Usdaw tackles the far right and the weaponisation of women and girls’ safety

Seconding the motion in the Brighton Centre, Joanne Thomas, Usdaw General Secretary said: “The far right, who have never shown any interest in campaigning to end violence against women and girls before, has hijacked and weaponised this issue, to promote their violently racist and anti-migrant agendas. Far from seeking to protect women and girls, the far right hold and promote extremely sexist notions of family, advocating a return to traditional values, pushing women back into the home and giving men absolute authority over women’s bodies and the family.

“We were horrified at the racist attacks on hotels housing migrants and refugees that we saw last summer and much more recently, the so called ‘port protests’ in Dover and Portsmouth, where the roads were blocked by masked men dressed in black. These incidents make clear the very real threat the far-right pose to people’s and of course, women’s lives. As one women bystander in Dover recalled: ‘there were no banners and no slogans, just pure intimidation. It was a demonstration only in the sense that they wanted to demonstrate their power and to intimidate.

“The far right promote the racist lie that sexual violence is something that has been imported to these shores by ‘foreigners’, Glossing over the uncomfortable truth, that violence against women and girls is committed overwhelmingly by men who are known to them. We also know that two out of every five people arrested for disorder last summer had police histories of violence against women, for offences ranging from stalking to battery, sexual assault to coercive control. These men are not the protectors of women and girls, many of them are the perpetrators of violence.

“We must stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with all women, with all girls. Wherever they are, whatever their circumstances and we welcome the publication of the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy last December, an important milestone in our mission to build a world where women and girls are free from violence and abuse. I genuinely believe that the Labour Government has the will and the tools to materially improve women’s lives,

“This must remain their focus. The Labour Government must show leadership in responding to the weaponisation of gender-based violence, they must not allow the debate to be distorted by misinformation and to be dragged further to the right of the political spectrum. All women and girls deserve to live lives free from violence and abuse.”