselves isolated in their homes, unable to heat them, or cook properly. 'Many don't make it through. 'Politicians and energy firms talk about 'measures' and 'support', which are only available to a very few. 'The energy firms continue to sit in government departments writing energy policy, in buildings where the heating is paid for by the very people who will die of cold this winter. 'This is a disgrace.' For details of the event go to their Facebook page and follow it on @fuelpovaction and @ukuncut on Twitter.  |
| Events: 25 November – 1 December Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:06 AM PST
Bridlington: 29 November – 1 December: Valkyrian Fest 2013 at Shades Nightclub, 23 Queens Square, Bridlington. Go and watch loads of Valkyrian artists, all in aid of Rape Crisis. For the full line up of artists, click here. Tickets £5. Brighton: 30 November: To Russia With Love, Brighton meeting at New Steine Gardens, Brighton, at 12noon. This is a peaceful demonstration of solidarity with Russian LGBTQ+ people. In Russia today, gay people and their allies are under attack: beaten, arrested and killed. New anti-gay laws have effectively made it illegal to even mention the existence of LGBTQ+ people positively, let alone defend their human rights. Currently being proposed is a law which would remove custody rights of gay parents. The coming Sochi Olympics puts the world spotlight on Russia and international protests are showing mass opposition to Putin’s homophobic government. The ‘Russian Section 28′ is fuelling a rising tide of violence. The laws must be challenged! Here in the UK we ask our own government to defend human rights worldwide and tell Putin to stop turning back the clock. Speakers include Peter Tatchell and activists from Russia and the UK. Bristol: 25 November: Festival of Ideas: Stop Violence Against Women at The Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol, from 7.45pm. To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, join journalist and campaigner Joan Smith, Nimko Ali, co-founder and CEO of Daughters of Eve and feminist activist, and reviver of London’s Reclaim the Night Finn Mackay. They will discuss the work and campaigns they are involved in and how we can all raise awareness and challenge the culture that allows violence to continue. Tickets: £7/£6. 27 November: Festival of Ideas: Melissa Benn – What Shall We Tell Our Daughters at The Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol, from 6.15pm. Despite great strides forward, many issues for women – equality of pay, equality in the home, representation at senior level in the workplace and in politics – are far from resolved. Frightening levels of misogyny – particularly on social media – and continuing emphasis on appearance and social conformity deter too many from finding an authentic private and public voice. Meanwhile, a cohort of high achievers is masking the widespread pauperisation of many young women today. In her new book, What Shall We Tell Our Daughters? The Pleasures and Pressures of Growing Up, writer, campaigner and mother of two daughters Melissa Benn takes a fresh look at the challenges our collective daughters’ face. Incorporating wide-ranging interviews and research, this is essential reading for every parent who has ever had to comfort a daughter who doesn’t feel ‘pretty’, for every young woman who out-performs her male peers and wonders why she is still not taken seriously, for anyone interested in the world we are making for the next generation. Ticket: £7/£6. Glasgow: 25 November – 10 December: Glasgow Women's Aid at 40: Past, Present, Future Exhibition at Glasgow Women's Library, 23 Landressy Street, Glasgow, open from 10am-4.30pm. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Glasgow Women's Aid (GWA). Join the Glasgow Women's Library during the 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence Against Women for an exhibition that charts the development of the organisation to where it is today. From the groundbreaking work of the women that founded GWA , the growth of refuge provision and service development and acknowledging the amazing strength of the women, children and young people that GWA has supported over the 40 years. Entry is free. London: 26 November: Noam Gur speaking at UCL, Medical Sciences, 131 AV Hill Lecture Theatre, University College London, from 7-9pm. Noam Gur is 19 years old, from Jerusalem. She is a queer, feminist, anti-militarist activist. She was jailed in April 2012 for refusing to serve in the Israeli Defence Force as part of compulsory national service. Noam is an activist with organisations including the feminist anti-militarist group New Profile, Anarchists Against the Wall, and Ta’ayush, a joint Jewish-Arab campaign which takes direct action in defence of Palestinians. Noam will speak at this meeting organised by UCLU Workers' Liberty and the UCL Left Forum. The event is open to all and free. 26 November: Our Bodies – Our Choices: Feminist Perspectives on Reproductive Rights at SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG, from 7pm. The aim of this event is to create a discussion/roundtable on feminist views of reproductive rights/women’s bodily autonomy. The main issues that will be part of the conversation are: 28 November: After neoliberalism: the necessity of a gender revolution at Marx Memorial Library, 37a Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R from 6.30pm-8.30pm. Following the success of May’s launch of the “Kilburn Manifesto: After Neoliberalism” framing statement – an online manifesto edited by Sounding Journal’s founding editors – Stuart Hall, Doreen Massey and Michael Rustin – Sounding is back with a series of seminars to pursue the issues in more depth. These events will provide an inclusive space to debate alternatives to the current dominant neoliberal systems. This, the fourth seminar, will address the instalment of the manifesto: "After neoliberalism: the necessity of a gender revolution". The seminar will open with a presentation by the author of the chapter, Beatrix Campbell, with respondents Pragna Patel and Alison Winch, and will be followed by an open discussion in which all attendees are welcome to contribute. Tickets £10/£4/Free. Until 30 November: London Feminist Film Festival at Hackney Picturehouse, 270 Mare Street, London E8, from 3.30pm. The London Feminist Film festival celebrates women creatives while ensuring that the feminist ethos extends to the films shown during the festival. The festival celebrates feminist films both past and present and aims are to inspire discussion about feminism and film, to support women directors, and to get feminist films seen by a wider audience. The themes for this week's sessions include: Claiming Spaces, Inspiring Women, Expectations, Activism, and Herstories. Films being screened this week include the European premieres of I Am The Mace, For Grandmother (Para Kay Ama), and Daughters of the Niger Delta. For the full schedule of events and screenings, click here. 1 December: Sarah Lucas exhibition: tour at Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1, from 2pm. East London Fawcett members have been invited on a tour of Whitechapel Gallery's long-awaited Sarah Lucas retrospective, with assistant curator Poppy Bowers. The bawdy euphemisms, repressed truths, erotic delights and sculptural possibilities of the sexual body lie at the heart of Sarah Lucas's work (b. 1962). First coming to prominence in the 1990s with a show at London's City Racing memorably titled, Penis Nailed to a Board, this British artist's sculpture, photography and installation have established her as one of the most important figures of her generation. This event is free and open to all, however places are limited, please email to reserve a place. Until 6 December: Restored's exhibition of members' photos at The Salvation Army International HQ, 101 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V. 'Restored' is an international Christian alliance which aims to transform relationships and end violence against women. The alliance believe that Christian churches have huge potential to help prevent violence, but also need to change their own attitudes and practices. This exhibition is features photos from members which represent work undertaken on transforming relationships and ending violence against women. Entry is free. Until 9 December: Body Wars at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, London. Body Wars is a contemporary art exhibition that will deal with the raw subject of anorexia and obesity. The exhibition will suggest that the media's enormous influence, as well as that from the fashion, health, beauty and cosmetic industries, may be having devastating effects on men, women and children. Using different art mediums such as paint, drawing, sculpture, photography and film sourced from international artists, the viewer will be challenged in an educational and visual way to address the issues and to question whether these industries are major factors in contributing to the paranoia and neurosis of those suffering these diseases. Newcastle upon Tyne: Until 21 December: Inspirational Women North East at Hatton Gallery, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. A portrait exhibition featuring the work of photographers Bryony Bainbridge and Kami Dodds, celebrating the achievements of women who have played a vital role within the North. Norwich: 27 November: Re-enactment of The Trial of Martha Alden at The Guildhall, Norwich from 7pm-10pm. Join the Sheriff of Norwich and Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services, and be a part of a Jury audience, putting your modern insights to the test in a reconstruction of a sadly familiar age-old tale based on real-life 19th century trial transcripts. Tickets £20. Sheffield: 30 November: Ladiyfest Sheffield 2013 at a number of venues across Sheffield. Get ready for a whole day of feminist workshops and discussion, followed by an evening of live music and dancing! This is a fundraiser for the National Ugly Mugs! Workshops will be held at the Quaker Meeting House by the Cathedral, running from 11am – 5:30pm, with vegan food and refreshments for sale, plus zines, stalls, a quiet room and a supervised children’s area. This year’s workshop themes: Fat Activism, Creating Spaces Free from Sexual Harassment (with the SASH Campaign), Gender Dynamics in Poly Relationships, Online Misogyny and Harassment of Women (with Wipeout Sexism on Facebook), Men and Feminism, Women and Anti-Fascism (with Sisters Against the EDL), National Ugly Mugs: Improving the Safety of Sex Workers, Let’s Talk about Race in Feminist / Music Spaces, Magic and Mythmaking: (Re)writing Queer and Feminist Fairytales, Organising Your Own Grassroots Events (with LaDIYfest), Sound Engineering 101, What about Lads’ Mags and Page 3?, Feminist T-shirt Printing (with Sheffield Uni Women’s Committee) The night’s entertainment will be at the Redhouse from 8pm, with live shows from the Ethical Debating Society, Halo Halo, Weird Menace and Not Right, followed by INVERT DJs. All genders are welcome to attend all the workshops. Some workshops will be very child-friendly so please bring your children along if you’d like to. Please go here for more information on the safe space policy for this event and get it touch if you have any concerns. The organisers aim to make this event as accessible as possible. Please get in touch ASAP if you’re planning to attend and have any specific accessibility requirements that you’d like to discuss with us beforehand. More info on accessibility can be found here. There is a suggested donation of £6 for the day or £8 for both events (day and night), but people attending are welcome to pay as much or as little as they can afford. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  |
| Sports round-up: 18-24 November Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:00 AM PST
Football: A £2.4 million scheme to increase the participation of women and girls in football was announced this week. The Football Association (FA), Sport England, the Premier League and the Football League are collaborating to deliver the programme, which aims to attract 40,000 more women and girls to the sport. The money will fund season-long coaching sessions for 14-25 year-olds. Clubs will work with county football associates as well as schools and universities to attract participants. The FA’s general secretary Alex Horne told the BBC, "This is a fantastic initiative. The professional clubs' brands will attract more players and we know that qualified coaches will deliver top-class coaching sessions just where we need them." Tennis: Former British number one Elena Baltacha announced her retirement from professional tennis earlier this week. The 30 year-old Scot reached a career high ranking of 49 in 2010. She reached the third round of the Australian Open twice, and the third round of Wimbledon once. "It just feels it's the right time," she told Sportsister. "My body has taken such a bruising over the last 16 years and that's finally taken its toll. "I have had some amazing experiences through playing tennis – some incredible highs and some very low lows – and I wouldn't change any of them but now my mind and my body are telling me it's time to move on to a new phase of my life." Meanwhile, current British number one Laura Robson has announced that she will be coached by American Nick Saviano next season. She has been without a coach since splitting from Miles Maclagan in October. Cycling: The Union Cycliste International (UCI) has announced new rules to increase the representation of women in world cycling's management structure. In line with new President Brian Cookson's pledge to develop women's cycling, there is to be a woman on each of the UCI's commissions. Cookson, the former head of British Cycling, said he was delighted by the announcement. In the UK, British Cycling has announced a team of 16 riders who will represent Great Britain in the next round of the UCI Track World Cup series next month. At the first round in Manchester in early November, Great Britain won eight medals, putting them at the top of the points ranking. Much of the team will stay the same for the second round, which will take place in Aguascalientes, Mexico, from 5-7 December. Becky James and Jess Varnish will compete in the sprint events. Great Britain's world record breaking pursuit team of Elinor Barker, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott will be joined by Katie Archibald in the endurance events. On the road side, Bury St Edmunds is to host the finish of the final stage of the 2014 Women's Tour of Britain, the organisers confirmed on 21 November. The race will be five stages long, and begins on 7 May 2014 in Oundle. Rugby: England Women's Sevens team will be coached by former Leeds Carnegie player and coach Simon Middleton in the new year. “I am very excited about this new role and working with the RFU,” he said. “Personally I feel it's the appointment I've been preparing for since I started my coaching career. “To coach your country has to be the ambition of any coach and the pinnacle of any coach's career.”  |
| Vigil for domestic and sexual violence victims Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:09 AM PST
During 2013 they have been killed by their violent partner or ex-partner. Their names will be read out in an act of remembrance at a vigil being held in the West Midlands. The candlelit commemoration, at 4.30pm in the Market Square in Stafford, marks the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – November 25. The vigil has been organised by Staffordshire Women’s Aid and Stafford Soroptimist International. The chief executive of Staffordshire Women’s Aid, Dickie Chester-James, said: "Two women in the UK are killed each week due to domestic violence. “We want to respect the women who have lost their lives and also all women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence. These women have a tremendous capacity to survive many things. “Those who lost their lives are mothers, grandmothers, sisters, some women are killed in their 80s, doesn’t matter what age, women are vulnerable.” The organisation also helps dozens of children each year who have witnessed or been victims of domestic violence and sexual violence themselves. Chester-James said they are now seeing more cases of forced marriage, honour crime, female genital mutilation and child sexual exploitation. “We go into schools and try to raise awareness among young people. If we are to make a difference in another 40 years, then we need to give them a voice,” she said. “Pop music and videos are sometimes incredibly violent about women, and they are almost giving permission to be disrespectful to women.” Soroptimist International is urging Soroptimists and supporters to take part in a wave of social media action on 25 November to mark the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the first of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Their 2012-13 SI Global Impact Report, launched along with side a new film last week, found that the most successful tool in tackling violence against women was education. They also suggest you Tweet (and Facebook) up a storm over the next 16 days if you are on Twitter or Facebook: use the hash tags #16days and #Soroptimist to share posts like these: 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience violence in their lifetime? Enough is enough #16Days #EndVAWG #Soroptimist 1 in 5 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime #16days #Soroptimist Violence kills and disables as many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer #16days An estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide live with the consequences of female genital mutilation #16days Don't forget to re-tweet/share posts – or share links to articles or websites of interest. The Soroptimists are also supporting the Purple Teardrop Campaign, set up in 2008 to combat trafficking. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women, which is organising the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, said domestic violence is now endemic throughout the world. “Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation,” she said. “It is violence against families, communities, nations and humanity. “It is a threat to international peace and security, as recognised by the UN Security Council. “It has reached a crisis point and demands action from all of us, young and old, women and men.” The UN estimates that one in three women will be subjected to violence during her lifetime and 125 million will suffer female genital mutilation. The organisation is asking women to wear orange to show their solidarity with women around the world in 25 November – and on the 25th of every month. Mlambo-Ngcuka added: “It is a glaring omission that ending violence against women was not included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).” And she urged all UN Member States to make ending violence against women and girls a priority in the new development framework that comes after the MDGs expire in 2015. “UN Women,” she said, “is calling for a stand-alone goal on women's rights, women's empowerment and gender equality.”  |
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