Women
Together
Crossroads
Women’s Centre, Saturday 9 November 2013
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Women
have a lot to say and sometimes are not shy about saying it! They crowded into the Crossroads Women’s
Centre in Kentish Town on Saturday 9 November, for ‘Women Together Speak Up –
Making Community, Tackling Problems’.
Crossroads Women, the local charity hosting it, aimed to “give a voice
to those women whose needs are most likely to be neglected, especially in
these hard times”.
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Children were made
welcome by the ever popular Colin the Clown who provided entertainment
throughout the meeting.
Women of many diverse
backgrounds, from teenagers to grandmothers, movingly described events and
experiences. Most felt mothers and
carers were being devalued and impoverished.
They raised economic
problems. A pregnant woman was fearful
of the future as her husband had lost his job and she had no independent
income. A single mother had been
threatened with benefit sanctions despite applying for 150 jobs. Another was doing sex-phone work to feed
her children.
Many had found care
services uncaring. A mother grieving
the death of a son had had her breastfeeding baby taken away by social
services. A woman recounted her
difficulties getting support in place on leaving a mental health
hospital. Relatives were struggling to
ensure loved ones who were sick or had disabilities received the attention
they were officially entitled to.
Support for breastfeeding was being cut and new mothers and their
infants were not being helped.
Violence and
discrimination were also recurrent themes.
A woman had witnessed sexual harassment by guards while in a detention
centre; a mother complained of police targeting her Black son and other Black
men for stop and search; a lesbian woman said many LBGTQ young people were
homeless and faced attack.
Many of those present were
from Camden, but some had travelled from other boroughs. And some from Scotland and Wales – they had
come for an earlier meeting and had decided to stay to listen and contribute.
The indignity of food
banks, loss of play centres and other cuts, juggling jobs, job search and
study with childcare and housework, homelessness, bailiffs, unaffordable fuel
bills and rents, rape, racism and other discrimination made for a grim
framework.
The meeting aimed at
sharing not only problems but solutions, and women proved creative and
determined. The woman
whose child was taken from her, had fought alongside breastfeeding advocates
and got her daughter back – she was at the meeting and thriving. Others were campaigning to get re-housed or
stop police injustices. A rape
survivor had written a play to highlight her experiences and wanted volunteer
actors to help stage it. A woman
recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis had started a parents’ support
group. More than one woman said that a
successful outcome depended on not giving up, and getting together with
others. All agreed. Supportive men described how much they owed
their mothers and partners. Norway was
mentioned as an example of breastfeeding success – a mothers-led campaign had
reversed a downward trend and 99% of infants are now breastfed. A petition for a living wage for mothers
and other carers received a warm welcome.
The Women’s Centre was
praised for providing a space where women and their families could meet,
volunteer and support each other.
Solveig Francis of Crossroads Women,
commented: “Women shared truths rarely heard in public, and came out informed
and fortified.” A sign language
interpreter, who volunteered her services, ensured that deaf people present
could participate.
Women filled in a
‘Mothers/Carers Have Your Say’ questionnaire, which was launched at the event
alongside two ‘Did You Know?’ fact sheets: ‘Poverty & Wealth in the UK’,
and ‘Caring for Children & Adults in the UK’. (All are available at www.crossroadswomen.net.)
On Saturday 7 December, the
Women’s Centre will be hosting a Living
History Meeting where two East End survivors of the London blitz will
recount their experiences of working class endurance and rebuilding during
World War Two. And there will be a Christmas Fair on Saturday 14
December (11-2pm).
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Self-help support vs ravages of 'welfare reform'. Never attend anywhere official alone!
This blog currently focuses on national policy matters that impact upon KUWG members.
Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group as a group focuses primarily on combating benefits injustices locally through advocacy in individuals' benefit claims, and demonstrations that emphasise that there is hope when we come together. We are more angry than frightened.
Monday, 25 November 2013
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