FiLiA

 "I don't feel that loneliness anymore. I feel part of something."

After attending FiLiA in Portsmouth, one woman returned to her workplace determined to set up a women’s group. Two years later, the group has grown in size and confidence. In this interview, Kiri Tunks discusses with the women how they set up the group, what they do in their meetings, and how it has transformed their relationships and lives.

Episode Note: When there is a large group in the room, issues with sound quality are inevitable. We’re sure you’ll agree that it’s far more important to share these women’s voices. Thank you for your understanding.

Does prison work for Women? What alternatives are being tried and how successful are they - what do we even mean by 'success'?

"The short answer to How many Women are in prison, is far too many! The biggest challenges are funding and investment"

In this episode FiLiA trustee Sally Jackson, Dr April Smith, a criminologist and psychologist, and Rhona Hotchkiss, ex-governor of Cornton Vale Women's prison, discuss the issues for Women caught up in the criminal justice system designed for men.

FiLiA is a member of Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE)

In this podcast we find out more about WAVE's work. Sally Jackson interviews, Stephanie Futter Orel Executive Director WAVE, Branislava Aradjan Project and Youth ambassador Coordinator and Beverly Mtui, Communications Coordinator of WAVE

WAVE is a network of over 170 European women’s NGOs working towards prevention and protection of women and children from violence. "We build the capacity of our members, advocate for better legislation, conduct research and raise awareness on violence against women and girls. Celebrating 30 years of activism this year."

https://wave-network.org/toolkit-for-victim-friendly-judicial-practice-in-child-custody-contact-and-visitation-matters/  

In this episode Luba Fein, FiLiA volunteer, Alyssa Ahrabare, Advocacy Manager for European Network of Migrant Women and Hema Sibi, advocacy coordinator for The Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution discuss a huge legal victory in France.

The European Court of Human Rights upholds France's right to ban the purchase of prostitution. France enforces a law that aims to abolish prostitution, while helping its victims exit. A group of individuals, supported by pro-prostitution organisations, appealed against this law to the ECHR. According to the appellants, this legislation radically damaged their right to dignity, private life, personal autonomy and sexual freedom. 

The court ruled that the problems related to prostitution raise sensitive moral and ethical questions, which gave rise to different, sometimes contradictory opinions. That said, the French authorities were at their legitimate discretion in enacting the ban. Among other things, the judges stated they were aware of the multitude of problems identified with the phenomenon of prostitution (such as the violence of the sex buyers towards the people in prostitution). Still, they were not sure whether this was the result of the law or a phenomenon inherent to prostitution.

Sex trade survivors and feminists globally celebrate this vast achievement. 

"It is not our job to question individual choices of women in prostitution. We must examine the system and the context in which women's choices take place" Anna Zobnina

In February 2024, Dunja Mijatović, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, published a statement entitled "Protecting the human rights of sex workers". It was a problematic statement that undermined the efforts of hundreds of feminist organisations and dozens of prostitution survivor organisations to eradicate the sex industry.

In this podcast, Luba Fein, a FiLiA volunteer, discusses this statement and its consequences for women in the sex trade and society in general with two prominent feminist activists: Alyssa Ahrabare and Anna Zobnina from the European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW)

https://www.migrantwomennetwork.org/
http:/twitter.com/ENoMW
https://www.facebook.com/migrantwomeneurope
https://nordicmodelnow.org/

Tragically Chloe felt her only escape from the coercive and controlling behaviour she was subjected to was to end her own life. Her Mum Sharon wants the perpetrator held to account for her death and so is campaigning for a change in the law so that he could be charged with manslaughter by coercive or controlling behaviour. Hear about how they have developed their grassroot campaign and how you can help.

Petition please sign and share:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/648948

Link to the report mentioned:
vkpp.org.uk/publications/publications-and-reports/

Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555467394371
https://x.com/shazmataz72

"I just hope that in capturing these stories that we've done something to archive working class, women's experience and that it'll be there if people wanna watch it or read it. We've done our bit and we can use the methods to look at any issue we want" - Paula Boulton

This podcast is about working class women and the theatre women make. It is  a discussion between playwright and theatre director Paula Boulton (67) and three members of her Corby Women's Theatre Group. Betty MacPherson (78) Danijela Bastajic (47) Dannie Smith (39) Questioned by interviewer Jo Campbell they explore the issues raised in their most recent production Corby Women, Then and Now. Reflecting on the need to tell the hidden stories about working class women, how being part of this community project empowered them, and how the method can be used in the future.

The plays are available for others to use in the accompanying book, Women's Ways, Women's Plays.

Paula's book "Women's Ways, Women's Plays is available at all major bookstores
or direct from Paula's bookshop https://www.facebook.com/lunarlinkpublishingcollective/

You can view Paula's plays on her YouTube channel  https://www.youtube.com/@paulaboultonsplays3877

https://shouttheatre.org/

https://www.facebook.com/CorbyWomensTheatreGroup

Raquel Rosario Sanchez and Sarah Ditum discuss the tropes and stereotypes about women in the public eye and how they reflect on the wider struggles women face in society. Ditum's clever analysis dissects how patriarchy operates to ensure that women, including those who are extremely privileged, are used as examples to venerate and later on to destroy in order to appease a misogynist system.

Buy Sarah Ditum's Toxic from the FiLiA Book Shop

This interview took place on January 25th 2024 and permission was given to share this week.

"We don't want to live in this violence, in this conflict anymore. We want to end it. And as Yael always said, we shouldn't, you know, keep managing the conflict. We should resolve it. And this is why we are raising our voice and we want the international support for this [and we are raising] our voices to stop what is going on."

Women have always been at the forefront of the peace movement. FiLiA reached out to two remarkable grassroots organisations, Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun, who are operating across Israel and Palestine and advocating for dialogue, understanding, and lasting solutions. Their impactful work has not gone unnoticed; Women of the Sun and Women Wage Peace are nominated to the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize and both organisations were included in the 2024 Time Magazine Women of the Year List.

M.H. from Women of the Sun and Yael Braudo-Bahat from Women Wage Peace discuss their aims, how they work together, and their hopes for the future.

In this episode, Margaret Owen OBE founder of Widows for Peace (WPD) highlights the plight of the world’s dark secret of marginalised ‘invisible’ widows: a vast and growing number of women of all ages living in extreme poverty, forgotten, abused and neglected internationally, nationally at grassroots levels.

Featuring:
Lily Thapa, Founder of WHR/SWg (women for human rights single women's group), Nepal
Jacqueline Musugani, Coordinator IFESIDI (women living in disastrous circumstances), East Congo
Lyudmyla Porokhnyak, President of the National Council of Women in Ukraine
Agaw Mabior, Founder, Women's Support Network Organisation in South Sudan
Roseline Orwa, Founder & Director, Rona Foundation, Kenya

You will hear from widows themselves – representatives of widows living in
conflict, in extreme poverty, living with cultures that treat widows as outcasts who
are forced to migrate, forced to take part in abusive and cruel widow rites and
much more. The plight of half-widows – who are they and why we should care.

You will discover that widowhood is the most neglected of all Human rights. The
failure to address marginalised widows of all ages by the international
community: by our Governments, Civil Society Organisations, The International
Criminal Court and at the UN Security Council.

You will learn about the systematic widespread dehumanisation of widows and
their families who have little or no recourse to justice, social protection,
healthcare and education.

Listen and learn that your voice makes a difference: you may think it doesn’t, but it does. Pressure your politicians and ensure they are widow-informed. Use your networks and platforms to offer widows the chance to use their voices, to tell their stories, to receive education and training so that they can be included at all peace tables, decision-making tables, consulted when legislation is written or passed – that it is fully widow-aware and widow-sensitive.