Women's Centres

[secondwaver]

Love to hear what you all think about Women's Centres. Do you remember when there were lots of them? Did you use them?? Do you have a Women's Centre near you? What does it provide? Would you like to see more Women's Centres? What sorts of activity would you like to see happening there?? Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts Wendy

Of course there are informal centres where women gather. Knitting and crafting groups are often full of women discussing politics NOT booties.

Well our idea depends on getting hundreds of women to buy a share in a Community Benefit Society, Rooms London. The idea is to raise enough money to put a deposit on a suitable site. Probably in north-east London to start, but if the whole thing works out the idea would be to give all the know-how and documentation to groups of women in other cities so they could replicate the idea. We have a fully-costed business plan that says the project will eventually pay for itself .... but we all know how that works!! HS2 etc etc. But in theory women should then own the building in perpetuity.

Think you would do better to link to one of the women's co-housing projects.

Seems highly unlikely that in these hard times women will give money to a remote project rather than say their local refuge or a legal challenge.

:(

I think there is a problem when setting up womens centres for other “ local women” which kind of implies that we ( maybe professional , not mothers, middle class ) don’t also want or need these spaces. They should be for all women, not the identifiers ,not males, and all of us contribute time and energy. I think the mood has changed and the desire for meeting places, learning centres ,libraries, is greater than ever.

I agree with Iwanttoretire that one centre in one city , while useful, is not going attract interest from further flung women. Incidentally does anyone have a list of the non captured womens aid centres apart from NIA?

There are lots of private enterprises offering workspace services. Why do you think the LA and other charitable funders would put money into providing workspaces for women who can't work at home because their nanny and children are distracting them?

The funders might provide money for places for women and girls who were unable to work and study at home because of lack of space, money etc, but those spaces wouldn't be open to everyone.

@Ramblingnamechanger if you check the Women's Aid directory of refuges they should each list what services they offer, although have to say Leeds WA's entry didn't reference providing services to trans women. Not sure that this is an oversight, but that even in the period from when I had previously checked, it is now common, not just in Women's Aid but most women's service providers to be "inclusive". This isn't politics but the consequence of a generation now bought up by the media and schools etc., that TWAW.

Also, am not sure that nia doesn't provide services to trans women, but that they do provide refuge space that is women only.

I think there is this focus on nia, because there CEO is the only one who has ever said that women are biological females.

There is a search option on the directory for women only services www.womensaid.org.uk/womens-aid-directory/

Just pointing out that Women's Refuges are different from Women's Centres.

Our group in Scotland wanted to do something like this.
A proper women’s book shop, stocked with second hand( at least at first) books written by women, with a library for those who couldn’t afford to buy the books. and a space for meetings, talks and crafting.
We tried to get funding but it was all about gender...on the application forms from the various funding places, especially those liked to the Scottish government... blah blah 😒
The rent was an issue and it still is, so we have had to unfortunately had to shelf that idea for the moment.
Good luck with your idea, I really hope you can get it up & running.

I checked out the website, because as time has gone by I've found EVERY place I knew of that was for women only has been taken over by the 'let in the men' brigade.

I used to raise funds, gift various donations etc.., but once they stop being for biological women only I completely stop supporting them.

Honestly, I looked it up & saw YET AGAIN, it's more London this, London that, we had a meeting in the North Country & pretty much lost interest.

Just like Ikea etc.., nobody ever seems to care what happens below Bristol.

The site is very dated looking btw.
It looks like something I'd have been really proud of making by hand in the 90s/00s.
The images on the front page make it look massively amateur.
The gmail address would put me off too.
It's just not that pricey to get a pro looking email address.

You did ask, or I wouldn't have told you how bad I think that all looks, but presentation matters.
Any off the shelf super cheap 3 page predesigned web site would look better.
Who is honestly going to plough through the bad images & painfully coloured text to find out what you are actually saying?

thanks so much for your good wishes ! Yes we have been at this for some years. We never wanted a public body to give us land (tho that would have been nice!) but to allocate us a site in their regen plans that we could then raise money to buy. We nearly did it in Walthamstow. Had agreed Heads of Terms and got an architect, developer, feasibility drawn up and over 40 organisations interested in taking space in the building .... some of them anchor tenants paying commercial rents. Then there was a change in the cabinet and they withdrew the offer to sell. Since then we have been in negotiation with lots of bodies but have now decided to DO IT FOR OURSELVES. We would like every woman in the country to buy a share. No money would be taken until April 2023. Obviously this is NOT a great time to be asking people for money .... but we are giving it a go. We hope to raise enough for a deposit on a suitable site. If the project IS successful we will give all the info free to any other groups of women in other cities who want to try the same idea

Very little mention of actual women in the WA website, which is now to be expected. No comment about re looking at their inclusive approach given what happened in Leeds, so the idea put forward by secondwaver seems a better option. Anybody involved in cohousing would likely be very positive about the means.

@Brokendaughter which web site are you referring to?

@Ramblingnamechanger Women's Aid itself doesnot set policy. Although refuges are join the federation, they are autonomous and set their own policy.

And it seems to me they are all avoiding the question because although you can search the directory on women's services, they dont for instance give the option of searching for those who provide services to trans women. So on one level they aren't being clear, or they have all been totally captured.

I was sure that soon after the new CEO of the federation was appointed (after the short lived one who had to resign) made a statement about women only being about biological females. What a mess. It means that not only can women looking for women only services not know if any exist, but also means a trans woman wanting to check that services are open to trans women cant find that out either.

Do you think it is fear of becoming a target for online trolls?

But we should all probably remember that these changes happened because women who do support women only services (as allowed under the EA) did not and do not turn up in sufficient numbers on management committees and as volunteers.

If we are not there are voices aren't heard.

Think of the difference it would make if every area had (and it wouldn't need a physical women's centre to do this) a women's monitoring group that focused on local authorities and the decisions they take and the funding they give out.

If we can meet up online via mumsnet to say how shocking it all is that there are no women only services, then presumably we can meet up online and work together to challenge local government and funders.

www.roomsofourown.org.uk/

This one.

You did ask, or I wouldn't have told you how bad I think that all looks, but presentation matters.
Any off the shelf super cheap 3 page predesigned web site would look better.
Who is honestly going to plough through the bad images & painfully coloured text to find out what you are actually saying?

Eh? I didn't see anything wrong with it!

25 years ago there were 3 within driving distance. Now only one. I read its history. It was very much part of the WLM in 70/80s.

Now it's a run of the milll community centre. Just women but twaw. Although I've never known of a TW to actually go as it's not in a prominent place or anything.

I think they are a great resource and should be in every community.

About 20 years ago there were about 50 or so in the uk. I imagine there's only a handful now.

Most were funded by councils.

We would like every woman in the country to buy a share.

OP, it's a nice idea.

From the POV of a woman who lives in Scotland, we have quite a bit of our own needs up here. Funds and resources are poured into London, often to the detriment of other areas. So I'm wondering how you could make this more attractive to women who don't live in the capital and are generally see London as somewhere that is blessed with many resources and initiatives that they are effectively excluded from?

What price would a share be?

Can you offer some resources that aren't London-based? Online courses? A postal lending library, like the Scottish poetry library? Online meet ups?

A travelling women's bus?

that also runs a feminist website something like MN ...?

That is a great idea Arabella! Our hope is that IF we manage to raise enough to get the project off the ground and it works that we will hand over all the info on how to do it free and gratis to any other group of women in the UK who would like to replicate it. And again IF we manage to get it going we hope that we can offer hybrid events open to women across the UK. It is an innovative model so we need to pilot it somewhere. Most of our supporters are in north-east London because of the Walthamstow site that nearly came to fruition .... but I guess we could build a pilot anywhere if enough women wanted it and a suitable site could be found Wendy

All the information about how to invest can be found here www.fundsurfer.com/community-share/rooms-london

I was at Filia and heard your talk. Your energy and vision amazed me and the project is exciting.

I had never been in an all woman environment before - the disco was one of the best nights I've ever had because there were women of all ages and races and shapes and sizes and sexualities and what not. It was brilliant.

I'm also in Scotland and we have a desperate need for a place to gather and stir the cauldron. Plus, we are already paying a tax on being female with repeatedly having to take the government to court. So, yes, I'd support the project financially but I am skintjust now and so if the choice is getting the venue that @RhannionKPSS mentions or something London based wihtout outreach that @ArabellaScott mentions - I'll support by sharing but I just don't have the funds for everywhere just now.

What I'd LIKE to see at a woman's centre is what my local Mosque does for their women and girls. It's amazing -

a soup and sweet lunch every week which is really well attended by older women. They sometimes have talks from interesting/useful people like the WI would, they always have a bit of theological teaching, of course. the main thing the women get is social interaction and structure in their day/week. They have help for transport and it is a way of keeping an eye on how their older ladies are doing - and help is provided from within the community if she needs a bit of support.

boxing classes for women and girls - exercise, weight bearing, strength, anger management, confidence, fun.

gardening group - they have a small garden and put in raised beds to help those who are less mobile.

Seeing what they have in place makes me want to convert to Islam. I'd not be a very good observant Muslim, but then I'm not a very good Catholic. The way the Mosque community builds a sisterhood has me looking on with envy.

I expect most Mosques have similar programmes. If I was running a women's centre I'd make links with my local one and copy and paste what they are doing. And I'd add a monthly women's only disco.

Good luck with it, can't wait til you have a whole network of centres.

I wonder if you want women nationally to support it it might be worth making it clear this is a kind of national headquarters for an organisation? And that you'd be advocating for women nationally. Rather than asking for women to fund a centre in London, when realistically most will probably prefer to fund a centre near to them, or support local women's services. Not sure I'm explaining this very well ...

Generally local initiatives like this are funded mostly by local people, I think - so if it's to be funded by a wider demographic then it needs to reach/affect that demographic. It's kind of like asking women in Scotland to fund a soup kitchen in London - that would no doubt be a very worthy cause, but we're busy funding our own up here! Hope that makes sense. I'm not nitpicking, just trying to see it from different angles and work out how you might have the best shot at making it work.

The plan sounds great, and I like that it's passivhaus standard, very sensible.

I bloody love the idea of a feminist bus.

A BUS!

Like "embarrassing bodies" one where Dr Pixie pops out in a town centre near you and talks about bum boils?

That would be amazing - who would we have as a Dr Pixie to talk about feminist issues?

Rosie Duffield would be good.

Loving all your thoughts and ideas and examples!! re the point about expecting people to invest in a soup kitchen in London when they live elsewhere ..... I think it is more like being the very first soup kitchen in the UK and then when that works rolling it out to all other areas of the country!!!