1. Alleviating loneliness
This meeting calls on every WI and the NFWI to work alongside health and social care
providers and their local community to raise awareness of the causes and impacts of
loneliness, thus ensuring better identification of lonely people in order to be able to offer them the appropriate assistance and support.
More information here. (opens in a new window)
2. FGM: More Awareness for More Action
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been illegal in the UK for over 30 years and the
Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 made it illegal to aid, abet or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad. However, there have been no successful prosecutions of those involved. The NFWI calls on the government to improve efforts to measure and disclose the prevalence of FGM in the UK and to take further action to help secure more successful prosecutions of those involved in this abusive practice and thereby advance the health of women who have suffered or may be at risk of suffering FGM.
More information here. (opens in a new window)
3. Equal access for all who need specialised maternal mental health services
There is presently an acute shortage of quality specialised maternal mental health services, meaning that many vulnerable women, their babies, and families face a postcode lottery of perinatal mental health support. The NFWI calls on NHS commissioners to prioritise the development of specialised perinatal mental health support services so that pregnant and postnatal women, their babies, and families are able to access the support they need.
More information here. (opens in a new window)
4. Provision of appropriate welfare and safe spaces for women and children in refugee camps
Millions of women and children are fleeing conflict and disaster around the world, finding themselves at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation in refugee camps. This meeting calls on all WI members and the NFWI to raise awareness of the risks facing women and children refugees and push for action to ensure they have access to safe places to eat and sleep, to get the care they need and space to learn and play.
More information here. (opens in a new window)
5. Supporting women’s refuges
Many women and children rely on refuges to escape violence and abusive relationships, but in recent years refuges have faced significant cuts to their services. The NFWI calls upon the Government to safeguard refuges and increase service provision in areas without adequate support.
More information here. (opens in a new window)
6. Plastic Soup: Keep microplastic fibres out of our oceans
Microplastic fibres are shed from synthetic clothing with every wash and are the main
contributors to microplastic contamination of the oceans. The NFWI calls on Government and industry to research and develop innovative solutions to this problem in order to stop the accumulation of microplastic fibres in our oceans.
More information here. (opens in a new window)