Despite her tenacity we were extremely upset to hear via The Daily Telegraph that in September 2022 Dame Vera decided it was time to quit her post. In a resignation letter to the new Justice Secretary, Brandon Lewis, she accused the Government of sidelining her and downgrading victims’ interests. Not mincing her words she said the criminal justice system was in “chaos” but added that she could not stay on given the way she and victims had been treated by the Government. She revealed she had not had any access or meetings with his predecessor, Dominic Raab, for the eight months since February when she was told she would not be reappointed and would have to reapply for the three-year post, unlike her predecessor.
“The lack of engagement from the top at a time of great upheaval for victims reflected poorly on the MoJ’s priorities and the Government’s approach,” she wrote.
She was the right woman for the job in our opinion and victims have been dealt a raw deal by the way she has been treated by the Government.
Women Don’t Do such Things!!
We were invited to the launch/preview of the Women’s History Exhibition, entitled ‘Women Don’t Do Such Things‘, at The Hold, the new home of Suffolk Archives.
It was a fascinating exhibition and we were delighted to have been invited (the Prossecco was a nice surprise!). Essentially it let visitors step back in time and walk in the footsteps of Suffolk women past and present who have broken down barriers in their lives throughout history. Here Joyce, Secretary of SI Ipswich & District is standing by the timeline which goes back 250 years and summarises much of what is shown at the Exhibition.
‘Women Don’t Do Such Things!’ was a free exhibition at The Hold in Ipswich, telling the stories of pioneering Suffolk women, which opened in February 2022.
From activists to doctors, archaeologists to pilots, visitors to the exhibition were able to experience these and many more moving and poignant stories of women who have challenged expectations and led change.
In fact, we are going back to The Hold in April 2023 for a tour behind the scenes – should be very interesting.
Centennial Tree Planting at Morland Primary School
Tree Planting at Morland.
Saving Trees was one of the first actions taken by Soroptimists in 1921. 100 years on we are planting trees across the world.
Morland Primary School has a small orchard, plants and other vegetation which is cared for by the children in the school’s Nature Club.
Recently the children have been planting fruit trees in the pond area as part of our Soroptimist International’s Centennial Tree Planting. We approached The Tree Council and they supplied the trees as part of their project ‘1000 orchards in 1000 schools’.
We look forward to seeing the trees grow. In years to come children at Morland will be able to enjoy the shade these trees provide in the summer and their fruit in the autumn.
Lighthouse Women’s Aid
In 2020 we raffled a quilt and made a donation when we had a presentation from Women’s Voices on the Gender Equality Quilt which is now kept in perpetuity in The Hold, Suffolk’s new Record Office. The money generated went towards furnishings for their new Therapeutic Room at the time.