Just Another Week!
It can also be a long time in women’s lives. The week of 19-26 July 2024 has included Joe Biden stepping down as a candidate for the US elections, a full week of business for the new British government, and several important and disturbing reports. As the week ended the Paris Olympics began, and another eventful week is now unfolding. If we unpick some events in a little more detail, we might conclude that it has been a bit of an emotional journey for women, offering hope, anger, joy, cynicism, excitement and despair, often all at the same time. Of course, many women may not have experienced any of those emotions – or even noticed some of these events. But the sensitive antennae of the members of Milton Keynes Fawcett Group have been twitching energetically recently – you can find more about this at the end of the blog.
Peaks and Troughs
The rollercoaster week notionally started with the joyful First Night of the Proms on Friday 19 July, where women played a very prominent part. Elim Cham, in her First Night debut, was the conductor. Soprano Sophie Bevan preceded the pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason who played the first piano concerto by Clara Schumann (lauded as the Beyoncé of the 19th Century!). The BBC commentary box was livened up by two more remarkable women - Sandi Toksvig and Nicola Benedetti. In a more equal world this might not have seemed unusual - but it was.
Over that weekend, President Biden stepped down and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman of Jamaican and Indian heritage as a candidate for the US election. Amid much media umming and aahing, she prevailed and is now gathering enthusiastic support, especially from women and young people. However, Donald Trump, who had assumed that his place in the White House was divinely ordained, is distinctly miffed. The misogynistic comments have begun, insults about ‘crazy childless cat ladies’ have been hurled by Trump’s running mate, and the abuse is now ratcheting up to become much more vicious as the campaigning continues.
In the meantime, in Britain, the Cabinet of the new Labour Government has the highest number ever of female ministers. It has taken 800 years for a female Chancellor of the Exchequer to be appointed, and Rachel Reeves is making her presence felt, as are other senior women politicians and newly elected MPs.
But just as we were feeling cautiously optimistic, a stark reminder came when the National Policing Statement for Violence Against Women and Girls was released. It found that:
- Over one million VAWG related crimes were recorded during 2022/23, accounting for 20% of all police recorded crime.
- Police recorded VAWG related crime increased by 37% between 2018/23.
- At least 1 in every 12 women will be a victim per year, with the exact number expected to be much higher.
- Child sexual abuse and exploitation increased by more than 400% between 2013 and 2022.
A few days later, findings in a study carried out by Hope not Hate evidenced shocking, hateful and misogynistic attitudes, particularly among young men. In addition, Clare Waxman, the London Victims’ Commissioner released a Deep Dive report on stalking, which found that only 9% of offences ended in a charge, caution or community resolution.
As Fawcett members we take careful note of what is happening at local, national, and international levels. We share information, discuss, and act where we can. But how can we engage with women who experience a different world; who are untroubled by or unaware of the inequalities that concern us? See the last paragraph for an update on our campaign.
Parallel worlds
Let’s go off at a complete tangent, and jump into one of those parallel places, where (like they say about John Lewis), nothing bad can happen - another world which operates on a weekly basis. This is the world of Woman’s Weekly. First published in 1911, it is still going strong.
Many of us will remember our mothers turning to it for sensible patterns, handy household hints, Mrs Marryat the patiently serene agony aunt, and (for children), the unlikely adventures of the Robin Family. Even in the heady 1960s, every week featured a grainy photo of a model wearing an angora waistcoat or whatever the knitting pattern of the week might be. Inside were all the ingredients that supposedly made for a satisfying week for women – readers letters, recipes, a short story, advertisements for tins of biscuits. It was comfortable, useful and mildly interesting.
Today, the magazine is a bit more colourful, with a breezier tone, and a strap-line - ‘Be inspired every day’ - but the recipes and patterns stay, as do short stories, celebrity profiles and reassuring articles on health. The tone is benevolent and calm. It’s a warm bath and a safe place.
But, however cosy things are in this safe, warm weekly bath, step outside and extreme temperatures rage around it, as they always have for women during every single week since that first edition in 1911. It may be argued that this version of reality is acceptable - it’s only a magazine after all, offering a comforting perspective where Counsellor Keren, descendant of the saintly Mrs Marryat, is ‘here to help’ with a few mild queries.
Is this format deliberately kept by the (male) editor or is it reflecting a general obliviousness in the readers? Things happen in the real world in a way they never do in Woman’s Weekly. And should it matter to feminists? Are there other, more important matters to address?
We have only looked at a few days in July where women featured in so many ways. But really, every week of every year will provoke all kinds of emotions about our achievements and struggles. Ignoring them is surely not an option.
Revenons a nos moutons (ok, back to the main point)
Having mused on the events of one week and veered off into the strange world of women’s magazines, let’s return to more pragmatic stuff, with an update on how the Milton Keynes Fawcett Group is working to engage with women and their priorities.
In the month running up to the July 2024 general election, members of MK Fawcett visited community events across Milton Keynes, speaking to people about our manifesto for a Safer, Healthier and Fairer city for everyone, and particularly for women. Wherever we engaged with residents we collected signatures of support.
Our next steps are:
- Producing and circulating background papers with baseline evidence of the need for a Safer, Healthier and Fairer MK
- Arranging a meeting with our newly elected MPs and MK Councillors to raise and discuss the issues.
- Looking at ways of promoting the campaign and encouraging people to be more engaged with the political process.
We will include an update in every blog and look forward to you continuing to support us in our campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights.
If you would like to see the papers that we are producing, or if you have any queries, please contact us at miltonkeynesfawcettgroup@gmail.com
