Conference Addresses Gender Justice and Support for Black and Minoritised Women

Leaders from charities, activists, professionals, and individuals who have experienced abuse have convened to share strategies for assisting black and minoritised migrant women. The support organization Phoebe organized a full-day conference in Ipswich, focusing on “Gender Justice & Intersectional Practice.” Mollin Delve, the founder of Phoebe, stated: “Women from countries where there is war, or problems with violence and abuse, have a lot of trauma and are afraid of seeking support.” She further explained that “Intersectionality is a framework which really unpicks race, gender, class, nationality or social status, so their needs can be met by UK authorities and services.” The conference took place on Friday at the Hope Centre in Ipswich. A primary objective was to “embed an understanding of the intersectional nature of black and migrant women’s experience of abuse and why they are more vulnerable”. Ms. Delve elaborated, stating: “Immigration status is a big factor.” She continued, “UK born-and-bred white women don’t need to be precious about holding onto their passport. But our women have to keep onto their passports, because that’s a tool which perpetrators are using. They’ll confiscate someone’s passport, they will block them from working and then threaten them with deportation or threaten their family back home.” She concluded, “There’s layers and layers of opportunities that perpetrators are using to abuse women, so we want to raise awareness and find solutions for.” Kafayat Okanlawon, representing the London-based House of Lavender, discussed her organization’s work and highlighted the importance of inter-organizational collaboration, particularly when financial resources are limited. Ms. Okanlawon stated: “London can be such a big harbour for organisations, but there’s something really important about work that’s being done outside of London. It was important to be here, not only in solidarity with the Phoebe Centre, but also to talk about the issues of young black women.” She added, “There’s something about doing things differently, about innovation. There are other ways we can collaborate, instead of working against each other when it comes to funding, let’s put in joint application instead of fighting over small funding pots that we get.” Pragna Patel, co-founder and co-director of Project Resist, and former director and founding member of the Southall Black Sisters, was among the keynote speakers. She emphasized the critical need to bring black and minority women’s voices “from the margins to the centre”. Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, Ms. Patel asserted: “You don’t reach women by going to the community leaders and assuming that the community leaders will speak on behalf of the women.” She further explained, “One of the barriers they face are cultural and religious, from faith leaders who have different understandings of issues like violence against women, FGM [female genital mutilation], and forced marriage. Whose job it is to bring women back into the fold and ensure that they maintain their cultural status quo, so going to those leaderships, and assuming that is your community engagement is a non starter, you’re not reaching women.” According to a statement issued earlier this year by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, significant inequalities in health outcomes persist. A recent House of Commons Committee report corroborated this, finding that “aternal mortality for black women is currently almost four times higher than for white women”. Other individuals who spoke at the conference included Jack Abbott, Ipswich Labour MP; Supt Jasvinder Kaur from Suffolk Police; and Tim Passmore, Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner. Mr. Passmore has provided financial support for projects managed by Phoebe, which aim to assist victims of crime and prevent vulnerable groups from engaging in criminal behavior. He expressed agreement with calls for consistent funding for organizations that engage with vulnerable communities. He commented, “I was pleased to hear that, that’s something I’ve been on about for some time.” Mr. Passmore added, “In our new Police and Crime Plan, a core part of it is going to look at the economic assessment of the failure to try and prevent all these things going wrong in the first place. It costs the taxpayer a fortune and it’s not just about the pound notes, it’s the human and the mental psychological issues as well. So let’s get better data. Let’s work together and have long-term thinking.” For updates on Suffolk news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.