Graphic for the first blog in Southall Black Sisters’ Real Impact series on the government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, with this first instalment focusing on No Recourse to Public Funds. The design features black and white text on a maroon background set against a beige textured paper.

Graphic for the first blog in Southall Black Sisters’ Real Impact series on the government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, with this first instalment focusing on No Recourse to Public Funds. The design features black and white text on a maroon background set against a beige textured paper.

Graphic for the first blog in Southall Black Sisters’ Real Impact series on the government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, with this first instalment focusing on No Recourse to Public Funds. The design features black and white text on a maroon background set against a beige textured paper.

Today we launch the first commentary in our Real Impact Series, analysing the government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls and its failure to address No Recourse to Public Funds.

Read here: southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/nrpf-th... 1/ 🧵

The government must now accept all our life-saving recommendations, end the hostile environment and work with us to ensure that a robust response to domestic abuse is prioritised in future pandemics. 5/5

We welcome the Inquiry’s recognition that the surge in domestic abuse should have been foreseen; however, the fact that women with NRPF are three times more likely to be subjected to VAWG should have been addressed. 4/5

We submitted evidence to the Covid Inquiry to centre the experiences of victim-survivors and ensure that such state failures never happen again. 3/5

The Home Office made a conscious decision not to lift the NRPF or extend status and support to migrant victim-survivor – giving perpetrators more power – it is disappointing that the Home Office was not held accountable by the Inquiry. 2/5

Domestic abuse reached crisis levels during the pandemic. Migrant victim-survivors with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) were trapped in a triple bind of Covid-19, domestic abuse, and the threat of deportation and destitution. 1/5

Image depicting Stephen Lawrence in a B&W striped t-shirt against a background with leaves. Image credited to The Guardian.

Today, we remember Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993.

We honour his legacy by highlighting institutional racism and the urgent need for change. The Met police's acceptance of the findings of the Casey Review is a key first step.

Rest in power, Stephen.

Inquest into the death of Michelle Sparman opens on Monday, 27th January 2025.

Michelle Sparman tragically died by suicide amid concerns of coercive control.

An inquest into her death and any failure by agencies to act opens on Mon, 27 Jan for 3-4 days.

Join us at Inner West London Coroner's Court to demand answers.

Details 👇🏾
southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/inquest...

Mum who took her own life 'bombarded with texts and bullied into relationship' Michelle Sparman's former partner Roger Stephens agreed he sent too many texts but insists his behaviour was borne out of the grief of losing his relationship and that he 'absolutely' loved her

The inquest into Michelle's death is open.

Michelle died by suicide in 2021. Her family has raised concerns of coercive control from Michelle's ex-partner.

Noting these, MyLondon reports on Michelle's ex-partner's admission about the 'flood' of texts. 1/3

www.mylondon.news/news/south-l...

✊🏾 Sisters' resistance

Last week, over 40 of us came together in Ilford to commemorate Harshita's life.

The vigil marked a unified call for Harshita's perpetrator and the institutions that routinely fail migrant women like her to be held to account.

Video credit @channel4news.bsky.social.

Over 40 of us gathered in Ilford today to honour Harshita's life and to demand justice for her murder.

We called on the government to ensure accountability for Harshita's perpetrator and to provide life-saving support for migrant victim-survivors. 1/2

southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/southal...

Join the Million Women Rise SATURDAY 8TH MARCH on INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY

Central London
12pm

metro.co.uk/2024/11/25/i...

Join us for a vigil in memory of Harshita Brella to honour her life and demand justice for her murder. Friday, 24th January 2025. Location and time to be confirmed. Details to follow.

Harshita’s life was tragically cut short by abuse.

Her murder underscores the scourge of VAWG and highlights statutory services’ repeated failures to safeguard Black, minoritised and migrant women.

Join us on Friday, 24th January to commemorate Harshita and to demand justice for her murder. 1/2

Home - Southall Black Sisters Originally set up in 1979, Southall Black Sisters (SBS) has established itself as an iconic organisation based in West London, but with a national reach and reputation for its landmark legal intervent...

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please call our helpline on 020 8571 0800 or email info@southallblacksisters.co.uk.

We provide free and confidential advice to support women and girls to live free of violence and fear.

southallblacksisters.org.uk

We, the signatories, stand with Kongra Star in demanding that women's rights be upheld and that DAANES be protected. To do their part, the UK govt must ensure that the Rojava model is allowed to flourish, including through suspension of the arms trade with Turkey.

See our statement below 👇🏾👇🏾

Earlier this year, we launched the #InvestingInSafety model resources that estimate that ‘by and for’ services yield net savings of over £127 million nationally over 3-years. 1/3

southallblacksisters.org.uk/submissions-...

Israeli forces arrest Gaza hospital chief after ‘burning doctors and patients alive’ Troops beat Hussam Abu Safiya and kidnapped him alongside other doctors, leaving northern Gaza without any health services

Israeli forces arrest Gaza hospital chief after ‘burning doctors and patients alive’. Troops beat Hussam Abu Safiya and kidnapped him alongside other doctors, leaving northern Gaza without any health services.
www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli...

Israeli forces ‘sexually assaulted, beat and insulted women’ during Gaza hospital raid Eyewitnesses describe violence against women, girls and patients in new report

Israeli forces ‘sexually assaulted, beat and insulted women’ during Gaza hospital raid. The violence against women included stripping off their clothes, touching them under the threat of violence, beating them and hurling sexual insults at them. www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli...

Kiri Tunks (Filia) - Unions & Labour Movement for Women, Conference 2024. YouTube video by Labour Women's Declaration

And thanks to @labwomendec.bsky.social for inviting me to speak about women in the labour movement at their Labour Party fringe this year. @filiacharity.bsky.social is building a union network for women. Get in touch! www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUle...

Gaza: UN committee alarmed by Israel’s blatant disregard for binding international orders GENEVA – The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) today expressed its alarm about Israel’s flagrant disregard for its international legal obligations and International Court...

UN committee condemns Israel’s disregard for international orders. Nearly 44,500 Palestinians killed, 105,000 injured, and essential infrastructure—homes, hospitals, schools—devastated in Gaza, fueling an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

📢Tune in to Newsnight tonight! Our Campaign & Policy Manager will discuss Harshita Brella's case, the crisis of VAWG, and how Black, minoritised, and migrant women are repeatedly failed by the system. Join the call for justice and change. #Newsnight #EndVAWG

UPDATE: A man has handed himself in to the police & been arrested.

Our thoughts are with his victim.
#StopRape #16Days #Hastings

New CCTV footage released of man linked to rape incident New CCTV footage has been released in an appeal to find a man who forced his way into a woman’s home and raped her.

Do you know this man?

New CCTV footage has been released in an appeal to find a man who forced his way into a woman’s Hastings home and raped her.

#Hastings #SistersSalon #StopRape

www.theargus.co.uk/news/2477884...

The photo is an extract of text from this article: Corporal punishments were also used, Biggs discovered. In 1748, the vice-chancellor paid the town crier 10 shillings to whip “10 unruly women”, Spinning House accounts show. Prison inspectors frequently condemned the jail, which the social historian Henry Mayhew called an “abomination” in 1851, noting the keeper pulled the girls’ hair if they didn’t keep quiet and threw them into solitary confinement. “The prison was notoriously cold and damp, and the food was just bread and sometimes gruel,” Biggs said. In December 1846, the 17-year-old Elizabeth Howe died after spending a night in a Spinning House cell with a broken window and a damp bed.

#Cambridge #University urged to apologise over jailing of thousands of ‘evil’ #women without evidence or trial
A 1561 charter granted powers to imprison young #working-class women found walking with undergraduates after dark

www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Cambridge University urged to apologise over jailing of thousands of ‘evil’ women without evidence or trial A 1561 charter granted powers to imprison young working-class women found walking with undergraduates after dark

A 1561 charter granted powers to imprison young working-class women found walking with undergraduates after dark.
More than 5,000 were arrested in the 19th century alone.

Cambridge did not grant degrees to women until 1940- the last Uni to do so.

www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

J, a migrant woman, endured abuse throughout marriage, which escalated after her pregnancy. She was subjected to physical, economic, emotional, and sexual abuse, including rape and coercive control by her husband. J met the perpetrator while on holiday in the UK, and their relationship continued long-distance before they married on her home island. After moving to the UK, J was coerced into selling her house, and her husband spent the proceeds, leaving her financially dependent. Following threats to kill from her husband, J fled with her three-month-old son and contacted the police. Social services intervened, and J and her son were placed in safe accommodation. As a migrant woman, J faced additional challenges due to her insecure immigration status. With the completion of her Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) application, she gained the right to claim benefits and apply for housing. Although J was relocated to another area for her safety, welfare calls and referrals ensured she could access support in her new location. An application for her indefinite leave to remain (ILR) was successfully submitted, and she has now been granted permanent residency. J is beginning to rebuild her life in safety, free from violence and control, with the necessary support to secure stability for herself and her child.

J’s account underscores the additional barriers to support migrant victim-survivors with insecure immigration status encounter. It demonstrates the life-saving importance of ‘by and for’ service intervention & the vitality of the combined MVDAC-DVILR model in ensuring safety. #16CaseStudiesFor16Days

Black, minoritised and migrant victim-survivors deserve just and equal outcomes.

At @SBSisters, we are calling for whole-system reform, with our ask for a public apology and answers from the Met, BTP, and CPS in the #KingsCross3's case marking a key step in that direction. 2/2

Enduring the horrific racist attack followed by the sustained threat of criminal sanction perpetrated by an institutionally racist justice system has left us with scars for life.

However, we refuse to simply accept these disparate outcomes. 1/2

As Harshita is laid to rest, we hold her family, friends, and loved ones in our thoughts during this immense time of loss.

Her life, full of promise and light, was taken far too soon-a devastating reminder of the state’s ongoing failures to protect migrant women and deliver justice.

End Gender Apartheid Join the Global action to end gender apartheid in Iran and Afghanistan today

Sign & Share
#Action7 #16Days #16DaysOfActivism
I stand by the women & girls of Afghanistan & Iran and demand that we expand the legal definition of apartheid under international laws.
Join me

#EndGenderApartheid #16Days #SistersSalon #RespectWomen

endgenderapartheid.today/index.php