Women's Voices to be Heard : Voice heard with Children

14:00-15:00 – Screening of documentary15:00-16:00 – Panel discussion followed by Q&AThis screening and discussion is a follow-up to a meeting the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Poverty held in January 2017 with the End Child Poverty coalition, launching their ‘Feeling the Pinch’ report on the impact of rising prices and reducing family incomes. 10 year-old Kelly Louise, spoke movingly at the APPG meeting about the impact of precarious housing on her and her family. Footage of the meeting features in Professor Green’s new documentary.

Attended this meeting today in Parliament and it was heartbreaking to hear the growing poverty among families as the DWP fails those in need. I was able to get women's voices heard in the shared question and discussion time. It is necessary to ensure that women do have a strong and stable pathway of support as domestic violence survivors, many have children and are desperately trying to hold their family together.
I do worry that women should not be so readily encouraged to leave their homes for a refuge it must be the perpetrator that is forced to leave so she continues to have shelter and this may be an invested shelter if the place is mortgaged. The perpetrator will as part of his behaviour financially cripple his victim or swindle her out of her share of assets. But regardless of whether women are in a mortgaged property or private or council rented place she has to have ....simply has to have financial support to keep her safe in her home to be able to heal and detox from her violence. Of course it is an added stressor that she will have continued contact with the perpetrator if he is not imprisoned as he has contact rights to his children. Support has to be maximised as a community and state duty of care, not falling foul in badly written policies that keep failing people in need of our support.

The children from this film insight desperately need stability in the rough sea of despair they are in and witnessing and suffering. There needs to no evictions to ensure that school and friends are there as a constant anchor to hope and building for the future.

I warmly welcomed in the film footage that a eloquent and brave little girl had been invited to parliament to share her story of what it is like to live in poverty. The overall point that was apparent is that children can feel powerless and in pain with the frustration of being tied down in poverty. They have dreams and aspirations.... I felt that it would be good to have Youth Parliamentary group to help empower and get voices heard NOW for their FUTURE. Where there is poverty to my reckoning it is diagnostic of failed leaders and failed policies... the shame should not be in the poor but in the politics that create and perpetuate poverty for those in need of support and care in vulnerable and difficult circumstances.