London Met Professor has tea with Prime Minister
26th March 2009
On Monday 9 March, Professor Liz Kelly CBE, Director of the Child
& Women Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) joined an esteemed guest list of
women at 10 Downing Street to mark International Women’s Day, with the
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah.
Solicitor General Vera Baird and many other women ministers also
attended. The event coincided with an announcement from the government
that morning for plans to create a violence against women strategy,
which focuses on prevention, not just criminal justice.
The announcement follows four years of campaigning by Professor Kelly and the End Violence Against Women Campaign (EVAW)
of which she is chair. Together they campaigned for a less fractured
approach which is rooted in human rights and gender equality, rather
than one which focuses only on criminal justice.
Realising Rights Fulfilling Obligations published by EVAW
last year, provided government with a template strategy organised
around the 6 p’s: perspective; policy; prevention; provision;
protection and prosecution.
The fact that this new government document stresses the necessity
of prevention is therefore a huge step forward to helping all women who
face violence.