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14.12.2023 / News /

“I want to be free from so much oppression” – UVW women meet to talk about violence

“I want to be free from so much oppression”

These were the words of one of the participants at the United Voices of the World union (UVW) & IWGB “Let’s talk about violence” meeting that took place on Saturday 9 December that saw women workers meet to share their experiences of violence at work and the home, and ways to collectively fight back.

“The women came to talk and support each other, and to together find solutions on how to solve the situation. It is important that we have a safe space for women to talk without shame or embarrassment, with anonymity, and with confidence that everything that is shared stays in the room,’ said Susana, a UVW representative and participant.

The meeting participants identified machismo, abuse of power, lack of respect and awareness as the root causes of gender based violence, with the impact and consequences ranging from emotional and physical abuse to increased workload, threats of dismissal and/or loss of working hours. 

Susana added: “More than half of UVW’s membership are women, they are always the first to take action in the workplace, they are UVW campaign  leaders. When a woman comes to UVW downtrodden and depressed, she finds the  hope and confidence to fight for justice in her workplace. Women workers are excellent organisers, they help remove the blindfolds from men and women workers so that they too can be empowered to take action against harassment, physical and psychological abuse, ” 

The participants all shared the strong desire to turn the conversations into action to change the situation for women workers. If you’re interested in forming a women’s group with UVW and IWGB members contact comms@uvwunion.org.uk

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