A new multi-agency campaign has been launched to tackle sexual harassment of women and girls in South Yorkshire supported by Sheffield Council, South Yorkshire Police and community partners. The Know the Line campaign seeks to challenge the attitudes of perpetrators of sexual harassment and to encourage members of the public to look out for the safety of women and girls. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to campaign organiser Ann Butler.
Refugee support group the DEWA Project are partnering with mental health practitioners and solicitors to assist women asylum seekers who have suffered sexual or domestic violence. The Home Office Gender Asylum Plan has recognised that woman asylum seekers should be provided with access to trauma counselling and asylum rights information and should not have to relate their story in front of their children or to a male interviewers or interpreter. Azz Mohammed reports for Sheffield Live!
Verdon Street Community Centre, Burngreave hosted one of many events in Sheffield and worldwide to mark International Women’s Day 2017. With stalls, music and speeches by local women from a diversity of backgrounds the gathering brought together over 100 participants to celebrate women’s economic, political and social achievements. International Women’s Day is rooted in the struggle for women’s suffrage and equal rights and has been celebrated worldwide since 1911. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
Women, children and men gathered to dance in Sheffield Peace Gardens as part of the One Billion Rising global campaign to stop violence against women and girls. Since the campaign first launched in 2012, activists and supporters have performed the ‘Break the Chain’ dance to bring colour, movement and choreography to the One Billion Rising campaign. Participants, wearing black, red, pink and orange, joined thousands around the world participating in public dance events, interpreting words and music, by writers and musicians Tena Clerk and Tim Heintz, with the choreography of Debbie Allen. Simon Thake reports for Sheffield Live!
International Day for the elimination of violence against women, also known as White Ribbon Day, marks the beginning of an annual 16 day international campaign against violence against women. This year South Yorkshire Police are supporting White Ribbon Day with officers and an independent sexual violence advisor available in the police mobile hub in Sheffield City Centre to provide support services and answer questions from the public. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!
As part of Sheffield’s Off the Shelf Festival of Words, Girl Gang collective and promoter Sheffield Girl collaborated for a music-themed weekend. The event included discussion about women’s contribution to the Sheffield music scene and a participative display to generate a timeline of the history of women in Sheffield music. Shamaan Freeman-Powell reports for Sheffield Live!
Women on the internet are often on the receiving end of abuse on social media a recent study has shown. A cross party campaign has started to tackle the growing issues of online abuse.
Hundreds of women walked through Sheffield City Centre yesterday to Reclaim the Night. The event is now a national one but started off in Yorkshire when women were being told to stay at home by the police because the Yorkshire Ripper was still at large.
A free colouring book which portrays real tradeswomen from Sheffield has been launched to encourage young girls to think about becoming electricians, bricklayers and engineers.