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Our Work on Women’s Safety

Women’s Safety and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a major concern for Soroptimists.

By standing up for women and girls, women’s safety has always been a key area of our work.  Violence and abuse is sadly present across the world and increasing in the UK. Our work to raise awareness of the issue is more critical than ever, as we continue to call for key recommendations, and to support and work with the excellent support networks and groups already doing so much in this area.

The UK government’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls in the next decade is very welcome and we continue to actively scrutinise legislation and action.

We also welcome the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s call to treat VAWG as an epidemic. It is time to re-think how we approach this and make women and girls safer as they live their daily lives.

Key Documents:

SIGBI response to King’s Speech 2024 and the National Chief Police Council’s Stats (July 2024)

President Ruth Healey’s Letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts ‘How Special Are They?’ SIGBI Study

Soroptimists of Great Britain & Ireland call for:

  • A whole-system approach. Utilise the charities and agencies who live and breathe this topic daily to bring insight into what’s really happening on the ground.
  • The creation of the position of Women’s Commissioner to drive the changes and ensure action.
  • Ensure that legislation and policies are inclusive of women and girls’ needs and concerns.
  • Action on the recommendations made in the Soroptimists’ study: “Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts – How Special Are They?“

Railway Project

Clubs members are surveying over 500 of the UK’s railway stations to review how safe they are for women travelling across the network.

Read more about our survey and our findings here

Safety Cards

As a key women’s organisation, we want to ensure women and girls have the knowledge and tools to help them avoid or manage unsafe situations.

We created a series of Safety Cards which cover 7 areas from online safety to tips for safer travel.

Download our full presentation here