Here are some updates on the busy week and a half we’ve had at the NIWBG!
On Monday of last week, myself and the Northern Ireland Women's Platform talked about the work of our respective organisations with a delegation of Palestinian women leaders through our friends at The Social Change Initiative Belfast.
Later on that day, the NIWBG had our quarterly meeting, where we heard from Freyja Barkardottir about her experiences working on gender budgeting policy in Reykjavik and advocating for gender budgeting at the national level in Iceland.
On Tuesday of last week, our member Siobhán Harding from Women's Regional Consortium published her incredible paper with Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick and Alexandra Chapman on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on women in NI. I urge you to read it & take forward their 5 key recommendations.
From Wednesday to Thursday, a few members of the NIWBG headed over to Glasgow to take part in a 5 nations gender budgeting workshop - it was great to finally meet our colleagues in person!
On Friday, we attended an event from Human Rights Consortium NI and The PILS Project on the Illegal Migration Bill, which highlighted the devastating impacts this Bill could have if it becomes law. The hostile environment has made life so difficult for asylum seekers, especially women seeking asylum, in NI - from no recourse to public funds to the fear of being reported to the Home Office when approaching authorities for help with issues like domestic violence. We must fight this Bill and bring an end to the hostile environment.
This past Tuesday, we attended the launch of ‘The Consequences of the Cuts to Edu on Children and Young People in NI’ report, which demonstrated the strain put on schools & youth services, all to the detriment of children and young people. Read it here!
Today at the Anti-Poverty Conference, the need for an Anti-Poverty Strategy was made clear - it’s a legal requirement that was promised 25 years ago, & it’s time that the promise is delivered. In the midst of a cost of living crisis & a budget crisis, we need an Anti-Poverty Strategy now more than ever to protect the most vulnerable from the worst impacts. As was said today at the conference - ending poverty must be the priority.
So, that's what we've been up to! Make sure to follow us on Twitter so that you're always up-to-date with everything we're working on.