Responding to concern about violence against women and girls, Jewish human rights charity René Cassin is holding a ten-day festival of women’s rights with Jess Phillips, Stella Creasy, Dame Margaret Hodge and Dame Louise Ellman among the speakers.
Running from November 24-December 6, the New Horizons Festival of Women’s Rights will feature more than 30 online events geared to help counter “toxicity and violence” encountered through social media, political or activist involvement or dating.
Another speaker will be solicitor Harriet Wistrich, founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice, who has represented sexual assault victims and women who have killed violent partners.
The festival will also focus on the role of Jewish women in religion and culture and the importance of interfaith solidarity
Festival organiser Rachel Vogler said “much-publicised recent murders are the horrific tip of an iceberg of widespread endemic violence and discrimination blighting the lives of women and girls. This toxic culture denies women their fundamental human rights – whether at work or in education, in the public realm or in the privacy of a dating app.”
The festival would give participants the tools to help create a safer world. It would also celebrate “the tireless and under-valued work that women do”.