Grange-over-Sands Soroptimists are delighted to have won the Darwen Award for our Orange Days project last year. Orange Days? These are the 16 November days Soroptimists dedicate to wearing that cheery colour. No, not just to brighten up the start of winter, but to highlight the grim fact that ever more women are subject to domestic violence. Most recently available statiscts calculate that every ten minutes another girl or woman is killed. And though those figures are global, no country is exempt, it’s all just an appalling matter of degree. Last year, our own campaign involved bathing local monuments in glorious orange floodlight at night. We tied ribbons on gates to illustrate every donation we collected. And we were grateful and delighted to feature in the local press. And now we are absolutely thrilled to have our work recognised, The Darwen Award is given by

If you ever feel no-one’s listening, so why speak up, take heart. On 3rd November Soroptimist Lynne Coles wrote to our local MP with a simple request. That is: Change law, policy and practice to protect victims/survivors being criminalised and address racial abuse. A clear, straightforward headline request, followed with a closely reasoned, rather longer explanation. Admittedly in Tim Farron, (whatever our personal politics may be) we are blessed with a fine and active MP who is clearly engaged in and dedicated to addressing the concerns of his constituents. His answer is below. It’s all great but perhaps best of all, that he promises to get back in touch when The Secretary of State answers his request. Thanks Tim. The moral of the story: speak out for women, even if you think you won’t be heard. You might be. And the more of us speaking