Latest news with #Freeda
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Work to help abused women 'goes on forever'
Work to support and empower women and children who have experienced domestic abuse "goes on forever", a charity boss says. Kate Wright, from the charity Freeda [Free from Domestic Abuse], was speaking as the charity hosted a breakfast in Jersey ahead of International Women's Day. She said: "Perpetrators continue to find new ways to commit their crimes, particularly online... so this is not a one-off project. This goes on forever." At last year's event, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham announced that he would be accepting all of the recommendations made in a report on violence against women and girls. The UN theme for this year's event is: For ALL women and girls: Rights Equality & Empowerment. Community and business leaders from Jersey and the UK have been talking about the challenges many women face and how difficult it could be, especially for women in minority communities, to make their voices heard. Solicitor Harriet Wistrich, who helped bring a case against the London Metropolitan Police for their failures to investigate allegations against convicted taxi driver John Worboys, told BBC Radio Jersey, for many of the women involved, it was almost worse that police had not believed them. She said: "Many, many women who had not reported him - because they did not think they would be believed - then came forward and it transpired that over 105 came forward to say they had been the victim of rape or serious sexual assault by this taxi driver. "Had the police acted effectively at the beginning, had they pursued him, many of those women would never have been raped or sexually assaulted... in the first place." There is hope that Jersey's government is taking the problem of domestic abuse seriously and that women, particularly in minority communities are finding their voice. Lesley Katsande, from Friends of Africa, said: "Lets wait and see. The chief minister himself and the minister for home affairs, they did say they heard us, so, hopefully, they are going to go away and think about it and... implement those changes. "I have to be hopeful. Acknowledgement is hopeful. "However, we are waiting for the implementation. I am going to give the government the benefit of the doubt." Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to International Women's Day Freeda Centre for Women's Justice Why do we have International Women's Day? Jersey government accepts women violence report BBC - International Women's Day
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Work to help abused women 'goes on forever'
Work to support and empower women and children who have experienced domestic abuse "goes on forever", a charity boss says. Kate Wright, from the charity Freeda [Free from Domestic Abuse], was speaking as the charity hosted a breakfast in Jersey ahead of International Women's Day. She said: "Perpetrators continue to find new ways to commit their crimes, particularly online... so this is not a one-off project. This goes on forever." At last year's event, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham announced that he would be accepting all of the recommendations made in a report on violence against women and girls. The UN theme for this year's event is: For ALL women and girls: Rights Equality & Empowerment. Community and business leaders from Jersey and the UK have been talking about the challenges many women face and how difficult it could be, especially for women in minority communities, to make their voices heard. Solicitor Harriet Wistrich, who helped bring a case against the London Metropolitan Police for their failures to investigate allegations against convicted taxi driver John Worboys, told BBC Radio Jersey, for many of the women involved, it was almost worse that police had not believed them. She said: "Many, many women who had not reported him - because they did not think they would be believed - then came forward and it transpired that over 105 came forward to say they had been the victim of rape or serious sexual assault by this taxi driver. "Had the police acted effectively at the beginning, had they pursued him, many of those women would never have been raped or sexually assaulted... in the first place." There is hope that Jersey's government is taking the problem of domestic abuse seriously and that women, particularly in minority communities are finding their voice. Lesley Katsande, from Friends of Africa, said: "Lets wait and see. The chief minister himself and the minister for home affairs, they did say they heard us, so, hopefully, they are going to go away and think about it and... implement those changes. "I have to be hopeful. Acknowledgement is hopeful. "However, we are waiting for the implementation. I am going to give the government the benefit of the doubt." Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to International Women's Day Freeda Centre for Women's Justice Why do we have International Women's Day? Jersey government accepts women violence report BBC - International Women's Day
BBC News
08-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Work to help abused women and girls 'goes on forever'
Work to support and empower women and children who have experienced domestic abuse "goes on forever", a charity boss Wright, from the charity Freeda [Free from Domestic Abuse], was speaking as the charity hosted a breakfast in Jersey ahead of International Women's said: "Perpetrators continue to find new ways to commit their crimes, particularly online... so this is not a one-off project. This goes on forever."At last year's event, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham announced that he would be accepting all of the recommendations made in a report on violence against women and girls. Minority communities The UN theme for this year's event is: For ALL women and girls: Rights Equality & Empowerment. Community and business leaders from Jersey and the UK have been talking about the challenges many women face and how difficult it could be, especially for women in minority communities, to make their voices Harriet Wistrich, who helped bring a case against the London Metropolitan Police for their failures to investigate allegations against convicted taxi driver John Worboys, told BBC Radio Jersey, for many of the women involved, it was almost worse that police had not believed said: "Many, many women who had not reported him - because they did not think they would be believed - then came forward and it transpired that over 105 came forward to say they had been the victim of rape or serious sexual assault by this taxi driver."Had the police acted effectively at the beginning, had they pursued him, many of those women would never have been raped or sexually assaulted... in the first place." There is hope that Jersey's government is taking the problem of domestic abuse seriously and that women, particularly in minority communities are finding their Katsande, from Friends of Africa, said: "Lets wait and see. The chief minister himself and the minister for home affairs, they did say they heard us, so, hopefully, they are going to go away and think about it and... implement those changes."I have to be hopeful. Acknowledgement is hopeful. "However, we are waiting for the implementation. I am going to give the government the benefit of the doubt."
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Contraception access bills head to Youngkin — Will he sign or veto this time?
A giant inflatable intrauterine device is displayed outside of Virginia's Capitol on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury) For the second year in a row, bills protecting access to contraception are headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's desk — leaving supporters hopeful he won't veto them like last time. 'We are back, because we have to keep working until Virginians' right to access contraception is protected,' said Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, speaking earlier this month in front of a giant inflatable intrauterine device in Richmond's capitol square. Dubbed 'Freeda,' the large IUD has toured the country as part of a nationwide right-to-contraception campaign led by Americans for Contraception. Now that the bills from Price and Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, (House Bill 1716 and Senate Bill 1105) have cleared both chambers, Youngkin again has three choices: sign them into law, amend them or veto them once again. Both lawmakers have emphasized that these protections are critical, citing growing restrictions on contraception in other states and stalled federal efforts to establish stronger safeguards. The push has only gained urgency following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade — especially after Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested revisiting rulings that currently protect contraception access nationwide. 'It is not hyperbole to say that access to contraception is in jeopardy in this country,' Hashmi warned. Before rejecting the bill in 2024, Youngkin had proposed a substitute which Price and Hashmi said 'gutted' their original proposal. Theirs had explicitly affirmed both a healthcare provider's right to prescribe contraception and an individual's right to obtain it. It also provided clear definitions of contraception methods and outlined legal remedies if those rights were violated. Youngkin's alternative was far narrower, merely affirming existing U.S. Supreme Court rulings that permit contraception access. Price and Hashmi argue that their bill is necessary should federal protections fail — just as abortion rights did with Roe v. Wade. This year, Sen. David Sutterlein, R-Roanoke County, carried a bill mirroring Youngkin's substitute, but it failed to advance. As the debate over contraception access intensifies ahead of the statewide elections later this year, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger weighed in on the pending legislation. 'Personal medical decisions should be made by patients, their families, and their medical providers — without the unwanted input of politicians in Richmond or capitals across the country,' Spanberger said in a statement Tuesday. 'Virginians deserve leaders who will stand up for their fundamental rights and against efforts to roll them back.' The issue is already shaping up to be a key campaign battleground, with stark contrasts emerging between the two declared candidates for governor. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the presumptive Republican nominee, openly opposed the right-to-contraception bill, casting a tie-breaking vote against it in the Senate in January, after Democrats had strategically forced her to take a public stance on the measure by engineering a 19-19 tie in the chamber. With Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, abstaining and Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, voting against the bill to trigger the tie, Earle-Sears was compelled to cast the deciding vote against it. However, under Senate rules, McPike's vote allowed him to request reconsideration, ultimately enabling the bill to advance. While Earle-Sears and Spanberger have months to revisit the issue on the campaign trail, Youngkin has until March 24 to decide the fate of the many bills that have cleared the legislature. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
