9 November 2011
Largest feminist gathering of 2011 to host mayoral election debate
- Over 1000 attending sell-out FEM 11 conference
- Conference to host debate with London mayoral candidates, but it’s a no-show from Boris
Over 1000 women and men will descend on London this Saturday for FEM 11 (1) – UK Feminista’s (2) national conference and the largest feminist gathering of the year. The sell-out event marks a major feminist revival in the UK, coming at the end of a year when feminist activism recaptured the headlines (3).
Broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, journalist Zoe Williams, and Liberty director, Shami Chakrabarti, will be amongst the speakers at FEM 11. 16 leading feminist organisations will also be hosting sessions on topics including sex object culture, the impact of the Government’s cuts on women, and how to engage more men in feminism (4).
Women from across London will also throw down the gauntlet to candidates for Mayor of London. FEM 11 delegates will challenge candidates Ken Livingstone, Brian Paddick and Natalie Bennett (for Jenny Jones) to put women’s equality at the heart of their campaigns (5). One candidate they won’t be able to question, however, is Boris Johnson, whose team cited “long-standing diary commitments” but failed to send anyone from the team in his place. Boris’ no-show comes at a time when women’s support for the Conservative Party is plummeting (6).
Kat Banyard, director of UK Feminista, said:
“It’s a pivotal time for feminism in the UK. The resurgent feminist movement is bursting with energy, with activist groups springing up across the country and protests regularly hitting the headlines and the streets. But it’s also a time of escalating threats. Hard won abortion rights are under attack and the Government’s cuts are eroding women’s economic independence. Women are increasingly objectified throughout the media, while the female power vacuum at the heart of government persists.
“The challenge facing this burgeoning movement is clear: to seize on the renewed momentum around feminism – not just to resist present attacks – but to build a broad-based, sustainable movement that can get on the front foot and really drive change forwards. FEM 11 will be an important forum for generating the ideas and energy to build a feminist future.
“People at FEM 11 and across London will be disappointed to see that neither the Mayor nor anyone from his team were able to attend this huge event. They should be talking and listening to women, and demonstrating commitment to creating a Capital where women and men are treated equally.”
Notes to editors
(1) FEM 11 – a national feminist conference – is taking place on Saturday 12 November 2011, 10:00-17:30, at Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London. NW1 2BJ. The pre-election debate will take place at 16:15-17:15.
(2) UK Feminista supports people to campaign for a world where women and men are equal. Eastablished in 2010, UK Feminista has rapidly become one of the leading national voices of feminism and a powerful campaigning force: www.ukfeminista.org.uk.
(3) Feminism has been back in the news with the Eff Off Hef! anti Playboy protests, Million Women Rise march, Slutwalks, Miss World protest, and a flurry of new feminist books.
(4) Organisations taking part include the Fawcett Society, OBJECT and Abortion Rights. The full line-up is available on the UK Feminista website: http://ukfeminista.org.uk/events/fem-11-agenda/
(5) Women in London face acute inequalities:
a. Women in London are paid 22.4% less than men (Trust for London, 2010)
b. Compared to the rest of the country London has the lowest percentage of successful outcomes for violence against women offences: only 58 percent of cases are successful (Crown Prosecution Service, 2008, Violence Against Women Crime Report 2007-2008)
c. Two thirds of low paid workers are women (Fawcett Society, 2008)
d. A new report suggests the London 2012 Olympics could lead to an increase in trafficking, prostitution, sexual exploitation, sexual assault and harassment, and intimate partner violence: http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/data/files/evaw_violence_against_women_and_sport_dr_c_palmer_july_2011.pdf
(6) http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/05/conservative-party-women-support-falling
