The Soroptimists of the Thames Valley will be hosting a joint conference with The Soroptimists of High Wycombe at Bucks New University on Saturday 17th October 2026 10.00am until 1.00pm to explore ways to protect women from violence. Several high profile cases have hit the headlines recently but did you know that 65% of all women and 85% of women aged 18-24 experience unwanted sexual attention in a public place? This is an issue for our whole community and we want to engage everyone, including men and women, in building safer environments. The Conference aims to:  raise awareness of the importance of reporting non-contact sexual crimes help bystanders to take safe supportive action if they see someone who is in trouble or a victim of unwanted harassment. Your voice matters. Please join us on October 17th by booking your ticket at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GQFJ Soroptimist International, a

Do you ever worry that your children or grandchildren might be in an unhealthy relationship? Every young person deserves a relationship built on respect, trust and safety — free from abuse. Talking openly about what’s healthy, reasonable and acceptable is one of the most effective ways to prevent harm before it starts. Simple tools can help start those conversations. Resources like the Loves Me / Loves Me Not bookmarks, shared by many Soroptimist clubs in their communities, have become powerful conversation starters for young people and families alike. Women’s Aid has also produced some excellent information on healthy relationships https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Controlling-Behaviour-in-Relationships-talking-to-young-people-about-healthy-relationships.pdf Soroptimists continue to take action to improve women’s safety in our communities. Learn more about our work: sigbi.org/what-we-do/our-work/womens-safety. #StandingUpForWomenAndGirls #Soroptimists #WomensSafety #HealthyRelationships

  Every day, women and girls across the UK experience abuse, but abusive behaviours can be hard to spot. They are often pretending to be something else. Control is camouflaging as care. Manipulation is mistaken for love. Sinister behaviours can slip by unnoticed. It’s time to see these behaviours for what they are. Abuse. Soroptimists say NO to Violence against Women and Girls! Watch and share this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVQ78xZSCG8 Find out more about the campaign enough.campaign.gov.uk. Soroptimists continue to take action to improve women’s safety in our communities. Learn more about our work: sigbi.org/what-we-do/our-work/womens-safety. #enough #StandingUpForWomenAndGirls #Soroptimists #WomensSafety

Soroptimist Clubs have Friendship Links with other clubs locally, nationally and internationally. The Soroptimists of Thames Valley enjoy links with the following clubs: SI Val Brabant, Belgium, for a link, in French, to this club, please visit: http://www.soroptimist.be/index.php?act=clubs&clubid=45&page=home SI Weston-super-Mare and District, Somerset   https://sigbi.org/weston-super-mare SI Lichfield and District   http://sigbi.org/lichfield/ SI Srinagar, India   (link established 2024) Over Christmas, Soroptimist Smita Bora from the Thames Valley Club met up with sister Soroptimist Anne Woolley from the Weston-super-Mare Club for a catch up, coffee and cake at a beautiful garden centre in Burnham-on-Sea!  

On Tuesday 21st October 2025, we were delighted to host two speakers from Smartphone Free Childhood and to welcome our sisters from two other clubs. We were horrified to hear about the negative effects of smartphones and social media, especially on girls. We decided to take action by alerting school governors and our friends, families and colleagues to The Parent Pact which is a voluntary pledge made by parents to delay giving their children smartphones until the end of Year 9 (at least age 14) and social media until 16. There are live leaderboards which show how many parents in a region have signed up and you can even filter by school! The issue has become more topical recently with a ban on social media for under 16s introduced in Australia and a national consultation on the issue closer to home! If you would like

    Rebecca Ewing and Emily Clarke are Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVA) who spoke about their work supporting abused women and helping them navigate the Criminal Justice System (CJS) ‘One Domestic Violence incident is reported every minute’ Emily and Rebecca work with communities in Wycombe, Chesham and South Bucks empowering women to make choices with access to refuges, a helpline and Freedom Meetings with access to GPs and Health Care Professionals regardless of age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and religion on a one to one basis with their Care worker. There are many forms of Domestic Abuse: Physical sexual abuse, rape, and strangulation which are easier to prove than psychological abuse including coercive and controlling behaviour and financial constraints.   It can affect elderly people and teenagers. IDVAs are involved in Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences  (MARAC) with police, health, housing and child protection when the