SIG Equinox Brighton Women Service Reclaim the Night 2024

At SIG Equinox  Brighton Women’s Service (BWS), we decided to go all-out for the UN’s 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by 2030. This cause is very close to our hearts.

The United Nations (UN) states that violence against women and girls remains the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violation in the world. Globally, an estimated 736 million women – nearly one in three – have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives. In the last year alone, 1 in 8 women and girls aged 15-49 has faced intimate partner violence. They say that if there is no accelerated action, 9 million girls will still marry in childhood by 2030. Globally, over 230 million girls and women have undergone genital mutilation, representing a 15% increase compared to data from 8 years ago. The UN says that the killing of women and girls is on the rise, and in 2022, the highest yearly number for the past 20 years was recorded – 89,000.

I found these figures upsetting to read – especially to hear that, in some ways, the situation is getting worse. As an AFAB (assigned female at birth) non-binary person, I’m also mindful of the trans and gender-nonconforming experiences that overlap with these stats and paint a broader picture of gender-based violence in our world. Of course, women and people of all genders who relate to the experience of VAWG are not a homogenous group, and gender-based violence affects people to different degrees or in different ways depending on their personal context.

Every day here at BWS we show up with the desire to support our residents to live and thrive. As a team, we are passionate about this. We care deeply, and our work speaks for itself in reflecting this. I’m so proud to be a part of this team. Meanwhile, the biggest work is undertaken by our residents – the work of recovery. Recovery from violence and trauma, from addictions that are so often a response to these experiences, an attempt to cope.

Last Friday, 29th November, residents gathered to ‘Reclaim the Night’ – to march against street harassment and sexual violence. Here, we collected pebbles, and these were painted orange. Our residents and staff wrote messages of support and inspiration on each one. Some people made placards, and our local charity shops (shout out to Guild Care on George Street!) lent us orange wear for our own walk to end VAWG and mark the 16 days of activism. A big pot of carrot and squash soup and some chocolate orange cookies were our fuel, and we walked along a windy seafront to the ‘Angel of Peace’ statue. Here, we placed our pebbles, tied orange silk to the statue, and celebrated being here and together despite it all. Then, it was time for dessert at a fancy pudding cafe.

We’ll continue to do our part for the cause, and we hope you will, too, in whatever way you can.