End Violence Against Women Campaign

Posted By: Jean Ashworth
Date Posted: 22/11/2009

On Monday 4th November I travelled to London with Khalda Manzoor and Mina Nazir from the Rochdale Women’s Welfare Association, Trafalgar Street, Rochdale to join the mass lobby of parliament for  the Stop Violence against Women No Recourse, No Safety campaign. We did a mass walk from the Trocadero Centre to the House of Commons with Amnesty International. Around 200 people from all over the country came to join the lobby and walk.

We had arranged to meet with our MPs Paul Rowen and Jim Dobbin. The aim of the lobby was to ask our MPs for their commitment and action to help victims of gender based violence and for them to ensure that the violence against women strategy includes provision of funding for specialist services, such as rape crisis centres and refuges, and to ensure that this applies to all victims of violence, including those currently subject to the No Recourse to public funds rule.

In June 2009 the government suggested a pilot proposal which would only provide a maximum of 20 days funding, which is clearly not enough, and we need to make sure that our MPs support the need for a more permanent solution to this ever growing problem.

We had a very positive meeting with both our MPs, Paul Rowen and Jim Dobbin, they were both very helpful and gave us positive answers to our concerns regarding this issue. One of the suggestions from MP Paul Rowen was to try to get a designated police officer in post to deal specifically with these cases, which would save a lot of time and unnecessary added pain to these poor women . We are not asking for charity or favours, we are asking for permanent help for these poor helpless victims of violence.

I know that the Women’s Welfare Association in Rochdale deal with many cases and I fully support the need for more permanent adequate funding that is open to all women in this situation, as I know that on occasions the ladies here have helped some cases out of their own money as they are desperate to keep that poor person safe.

I am pleased that the leader of the Council Alan Taylor is also very supportive of this and is keen to make Rochdale a White Ribbon Borough.

On Wednesday 25th November the Rochdale Women’s Welfare Association are holding an event at their base at 18 Trafalgar Street, Rochdale OL16 2EB starting at 12 noon to mark the 'End Violence Against Women' campaign and have invited various agencies to come and add their support. Everybody interested is welcome to attend.

Councillor Jean Ashworth