[Better late than never] Reclaim The Night Birmingham 2009 – success!

It’s only been two months since the march took place but I thought it was about time we had a bit of a write up!

I wasn’t able to march due to being only partially recovered from flu but sent everyone on their way from the Five Ways Island to go through Edgbaston and end up back at Ladywood Community Centre.  We could hear the marchers coming up the road to the community centre, shouting and singing with great gusto as the reached the end of the march and took their seats for the rally.  At the rally we heard several influential speakers tell us about their work and their experiences in working with women who have experienced male violence.  It was truly inspirational to know that this work is going on in our local community, although it is clear that there is so much left to do, not least because of the lack of funding open to services such as Sandwell Rape Crisis.

Afterwards we went on to a chilled out after party with some choice tunes (a playlist created entirely from my own collection with some excellent suggestions from others – so of course I was in my element!) and some lovely food.

I met several new women at the march, some of whom I have seen again, and we also picked up a new Birmingham Fems member on the way round!

Nadine, a new member of Birmingham Fems, who joined the group after RTN having heard about it on facebook through her W.O.M.E.N group discussion board, gave us the following write up:

“I attended Reclaim The night in Birmingham for the first time and really enjoyed it. What I enjoyed was the fact that there was a group of women no doubt coming with their own different experiences, there was a group of women who were proud of making of stand of not being afraid to walk down some of the dark streets in the city of Birmingham.

We then went onto the community centre in Ladywood to listen to talks from women doing amazing work with other women some of which are perhaps a bit vunerable. It was moving to hear of other womens experiences but at the same time very good to hear the positive work being done and that to me was a huge inspiration.

I am looking forward to attending next year s Reclaim The Night and am happy to be involved in the fortnightly meetings where I meet with women from B ham Fems to discuss a range of issues which affect the day to day lives of women and of course the plans for 2010 Reclaim The Night.”

It was certainly great to meet Nadine that night and it is great to have her as part of the group today.  This is just proof that these kinds of events DO help to spread the word.

We are also in the Birmingham Post, the Birmingham Mail and the Sandwell Express and Star.

Watch this space for more information about upcoming events for 2010 – especially the 2010 Reclaim The Night Birmingham, which is set to be a big success with some wonderful backing and a great team of planners!

Now you can donate to help us Reclaim The Night

Reclaim The Night Birmingham is a completely grassroots event, that has been funded by fundraising events.  The event is not for profit.  All proceeds will go into organising further projects including the Body Image installation and grassroots feminist handbook projects to be taken up after Reclaim The Night.  If you would like your donation to go to a specific project or to be passed on to a specific cause, please let us know in your optional message.  Our donation button is on the right above the blogroll –>

Your support is very important to us.  We are organising the march, but the march will only work because of the efforts of many more people to come along to fundraisers, to donate money, raffle prizes, equipment, time and effort, to march with us and support us in body and in spirit.

Thank you.

Reclaim The Night Birmingham – 17th October 2009

Birmingham Feminists are holding their first Reclaim The Night march on Saturday 17th October 2009.

The march will take us from the top of the city to an area that we feel needs to be ‘reclaimed’ from its reputation as a ‘no go’ area for the women of Birmingham.  This event will unite women across the Midlands with women from out of area, to march and take a stand against violence against women, and particularly against the myth that a victim of sexual violence is somehow responsible for their victimisation if they walked home alone at night, or wore revealing clothing, or talked to a man at a bar.

We who have survived violence or have been lucky enough to be that one in two women who won’t experience the violence, take to the streets en masse to say no.  No you can not do this to us, and no we will not be silenced.  This is why we are going to reclaim the night for the first time in decades in Birmingham. (taken from a speech for the Veg Out Against Violence fundraiser*)

This is a women only march.  We define this as any person who self-defines as a woman.  We do feel that men are an extremely important part of the movement.  However, there is a symbolism to a women only march for Reclaim The Night that separates it from marches for other causes.  This is a HUMAN problem, but it is the collective voice of WOMEN that needs to be heard.

The march will be followed by a rally with speakers from the Anawim Project, the Women of Allen’s Croft and Sandwell Rape Crisis among others.  This rally is free to enter and is a gender mixed event.

We will then be holding a fund-raising after party in the city centre with proximity to travel options (also mixed).

More details to follow.  Keep checking here for the specifics.

If you are travelling from out of area and want to know more about parking for cars and coaches please contact bham.fem@gmail.com

We are very excited about this, the first march of it’s kind in the region for a very long time!  Please tell everyone about it and come along if you can!

* for full speech, please see the post immediately previous to this one.

Veg Out Against Violence – Katie’s speech

As I am lazy and am partial to some cross posting (and therein a bit of shameless personal blog promotion), here is the link to my speech from the Veg Out Against Violence event held last night on 23rd July 2o09 at the Warehouse Cafe in Digbeth.

http://graceneedshelp.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/veg-out-against-violence/

Watch this space for more news about RTN Birmingham and any future fundraising events.

Local female author wants to give all UK women access to her book on domestic violence

Hello Birmingham!

MJ Cox, the author of Sour Face, a book about experiences of domestic abuse that incorporates theory into a first person telling of life as a victim, hopes to give all victims access to her book.  She is campaigning to get her book in all UK libraries so that people can access it freely and confidentially.  She said the following:

As you are aware I’m campaigning to get a copy of Sour face into every 
library in the UK,thus allowing victims of domestic abuse descreet 
access to information, without the knowledge of their perpetrator.
As we all know resources are very limited for victims of domestic 
abuse. It makes me wonder if there is true in the saying knowledge is 
power.Society seems to want to keep knowledge from victims and prevent 
them from gaining in power and confidence.

The libraries are only allowed to purchase books off a list from an 
approved library supplier. The books included on this list all come 
from major publishing houses. They do not include books published by a 
charity. It doesn’t matter how good or unique the book is it’s the 
rules!

I’ve been told “off the record” that if a member of the public goes 
into any library and asks for a book the library will get it, and the 
book will stay at the library for other people to borrow. 

I am asking for help from every member of this group to get Sour Face 
out into the library service. 

Please tell anyone you know about the book and ask if they could help. 
If anyone has links with other fem groups in the UK I would be grateful 
for the details so I can ask them to help.

For more information please see %^*here *^% and comment on that post rather than this one as blogger does not give email addresses for commenters in all circumstances whereas wordpress does, and you will want to leave your email address if you want more information!

Tory Party Conference and Tory Party hypocrisy

Hello all!

As some of you will know, the Conservative Party conference is coming up in Birmingham – 28th Sept – 1st Oct.

We Birmingham Feminists have been thinking about what to go along and lobby/protest/campaign about, and for a while there we thought: “well, they have signed the Early Day Motion to get lap dancing clubs relicensed as Sex Encounter Establishments, so they will probably fob us off with the usual of course if you vote for us we will do everything we can to make sure this is implemented at a local level, so perhaps we should go along in the name of another worthy cause…”

But then…

Tories offer lap dancing bargain -BBC West Mids

Exclusive:  Tory MPs attending annual conference are offered lap dancing discounts – Mirror

David Cameron and Conservative Party in Birmingham lap dancing controversy – Sunday Mercury

Yes.  The Tory party, having denounced the current state of licensing laws for lap dancing clubs, has only gone and offered a £10 discount to the Rocket Club for all it’s delegates!  The Rocket Club is a two minute walk from the ICC, where the conference is being held, and the Hyatt Hotel, where they will all be staying.  Very handy for those tired delegates at the end of a long day.  Or the male delegates at least!

Yes (again).  Not only have the party successfully contradicted themselves, they have forgotten their female delegates in offering an alternative.  No vouchers for Tricky Dickies, no doubt that just would not fit in with the Tory morals, nor any equivalent for their homosexual delegates, which in one blow tells you both that a) they don’t really care about their female and homosexual delegates, and b) they think it is perfectly okay for men, sorry, executive gentlemen, to visit lap dancing clubs in affiliation with their work.

Of course the party have tried to dilute the situation by saying it wasn’t their fault, and Marketing Birmingham, the makers of the welcome pack in which these vouchers are stashed, have been similarly reticent. 

We will be there on Sunday 28th, to make two points -

1.  Make sure that your promises on changing the licensing laws aren’t made of pie crust

2. End this hypocrisy

and an honourary 3. We, Birmingham residents, no longer wish for our city to be branded the capital of raunch culture – if it stays this way, we will never be labelled as the capital of anything else!

We’re running the Adidas Women’s Challenge

Morning all.

Just a quick post as three of us from Birmingham Feminists are running the Adidas 5K Women’s Challenge today in Birmingham city centre, although swimming might be more appropriate given the recent weather!

We’re running for:

Women’s Aid

and

Women in Prison

and we are going to be interviewed by Birmingham City University after the event.  Should be able to put the link up hear once it’s live.

Good luck to everyone running/walking today (mostly what I’ll be doing).  Let’s raise some money for good causes!!

****PLEASE NOTE I HAVE CHANGED THE TEMPLATE TEMPORARILY AS THE OLD ONE WASN’T WORKING PROPERLY****

Birmingham Feminists speak out about lap dancing

Click here to see the latest edition of the Politics Show (then click on the link for the video) in which a Birmingham Feminist talks to the BBC about lap dancing clubs and licencing.

Million Women Rise 2008

There were an estimated 4,000-5,000 women that turned out to march through the Central London to mark International Women’s Day. The Million Women Rise March captured a powerful spirit of solidarity and protest against violence and discrimination faced by women and children worldwide.

Beginning at 12:30 at Hyde Park, the march was attended by women and children from all over the country: some were representing organisations, some representing themselves. The brightly coloured banners of all shapes and sizes could be seen dotted throughout the crowds, waving proudly in the wind. It wasn’t a sunny day, and had rained at one point, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. There were women singing, women dancing to the drums, women chanting, blowing whistles, playing brass instruments, playing home made instruments, women who didn’t even know each other standing together. The atmosphere was joyful and uplifting. Leaflets, information sheets were handed out to further the support for organisations that are being closed down (Southall Black Sisters, Rape Crisis Centres).

The march was from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, where the Rally was to be held. We marched on loud and proud, making ourselves heard to the onlookers. People came out of restaurants, shops and offices to see us, in particular there was a woman on a hotel balcony showing her support by cheering for us. Bus drivers beeped, passengers in tourist buses looking on in amazement as we marched with unity and strength. People were taking photos with their camera, some were filming the march, and many just had their phones out to record the memorable day.

As we drew closer to the rally, we sang, we chanted, we danced to the beat of the drum; the excitement was so contagious that it drew onlookers in to join us. Survivors of domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault, discrimination… Standing strong together. Women in wheelchairs attending the march, determined to show their support.

As we came towards the Trafalgar Square, the atmosphere was euphoric. We had been chanting consistently, it felt like the whole march was chanting the same one, we were nearly there. The feeling was just amazing for everybody, knowing that we had marched for our mothers, our sisters, our aunts, our daughters, our friends. Turning the corner to the rally, we saw a screen with the Million Women Rise symbol on it. A sense of triumph went throughout the crowd as we reached our point. We filled up the space in front of Nelson’s Column, awaiting the speakers we had come to support. The words on a huge screen read:

One Woman
One body
One song
One love

There was a selection of speakers at the rally that left many of us tearful. We could hear and feel their words, understand the meaning and the strength behind them. There were women speaking who were survivors of domestic violence, an inspiration to all as they spoke with confidence and dignity. There were representatives from national and campaigning organisations such as Southall Black Sisters; Women’s Aid; Fawcett Society; Women’s Institute; Women and Girls Network and the Rape Crisis Federation.

It was a great day, and we had the opportunity to show our support as Birmingham Feminists. People looked at our banner with, what I hope was, approvement. We made our debut at MWR, chanted with the various groups that were there, and embraced the sisterhood that we have come to know. We are proud to be women, proud to be fighting for women, and we won’t stop until we get justice.

Prepare to rise!

Million Women Rise – Hyde Park London – Saturday 8th March – Meeting from 12 noon onwards – Marching from 3/3:30

JOIN US

(This is a women and children only event.  Pro-feminist men, please show your support by informing other women of the march, attending mixed events, and celebrate International Women’s Day in any way possible!)