University brings annual Global One Billion Rising for Justice campaign event to Preston
Members of the local community joined staff and students at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) for an annual gathering to make a stand against violence to women and children around the world.
The One Billion Rising for Justice (VDay) campaign, held every year on the 14 February, is a global event that brings people together to stand, sing and dance to demand an end to violence against women. It’s the fourth year in a row that UCLan, through its Creative Communities Group (CCG), has organised the Preston event for participants to join in the ‘Break the Chain’ dance at the same time as other One Billion events around the globe.
The Secretary of Preston’s Soroptimist International women’s group, Lynn Yates, said: “We’re currently lobbying the government about funding cuts to domestic violence services so it’s fantastic to see UCLan organising this event and helping to raise awareness.”
Another participant, local businessman and community ambassador Phil Parramore, commented: “There are no excuses in this world for harassment, bullying and violence and we always need to find new and better ways to tackle these issues. It’s great to see people coming together today to make a stand; it’s a message that impacts all of us in different ways.”
"It's extremely important in the world that we live in to raise awareness and create a space where women’s voices are heard and listened to."
Joanna Harrison from Lancashire Care Foundation Trust Equality and Diversity team, added: “I’m here to show my own and the Trust’s support for the One Billion Rising campaign. It’s important that as many people as possible are made aware of it and the University is in a great position to do it.”
The worldwide event takes place on the same day every year in hundreds of countries. It calls for people to gather safely outside places where women are entitled to justice such as police stations, government offices, places of worship, education or simply in public places where women deserve to feel safe. This year’s One Billion Rising for Justice campaign focuses on the exploitation of women and girls and to highlight the shocking statistic that one in three women will be beaten or raped in their lifetime. With the world population at seven billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.
Russell Hogarth, UCLan Honorary Fellow, co-founder and chair of the UCLan CCG, commented: “We are delighted as always with the support we receive from the University and the local community for this event. It's extremely important in the world that we live in to raise awareness and create a space where women’s voices are heard and listened to.
“I’d like to thank my CCG colleague Nigel Farnworth for helping to organise the event, Fraser from PR1 Media for filming it for us and Phil and Sandra from Salsa North West for leading us in the dance. It was a great team effort.”
View images from the event on the UCLan Flickr gallery and watch the video. Discover more about the One Billion Rising movement here or follow the #Rise4Revolution on Twitter. For more information about the UCLan Creative Communities Group visit the website and follow @ccg_uk on Twitter.
