The Forum is to support the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25th November each year. This date kicks off the campaign of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence which runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
The forum in 2019 started at 7.00 pm at the Temple Methodist Church, Upper High Street, Taunton, TA1 3PY.
Admission was free!
Five speakers, all working within the area of violence against women or/and girls, gave a 10 minute snapshot of their work. There was a short Q&A session at the end of the evening and the event finished at 8.30 pm.
The speakers were:
- Chief Inspector Lisa Simpson, the Taunton Local Area Commander for Avon and Somerset Police who will speak about the issues in Taunton.
- Lorna Griffiths from the Nelson Trust who will speak about her role as the Trust’s Taunton Keyworker.
- Jess King, Lead Care Worker on child exploitation for Somerset County Council will be speaking about the problems facing Taunton.
- Lisa Durston from SARSAS ( Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support) will present some results from their recent research into sexual abuse in the over 55s.
- Melanie Bulmer, headmistress, will speak about teaching victims of sexual trauma.
We were delighted with the audience feedback from the first event and look forward to repeating the success in 2020 (circumstances permitting).
