Report by Rona Noble, Women’s Officer.

Wokingham Labour celebrated IWD 24 with a street stall in Wokingham Market Place.  Thank you so much to councillors  Rachel Burgess and Annette Medhurst and Paula Montie, Jacqueline Pluves and Andy Croy for helping on the day.  We were blessed with dry and sunny weather, though the gusts of wind were a bit challenging at times!

The stall  was a great way to engage with women and girls and gave us an opportunity to wish them Happy International Women’s Day and speak to them about other issues.

Our stall had a ball box survey that 218 women and girls took part in.

There were 27 who said that they always felt safe in public spaces; 145 who mostly felt safe in public spaces and 46 who sometimes felt safe in public spaces.

Speaking to them about their choices many commented that they felt safe in Wokingham in the day though some did not feel safe in places such as Reading, London and Southampton.

It was also clear that many women’s feelings of safety depended on women self-policing their movements in public – rather than being free to go where they wanted and when they wanted.

One woman commented she felt safe at night because she stayed in her house when it was dark.

Lack of public transport was frequently mentioned.

For those who were able to spare a little more time we were able to get responses on post it notes to questions that we asked related to the IWD theme of Inspiring Inclusion.

We were also able to hand out leaflets from Kaleidoscopic UK, thanks to Jacqueline Pluves for delivering them to us.  Several women, approximately 20, took Kaleidoscopic UK  leaflets. Kaleidoscopic UK  is a domestic abuse charity that offers support and recovery services for children, teens and adults subjected to any form of domestic abuse.

Many chose to share their own sad stories of ex-partners and how they had been affected.

The voices of the women and girls we spoke to – this is what they said.

Where are women and girls not welcomed?

“Often experiencing harassment and following.”

“Feeling vulnerable walking around at night after pub closing and walking back from the station.”

“Instagram comment sections are very cruel towards women.”

“Working for a large FMCG company and being exempt from important meetings that were for men only.”

Have you any recent examples of discrimination against women and girls?

“Returning to work after maternity leave.”

“A terrible manager at my old work place telling me to ‘weigh out all my options’ when I discovered I was pregnant.”

“Are women and girls allowed in the ‘mens’ oasis group @ Wokingham Library? If not why is Council Tax funding the venue for their meetings?”

Can you share a recent positive experience?

“Speed networking session with other women in my company was fun – would never have seen them otherwise.”

“I had two hip surgeries and my daughter’s school did everything to support me and my children.”

“I was in a local park alone crying and a gentleman came to ask if I was ok and safe.”

“I’m proud to be a woman and proud of the women around me.”

What do you wish for the future?

“I’d like women and girls to feel safe in all public spaces.”

“I want my sister to feel safe wherever she is.”

“That my granddaughter doesn’t have to fight to be equal.”

“Better education of boys and the impact they have – start young!”

“I’d love to see safety and equal treatment for women”

Thank you to all who helped to Inspire Inclusion and we look forward to seeing you all – and more – next year!