Putting Women and Girls front and centre in the COVID Response


Gender equality in Milton Keynes? We think it’s time to turn up the volume on the conversation, promote the issues and work for system change. We thought you might like to hear about a new partnership approach.

Women’s groups in Milton Keynes have been increasingly concerned about the fragile and fragmented nature of available support for specialist services.  The pandemic has now impacted heavily on all women, highlighting disadvantage and exclusion and putting those at risk of violence in even greater danger. A strong infrastructure is needed to provide a safety net where no one is lost.

Back in January 2020, several women’s groups worked in partnership at a conference which included survivors of assault and abuse. We heard accounts of women being passed across different services and of being immersed in a male dominated justice system. The need for an infrastructure was clear, and following on from the conference a working group, facilitated by Community Action:MK, has begun to consider innovative ways forward.

This collective of organisations, including MKAct, Rape Crisis, MK & Aylesbury Vale Sexual Assault and Abuse Service, MK Fawcett Group and MK Soroptimists has gathered under the working title of WAGIP – Women and Girls in Partnership, supported by Community Action MK. We are now reaching out to friends, allies and partners to tell you about progress so far and to ask you to join the conversation.

Accelerating gender equality in MK is at the heart of our vision. We want to enable women and girls to live their best life. Our most recent action has been to submit a funding application to begin the work to achieve the necessary system change. We will know at the end of November if we have been chosen to progress to the next stage of the bidding process.

We are ambitious and committed to moving away from the ‘silo’ thinking that we see in current strategy development. We are keen to develop an infrastructure where women’s voices can be centre stage. A Partnership Development Officer, funded to work through action research methods, would prepare a COVID Recovery Plan embracing all backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Female participation is not equitable in MK, and women are less visible in strategic decision making.

You may already have participated in one of the online workshops of June 2020. Here, discussion centred around the ‘Rethinking Equality’*paper produced by the MK Fawcett Group, where the inadequacy of Equality Impact Assessments, use of homogenised data sets, gender imbalance in local politics and the marginalisation of the VCS in strategic planning, were all scrutinised. Participants discussed how disabled, refugee, BAME, LGBTQ+ females were disproportionately disadvantaged. COVID-19 has amplified this, making it crucial for crisis proof structures to be embedded if gender justice is to be achieved.

WAGIP is in its infancy, but the ideas are exciting, the work is beginning, and the conversations are taking place. We wanted to make you aware of our ideas, but also to ask you to talk about these issues within your networks and to give us your thoughts and ideas about gender equality in Milton Keynes

 *https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=2f518de3-e9d7-4fb6-bf25-065ccdeaebc2

miltonkeynesfawcettgroup@gmail.com  /  @fawcett_mk  /  Instagram:    fawcettmk 

 

Popular posts from this blog

Things are Dismal. Is Pollyanna the Answer?

Image
  THINGS ARE DISMAL. IS POLLYANNA THE ANSWER? In the past, the emphasis in these blogs has often been about searching for glimmers of ‘hope’ rather than relying on relentless optimism. We’ve been a bit sniffy about bouncy positivity, the ‘Hello clouds, hello sky’ way of seeing the world. Little Miss Sunshine does not go down well with gritty realists and to call someone a ‘Pollyanna’ can be a bit of an insult. We are women who roll up our sleeves and confront. But frankly, at the moment, a bit of vacuous joyfulness might actually be quite nice. Because, well, everything is really pretty awful. It’s hard to escape from an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Whether you are trying to find a dentist, looking for a decent public toilet, or standing aghast at what’s happening on the world’s stage and wondering about any prospects for peace, justice and a decent environment, it’s the same feeling – that of your head banging fruitlessly against a wall. The original nightmare vision of th...
Read more

The Seeping Stench of Violence

Image
The Seeping Stench of Violence November 25th is White Ribbon Day. Each year this date signals the start of 16 days of international activism to combat violence against women and girls. Its profile has grown during recent years and many organisations are gaining White Ribbon accreditation. Politicians are more involved; the media are reporting White Ribbon events, and and people are increasingly standing together to campaign against the insidious rise of violence. But the scale of it is almost impossible to absorb. Look at this dreadful statistic. EVERY ELEVEN MINUTES, ACROSS THE WORLD, A WOMAN OR GIRL IS KILLED IN HER OWN HOME. Unfortunately, much of this month’s blog makes grim reading. But it is so important to keep remembering that women are not safe, and that violence and domestic abuse are a terrible stain on humanity. Attention must be paid. So, before the Christmas jollifications begin, and before waves of sentimentality obscure and distort the reality, please, please, pause for...
Read more

Skipping to the Loo!

Image
Skipping to the Loo! Joining the Queue Marylebone railway station is rather a nice place. Some splendid Victorian architecture, a florist, coffee bars and an airy, friendly atmosphere. A pleasant place to arrive, until you leave your busy train and need to access the ladies loo quickly. Looking around you might notice an odd little construction advertising the dubious joys of Bicester village and staffed by enthusiastic young people in fancy dress. Nestling behind it and near to the posh chocolate stall, you will spy the weary queue for the toilets. You know that queue. Your visits to cinemas, theatres, motorway services, festivals and other events have taught you all about recognising that queue and all its implications. But, hey, you’ve actually found the loos. And they are open.  And at least you are not visiting one of those places where you have to take potluck on the likelihood of finding anywhere at all. Sometimes you are fortunate and find a central, visible, well signposte...
Read more