Green Party Women

Green witchers – Hedgehogs.

Jessica Goldfinch — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:43:57 +0000

An historic Witchers’ session from Tuesday 15th July. Anne Baker presented all things Hedgehog.

Here’s a PowerPoint link. Any problems let us know.

https://women.greenparty.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2025/08/Hedgehogs-a-beginners-guide.pptx

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Nordic Model Now update: Monday 15th September 7pm.

Jessica Goldfinch — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:23:29 +0000

xref. original post below.

Zoom registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DxGCDSP-SdWoE-eq6GckgQ

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BOOK CLUB – Tuesday 26th August 7pm

Jessica Goldfinch — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:12:00 +0000

Zoom registration link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fgyPqoxGS9icnQiLVizP7w

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NORDIC MODEL NOW UK!

Jessica Goldfinch — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:50:20 +0000

Jenna: Jenna is a survivor of prostitution and a passionate advocate for its abolition. She supports the implementation of the Nordic model.

Heli St Luce: Heli designs and facilitates workshops and writes. She works with pseudonyms to encompass her varied areas of operation. As Maxi McNaughty she is a therapist, healer, ceremony and ritual guide. As Ms Ina Propriate she performs. The constant is the use and sharing of her powerful and moving voice which inspires and gives her work a unique quality.

Keep your diary free:

Monday 15th September 7-8pm.

Registration link will follow.

Update 05/08/25. Zoom Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DxGCDSP-SdWoE-eq6GckgQ

N.b. for privacy, this session will not be recorded.

https://nordicmodelnow.org/

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Zane’s Law Summit

Jessica Goldfinch — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 17:00:47 +0000

Created by Jessica Goldfinch (Co-chair) with words by Elizabeth Mansfield (Co-chair).

Beautiful Zane.

[Photo credit: unknown. Photo words: Jessica Goldfinch]

Green Party Women are proud to support the Truth About Zane Campaign and the Campaign for Zane’s Law. You can visit our webpage about the campaigns here: https://women.greenparty.org.uk/2024/05/23/the-truth-about-zane/

We have some exciting news to share from our co-chair, Elizabeth Mansfield, who is the co-ordinator of the Zane’s Law Campaign and has been helping Nicole and Kye (Zane’s Mummy and Daddy) to organise the Summit.

The Zane’s Law Summit on Contaminated Land and Water was held on Wednesday 11 June at the Houses of Parliament.

Campaigners, politicians, trade unions and legal representatives came together with a single purpose: to place the ticking time bomb of contaminated land and water centre-stage and address the urgent task of drawing up legislation to make UK environmental protections fit for purpose.

Campaigners from more than 20 communities experiencing severe and sometimes fatal harms from toxic landfill and contaminated water spoke at the Summit. Other speakers included Des Collins, the solicitor who represented families affected by the toxic waste scandal in Corby, dramatised in the recent Netflix series Toxic Town.

‘Zane’s Law’ would improve transparency around historic landfill sites and clarify who is responsible for making these safe.

It is named after seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died on 8 February 2014 when floodwater passed through landfill into the basement of his home in Chertsey. His father, Kye Gbangbola, was left paralysed by the same incident.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Services detected high levels of hydrogen cyanide in Zane’s home. And yet, to this day, the landfill has not been properly tested, despite the discovery of a 2010 report warning of an “unacceptable risk” of“migrating landfill gasses” from the site causing “significant harm, serious injury and capable of causing death”.

Baroness Natalie Bennett, who chaired the hybrid meeting, said: “Current UK regulations on contaminated land are grossly inadequate and a threat to the safety of many, especially given climate breakdown, rising sea levels, increased rainfall, and flooding. Zane’s Law proposes measures to address this crisis. The need to act was acknowledged in the 1990 Environment Protection Act, but then the protective provisions were removed after lobbying of the Conservative government by mass house builders. I hope, but sadly don’t expect, that Sir Keir Starmer’s government would step up to one of its primary responsibilities, to protect life.”

The call for a Zane’s Law was launched by Zane’s parents, Kye and Nicole Gbangbola, at COP26 in 2021, together with Baroness Bennett, at a Peace and Justice event hosted by Jeremy Corbyn.

It has the support of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the TUC, Unison, Unite, the National Education Union, teachers’ union NASUWT and communications union CWU. Several local authorities, including the London Assembly, havepassed motions calling for Zane’s Law.

Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said: “Contamination from unregulated, historic landfill poses a serious threat to the environment, health and lives. With the climate emergencyresulting in increasing floods, which threaten to spread this contamination, the government cannot ignore the rising risk.

Everyone should have the right to live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Firefighters, who are on the frontline of flooding incidents, stand with the communities who have been tragically impacted and with the continued call for justice for Zane.

The UK government must bring in Zane’s Law to save lives by properly regulating contaminated land and water.”

Many elected politicians and parliamentarians have expressed their support for Zane’s parents in their long campaign for the truth about what happened to their son, including Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, and Environment Secretary Steve Reed MP.

On the day of the Summit, Zane’s parents, Kye and Nicole Gbangbola, said: “Today we’ll hear the brave voices of people who are struggling to get protection from the horrific impacts of living in proximity to toxic landfilland poisoned water – and hear them at the heart of government. Britain should be leading the way in environmental law. Instead, our legislation is woefully inadequate. We need Zane’s Law now!”

Green Party Women was glad to hear that this vital Summit was such a success! The fight continues.

https://zaneslaw.co.uk/

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Surrogacy Webinar

Jessica Goldfinch — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 16:09:46 +0000

Our members will be aware that we hosted a webinar on Thursday 5th June, 7pm – 8.15pm where we were joined by Lexi Ellingsworth, founder of Stop Surrogacy Now UK.

Lexi launched Stop Surrogacy Now UK in direct response to the UK Law Commission’s 2019 public consultation on surrogacy law reform. Stop Surrogacy Now UK seek to raise awareness of the realities of surrogacy, including medical risks, surrogacy regret, the exploitation of women and commodification of children.

Lexi has worked for non-profit organisations throughout her career, from access to education to women’s reproductive rights, Her interests are centred around women and children.

Some members told us that they found Lexi’s presentation both informative and compassionate. The Q&A was particularly interesting and broad-reaching.

We welcome ideas for further webinars or debates, on this or other subjects of interest to our members.

We would like to thank Lexi for giving up her time for us and for her thought-provoking presentation.

Some further resources and reading:

1. Warnock report – Hansard

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1984-11-23/debates/210726b8-0822-4d76-ac69-7fd6ecbb7986/HumanFertilisationAndEmbryology(WarnockReport)

2. Brazier reporthttps://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmsctech/7/709.htm

3. Speech from Surrogate Born Adult, Olivia Maurel

4. Call to Action – template letters from Surrogacy Concern On surrogacy.

https://surrogacyconcern.uk/take-action-send-a-letter-to-your-mp-on-surrogacy-and-law-commission-proposals/On Egg Donation https://surrogacyconcern.uk/take-action-send-a-letter-to-your-mp-on-egg-donation/

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Green Party Women Committee Elections

siobhanbscanlan — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 13:38:22 +0000

Are you enthusiastic about supporting & promoting women?
Like the idea of building a sisterhood of women within the party by contributing to/organising inspiring/nurturing women-centred events?
Keen to represent women’s voices within the Green Party?

We’re pleased to announce that nominations for 2025/6 GPW annual elections are now OPEN

We welcome applications for the following positions on the GPW Committee for the coming year:
– Two Co-Chairs (NB: these are elected separately so please apply for Co-Chair 1 OR for Co-Chair 2 position)
– Secretary
– Membership Secretary
– Treasurer
– 3 non-portfolio members

All posts are available as job shares. Don’t be put off by the titles, there’s lots of support available!

What do you have to do to apply?

1) email ero@greenpartywomen.org.uk giving your name and local party and the position you’re applying for. The EROs are the GPEW officers running the elections for GPW

2) Add a recent photo to the email and 200 words about yourself & why you’re applying for the position (250 words for a job share – either 250 jointly or 125 words each)

3) Send a completed Equality and Diversity monitoring form from this link

4) You have to be a fully paid up member of the Green Party in ‘good standing’ & be nominated by two members also of good standing & fully paid up. Tell your nominees they must send an email to: ero@greenpartywomen.org.uk giving their name and local party and the name and committee position of the person they’re nominating

The deadline for applications and nominations is 22.00 on Sun 2 Feb

Please note that by entering these elections you are committing:
– to abide by the Green Party’s Code of Conduct
– you and your supporters to abiding by the election’s Rules of Conduct
– to the following timetable including hustings on 6 February (hope you’re available!)

If our EROs feel that there is insufficient diversity in those applying, they will request that more people consider standing for election and they will reopen the process for new applicants for a further short period

The Green Party is aware that there is a problem with some Yahoo email addresses which are marking some Green Party emails (including emails from Green Party Women) as spam. Unfortunately, Action Network (the system used for Green Party mailouts) triggers when emails have been marked as spam and and removes the email address from mailing lists – a fix is being worked on.

We are very keen to ensure that none of our members are disenfranchised. Please talk to friends who are members of Green Party Women and ask if they are receiving our emails. If you are a member but aren’t receiving emails, contact us at info@greenpartywomen.org.uk or our EROs at ero@greenpartywomen.org.uk.
We will do our utmost to ensure that all of our members who wish to register to vote are able to do so

Any questions about GPW work and activities? Email: info@greenpartywomen.org.uk
Any questions about the election policy & procedures? Email: ero@greenpartywomen.org.uk

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Update: Supporting Afghan Women

siobhanbscanlan — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 19:25:44 +0000

On 11 November, 2024 many of our members joined us for a very special webinar. Liz, one of our co-chairs, was in conversation with Sara who was speaking to us from inside Afghanistan and who told us what everyday life has been like for women and girls since the Taliban took over the country.

She spoke of the ever harsher restrictions, culminating, in Sara’s words: “when they banned women to speak in public spaces, and they banned women’s faces and voices. And now we’re at a point that we can’t hear each other’s voice. I mean we can’t hear another woman’s voice. Not only do they erase women… from public spaces… but they erase women from life.”

The zoom chat was full of empathy for the women and girls of Afghanistan; anger that they are being treated so harshly; and admiration for Sarah’s eloquence, openness and bravery. We have had a number of emails since, echoing these sentiments. We have shared your comments with Sara who was touched by your kind words.

One of the members who got in touch with Green Party Women is Viv Griffiths. We are delighted to share this article which she wrote for Sussex Bylines about Afghan women Many of you have been asking how you can support Sara and other women and girls in Afghanistan. This will be a new regular feature in our newsletters. We will start with some requests which come directly from Sara.

If you are on Twitter/X then please follow @WRNAfghanistanWomen’s mental health has been adversely affected by the harsh restrictions. If you are a mental health professional with relevant experience such as trauma counselling and you would be interested in training a group of Afghan women (via zoom) to support other Afghan women then please email Green Party Women.

Consider donating to the crowdfunder for “Voices of Resilience: An Audiobook Initiative for Afghan Women,” aimed at empowering these courageous girls to stand up for their rights by recording audiobooks.

Below, the avatar that Sara uses to retain her anonymity

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WOMEN & girls: AFGHANIstan

siobhanbscanlan — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 15:35:03 +0000

Signing through their silence, singing their defiance
🎙️ Register for this important GPW webinar

🗓️ Monday 11 November 18.30

💚 Listen to women from Afghanistan

Registration link in GPW newsletter/Green Spaces

RaisingWomensVoices #AfghanWomen

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March for clean water

siobhanbscanlan — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 20:06:04 +0000

💧 Green Party Women are Marching for Clean Water. Join us on Sunday 3 November
⏰️ Starting at 11.45
📌 From Albert Embankment (S of the river between Vauxhall & Lambeth bridges)

📲 GPW are meeting from 11.15 near the Vauxhall end of Albert Embankment by the bus/tube and train stops here

🔍 Lost? DM us on Sunday via X (You need to follow us first)
👕 Wear something blue!
📲 Look out for GPW email or this website for meeting point

More info from marchforcleanwater.org

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