Why YOU should support the march in London on 8th March 2008

Are you outraged by the violence that women experience?

Every minute of every hour of every day
That breaks the hearts, minds and souls
That traces backwards to our grandmothers and forwards to our daughters
Have you the heart, passion and compassion
To extend your hand of solidarity?

United and connected we can change the world TOGETHER!

Will you hold the vision of a future for women free of violence?
TOGETHER WE CAN STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN!

Women’s right to live free from violence and/or the fear of violence has not been achieved. Women continue to be attacked and violated in many different ways, in our homes, in our streets, on our public transport, at our places of work. The government, the TV and newspapers do very little to address this issue; instead they often blame women for wearing the wrong clothes or being in the wrong place.

If you think this needs to change, then join us on a public demonstration to show those in power that it’s just not good enough! We need to show our mass dissatisfaction; we need to be strong together and in large numbers. Unity is strength; the voices of many are louder together than a single voice.

If you want to see change for yourself, your children, your families, your communities then come out and say no to violence against women!

Violence against women is a global problem...

MWR believe violence against women is a global pandemic. Women and girls of all ages, from all classes, from all ethnic backgrounds, regardless of their immigration status, their sexuality or their disability, experience it.
Violence devastates the lives of women, their families, and their communities. It also threatens to undermine efforts to bring about long lasting and peaceful development. Therefore our campaign to end violence against women is an international struggle for female emancipation and liberty.

Support for the National Million Women Rise demonstration in Central                                                  London 8 March 2008

The Million Women Rise Coalition is a diverse group of individual women and women representatives from the Voluntary and Community Sector who are united by our outrage at the continued daily, hourly, minute-by-minute individual and institutionalised violence enacted against women worldwide. We believe that every woman and child has a right to live free from violence and that ongoing violence devastates not only the lives of the individuals directly affected but also the communities of which they are part.

The reality in the UK alone:

Only 5% of rapes reported to the police result in the perpetrator being convicted in court.
Women are more worried about rape than any other crime.
One woman in four will experience sexual assault as an adult.
Up to 1,420 women per year are trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation.
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.
One woman in four will experience domestic violence at some point in her life.
Two women are murdered every week by their partner or ex partner.
One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute.
250 cases of forced marriage are reported each year.
One woman a month is murdered through so called honour killing
Over 20,000 girls could be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK.
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:

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 million females are killed before or at birth simply because of their sex.
One woman dies every minute from pregnancy related causes, most of which are preventable.
16.4 million women in the world are living with HIV and AIDS.
55% of all HIV positive adults in sub-Saharan Africa are women.

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

For further info contact Million Women Rise.

If you are able to contribute financially to this cause then please make a donation to Million Women Rise, c/o The Women's Resource Centre, 33-41 Dallington Street, London, EC1V 0BB.

The most important task at this time is to spread the word.† Use the flyers available, or rewrite them in words or sentiments you or your group is happy with.† Pass them on to every woman you know or come into contact with, between now and 8th March 2008.†

- In solidarity and sistahood -

The aims set out by the Million Women Rise Coalition relate to:

1. Articles set down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
2. Research by Child and Women Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) http://www.cwasu.org/
3. The Gender Equality Duty which is part of the Equality Act 2006 http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/legislation/index.htm
4. The Council of Europe
http://www.ecpat.org.uk
Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (2007)
5. End Violence Against Woman Coalition Campaign Zero Tolerance http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/home.asp [UKNSWP mission statement (2007)]
6. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
7. Research on women in prison
http://www.indiafemalefoeticide.org) (RHRC; www.rhrc.org)
(U.S. Pharmacist; www.uspharmacist.com) (Afrol; www.afrol.com)