Refuge against domestic violence supports women and men aged 16 and over. Refuge Domestic Violence Service Warwickshire

It’s definitely the start of Christmas for our Club.   Our theme this year for the annual  Kenilworth Christmas Tree display held in St Nicholas Church as HOOP – President Anita’s international theme for her year.

The White Ribbon Campaign asks men to lead by example and engage with other men and boys to challenge male cultures that lead to harassment, abuse and violence. https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/ We could all show this to our menfolk and get them to take a stand against sexism and gender-based violence.

We wore orange to show our support for this campaign at yesterdays MAR meeting. A very informative session where we learnt about the White Ribbon Campaign from Anthea Scully, UK CEO.   All the Clubs have come away with plans as to how to engage the males in our lives to promote a culture of equality and respect

Doing nothing does harm – is the strapline from Our Watch End violence against women and their children, an Australian website. It gives some great tips on how to support and speak up in situations at work, socially or in public where a woman might need help, there’s videos to watch too. https://www.ourwatch.org.au/DoingNothingDoesHarm/Home#show  

UN Women have posted a brilliant video on their Facebook site showing that what you reply matters when someone is brave enough to admit that they are in an abusive relationship. Domestic Violence Your words can be refuge to someone who doesn’t feel safe. What you say matters to end violence against women. #HearMeToo #orangetheworld #16days Posted by UN Women on Thursday, November 22, 2018

This interesting, (short) video explains how workshops are helping teenage boys challenge harmful gender stereotypes https://www.bbc.com/…/why-the-phrase-man-up-is-so-…/p06sdqg6

To raise awareness,  Soroptimists around the country will be wearing these badges and sporting orange clothing

Jan Bowden, immediate past president of MAR, came to speak to us about her work as an English tutor at a local men’s prison.   As a good Soroptimist should, she challenged us about some of our perceptions of prisoners, their offences, rehabilitation and the life and conditions for prison officers too.   Even has the balance with the #metoo campaign shifted too far so that men are unfairly imprisoned due to a culture of compensation? What shone through was her love and passion for her work, her willingness to give these prisoners a chance and celebrate success, and the value of education both for prisoners and officers We also celebrated our Friendship Links around the country and the world by lighting candles, ably led by Georgie