End Violemce Against Women!

Eliminating violence against women

26th November 2013
This week the CWU joined organisations all over the world in supporting International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

CWU leaders, Billy Hayes and John Baldwin answer UNI’s call to “Be man enough. Be a leader against gender violence”.

On a global scale the Equal Opportunities arm of UNI global union launched a video, entitled "Break the circle of violence", which focuses on the role of men in the fight against gender violence and aims to raise awareness about the campaign to address gender violence throughout the world. The campaign, called "Be man enough. Be a leader against gender violence" calls on the true protagonists of the campaign - men and women who, day in day out, struggle for a fairer and more equitable world for all - to be an agent of change and offers a host of resources and tools to enable action.
For more information visit Breaking the Circle.

Closer to home, the TUC marked the day by launching an anonymous survey to find out more about how domestic violence affects working life and the role that employers, colleagues and union reps can play in supporting those experiencing domestic abuse. The results from the survey will help trade unions develop policy and actions to support those experiencing domestic violence.
Take part in the survey >here<.

"We need to be proactive about curbing violence against women and exposing the atrocities women all over the world endure," said Linda Roy, CWU head of equalities.
Recently, the CWU welcomed new domestic abuse guidance launched by Santander UK as statistics revealed that over 7% of women and 5% of men report domestic abuse each year. An article in the latest issue of CWU's Women's Talk magazine reports that this statistic could be higher in reality as many cases in the UK go unreported.
Also reported in the latest issue of Women's Talk is a hard-hitting feature exposing the proliferation of physical and sexual violence against women in today's society. "This is a very real issue for some of our members," said Linda. "We endeavour to do what we can to make sure there are protections in place in the workplace so that victims of violence and abuse do not feel trapped by their circumstance and know they have somewhere to turn for help and support.

"I would encourage all CWU members, men and women, to support the global movement to curb violence against women - watch UNI's video and make use of their tools and resources and take the TUC survey.
"Every little bit goes a long way to raising the profile and importance of this campaign," she stressed.
Read Women's Talk Autumn/Winter 2013 for more information and visit the Equal Opportunities section of the website for helpline numbers, fact sheets and more.