Public Affairs and International Sub Committee Events for 2010

E-VICTIMS

Everything is moving online: shopping, government forms and even keeping up with friends and family. Unfortunately, there are also risks online.

Here is a website that can help if you are worried or get in trouble online. www.e-victims.org is the only website that offers advice to victims of e-crime and other online incidents.

It is a free online service offering easy to use practical advice. The website provides fact sheets on e-shopping, identity theft, Internet scams and more. It provides advice on a range of online issues. You can read through the Q&A section or ask your own question.

If you are a victim of e-crime, www.e-victims.org will help you understand what went wrong and whether you should report it. The E-Victims Organisation is a not-for-profit company that is run by volunteers to help all Internet users stay safer online.

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LADIES BEWARE

A woman visited a toilet in John Lewis at Bluewater and hung her handbag on the back of the toilet door.  As she carried on with her business, a hand suddenly appeared over the top of the stall and grabbed her bag clean off the hook!!!

She immediately reported the incident to the head of security, who in turn informed the manager of the store.  A couple of days later she had a call from the head of security to say her bag had been found without her purse, so she arranged a convenient time to go and meet the manager to collect her things.  On arriving at John Lewis at the agreed time the manager was not expecting her and neither was the head of security.  No one from the store had actually called her as the bag had still not been found.  When the lady got home she found her house had been burgled with no sign of forced entry.  The police believe the robbers had used her driving licence for the address and her keys to let themselves in!

This is real - it isn't a scare mongering story.  Many will be so shocked at how accomplished "bag snatching" crime has become.

Please be extra vigilant ladies (and gents with your man bags), there are a lot of desperate criminals out there !

                                                         
NFWI - Date for Your Diary:

Million Women Rise

As part of the ongoing campaign for No More Violence Against Women, WI members will be joining with women throughout the UK to march through central London on 7 March to mark International Women’s Day.

WI members are invited to meet at 12pm in Portland Square (nearest Tubes Bond Street, Marble Arch and Baker Street) before marching down Oxford Street, Regent Street and Piccadilly. There will be a rally complete with WI speaker from 2.30pm to 5pm in Waterloo Place.

If you would like to join the WI group on 7 March or find out more about the No More Violence Against Women campaign please contact Kate Webb in Public Affairs on 020 7371 9300 ext 238 or email k.webb@nfwi.org.uk.

     
A.C.W.W.

Read Kay East's report on the 26th Triennial Conference in Hot Springs April 2010

New ACWW Project:  RIWRUOK ETEKO - WATER AND SANITATION IN KENYA

Members of West Kent are always very supportive in raising money for ACWW projects for which we are very grateful, therefore we are asking for your help to raise £2781 for the above project.

This project's purpose is to provide clean and safe drinking water to the community; in the long term however, the aim is to improve living standards and socio-economic status of rural women in the area and reduce or even eliminate the incidence of water borne diseases which are the cause of so many avoidable deaths.

As many as 710 people will benefit from the availability of safe drinking water in the village.  This will be achieved by installing four water tanks - with a capacity of 10,000 litres each - which will feed from roof catchments.  The evaluation team will monitor the progress of the project and will ensure good record-keeping of finances by attaching receipts to every item of expenditure.  Training sessions on water conservation and the importance of good sanitation and hygiene will be carried out to make the participants aware of the benefits of consuming clean water.

To ensure successful implementation and sustainability of the project, local government officers will provide skills training to the beneficiaries.  Leaders of other women's groups will share useful advice and support the group.

As members of the WI we are part of ACWW and therefore any money raised for this project will not harm our charity status. Please send any money raised with your quarterly invoice payment clearly marked ‘ACWW Riwruok Eteko-Water and Sanitation Project 2009’.      Thank You.
 

New Research on Rural Violence Against Women: Urgent call for responses

We need all members to fill out our new survey on violence against women, as the next stage of our campaign for No More Violence Against Women. The questions cover experiences and perceptions of violence – so are not just for those who have been victims themselves. We also need information from all settings, both rural and urban, in order to get a good countrywide picture.

Please take a few moments to go to our website to fill out your answers anonymously:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=%2boN6N%2fdbHbhJ0gVoWqN4vA%3d%3d

UPDATE
The government is consulting on a strategy to tackle violence against women.  This covers a wide range of issues, including women's fear of crimes, such as sexual harassment or assault on transport.  Ruth Bond (NF Trustee) and Kate Webb (NF secretary) will be meeting with Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Transport, in June to discuss how public and private transport can be made safer for women. 
Kate Webb would like to hear members views on this so if you have any suggestions or thoughts to put to the government please email K.Webb@nfwi.org.uk  

The Home Office has asked the NFWI how car parks can be made safer for women.
The HO still wants to know "What would make you feel safer in car parks?" Any thoughts on this question to: feedback@parkmark.co.uk
 

Care Not Custody: Become a Mentor

As part of our campaign to end people being inappropriately detained in the criminal justice system, NFWI members are invited to volunteer to mentor vulnerable women in their communities who may be at risk of offending. Mentors will provide common sense advice and practical support to troubled women with varying needs to help them get their lives back on track. Full training and ongoing support will be provided for all mentors. All the women involved will be assessed to ensure they are suitable for a mentoring relationship. Mentors must be able to make a minimum commitment of two hours a week for a year. For further information or to register an initial interest please contact the Public Affairs Department at publicaffairs@nfwi.org.uk  or on 020 7371 9300 ext 234.
 

No More Violence Against Women: Speak Out

As part of the NFWI’s campaign to end violence against women, members are urged to raise the issue in their community. Women’s Aid is able to provide speakers for selected local meetings around the country. If you would like to invite a Women’s Aid speaker to your local WI meeting please contact Public Affairs. For further information or to take part in any of these activities please contact Kate Webb at k.webb@nfwi.org.uk  or on 020 7371 9300 ext 238.
 

Women Reaching Women

The NFWI has set up an online web forum to give women around the world the opportunity to link up to exchange ideas and actions for tackling climate change. By sharing our experiences we can work together towards a global solution! To participate, please contact moderator@nfwi.org.uk  to request a username and password.
 

Advice on Falling Victim to Scams
Every year an estimated three million people fall victim to scams sent by post, email, text, the phone and the Internet. The Office of Fair Trading has recently published a guide for carers and care professionals warning people of the dangers of becoming a victim of a scam.

Copies of the booklet OFT972 ‘Can you stop the person you care for from being scammed?’ and the leaflet OFT973 ‘Don’t let them con you’ can be obtained by calling 0800 389 3158.

Forest Stewardship Council
You may be aware of the work of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in promoting the responsible management of the world's forests.  FSC is an international, non-profit organisation which enables consumers to identify products from well-managed forest.  FSC forests are managed with due respect for the environment, the wildlife and the people who live and work in them.

FSC UK is a registered charity which promotes the FSC system in the UK.  We plan to hold an "FSC Day" (FSC Friday - 26th September) leading into a weekend of activities aimed at promoting FSC, in the same way as Fairtrade Fortnight promoted the Fairtrade Foundation.

I wondered whether there is any way local WI groups could help us spread the FSC message - perhaps by arranging activities or walks that weekend to take place in FSC forests.  I would be more than happy to advise on suitable locations and I hope we would be able to offer some promotional material to support such events.

Or we could just promote FSC through some examples of products.  I've got some lovely FSC wooden spoons and rolling pins for a start !  Maybe we could offer a couple of FSC wooden spoons to any WI groups wishing to run a competition to coincide with the event.  We could also provide posters and other promotional material.

Do let me know if you are interested.

Rosie Teasdale
Telephone: 01686 413916
Email Address: rosie@fsc-uk.org

Women Reaching Women

The NFWI’s new development, gender and climate change project is now underway. With funding received from DFID and the Co-operative Bank we will be working closely with Oxfam and the Everyone Project until March 2011 to bring development and global poverty back to the top of the NFWI agenda. We are certain that all WI members will benefit from the development-focused briefings, materials and events coordinated by the Public Affairs Department over the coming years.

Each year of this project the NFWI will be holding a training event for participating federations at Denman College. Here federation representatives will learn about current gender and development issues and will receive training on coordinating inspirational events for the WI and their communities. The first training event will take place from 8 to 10 October 2008 and will focus on women and climate change with the support of Oxfam’s new Sisters on the Planet materials. For more information on this project, please contact Emily Boost at NFWI Public Affairs.
 

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas is invisible and tasteless. Every year thousands of people suffer poisoning, and some die. To increase awareness to the dangers of CO poisoning the Caroline Stuart CO Awareness Campaign is offering free of charge, one thousand C S I Visual Spot CO Detectors to members who send an SAE to: CSI CWI Offer, PO Box 1,000, Kettering NN15 6WZ. One CO detector per member only.

This home and travel safety product offers an instant visual check to high levels of CO gas in the vicinity of the detector. For more information please call John Turnbill on 01933 225835.

 

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