Protest: women invisible in Coronavirus response
Taxpayers’ money is being spent without consideration of the specific challenges women are facing.
A wide range of women’s organisations have signed a joint call for women and girls to be made visible, to be heard and have their needs met during the Coronavirus crisis response.
The statement runs:
“The Coronavirus pandemic is exceptionally difficult for everyone and is having a huge impact on all our lives.
So far, women and girls in the UK have been largely invisible from the debate and excluded from decision-making.
Now schools and nurseries have closed their doors it will be women who take on most of the unpaid care work, reducing their hours or giving up paid work, turning the clock back on gender equality.
Many women are on the frontline, delivering essential services, usually the lowest paid or in insecure work.
Many women will be trapped in their homes, self-isolating with an abusive partner.
It’s women who are also more likely to care for older or disabled relatives and neighbours.
Yet hundreds of billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being spent without considering the specific challenges women are facing.
Women and girls in all their diversity must be seen, have their voices heard and their needs met.”
This statmeent has, to date, been signed by:
Adina Claire – Acting Co-Chief Executive, Women’s Aid Federation of England
Adrienne Darragh – Chief Executive, Hibiscus Initiatives
Angela Everson – CEO, WomenCentre
Anna Herrmann – Joint Artistic Director, Clean Break
Anne Mc Vicker – Director, Women’s Resource & Development Agency-WRDA
Anthea Sully – Chief Executive, White Ribbon UK
Baljit Banga – Executive Director, Imkaan
Caroline Criado Perez – award-winning writer and campaigner
Catherine Fookes – Director, Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales
Cerys Furlong – Chief Executive, Chwarae Teg
Clare Murphy – Director of External Affairs, British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Faeeza Vaid MBE – Executive Director, Muslim Women’s Network UK
Gisela Valle – Director, Latin American Women’s Rights Service
Hannah Shead – Chief Executive Office, Trevi House
Harriet Wistrich – Director, Centre for Women’s Justice
Helen Pankhurst – Convenor, Centenary Action Group
Hera Hussain – Founder, CHAYN
Iman Atta – Director, Tell MAMA
Iman Atta – Director, Faith Matters
Jane van Zyl – Chief Executive, Working Families
Jemima Olchawski – Chief Executive, Agenda
Joeli Brearley, – Founder, Pregnant Then Screwed
Julie Budge – Founder / CEO, My Sisters’ House C.I.O
Dr Kate Paradine – Chief Executive, Women in Prison
Laura Seebohm – Executive Director, Changing Lives
Laurie Lee – CEO, CARE International UK
Lee Chalmers – Founder, Director, The Parliament Project
Lisa Dando FRSA – Director, Brighton Women’s Centre
Lisa-Marie Taylor – CEO, FiLiA
Maggie Parks OBE – Chief Executive, The Women’s Centre Cornwall
Mandu Reid – Leader, Women’s Equality Party
Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson – Director, UK Women’s Budget Group
Matt Home – Director, Willowdene Rehabilitation
Natasha Walter and Marchu Girma – Directors, Women for Refugee Women
Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs – CEO, Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA)
Niki Scordi – Chief Executive, Advance Charity
Nikki Guy – Centre Manager, Stockport Women’s Centre
Pip Eldridge – Interim Director, TIME’S UP UK
Pragna Patel – Director, Southall Black Sisters
Professor Sophie Harman – Queen Mary University of London
Rokaiya Khan – CEO, Together Women
Rosalind Bragg – Director, Maternity Action UK
Sam Smethers – Chief Executive, The Fawcett Society
Sarah Tomlin – Equal Power Coordinator, 50:50 Parliament
Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu – Lawyer, Political & Women’s Rights Activist
Sneh Jani-Patel and Olivia Head – Co-Founders, Bread and Roses
Sophia Benedict – Women’s Services Manager, Southwark and Lewisham Women’s Hubs, Pecan
Sophie Walker – Chief Executive, Young Women’s Trust
Stacy Smith – Chief Executive Officer, Her Centre
Suzanne Jacob – CEO, SafeLives
and
Vanessa Pine – Co-Founder, Activate Collective.
And the first #CoronaConversations online event series – ‘Coronavirus crisis: why we need to make women visible’ is being held on 7 April.
Tune in online from 6:30-8:00pm to watch Fawcett Society CEO Sam Smethers in conversation with prominent leaders in the women’s sector discussing how Coronavirus is affecting women and girls in the UK and why we urgently need to make their experiences more visible.
You will hear from award-winning writer and campaigner Caroline Criado Perez on women’s lack of visibility during the UK’s crisis response; Pragna Patel, Director of Southall Black Sisters, on the specific impacts of Coronavirus on black and minority women experiencing gender-based violence; and Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director of the Women’s Budget Group, on the economic impacts particularly on low-income women.
There will then be Q&As. For more information about how to join in, or send questions, click here.
The event is being hosted via Zoom. Please register by clicking here.