PRESS RELEASE - FEBRUARY 14th 2008

THE LARGEST WOMEN’S MARCH IN UK HISTORY -

Women from across the United Kingdom will march in Central London on International Women’s Day, Saturday 8th March 2008.

The march is a response to the continuing impact of all forms of violence against women. In the past fortnight alone, Levi Bellfield, Steve Wright and Mark Dixie have been found guilty of the murders of Amelie Delagrange, Marsha McDonnell, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell, Gemma Adams, Annelli Alderton, Anette Nicholls and Sally Ann Bowman respectively.

The event will also celebrate and honour the achievements and resilience of women in what is expected to be the largest women-only march in UK history.

The march will Assemble in Hyde Park at 12 noon (nearest tube station is Marble Arch) and then march to Trafalgar Square where there will be a rally from 3 pm to
6 pm.

Speakers at the rally include: survivors of gendered violence and 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.

The event has been organised by women who work closely with survivors of gendered violence. The Million Women Rise Coalition believes that a woman’s right to live free from violence and the fear of violence has not been achieved. Despite important steps taken by the government to address domestic violence, specialist organisations such as Southall Black Sisters and Rape Crisis Centres face loosing their funding, so reducing the support available to the most vulnerable women in society.

Sabrina Qureshi, Co-ordinator of the Million Women Rise Coalition states that;

“Violence against women and children continues to be a global pandemic. Women and children around the world experience domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, forced marriage, trafficking, so-called “honour” killings, dowry deaths, female feticide through sex-selective abortion, female infanticide and female genital mutilation. In the UK only 5% of rapes reported to the police result in a conviction. Two women a week are killed by their partner or ex-partner. Violence against women violates life, liberty, bodily integrity, freedom of movement and dignity of the person. This March marks the beginning of a concerted and energetic campaign to reverse these trends”.

Contact: Sabrina Qureshi, Co-ordinator on 07862 113308

NOTES TO EDITOR

The reality in the UK alone -

1. One woman in four will experience sexual assault as an adult.
2. Up to 1,420 women per year are trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation.
3. The UK Government announced that 330 child victims of trafficking had been identified over an 18-month period; of these 183 went missing from Social Services care.
4. One woman in four will experience domestic violence at some point in her life.
5. Two women are murdered every week by their partner or ex partner.
6. One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute.
7. 250 cases of forced marriage are reported each year.
8. One woman a month is murdered through so called honour killing.
9. Over 20,000 girls could be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK.
10. The majority of women in prison are there for non-violent offences, theft, fraud and drug related crime. Over half have experienced domestic violence and one in three have experienced sexual abuse.

The reality internationally -

1. Every year, 2 million girls between the ages of 5 years and 15 years are coerced, abducted, sold or trafficked into the illegal sex market.
2. 2 million females are killed before or at birth simply because of their sex.
3. One woman dies every minute from pregnancy related causes, most of which are preventable.
4. 16.4 million women in the world are living with HIV and AIDS.
5. 55% of all HIV positive adults in sub-Saharan Africa are women.

...and this is just the tip of the iceberg..