SEVERAL MEMBERS WROTE TO THEIR MP TO REQUEST THEIR ATTENDANCE AT PARLIAMENT ON FRIDAY 16TH DECEMBER – thank you Alan Campbell for your reply and your vote. What is the Istanbul Convention? It is a Council of Europe convention against violence against women and domestic violence which was opened for signature on 11 May 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. The government signed up to the Istanbul Convention in June 2012 but is yet to formally ratify it, to make this written agreement official by signing it. One Tory MP was accused of trying to “filibuster” the bill by talking for 78 minutes, but it progressed to the next stage by 135 votes to two. Ministers said they are “committed” to the convention, which states that “it is the obligation of the state to

  Today our club received a cheque for £1800 from The Greggs Foundation – what can we say apart from a huge THANK-YOU.  This generous grant will enable us, in the new year, to put together another 24 NEW START BAGS to donate to Northumbria Police through our contact Detective Inspector Claire Wheatley. Watch this space for more information.

  What are NEW START BAGS? Several Soroptimist Clubs in the Northern Region are working in conjunction with Northumbria Police to raise awareness of the increasing problems with VAWG – VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS, including traffiking. Each bag contains new clothes, toiletries and a few treats at the start of the long process of helping these vulnerable women and girls rebuild their lives   Operation Sanctuary is the name given to the Northumbria Police investigation into allegations of a series of sexual offences To date a number of people, from a range of backgrounds and communities, have been arrested in connection with Operation Sanctuary. While much of the activity has been in Newcastle, other areas of the force are affected. The investigation continues to progress at pace and there is a dedicated team of officers looking at all the information police continue to receive.

Wonderful start to our evening – fun and laughter at our (now not so new) venue – THE SANDPIPER. Cullercoats – they are so kind and look after us well. Turn this into this – over 80 gift bags for Harbour Refuge,North Shields wrapped ready for delivery.Part of our annual support of this local cause.   20+ energetic ladies hard at work. Toys too for the children.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k3j50  

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I USED TO DO THIS AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT – HA-HA YOU CAN BUILD ONE ONLINE – JUST FOLLOW THIS LINK.     https://shoeboxworld.co.uk/shoeboxworld/?_ga=1.235151748.442127382.1480370416

    BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE SPOONS During August 2013 a newspaper article headline was ‘Women who fear being forced to marry abroad told to hide spoon in underwear ‘(Guardian). In July 2015 the charity Karma Nirvana launched their Spoon Lapel Badge initiative to raise awareness of the issues affecting women and girls who are being forced to marry. Call handlers at Karma Nirvana suggest to girls, as a last resort, to put spoons in knickers, providing an opportunity to be taken aside when the security alarm sounds and spoken to in a private room.  This is to avoid them finding themselves in the middle of nowhere abroad being forced into marriage without any sort of help.  Also Karma Nirvana is engaged in raising girls’ and boys’ awareness in schools.  The latter is an ongoing process. Karma Nirvana has trained over half of the 43

What an amazing turn out for the annual DIVA walk (Don’t Ignore violence or Abuse) Organised by North Tyneside as part of their ‘Domestic Abuse Awareness Week’ supported by Unison, Waves, Harbour and Northumberland Domestic Abuse Services. http://www.nda.services/ http://www.myharbour.org.uk/