About this Event
Join us in Women’s History Month, a year on from when the first lockdown commenced and with the Domestic Abuse Bill finally reaching the end of its passage through Parliament. We will be launching new findings on the housing and homelessness landscape for survivors of violence against women in London and the risks and opportunities for meeting survivors’ housing needs as the Bill is implemented.
We will also hear from an expert by experience.
Chaired by Solace CEO Fiona Dwyer, we will be joined by a panel of speakers to discuss the findings and the tangible steps that local, regional and central Governments can take to tackle the parallel pandemic of violence against women in girls and the knock-on impact on the housing crisis. We’ll look at some of the best practice that can be built on from the innovation and joint-working during the Covid-19 pandemic, and invite questions from the audience on how policy-makers and commissioners can support survivors of violence against women out of the dual pandemic of Covid and VAWG and into secure, safe and affordable homes from which to recover and rebuild their lives.
Panel Florence Eshalomi MP
In 2016, Florence was elected onto the London Assembly representing the Lambeth & Southwark constituencies. As an Assembly Member (AM) she has focused her work on securing funding for voluntary and community groups providing opportunities for young people, pushing for improved transport investment, improved services for young girls and women exploited by gangs and violence and protecting workers rights by challenging Uber. In 2019, she was elected as the Labour MP for Vauxhall and sits on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.
Neil Coyle MP
Neil Coyle is the Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark and was elected to Parliament in 2015. He serves on the Work and Pensions Select Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, he set up the All Party Parliamentary Group on Foodbanks, and is the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ending Homelessness. He served on the Domestic Abuse Bill Committee last summer and tabled a successful cross-party amendment to the Bill that guarantees priority housing need to anyone who is made homeless after fleeing domestic abuse. Before being elected to Parliament, Neil was a councillor for the London Borough of Southwark from 2010-2016, serving as the Deputy Mayor of Southwark between 2014-2015. Prior to this, he ran a charity helping disabled people and carers .
Fiona Dwyer, Solace CEO
Fiona took the helm at Solace in August 2019 and steered us through the pandemic. Before she joined Solace, Fiona had 17 years’ experience across the statutory and voluntary sectors. She has worked in Ireland, Peru, Mexico and Switzerland on human rights and international development and has spent the last 11 working explicitly on VAWG in the UK. She has most recently worked in Haringey as VAWG Strategic Lead and previously in Tower Hamlets where she initiated and led on VAWG work for three years.
Pragna Patel, CEO Southall Black Sisters
Pragna Patel is the founder and Director of Southall Black Sisters Centre (SBS). SBS is, a multi-award-winning women’s organisation founded in 1979 to address the needs of black and minority women experiencing gender violence. It successfully campaigned for the release of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a landmark case in which an Asian woman was convicted of the murder of her violent husband. The case reformed homicide law, creating greater awareness within and outside minority communities. Pragna is also a co-founder of Women Against Fundamentalism. In May 2020, Solace and Southall Black Sisters partnered to set up and run an emergency covid refuge, with SBS providing specialist support for women with no recourse to public funds. The project continues to run at a smaller scale until June 2021.
Sarah Michael, Solace Ambassador
Sarah is a survivor of domestic abuse and has been an ambassador at Solace since 2018. Sarah is a valued supporter of Solace and has raised money to support vital services through a number of performances of The Vagina Monologues with a work colleague from Rhyl Primary School, where she works as a support worker. Sarah and her children were supported by Solace to find safety, recover from the trauma of abuse and build a better future. Sarah is committed to speaking out about domestic abuse and empowering women to have a voice, so they too can get the support they need to recover and rebuild their lives after abuse.
You will receive a Zoom invitation 24 hours before the event is due to start.