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Justice and Photography

Justice and Photography

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Justice System Caroline talked about her role as a Justice of the Peace, or Magistrate. She explained that the law is divided between criminal and civil case. Criminal cases are brought by the state for offenses against society, while civil cases are personal or business disputes. Criminal law requires proof beyond reasonable doubt. It is criminal law which is dealt with by magistrates and they handle 95% of all cases fully. The remaining 5% of cases are referred up to higher courts, the Crown Court. Magistrates also sit in the Family Court. Three magistrates sit in court with a legal advisor. They decide where the case will be held and whether the accused will be held on bail or in custody. If the likely sentence is less than 12 months, which will be suspended, it is unlikely that the accused will be kept on remand.
Counted, bagged and waved goodbye!

Counted, bagged and waved goodbye!

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The 2026 bra count resulted in 5200 bras packed off  to Ghana, via Zabra: Afreebra Initiative and their partner organisation Rural Smile Foundation. Bras were collected from around the city and beyond. Pink baskets were made available at Five Rivers Leisure Centre, Salisbury Library, The Methodist Church, The Quaker Meeting House, Fisherton Mill Cafe, Salisbury Hospital Fitness Centre, Salisbury and South Wilts Golf Club and Here Self Storage. Many thanks to all the volunteers who emptied baskets and brought bags to the count at the Baptist Church Hall. Along with the 5200 bras we sent dozens of brand new knickers and some assorted other underwear which had been donated. Girls in rural areas often don't possess much underwear which makes it a challenge to deal with monthly menstruation. This is often a reason for girls missing or dropping out of school. A hot July evening
Fawcett Society

Fawcett Society

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Our guest speaker for May was Margaret Williams, Coordinator of the Hampshire and IOW Fawcett Society. She explained that the group don't have meetings but get together online as they are widely spread. They campaign on issues of misogyny and equality. The Fawcett Society is named after suffragist Millicent Fawcett. A statue of Millicent was unveiled in Parliament Square in 2018, 100 years after women achieved the vote. It was the first statue honouring a women in that famous place. Millicent has a tenuous link to Salisbury, by marrying Henry Fawcett, renowned reformer, who was born in the city. He had proposed to her sister, Elizabeth Garrett, who refused him and went on to become the first woman doctor. The Fawcett Society is open to men and women. Members collaborate to campaign on topics such as equal pay and pensions, calling out misogynistic comments and
AGM and Afreebra

AGM and Afreebra

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AGM 2026 We began our AGM with the usual reading of the Soroptimist Vision and Mission  and noting apologies. We then welcomed our guest speaker. ZABRA - Afreebra Initiative The founder of Afreebra, Jeanette Kruger, joined us by Zoom. Jeanette explained how she started this idea. She found that she could not donate bras to charity shops and the charities which collected bras mostly sent them to fabric recovery sites, rather than reusing them as bras. Jeanette is from South Africa and therefore knew that millions of women on that continent have trouble putting food on the table each day for their family, let alone being able to buy themselves a bra. So next time she returned to South Africa, she took her spare bras with her and easily found new homes for them. She gave a number of bras to a housemaid to take
IWD at Salisbury Cathedral – Legenda

IWD at Salisbury Cathedral – Legenda

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A group of Salisbury Soroptimists joined a large audience in Salisbury Cathedral for a lively talk by Professor Janina Ramirez about her latest book Legenda. She was delighted to be in the Cathedral on International Women's Day speaking on such a relevant topic. Speaking entirely without notes Janina dazzled everyone with tales of medieval women who had not only held their own but had excelled in their time. This latest book tells the stories of women who have subsequently been adopted by various ideological interests and thereby had their stories distorted. Legenda follows an earlier book, Femina which explores the many roles of women in the medieval world. They were not confined to the kitchen and child rearing. Archaeological evidence shows women buried with weapons and valuable artefacts, demonstrating their high status in the society. We discovered the importance of dressing for the cold of
Fresh Thoughts Launch

Fresh Thoughts Launch

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John Glen MP, along with around 60 people, attended the launch at Wiltshire College & University Centre of “Fresh Thoughts”, a new information booklet aimed at guiding Wiltshire survivors of Domestic Abuse (DA) through the complex legal process after having the courage to flee their abuser.  The booklet was devised by Poole, Purbeck and District Soroptimists who supported their local Women’s Refuge and realised victims had little information about what was going to happen next. “Fresh Thoughts” provides practical information about what to expect if you are going to court as well as online personal safety, financial assistance, housing advice and contact details of local support agencies. The aim of the booklet is to educate, empower and enable victims to take back control and move forward with their lives. The issue was highlighted in Parliament with the introduction of the Government’s strategy towards halving violence
Taking off the mask Christmas Tree

Taking off the mask Christmas Tree

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The annual St Thomas' Christmas Tree Festival is in full swing and Salisbury Soroptimists are regular contributors. This year our Women's Health Group took the lead, creating a tree to raise awareness of the difficulties autistic women have in getting a diagnosis. This is because they present differently from men and often end up masking their symptoms in order to get accepted by society. Classic autism diagnosis has been based on the symptoms typically displayed by males, so women face a challenge in being recognised and offered support. We hope that visitors to the festival will pause and learn something from our tree.
Round the World in 80 (or so) questions

Round the World in 80 (or so) questions

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Salisbury Soroptimists decided to change the theme of their annual quiz to a trip around the world in 80 (or so) questions. In the past the quiz has focused on women to address the normal cultural bias. Teams started in Salisbury with literary allusions to the city and then tested their knowledge of flags, culture, currencies, musicians and more. An authentic curry supper, in keeping with the theme, was cooked by members, including onion bhajis, poppadoms, dhal with vegetable and chicken curries. Complimented by refreshments from the bar. A raffle was also held with donated prizes, which contributed several hundred pounds towards the total raised of over £830 for two local charities: Salisbury Women’s Refuge and EdUKaid, based in Downton, which works with girls in rural Tanzania. The winning team each took home a colourful plant to remind them of the evening. Our thanks to
BRAvo Salisbury!

BRAvo Salisbury!

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Bra Collection 2025 For the 7th year running Salisbury Soroptimists asked local residents to turn out their drawers, and they did! We had collection points at 60 Endless Street, Five Rivers Leisure Centre, Salisbury Library, Salisbury Playhouse and Salisbury and South Wilts Golf Club. In other locations our members collected from friends and families.   Throughout May and June the donations kept arriving and piling up. On count night they were all transported to the Baptist Church Hall for sorting and counting. Members counted bras into piles of 10, then 10 piles were put into black sacks and labelled. The hallway soon filled up! Packing the van Barry arrived promptly and the loading of the van began. It is surprising how heavy 100 bras can be! Plenty of arm exercise as we carried the bags to the van. Once the bras were on their way,
SI Salisbury Welcomes Southern England Region

SI Salisbury Welcomes Southern England Region

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The first Regional Meeting hosted by SI Salisbury was held at Sarum College in the beautiful surroundings of Salisbury’s Cathedral Close, appropriately on the longest (and hottest) day of the year, just after the summer Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, a few miles away. Members from across the Southern England Region were welcomed by SI Salisbury President Michele who explained that  the theme for the day was: “Inspiring women, inspiring each other” and she hoped that members would find inspiration from the day’s activities. There was a very short amount of Regional Business led by Past Regional President Kay Linnell, which included information on the forthcoming SIGBI Day of Action on 12 July – which will be  themed as the Day of Hope, a reminder to complete the railway station surveys by the end of June  and the new SIGBI Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) campaign which