News from our community - September 2024

Women for Refugee Women

Women for Refugee Women has released a new report Coercion and Control: The treatment of women seeking asylum in hotel accommodation. 

The report is the first of its kind to look specifically at the experiences of women in hotel accommodation and was designed and delivered by a team of seven women with experience of the UK’s asylum system.

The report shows that women who have fled gender-based violence are subjected to coercion and control in hotel accommodation, akin to patterns they have experienced in previous abusive relationships and situations.

Shocking findings include that women in hotels are:

•    Routinely monitored and surveilled
•    Subjected to humiliating, degrading and dehumanising behaviour by hotel staff, including sexual harassment, room intrusions and voyeurism
•    Punished and threatened with eviction
•    Isolated from social networks and sources of support

And the impact on women’s mental health is extremely dangerous:

•    91% felt anxious or depressed
•    46% were suicidal

The report can be viewed on their website here: Women for Refugee Women : Coercion and Control: The treatment of women seeking asylum in hotel accommodation 

Walk it out

Our mission is to initiate awareness raising campaigns to stop violence against women and girls to influence positive change in building safer communities.

Women and girls should feel safe in school, at work, on public transport, in green spaces, on the streets, at home, anywhere. 

We are committed to improving women's safety, empowering women and girls to stand up for themselves at home and in public.

Every day women and girls face street harassment and violence in our own communities with misogyny and sexual harassment becoming so normalised that females find it difficult to speak up so Walk it out has become an advocate and voice for the voiceless. 

“We should be able to walk anywhere, anytime without the fear of being attacked.”
Our inspiring and influential work enables young people and women to use their voice to achieve change. We envision a community in which young people and women, regardless of race, ethnicity or social status, are empowered to reach their fullest potential. 

We tackle crime through building community relationships, creating hope and making positive changes in the community as a whole, collaborating with organisations and the metropolitan police, engaging with the youth, local residents and local businesses.

Walk it out is very passionate about its campaign and we will continue to be the voice women need and keep on fighting for change because women's rights are human rights!

Walk it out has received recognition and support from local councils, the metropolitan police and other organisations, winning a community Mayor’s award in 2022 and 2023.

“There should be no place for violence or abuse against women and girls in our community.”

You My Sister

• Social context of sexual violence
• Sexual violence and young people Impacts and responses to sexual violence
• Best practice when responding to disclosures
• External specialist support services 

Chinese Women in Peterborough

Celebrating Moon Festival, also called Mid-autumn Festival

In September, people across the world celebrate the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Falling on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar, this is the second most significant celebration after Chinese New Year.

The Moon Festival dates back over 2,000 years as a celebration of the autumn harvest.

On this day, the full, round moon symbolizes unity and togetherness. The festival has inspired countless poems, and one of my favourites is: "千里共婵娟," which means, "No matter where you are, or how far from home, we all share the same moon." Under its light, we gather—whether physically or in spirit—drinking tea, eating mooncakes, and thinking of our loved ones, wishing them well until we meet again.

We celebrated Moon Festival on 14^th September 2024 following our tai chi lesson with food sharing and social gathering with the tai chi Community and Chinese Community.

This is another example of us being inclusive for our tai chi lessons, sharing our culture, raising cultural awareness, and how the kindness contributes to harmony and peaceful coexistence. These are values we should all embrace, especially as we all share the same moon.

Fundraising on Justgiving – ongoing from June 2024

Our activities promote holistic health and well-being, for living healthier, happier, longer. From reducing stress and improving balance to enhancing cardiovascular health, the benefits of our initiatives are vast and far-reaching. Yet, not everyone has access to these life-changing practice. With your support, we can continue offering free lessons to the wider communities.

Use this link Chinese Women in Peterborough is fundraising for Chinese Women in Peterborough (justgiving.com)  or scan the QR code in the picture below to donate, or contact us to find out more on how you can support us to make a difference. 

Latin American Women's Aid - LAWA

We have published a thread to disseminate our most recent publication under the WAHA initiative. It is called: 'Intersectionality as Practice (IAP): LAWA's roadmap to address Black and Minoritised survivors housing needs.

The #IAP roadmap lays out our model to #monitor and #evaluate progress against advocacy and influencing goals and also illustrates how we collaborate with our allies to get positive outcomes for our service users. 

Find the thread here (20) Latin American Women's Aid - LAWA on X: "We are proud to share with you today our latest #WAHAinitiative publication: "#Intersectionality as #Practice (IAP): #LAWA #roadmap to address #BlackandMinoritised #survivors #housing need. A 🧵 https://t.co/Zvv4YO5lTI" / X 

Download the roadmap here LAWA-roadmap-housing-and-VAWG-advocacy-Aug2024.pdf (lawadv.org.uk)