International Women\u2019s Day\u00a0is always\u00a0a special event in the Women\u2019s Aid calendar and one that we use as an opportunity for celebration, reflection and of course, looking towards the future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These are\u00a0testing times for\u00a0so many, with different experiences of constrained resources, political change, the economic environment, and indeed the international context\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0playing out for women at large.\u00a0The\u00a0impact\u00a0of these\u00a0significant\u00a0issues\u00a0on our sector\u00a0and the women and children we are here for is undeniable,\u00a0but I wanted to make sure we could still\u00a0carve some\u00a0space to recognise what we have achieved\u00a0together\u00a0in\u00a0spite of the many challenges, and our commitment to adapting and persevering to make things better.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For over half a century, Women\u2019s Aid\u00a0and\u00a0its\u00a0members have\u00a0been supporting survivors of domestic abuse and working towards creating a society which has no space for\u00a0misogyny,\u00a0and which does not tolerate\u00a0violence against women and girls. Rooted in the feminist movement of the 70s, today, we are a federation of over 180\u00a0organisations, supporting women and children as they seek to\u00a0escape\u00a0abuse and rebuild their lives. We are a sisterhood and it is by coming together and working together, that we\u00a0are able to\u00a0deliver the vital, life-changing support that survivors so desperately need.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is a sad reality that women face an unequal amount of challenge and threat \u2013 from inequality in the workplace, through to the devastating reality that women are much more likely to be killed by their current or former partners. International Women\u2019s Day is an important opportunity for us to recognise this and to celebrate our sisters, who do so much to help women and children\u00a0flee. I am grateful to\u00a0each and every\u00a0one of them \u2013 in our federation and of course, worldwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The scale of the problem we are facing\u00a0remains\u00a0devastatingly\u00a0vast.\u00a0According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, a third of women over the age of 16 in England and Wales experience domestic abuse. This is an astonishingly high figure, and yet, it is likely to be even higher, given that domestic abuse is a crime that hides in plain sight and one that is historically underreported.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To add to this already\u00a0deeply challenging\u00a0context, services are running within a\u00a0frankly\u00a0unsustainable funding environment, often\u00a0being forced to turn women away who need help.\u00a0Too many\u00a0women referred to refuges cannot be accommodated because the space\u00a0simply\u00a0does not exist. And that matters because we have all heard the question: \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t she just leave?\u201d If anyone is still asking that question, the answer is painfully simple. Too often, when she tries to leave, society does not give her somewhere safe to go.\u00a0Sustainable funding for the services that support women and children is critical. They are the backbone of response to ending violence against women and children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Steps are being made to change\u00a0the wider\u00a0reality\u00a0of violence against women and children\u00a0and many of them are significant. It feels like we are living at a time of reckoning \u2013 we see public bodies reflecting on their failings,\u00a0committing\u00a0to learn and change. We have seen a government publish a strategy aimed at reducing VAWG. We are also\u00a0seeing an increasingly aware society, women who are unafraid, who see bad behaviour and who do not shy away from calling it out whether that be online or in their own lives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But the reality is, we cannot\u00a0make the change that is needed\u00a0alone. Momentum is gaining and it must be maximised and to do this, we must come together.\u00a0We now need everyone else to stand with us \u2013 we need to see promises being delivered on, we need the pace to increase. Every woman who is killed by a predatory man is someone\u2019s mother, daughter, sister, friend, colleague. They deserve better.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0momentum\u00a0must go beyond\u00a0the\u00a0women\u2019s\u00a0sector;\u00a0we need allies from the public and private sector to make a commitment as well. Ending domestic abuse requires change across society;\u00a0to shift attitudes\u00a0and to improve the support available to survivors wherever they look for it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0been so proud to\u00a0work with some incredible corporate partners on initiatives that\u00a0make a genuine difference\u00a0to\u00a0the lives of survivors.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0created pathways of support for women and children in need, delivered awareness campaigns to\u00a0improve public understanding of abuse and have used our collective voice to reach new audiences and influence government.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I hope that 2026 brings opportunity\u00a0for new innovative collaborations between our sector and our corporate allies.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0these connections and partnerships that gives us the strength and power needed to truly challenge misogyny and abuse\u00a0that is deep-rooted in our society.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My message this International Women\u2019s Day is simple \u2013 it is hope and it is unity. We face many challenges, but the feminist movement has faced them ever since it began. We know that we can withstand these pressures, we know that we can achieve remarkable things. Join us \u2013 be proactive allies, campaign for change, call out dangerous behaviours and support one another. Together, we are unstoppable.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" International Women’s Day A blog by Farah Nazeer, Women’s Aid CEO International Women\u2019s Day\u00a0is always\u00a0a special event in the Women\u2019s Aid calendar and one that we use as an opportunity for celebration, reflection and of course, looking towards the future.\u00a0 These are\u00a0testing times for\u00a0so many, with different experiences of constrained resources, political change, the economic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":913,"featured_media":49588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens-aid","category-news","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n