SISK Celebrates Orange Café Day on 25th May 2023 in partnership with Beanshot Café, Lord’s More, Kolkata. The venue was decked up in orange balloons and streamers, SISK Banner, and Standee while all of us regular, new and prospective SISK members had donned a hundred shades of orange to mark the occasion. Membership Officer Ranjana Pillai welcomed everyone and assured the gathering that we would have some “membership” activities. But before we got started, Shukla gave a brief overview of the genesis of “Orange the World”, the three Mirabal Sisters, Patria, Minerva and Maria Theresa, their activism to stop oppression (women and girls being the main target) and tyranny in the Dominican Republic and finally their ultimate sacrifice…their assassination on 25th November 1960. The fourth sister, Dede Mirabal lived on to raise the children of her martyred sisters and tell their story which became the

I thought the way to start this blog would be to define what sexual abuse is, and how it is defined in the UK.  That turned out not to be so easy – when I googled it, the first definition was from NSPCC, then the Northern Ireland Government (which I thought was good, given devolved administrations’ responsibilities), the Metropolitan Police, and then there were a variety of others, but the first reference I could find from UK government was in a fact sheet for the Domestic Abuse Bill 2020. So, I turned to the UN website, where sexual abuse is defined as –‘any sexual or sexually motivated behaviour that is done to someone without that person’s consent or understanding. It can be online or in person, and it can happen to anyone. It includes a range of sexual acts, such as unwanted touching, forced oral

Soroptimists Orange the World on the 25th of each month raising awareness of issues.   POINTS TO CONSIDER    When SI Edinburgh shared their idea at a Scotland South Programme Action meeting, none of us realised just how this would take off. It is a simple, cost-effective way of raising our profile, while socialising.  As the Clubs in Scotland South have each developed their approach to the orange cafes, there are a few things we have discovered. Choose your venue(s) carefully! Will you always go to the same venue, or will you vary where you meet? Will you always meet at the same time, or vary times to target different audiences, eg after the school run? Consider the type of women who go to the venue(s) – are they likely to be interested in Soroptimism? Will the owner allow you to display Soroptimist literature? The venue

  On 25th April, Soroptimists are highlighting the abuse of women and girls by persons in a position of trust. Those abusing this trust do so to exercise emotional, mental, financial, or physical and sexual control. It is insidious, it is coercive. ‘Position of trust’ is a legal term which refers to certain roles and settings where an adult has regular and direct contact with children. Examples of positions of trust include teachers, social workers, doctors and healthcare workers, foster carers, faith group leaders, sports coaches, police. It is against the law for someone in a position of trust to engage sexually with a child (under 18) in their care, even if that child is over the age of consent (16). ‘Position of trust’ further applies to adults with care and support needs, and to any other adult who can reasonably expect to have trust

Murder, Domestic Abuse, Femicide, honour killings – the murder of women … the murder of women by men……. In the UK a woman is killed by a man every three days. The ultimate domestic abuse? : In recent years it was estimated that around two thirds of women murdered by men in the UK were killed by their current or former partner. A further approximately 12 per cent of those women murdered by men were killed by their sons. The high profile case of the killing of Sarah Everard in March 2021 was used as a point in time to count the number of women murdered by men. In the year following Sarah’s murder there were at least 125 women killed by men in the UK. Sadly, there were women to count before this date, cases yet to be proven, and many women killed since.

  What is Financial Abuse? Financial abuse happens when an abuser takes control of finances to prevent the other person from leaving and to maintain power in a relationship. Financial abuse often occurs in physically abusive relationships. Financial abuse is frequently part of coercive control. Often a woman does not leave an abusive relationship because she fears she will not be able to provide for herself or her children. Financial abuse can make the victim feel that she cannot leave. Financial abuse can form part of elder abuse or abuse of women with disabilities, when a relative, friend or caregiver steals money from an older person.   So, what are the signs? Often, financial abuse is subtle and gradual, making it harder to recognise. The abuser may act as though taking over the finances is a way to make life easier for you, that you