Jess Phillips brings a message of ‘organise for change’ to Usdaw summer school, as she outlines her work to tackle VAWG

As part of her address to summer school students in Lickey, Birmingham, Jess Phillips said: “You're here to learn about activism and how we change things. The reason I decided to become a councillor was because I was not happy with the decisions that were being made about women’s safety. I quickly realised bad decisions flowed from bad laws and I thought OK; I’ll try and change the law. To change the law I had to become a Member of Parliament. 

“Organising is an important skill. All of it starts in a room like this with people like you thinking ‘I want to change something’. Almost every right we have is because ordinary people came together and said we want change. Women didn’t get the vote because the prime minister suddenly woke up one day and thought he would give women the vote. It started with a group of women coming together in a Methodist church hall in Manchester, much like this.”

Talking about her work to tackle violence against women and girls she highlighted the inequalities in the justice system. Jess Phillips continued: “If you stab somebody in a park, the minimum sentence is 25 years. In cases of domestic homicide of women, the minimum sentence is 15 years. The thing where mainly men die is 10 years more severe than the thing where mainly women die.

“This Government has set about a very ambitious and difficult target of trying to halve the incidences of violence against women and girls. My job is to pursue all other government departments to look at what more they can do to prevent it. But all change comes from the grassroots. It comes from ordinary people daring to organise themselves.”

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “We are very grateful to Jess for taking time out of her busy schedule to give such an inspiring address to our summer school students, particularly as Jess is at the forefront of delivering the Government’s pledge to tackle violence against women and girls. The right to live a life free from violence is a basic human right that is being denied to millions of women and girls every day. At home, in work and in schools women are subjected to verbal abuse, sexual harassment and physical assault. 

“Disturbingly one in three women around the world have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Trade Unions can help women who struggle to make their voices heard. We can collectively challenge the structural and institutional power imbalances that permit and perpetuate violence against women. Together we will organise and work towards eliminating violence against women and girls.”