London Mayoral Hustings

EVAW, Imkaan and WRC are hosting a London Mayoral Hustings as an opportunity to discuss candidates’ policies on tackling VAWG in London.

About this Event

With less than 4 weeks to go until the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections, EVAW, Imkaan and WRC have come together to hold a hustings event as we thought it pertinent for candidates to let us know what they will do to end violence against women and girls if elected.

For the first time, this event will be held online (using Zoom).

Host: Samira Ahmed

Parties and representatives (alphabetically by party):

• Conservative Party

  • Cllr Louise Calland, GLA Candidate for Merton & Wandsworth

• Green Party

  • Mary Ion, GLA Candidate for Bexley and Bromley

• Labour Party

  • Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Sophie Linden

• Liberal Democrats Party

  • Irina Von Wiese, GLA List Candidate

• Women's Equality Party

  • Mandu Reid, Candidate for Mayor of London

The questions will fall into the following broad themes:

• A VAWG strategy and action plan fit for all survivors

• The policing response to VAWG

• Funding for the specialist women's support sector, including services run 'by and for' Black and Minoritised women

• Tackling structural inequalities

• Women's socio-economic empowerment

If you would like to contribute a question, you will have the opportunity to do so during registration. This does not guarantee it will be included, and questions may be merged/combined to avoid duplication.

Access

BSL interpreter and palantypist close captions will be provided.

You can go directly over to Eventbrite to find out more and book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-mayoral-hustings-tickets-150918793173

Or book below:

More information

The End Violence Against Women Coalition is a UK-wide coalition of more than 100 women’s organisations and others working to end violence against women and girls in all its forms. Our members include many frontline support services who run refuges and helplines in many London boroughs, as well as around the country. We will be co-hosting these hustings with our fellow representatives of the London VAWG Board Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Reference Group - Imkaan, the UK's only membership organisation for Black and minoritised VAWG organisations, and Women's Resource Centre, a leading national umbrella organisation for the women’s sector, and co-ordinating body of the London VAWG consortium of 28 organisations.

We know the Mayor of London has significant powers regarding VAWG as both London’s Police and Crime Commissioner and with powers over public health planning and considerable influence over London’s boroughs. There has been a London VAWG Strategy since 2008 and the consequences of these strategies have been immense, from requiring London’s police and prosecution service to hugely improve their monitoring and reporting towards justice for crimes against women and girls, to the setting up of the city’s first taskforce on FGM and forced marriage. Given the scale of these forms of abuse in our capital city however, there is still a long way to go in tackling them which needs high level political commitment from the next Mayor.

For the past two Mayoral elections, the End Violence Against Women Coalition has hosted a London Mayoral hustings which was attended by Mayoral and Assembly candidates from the four main parties, and which was well attended and reported widely in the media.

Over the past year, the public and political debate on violence against women and girls has grown exponentially following the murders of Nicole Smallman, Bibaa Henry and Sarah Everard, recent sexual harassment and violence allegations in schools, increased public awareness of domestic abuse in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lowest ever prosecution rates of rape. There is a spotlight as never before on violence against women and girls, and more women than ever before are seeking change. This comes, however, at a time when many support services are struggling to stay open and facing an uncertain future regarding funding and demand as we come out of lockdown.

The hustings will be an opportunity to discuss candidates’ policies on tackling violence against women and girls.

More information on the election itself is available here: https://www.londonelects.org.uk/

Some further reading:

• Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (GOV "Factsheet" / UK Parliament page with full info / Rights of Women Statement)

• Report - The Decriminalisation of Rape: Why the justice system is failing rape survivors and what needs to change (Centre for Women's Justice, End Violence Against Women Coalition, Imkaan, Rape Crisis England and Wales)