UCU University of Leeds Branch statement on gendered and sexual violence
For too long women, transgender, gender non-binary people and children have faced the threat of male violence and have been subjected to this violence to a sickeningly disproportionate degree. The horrifying kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard and the appalling murder of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry are the most recent examples of this plague endured for decades, centuries, millennia. As a union, we recognise that both the threat of and actual violence directed towards women, transgender, non-binary people and children from men can be exacerbated by intersectionalities that aggravate power imbalances towards the LGBT+, Black, ethnic minority and migrant communities. This was particularly evident in the lack of media coverage directed towards Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry’s murders in June 2020 and the police misconduct that ensued in the disturbing allegations that two serving Met Police officers took ‘selfies’ with their bodies. We stand together in solidarity with Sarah Everard’s, Nicole Smallman’s and Bibaa Henry’s families and all affected by male violence. We make a stand for all women, transgender, non-binary people and children living in fear from male violence. We make a stand to demand equality for all. In the UK, 97% of young women have experienced sexual … Read more