Every resolution passed throughout the WI’s 101-year history has stemmed from a concern put forward by members. This uniquely democratic model offers the opportunity for you to combine your voice with 220,000 others to make a real difference on important issues. This year, 85 resolutions were submitted. These were narrowed down to six by representatives from federations at a shortlisting meeting in London on 29 September.
The next step is for you to consider all six and select the one you would most like to go forward for further discussion and final voting at the Annual Meeting in June 2017. The selection process is open to all WI members and you can make your selection by filling out the selection form found in the November& December issue of WI Life. Submission forms need to be submitted to your federation who will communicate with you a deadline and a process for submission.
2016/17 Resolutions Shortlist
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For more information please visit: https://www.thewi.org.uk/media-centre/news-and-events/current-news-and-events/resolutions-2017
