16 Days of Activism to Eliminate VAWG: What you can do to support women’s services! by @EVB_Now

These are just a few of the ways that you can support women’s services during the 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Male Violence against Women and Girls.

1. Donate £1 to a specialist women’s service like the national organisations Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, or Refuge.
2. Donate £1 to your local service providers supporting women who are living with domestic and sexual violence and abuse. BME women’s services have been disproportionately impacted by so-called ‘austerity’ so please don’t forget them.
3. Donate £1 every day to a different specialist women’s organisations.
4. Share fundraisers for women’s services across social media. We understand that many women can not afford to donate £1. Sharing fundraisers is just as essential as being able to donate £1.
5. Share articles on domestic and sexual violence and abuse on social media to raise awareness.
6. Host a coffee morning for your friends to raise money.
7. Bring some baked goods into work and ask for donations to a service of your choice from your co-workers.
8. Collect clothing, bedding and any other unused household items to donate to your local refuge or those support services for women who are homeless, living in poverty etc.
9. Donate toys to a local refuge for children who will be living in them at Christmas.
10. Write to your local councillors, MP, or MSP about the consequences of austerity cuts to women’s services.
11. Write to your MEP to demand that the tampon tax be over-turned.
12. Write to your MP to point out how offensive it is for the government to fund refuges and rape crisis centres from the taxes collected from the sale of sanitary products.
13. Write to your local councillors, MP, or MSP to demand ring-fenced funding for women’s specialist services, including those for BME women or those with disabilities.
14. Write to local councillors, MP, MEP, or MSP and ask them to undergo specialist training on domestic and sexual violence and abuse from specialist organisations.
15. File complaints with media about inappropriate, misleading and offensive coverage of domestic and sexual violence and abuse.
16. And, if you’re a man, stand up for women’s rights. Challenge men who make rape jokes. Call out male friends who refuse to financially support their children. Insist your employer implement the equal pay legislation. Donate money to rape crisis centres and refuges. Wearing a white ribbon isn’t enough. Your need to do the work to end violence against women and girls.

You can find the address and contact details of your local councillor via  WriteToThem.