Starting in 2017, the aim of this project is to provide an independent review across England of how Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts should be improved for victims of abuse, the majority of whom are women. The project has been carried out by Soroptimists across England and involved c4,000 hours of volunteer time in observations and in excess of 1,000 questionnaires were submitted in relation to observations made at over 30 courts. The final report (of four) is now available and the collective reports together come very close to being a comprehensive report on the way in which the Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts are working on a national basis. Soroptimists stand up as advocates for all women, especially for those who have no voice. We have worked as independent observers to give the public confidence in our courts, but we also want to drive improvement and our recommendations seek

Helen Porter, member of SI Winchester, has just spent time at the United Nations in New York at the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW67) and in particular attended the side event for Widows’ Rights. It was a topic which had a great impact and has led her to suggest Microfinancing as a way of support. This is a project already being run by other clubs in the region. This was a fascinating side event of CSW67. I learnt about the intersectionality of widowhood and how the toxic triad of discrimination, disinheritance and harmful practices (such as forced remarriage to an in-law) disadvantages so many widows globally and deprives them of their rights. Many widows suffer from poverty, food insecurity, a lack of decent work and violence. They are unable to access the sustainable development goals (SDGs), advocacy, justice and representation. There are structural

At a recent SI Winchester club meeting, member Helen Porter told us about her experiences of volunteering in Cambodia in Oct/Nov 2022. As a former teacher/lecturer she was part of an education team which went out to train the teachers in Cambodia. They were based at a place called Happy Village and they volunteered at 2 of the 3 schools run by Serve Cambodia. Their mission was to encourage the teachers to educate imaginatively and they brought many fun ways to help this along. Glove puppets and other toys. The children loved singing so this was a great way to educate the children. As can be seen from her presentation below, there are different levels of H&S and also a lack of risk assessments, but at least the children were happy and enjoying their education. Housing also has its downfalls, with slum housing by our

Number 63 has continued to increase its occupation over the winter low season and expects business to pick up around Easter with more visitors coming back to London. The link to the latest Number 63 newsletter is here for you to download and includes details of upcoming events. If you are thinking of taking a trip and stay at Hotel 63 please book at least 12 weeks in advance to avoid disappointment. The former Manager’s flat is being converted to 2 letting bedrooms to increase capacity and work on it is due to be completed soon. Improvements to Hotel 63 are only progressing slowly as funds allow. The hospitality trade, including Hotel 63, is just ticking over as we recover from the after effects of the COVID pandemic, worldwide energy price increases, and the usual winter ‘flu. If we want to keep the facility of

SI Winchester put forward a team of four members plus one ‘Soroptimister’ support for the Mayor’s charity quiz held at the Winchester Rugby Club recently. This formed the Winoptimists team. As a club we support two of three charities, namely the Trinity Centre and Winchester Hospice. The third charity was the British Heart Foundation. The evening was hosted by ‘Egghead’ Kevin Ashman and former Mayor Cllr Dominic Hiscock presented the evening. A delicious curry was served shortly after starting and the quiz consisted of 5 rounds. The final round being ‘challenge the Egghead’ who was asked questions by the top 5 quiz teams. He managed to answer four of the five questions put to him correctly. It was an excellent turnout with 17 teams competing for the champagne prize. There was also a raffle which contributed £455 to the evening. The Winoptimists came a credible

SI Southern England region pledges to support the Campaign for the elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). Definitions of drink and needle spiking (Home Affairs Committee Report, published April 2022: -Drink spiking is when someone puts drugs or alcohol into a person’s drink without their knowledge or consent. It can include putting alcohol into a non-alcoholic drink, adding extra alcohol to an alcoholic drink or slipping prescription or illegal drugs (such as tranquilisers, amphetamines or GHB – liquid ecstasy) into an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.  It can be difficult to tell whether a drink has been spiked, as substances used for spiking usually have no taste, odour or colour. -Needle spiking is where someone surreptitiously  injects, with a hypodermic needle (or other form of administration e.g., combi-pen) a victim with a substance. There has been a prevalence of drink spiking in recent years,

I am pleased to attach information from our speaker Penney Poyzer at the region zoom meeting on 18 June. She spoke very eloquently about the need for developing sustainable equitable local food systems and made us very aware of the disproportionate use of land in the UK. 13 people own 70% of the land or 65% land belongs to 1% of owners! Only 2% of land is given over to housing. Her figures for UK food imports were also astonishing, at 80% when we thought maybe 40/50%. She spoke about fixing our food system; regenerative farming; surplus food and disadvantaged communities. In particular how we as individuals can reduce food waste. She mentioned the apps Olio and Too good to go which help retail outlets reduce food waste. Here is her presentation click here She also referred to water recycling and has produced a game

Soroptimist International of Winchester held a membership coffee morning at Rick Stein restaurant on the High Street on Thursday 12 May. The Club took advantage of the charity offer from the restaurant to invite volunteers and supporters to enjoy coffee and cake in a friendly atmosphere. Treasurer Julie Blackwell said, ‘It’s a great opportunity for the Club members to talk to visitors about our projects and create awareness of what we do, the more members we have, the more good we can do.’   This is the second time the Club has run this event and the Mayor of Winchester Cllr Vivian Achwal joined the member again and enjoyed meeting everyone and hearing their updates. This was her final week of duties before the Mayor Making for Cllr Derek Green who takes up the role on 18 May. The Club took the opportunity to promote