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Tunbridge Wells members making items for Comfort Cases

At the March 2026 SISEE Region meeting there was an excellent presentation from Sarah Jacoby, CEO of Comfort Cases, a charity which provides filled backpacks/holdalls for children in and young people in care, to provide them with essentials as they go into care initially or subsequently move between foster homes. The Comfort Cases, intended as a better alternative to bin bags, and would be the children’s own to keep, and can be used by them to move their possessions when changing foster homes or moving to other accommodation.

At the meeting Sarah invited Soroptimists to make and donate drawstring bags, lined with waterproof fabric, to hold toiletries, to be added to the Comfort Cases. The bags were to be made up in different fabric designs to suit both boys and girls, and also younger and older children. For those bags for older girls, fabric ‘Period SOS’ pouches, where girls could keep spare sanitary pads or tampons, were also requested. 

A group of club members – initially five, later joined by others – from SI Tunbridge Wells set to with a will and embarked on producing the toiletry bags and period pouches. The intention is to produce as many bags as possible by the time of the June club meeting.

The Campaign Against Sexual Harassment in Tunbridge Wells

 In October 2021, a young woman was attacked on a street in Tunbridge Wells. This, alongside the tragic murder of Sarah Everard earlier that year, brought renewed focus on the safety of women and girls in public spaces. In response, the Soroptimists of Tunbridge Wells & District (SITWD) took immediate action. They organised a candlelit vigil on the steps of the Town Hall to raise awareness of gender-based violence, and launched a survey to understand how safe local women and girls felt.

The survey caught the attention of then MP Greg Clark, sparking a collaboration that led to the introduction of a Private Member’s Bill, the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill. Mr Clark presented the bill for its first reading in June 2022, acknowledging SITWD’s crucial role in shaping its provisions. The legislation creates a specific criminal offence of intentionally harassing someone in public on the basis of their sex, causing alarm or distress. The Bill received Royal Assent in September 2023, and adds a sex-based aggravation to offences under the Public Order Act 1986, allowing for harsher penalties when harassment is motivated by gender.

Normally, enactment—the process that ensures the Act’s provisions are operationalised—would have followed automatically. However, the 2024 General Election delayed this vital step. SITWD raised the issue with their newly elected MP, Mike Martin, who immediately took action. He first raised a Parliamentary question to draw attention to the delay. When that failed to result in action, he tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to commence the Act. Despite securing cross-party support from around 100 MPs, the amendment did not pass.

However, thanks to persistent pressure, the Act came into force on 1 April 2026.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

The Home Office said the new law had given police “stronger powers to act decisively.”

SITWD will continue to work with Mike Martin and local police to discuss what changes this will bring on the ground, ensuring the safety of women and girls in Tunbridge Wells is prioritised.

SITWD participates in the Royal Tunbridge Wells Spring Clean

On 27th March, members of SITWD participated in the Tunbridge Wells Spring Clean project organised by RTW Together, the local Business Improvement District. The plan was to collect litter, clean street furniture, and signs, remove graffiti and de-weed pavements and planters. 

The litter pickers collected in total 3 bin bags of miscellaneous litter, a large number of (empty) vodka bottles and some discarded bedding. It was a tiring but rewarding experience.

During the two hours spent picking up litter, between them they walked a total of 8 miles!

A Toolkit for Grassroots Activism

Tunbridge Wells members Caroline Auckland and Lorna Blackmore have played an active role in the Women’s Grassroots Activism Project (2023–2025), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project aimed to raise the visibility of leading women’s organisations, highlight their legacy in campaigning for gender equality, and safeguard future activism by preserving local archives and promoting innovative ways of using them.

Grassroots activism takes many forms, from local community action and education to campaigning and influencing policy at national and global levels.

Lorna and Caroline focused on two key areas: environmental sustainability and women’s safety, highlighting the work of the Tunbridge Wells Soroptimists. Environmental initiatives included the collection and recycling of aluminium cans, helping to fund sanitation projects in developing countries, helping Tunbridge Wells becoming a “Toilet Twinned” town.

Caroline’s contributions centred on campaigning against gender-based violence and harassment. She highlighted initiatives such as community vigils, safety surveys, and collaboration with former Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark on his Private Member’s Bill, the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023. The Act, which received Royal Assent in 2023 and comes into force on 1st April 2026, makes harassment in public motivated by sex an aggravated offence.

Working alongside organisations including the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, the Federation of Women’s Institutes of Northern Ireland, and Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland, the project represents the activism of over 200,000 women committed to improving the lives of women and girls.

The project concluded with the publication of Women’s Grassroots Activism Toolkit 100+, a resource outlining how women’s activism has shaped society at every level. The toolkit provides practical guidance for those wishing to become activists, encouraging approaches such as storytelling, intergenerational conversations, the use of meaningful objects, and collaboration and networking.

The steering team, led by Caitríona Beaumont, Professor of Social History at London South Bank University, launched the toolkit in March. Caroline participated as a roundtable member representing the Tunbridge Wells Soroptimist club.

The toolkit can be downloaded here:
Women’s Grassroots Activism Toolkit 100+

 

Tunbridge Wells and District hold an International Women’s Day Event – “Gender Equality through Economic Empowerment”

SITWD organised an event to mark International Women’s Day aimed at raising awareness of the importance of financial literacy as a means of being safe and empowered.

Members of the public were invited, and many club members also attended. Four representatives from Citizens Advice, who provide financial guidance, and an expert from Wave Community Bank worked with club leaders to plan a session designed both to educate participants and to address specific financial situations and concerns.

A panel discussion, led by President Jill Ruddock, explored topics such as the warning signs that someone may be heading towards unmanageable debt, times when women may be particularly financially vulnerable and how they can protect themselves, and initiatives aimed at improving financial education in schools.

There were four workshops covering: recognising economic abuse; budgeting and debt management; managing energy costs; and the role of credit unions and how they can help.

The experts also engaged with participants on a one-to-one basis, offering personalised advice tailored to their individual circumstances.

Feedback from the session was very positive. Participants shared a number of encouraging comments, including: “That knowledge share is going to help people directly in the community and increase the ripple effect of the couple of hours we spent together.” Another attendee noted, “I really enjoyed the event and the speakers were excellent,” while someone else added, “The interactive tasks were fun and helped me retain the information.”


International Women’s Day Event in Southborough: Celebrating Local Women

 

On Friday 6th March, the Ridgemont Pavilion in Southborough hosted an evening event with Southborough Street Community to honour women’s achievements and strengthen the spirit of support that drives real change.

Club member Kathy Lewis gave a talk about the Southborough Women who featured in the recent display in Southborough Library that marked the contribution of local women to the community, both now and in the past. This display is featured below in the article SITWD celebrates Women’s leadership.

SITWD celebrates Women’s leadership

 

Members of the Tunbridge Wells and District Club worked in partnership with the local Southborough Society to organise and present a library display celebrating the significant contributions of local women, past and present, to the community.

Originally created as part of the Soroptimists’ 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the exhibition resonated so strongly within the local community that it remained on display in the library until the end of February.

The exhibition highlighted women from the town of Southborough who have made or are making a meaningful difference to the safety and wellbeing of women and girls. It featured photographs of seven contemporary local women making a significant impact, alongside seven prominent women from Southborough’s past. Current representatives included GPs, a headteacher, a councillor and former Mayor of Southborough, a vicar, a community artist, and a Keep Britain Tidy Ambassador.

Past local residents featured in the display were:

  • Katherine Tynan (1859 – 1931) – Poet, Novelist
  • Amelia Scott (1860 – 1951) – Campaigner for Women’s Suffrage, Tunbridge Wells Councillor
  • Margaret Bondfield (1873 – 1953) – First Female Cabinet Minister
  • Doris Leslie (1891 – 1982) – Author, Woman of the Year for Literature 1973
  • Violet Godfrey (1898 – 1996) – Singer, Local Choir Leader
  • Elizabeth Garlick (1919 – 1991) – Chair of Southborough Urban Council, Mayor of Southborough
  • Daisy Fletcher (1924 – 2014) – Mayor of Southborough, Tunbridge Wells Councillor

Club members Kathy Lewis and Amelia Dowler led the project in collaboration with the Southborough Society as part of a wider local initiative to raise awareness of, and speak out against, violence and abuse in all its forms. The exhibition also provided information and signposted organisations offering support to victims, as well as those working to prevent gender-based violence.

Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne combine to support a Girls Group in Bexhill

SITWD was contacted by a Youth Worker who runs a Girls Group in Bexhill. She had seen our President interviewed on a BBC Southeast news report about the ‘Reclaim the Night’ walk to highlight women’s safety. Having researched the Soroptimists, the Youth Worker felt that the Girls Group in Bexhill would benefit from the experience and guidance of our members.

A Tunbridge Wells club member who has experience of working in local schools, responded to the Youth Worker’s request for support. It was agreed that we would facilitate a round-table discussion with the girls, centred on the two questions from SITWD’s Listening Project:

  • What do you like about where you live?
  • What ideas do you have about what could be improved?

The aim of these questions was to help the girls recognise that they have a voice and that their opinions are valued.

Given the distance between Tunbridge Wells and Bexhill, we approached the Eastbourne Club for support, as they are better positioned to provide any follow-up work. A member kindly agreed to participate.

We attended a club meeting at the beginning of February. Ten girls aged between 8-11 took part and all responded positively. They were engaged throughout the session. They reflected thoughtfully on the questions, shared their ideas confidently with the group, and listened respectfully to one another. The Youth Worker commented that “the girls clearly felt heard.”

The discussion also generated several constructive suggestions from the girls for future activities and projects, providing valuable insight for the Youth Workers.

Tunbridge Wells collaborates with Visual Artist to promote action on safety and justice.

Club members from Tunbridge Wells began working with visual artist Emma Smith in 2024. The partnership started with online discussion and continued in person at a club meeting, focussing on concerns raised through our Spotlight on Safety survey. Key themes included personal safety, night-time travel, and the need for statutory training in responding to domestic abuse.

Club members attended the launch of Emma’s new installation where they viewed two panels shaped by these conversations. The artwork calls for action on safety and justice.

Emma Smith’s exhibition, Making Language, will be on display at The Amelia Scott, Royal Tunbridge Wells, from 10 January to 12 April 2026. The exhibition explores how language shapes justice and highlights the gap between human rights and lived experience, while imagining fairer futures.

Created in collaboration with community organisations across Kent, including Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), Gillingham Street Angels, Family Action Medway Pregnancy to Three, Soroptimist International Tunbridge Wells & District, and Professor of Law Diamond Ashiagbor (University of Birmingham) this work draws inspiration from Amelia Scott’s fight for equality, historic texts such as Textus Roffensis, (a medieval manuscript relating to English law and identity  compiled around 1122–1124  and held in  Rochester Cathedral in Kent, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The exhibition asks: Who makes the laws we live by, and how do they shape everyday life? It presents proposals for future justice as debossed texts on paper, designed to be illuminated when each statement becomes reality.

Commissioned by The Amelia Scott and funded by Arts Council England, Making Language invites visitors to pause, reflect, and consider how justice and equality can be realised in everyday life.

 

TUNBRIDGE WELLS SOROPTIMISTS DISPLAY THEIR WORK IN THE CIVIC CENTRE

The Soroptimists of Tunbridge Wells & District have a proud history of campaigning for the safety of women and girls. A few years ago, club members worked alongside our MP on the ‘Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act’ bill, which is due to due to be enacted in April.

To showcase Soroptimists and draw people’s attention to the work the club does locally, we mounted a display at the local civic centre during the 2025 16-Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.  The display outlined the work of Soroptimists internationally, nationally, and locally, showed VAWG-related statistics and provided details of the organisations active in the field, either as campaigners or supporters of victims.

A different statistic was shown on each day of the campaign which involved a club member in making the change over on each of the 16 days. The facts we provided can be found elsewhere in this website under Projects and Activities

The group also selected items to be exhibited which they felt were representative of the Soroptimist movement’s development since 1921 and the achievements of the club since it was formed in 1946. The items were in 5 separate displays, and an audio commentary was written and recorded for each by club members which gave background information about each of them.  

Our MP Mike Martin visited the exhibition and issued a press release which appeared in the local press and his visit was featured in his monthly newsletter to his constituents.

‘It was an honour to visit the Soroptimists of Tunbridge Wells & District’s powerful display. The Soroptimists have been leading the charge in our fight to make both Tunbridge Wells and the wider world safer for women and girls. Their organisation played an instrumental part in my predecessor Greg Clark’s Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act and have worked with me to set up Safe Havens for women and girls in Tunbridge Wells.

(Mike Martin MP)’

Tunbridge Wells and District Soroptimists raise funds for Ukrainian Children

Club members have been raising funds to support children in Ukraine whose education has been disrupted by the ongoing war with Russia.

Several club members gathered to produce handcrafted fabric ‘sunflowers’ which were then used to create brooches, hairbands, and other products. Two coffee shops – Piccolo Cafe in Wadhurst and Buy The Weigh in Ticehurst – kindly agreed to offer these items to their customers in return for donations, and to collect donations on behalf of the club.

This fundraising project raised a total of £300, and in January 2026 the club was pleased to be able to donate this amount to ‘Theirworld’ charity, a global children’s charity dedicated to ending the global education crisis and unleashing the potential of future generations. This is to be used specifically towards the cost of providing computers and equipment to schoolchildren in Kyiv & elsewhere in Ukraine.