Saturday 3rd March in London there is the Million Women Rise March

On Thursday 8th March there will be ‘Bridges of Peace and Hope’ for the future, on Millennium Bridge (outside the Transport Museum) between  12:00 – 13:00.

In the evening the Women of Achievement Awards night will be at the Britannia Hotel, Fairfax Street 8th March 2012,  18:30 onwards

Tickets cost £15 each, food and entertainment included 

Tickets available from The Britannia Hotel, Fairfax Street,  024 7663 3733  or West Orchards Shopping Centre Management Suite level 5 Blue Corner,  024 7623 4510

On Saturday March 10th Coventry Women’s Voices will be organising an action in the city centre. Details to follow very soon.

Women in Birmingham and the West Midlands are dealing with a range of issues and inequalities that face them every day.

This is your chance to change that.

The Women’s Networking Hub is working with the Young Foundation, a centre for social innovation, to develop campaigns and use digital tools to increase women’s voice and influence locally and nationally.

We’re looking for people who are interested in running campaigns on the issues that matter to them. This is your chance to work with us to solve real problems faced by real women.

If you have a problem affecting women that you want to address,                 we want to hear from you.

I have a problem. How will you help me?

The Women’s Networking Hub and the Young Foundation will support you to:

• develop your campaign;
• learn how digital tools such as social media could help your voice get heard; and
• profile and deliver your campaign.

Great, how do I get involved?

Send us your campaign idea. It’s as simple as that.

What’s the issue? Why do you want to campaign on it? Do you have any initial ideas for how you want to campaign?

It doesn’t matter how developed your idea is, we can support you whatever stage you’re at.

How will you decide who you work with?

We will read all campaign ideas we receive and will select a few campaigns to support which cover a range of issues. We will consider all campaign ideas from women from all walks of life. You don’t need campaigning experience to take part, just the desire to campaign on an issue which affects women.

My idea is on its way! Where do I send it and what happens next?

Brilliant! Send your idea to shahidachoudhry@aol.com by midnight on Sunday 26^th February. We will respond to your idea shortly afterwards.

Click here for more information

Are the government’s austerity measures having a disproportionate
impact on women? How are they affecting gender equality? Is there
any effective opposition to the cuts and to what extent is it gendered?
How are women resisting the cuts?

These questions will be explored by:

Diane Elson, Professor of Sociology, University of Essex, Chair of the UK
Women’s Budget Group.
Austerity measures and gender equality: are there alternatives?

Claire Annesley, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Manchester,
member of the UK Women’s Budget Group.
Campaigning against austerity: gender equality advocates in tough
times.

Mary-Ann Stephenson, Coventry Women’s Voices.
Unravelling equality: impact of the cuts on women in Coventry.

Ann Lucas, Labour Councillor, Coventry City Council
Local government and the impact on women of the cuts.

ALL WELCOME, ENTRANCE FREE.
Please email K.Throsby@warwick.ac.uk to register.

You can speak to CRASAC on 024 76 277777 Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm and Monday and Thursday 6pm to 8pm

CRASAC has recently released a video about their work

Neesha’s Story is one of desperate despair, a childhood robbed, but it is also a story about hope, she has been at the very bottom and knows how it feels. Her message is simple, find help, it’s out there.

Downstairs, I can hear them playing, I so desperately wanted to be there, playing with them… but I couldn’t. I’m in the bedroom with the man who came into my life and took away my childhood. I was nine years old.

It started after my dad had passed away. My mum remarried pretty much straight away, and the man she brought into our home – my new stepdad – started abusing me.

It continued for seven years, an everyday thing, every day for seven years.

But with the sexual abuse, came the mental abuse. I was changing, it was affecting me.

My dad was a brilliant man and I was grieving after his death. I was vulnerable.

This new man who came into our lives started telling me I’d done something wrong and I believed him.  I  used to try to work out what it was I had done wrong. But I couldn’t work it out because I hadn’t done anything, I was just nine years old.

He started scaring me, telling me I’d get chucked out of the house if my family found out. He would tell me that there was no-one around for us because my dad’s not here and he would eventually kill us all. But he would keep me alive with him for a couple of days before he killed me too.

We’re a big family, a very big family and nobody knew and there was no way anybody would have known because people like him are  very clever, that’s why it is what it is because nobody knows. They don’t do it in front of everyone, they use very clever, sneaky tactics to do this.

But I had to do something to stop it.

I was changing. It was affecting me mentally. I was becoming very bitter. My family didn’t know, and I started to hate them as well, started to wish it wasn’t me it was happening to.

I thought I was the only person out there it was happening to. For a little while I tried to tell myself that it was something that dads do and because my dad had died, that this man had to do it to me instead.

But when I was about fourteen, I knew I had to stop it. I had become so bitter and twisted and angry by then. So I decided that when I was sixteen I would just leave home without telling anyone. And that’s what I did…. I just left home, didn’t have contact with the family for years and years.

I didn’t have a childhood at all. I can honestly say I didn’t experience a happy day after my dad died and that’s the truth. I was fearful all the time. I was anxious. I was agitated. I felt embarrassed. I hated myself you know?

I used to dress in baggy clothes and try to make myself not look attractive but at the same time I didn’t feel I was attractive anyway compared to everyone else. I just hated myself.

You’re always grieving, I grieved for my childhood, I grieved for a little girl that I used to be, I also grieved for the woman that I could have been as well. But then obviously you have to change. I’m always asking questions all the time. Would I be like this if this hadn’t happened to me? It’s one of the most common questions,  and the answer is one I will never ever know. And I have to learn to deal with that.

I came to CRASAC when my doctor referred me for counselling. Really, from there I started getting help. But it’s a long journey. I think what people need to understand is certain words, smiles, places, times, it all could affect you. It can bring everything flooding back.

I mean I love my child so much, more than anything in the world but giving her a bath will bring back memories for me and you’re expected to… fit into a society of what you call ‘normal people’ but you don’t feel normal yourself.

So I decided to talk about my experience to help others.

I’ve been right at the bottom as well and I know, and it makes my heart hurt to know people are like that, there’s people like that who are feeling rock bottom at the moment and I just want people to know that there’s help.

We’re not just a number or statistic or anything, we’re living people who do need that help and we need to rebuild  our lives because our lives have been shattered through no fault of our own.

And I’m doing this just to let people know that you can get through it, but you need all the right help in order to do it.

For Neesha, she decided to go on the journey to rebuild her life. You can too.

Ring this number to speak to us:  024 76 277777 Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm and Monday and Thursday 6pm to 8pm.

Join us as we finalise our plans for International Women’s Day

Last year Coventry Women’s Voices and the Centre for Human Rights in Practice at the University of Warwick published Unravelling Equality: a human rights and equality impact assessment of the spending cuts on women in Coventry.

The report had a significant impact. It was quoted in two parliamentary debates, widely reported in the media and has been used by women’s voluntary organisations, councillors and others when considering the impact of the spending cuts. It has been used as a model for a similar report in Bristol (Cutting women out in Bristol, published by Bristol Fawcett). Coventry Women’s Voices worked with the TUC to publish a toolkit based on the report which is currently being used by a number of women’s groups and unions across the UK to carry out their own impact assessments.

Unravelling Equality highlighted the likely impact of the spending cuts on women, but at the time it was published many of the cuts had yet to take effect. Coventry Women’s Voices and the Centre for Human Rights in Practice now want to look at the actual impact on individual women and groups. We plan to do this through a series of reports focussing in different groups of women (older women, young women, BAME women, lone parents, disabled women and so on). Each of these reports will be based on the experience of women in Coventry but as with Unravelling Equality the findings will be relevant to the UK as a whole.

Our first report will focus on older women in Coventry. Coventry Women’s Voices is keen to hear from individuals and groups who would like to contribute to the report. You can contact us at coventrywomen@gmail.com or tweet @coventrywomen

Coventry Feminist Culture Club (or other suitable name!)

Discussion, books, film, theatre, talks, art, debate, poetry, exhibitions, news review, inspiration.

A group to enjoy feminist cultural activities together as well as promoting meaningful discussion between feminists.
To create friendships, give encouragement and stir to action!

As well as promoting and facilitating visits to relevant cultural events, e.g. a theatre trip, the group could meet on a regular basis (perhaps once a month) to hold discussions on various topics, review books, share news etc.

I’ve created a Facebook group to help organise/advertise events, let people know about other feminist activity they may be interested in and to act as a central forum.(It’s still looking pretty basic at the moment – search Coventry Feminist Culture Club and hit JOIN!). I would also create an email list to let everyone know about events that way (for those who aren’t on FB).

If you are interested in being a part of this group, (to attend as often or as infrequently as you like), please email me or join the Facebook group.

To start as we mean to go on….Firstly,

If anyone is interested in going to see NORA at the Belgrade Theatre on Thursday 16th February at 8pm (with a post show discussion), I’m trying to organise a group to go. There has already been some interest.
See here for more info about the play, it’s based on Ibsen’s play A Dolls House and looks at women’s roles in the home.
http://www.belgrade.co.uk/event/nora
It has been difficult to get exact numbers of those interested so what I suggest is if you would like to come along, book yourself a ticket and request it for row D (or if full C) – at the moment both rows are entirely empty.This way we will be sat near to one another. Does this sound like an ok way to do it? (I thought it might be easier at this stage than one person making a bulk booking and others having to owe someone money.)  I would suggest that everyone going meets in the bar/cafe before hand from 7pm onwards, so we can meet up, say hi and introduce ourselves. Let me know if you’re interested in coming along!

Secondly,

I’d like to arrange a date for a first informal get together, to find out who’s interested and what people want out of this group.
I thought as well as talking about our thoughts for the group itself, it might be nice to kick off with an open discussion on the topic ‘What does feminism mean to you?’  It would be a nice way to get to know each other a bit.

Before I set a date (sometime late Jan/early Feb?), If you are interested could you let me know if there is a particular weeknight which would be better/worse? And any suggestions for a suitable place to meet (Maybe Browns? Or is that too noisy? I thought also maybe the Townwall Tavern behind the Belgrade, it’s a bit quiter in there)

Get in touch if you’re interested!

Hope to meet some of you soon,

Naomi Wilcox

Everywoman safe – Everywhere consultation meeting with Vera Baird QC, Kate Green MP and Stella Creasy MP

Thursday 26^th January. 10.30 am – 12.30 am

Coventry Citizen’s Advice Bureau – Kirby House,  Little Park Street,  Coventry,  CV1 2JZ

To book a place email maryann@maryannstephenson.co.uk

This is a meeting for agencies working on violence against women, women’s voluntary organisations, trade unions and anyone else concerned about women’s safety. Please forward the invitation to anyone you think might be interested.

Concerned about a range of issues recently raised that impact upon women’s personal safety – from disquiet about cuts to street lighting, to the local commissioning reforms that are weakening support for women survivors of violence – Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Yvette Cooper MP has recently launched the Everywoman Safe Everywhere Commission, whose overarching objective to improve women’s personal safety.

The Commission will be chaired by Vera Baird QC, the former Solicitor General who will be supported by Kate Green MP (Shadow Minister for Equalities) and Stella Creasy MP (Shadow Home Office Minister), and will report its findings publicly and make recommendations to the Labour Party’s policy making process.

The Commission will take evidence on the impact of the Government’s decisions, legislation and policies on women’s safety and consider how to protect and enhance women’s personal safety. In the context of current financial pressures, it will also consider proposals for a new Personal Safety Bill to tackle violence against women.

The Commission is keen to take evidence and testimony from the women’s sector and more information on the commission, its terms of reference and its accompanying consultation document can be found here.

Evidence, testimony, submissions and issues of concern can be emailed to the Commission at personalsafetycommission@labour.org.uk by 24th February 2012.

Tuesday 24th January 2012 at 6pm

The meeting has been organised by the Society of Labour Lawyers and will discuss the ways in which the Equality Act can be used to hold public bodies to account as public spending cuts are made.

Speakers: Kate Green MP, David Wolfe (Matrix Chambers), Mary-Ann Stephenson (Coventry Women’s Voices).

Chair: Sarah Sackman, Society of Labour Lawyers

to book a place email gracecullen@6pumpcourt.co.uk

9.30 – 1.00

ESOL

Introduction to Computers

ECDL

Expert Patient Course

Women’s Healthy Lifestyles

UK online

Inspire Me – motivational course

Antenatal Classes

Health Workshops

Friday coffee mornings with Arts, Crafts and advice sessions

Fitness Friday for Ladies – Zumba Gold

Free Refreshments

Children welcome

for more information call 024 7663 7693 or click here