Women from across Nottinghamshire gathered together to increase awareness around domestic abuse and violence towards women.
Raising their voices and funds in support of local charity ‘Juno Women’s Aid’, which actively supports between 500 and 600 victims of domestic abuse in Nottingham at any one time.
The aim of the event, organised by Amina Quraishi, Chairwoman of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s Conservative Women’s Organisation (CWO), was to keep the conversation moving towards real, practical changes in society and Government that support women’s needs and safety.
1 in 4 women in the UK will be affected by domestic abuse in their lifetime; 2 women die from domestic abuse-related deaths every week; in 2019, domestic abuse killings reached a 5-year high.
Caroline Henry, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has won more funding than any other PCC for the ‘Safer Streets’ programme. Actions such as, installing CCTV street cameras, bringing in spiking test kits and speaking in schools about safe relationships are just a few of Commissioner Henry’s actions that have already saved lives.
Speaking at the event, Caroline said: “I’m determined to continue commissioning organisations that work against violence. I wasn’t happy with the short-term funding of vital services that I was seeing, so now I aim to provide funding for a 3-year term, so long-term change can take place.”
“Alongside many game-changers I have actioned during my time in office, the changes to ‘victim care’ is something I’m very proud of. We now launching an opt-out service for victims of crime, meaning that every person receives follow-up support unless they say they don’t want it.”
“The difference this will make is enormous, and as the National Victim Care Lead, I champion the voices of victims and survivors.”
Ruth Edwards, Conservative MP for Rushcliffe and champion of domestic abuse training scheme ‘J9’, shared powerful real-life stories of survivors of domestic abuse.
Working with J9, Ruth has enabled workers and volunteers in public-facing places, such as schools, GP practices and shops, to be trained to connect victims of domestic violence with services like Juno, that can help them find a safe way out of their situation. From pubs to parish councils, Ruth has worked with campaigner Nicky Brindley to spread this incredible service to rural areas which had been previously isolated from support.
Sharing a strong message, Ruth said: “Often people hear about the harrowing stories and statistics of domestic abuse and wonder what they can possibly do to help.
“The answer is very simple, getting trained on the J9 scheme and displaying its sign at your place of work will tell survivors that there is a place they can come in their local community to get help.
“We’ve seen J9 save lives in Nottinghamshire, please contact my office if you would like to be part of the network.”
Amina Quraishi is passionate about getting more women into politics and lifting them up to become leaders in their own communities.
Amina said: “What I would like you to remember is that Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister in the UK. Baroness Warsi was the UK’s first Asian female cabinet minister. And both of them were Conservatives. That’s how powerful women are and that’s what we can do as women together collectively.”
Juno Women’s Aid took 17,000 calls from people in Nottinghamshire during the pandemic. Calls from women and children in crisis, trapped in an abusive relationship, looking for a way out.
Juno’s CEO, Yasmin Rehman, said: “Every donation we receive helps us to fund life-changing and potentially life-saving services. There is still so much more work to do and we are determined to keep going.”
Speaking at the event, Amina said she is keen to create awareness of domestic abuse that exists in our communities and the scale of it. In addition, she is looking to assist Juno with creating even more awareness with the support of the CWO members.
There was a clear sense from everyone at the event, that working as a team towards the same goal, of improving women’s safety – is the way forward.
