Sistah Space head to Parliament
This week, Sistah Space took their campaign for Valerie’s Law to the House of Commons. In a packed committee room, Jessie from Sistah Space presented the findings of the organisation’s recent report In Plain Sight – the single largest study of African and Caribbean-heritage women’s experience of support services.
Among the studies most striking findings:
- 76% did not report the abuse they experienced despite wanting to
- 97% do not feel confident that reporting would lead to fair treatment
- 87% found statutory agencies unresponsive
Joining Sistah Space were long-time supporters of Valerie’s Law, Abena Oppong-Asare MP and Dawn Butler MP, as well as dozens of African and Caribbean-heritage women, many of whom were visiting the House of Commons for the first time. And their message was clear: culturally-competent training is not a “nice-to-have”, it’s an integral, life-saving public health measure.
If you think African and Caribbean heritage women deserve life-changing support, sign up for Sistah Space’s campaign to introduce Valerie’s Law (opens in a new tab).
After countless parliamentary petitions, warm words from politicians on all sides, and broken promises from successive governments, Sistah Space had begun to disengage from interacting with traditional structures of powers – but on our Accelerator programme, Breakthrough has worked with them to renew their campaign for Valerie’s Law and engage their thousands of supporters behind.
Bringing that community to the House of Commons so that African and Caribbean-heritage women can tell their stories directly to decision-makers is just the beginning.