women in london

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 March 2011

* Honouring women’s lives
* Celebrating women’s resistance
* Working for non-violence

Violence against women knows no borders. It occurs in peacetime and war.

And everywhere, women are organizing against it. A few facts….

* Domestic violence is the major cause of death and disability for women aged 16 to 44 in Europe, accounting for more death and ill-health than cancer or traffic accidents. (Council of Europe)
* Up to 70% of female murder victims worldwide are killed by their male partners (World Health Organisation)
* In England and Wales in a recent typical year, 90% of crimes involving violence against the person were committed by men. And 99% of sexual offences were committed by men. (Home Office statistics.)
* Rape can be a weapon of ethnic genocide, as for instance in Gujarat in 2002. (International Initiative for Gender Justice, Mumbai, India; Vimochana and Women in Black, Bangalore).
* Worldwide, one out of three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused, usually by someone known to her, at some time in her life. (Finding of 50 surveys from around the world, cited by Amnesty.)

8 women’s organizations standing together for 8 March – we are:

Women in Black London: a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. Women in Black London: a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. www.womeninblack.org

Newham Asian Women’s Project: in East London provides emergency accommodation and housing support services to South Asian women and their children fleeing domestic violence. Newham Asian Women’s Project: in East London provides emergency accommodation and housing support services to South Asian women and their children fleeing domestic violence. www.nawp.org

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom: women worldwide united in working for peace by non-violent means, promoting political, economic and social justice for all. www.ukwilpf.org.uk

Women for Women International: provides women survivors of war and civil strife with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency. www.womenforwomen.org

Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence: opposes the presence of US bases in Okinawa and Japan and the effects of militarization and military violence on women’s lives. See www.genuinesecurity.org

London Feminist Network: we work together for women’s rights and against patriarchy in all its forms. www.londonfeministnetwork.org.uk

Amargi: in Istanbul, a centre with bookshop and café, opposes militarism, homophobia and violence. “Amargi is a place where I can engage in feminist politics,” Aksu Bora. www. amargigroupistanbul.wordpress.com

Southall Black Sisters: a comprehensive service to women experiencing violence and abuse – meeting the needs of Asian and Black women in West London. www.southallblacksisters.org

‘Around the world, violence against women is used by state and non-state actors to justify the need to maintain security or national/religious/cultural identity. We must make use of every opportunity to oppose these authoritarian, anti-democratic and anti-human rights developments wherever they occur – in the home, the community or the state’ Pragna Patel, Southall Black Sisters.

NO TO VIOLENCE
in the home – in the community – in the state – in international relations
YES TO A GENTLER WORLD

Event details and times were posted earlier here – http://www.womeninlondon.org.uk/2011/02/event-wilpf-wib-lfn/