Saturday 10 July 2010

The theme of the Study Day was our flagship project: VAW-SIN (Violence Against Women - Stop It Now). Almost 200 delegates attended the day, in temperatures soaring to the early 30s. First keynote speaker, Daniel Blake's (Policy Manager from Action on Elder Abuse) young son was taken to hospital, seriously ill, the day before the Study Day and so Daniel was unable to be with us. Chairman, Sue Biggs, and Federation Programme Director, Hilary Ratcliffe, put 'Plan B' into operation for that section of the morning. Delegates requested that their good wishes be passed on to Daniel.

The day concluded with a compelling performance by the Certain Curtain Theatre Company, which been at the forefront of the use of theatre and drama within the field of domestic violence since 1995. The performance we chose was Lady in Red, which was shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award in 2005. Extensively researched and highly acclaimed, Lady in Red combined superb dialogue, a compelling plot and a powerful performance to take the audience on a moving and thought-provoking journey with 'Rose' - enabling them to explore one woman's attempts to leave an abusive relationship and the barriers she faces. The performance lasted for 45 minutes and was followed by an after-show discussion. For more information, visit their website).

The poem, Red Light Child, was used to close out the day and a copy of this is available on this website.

Journalist, Samantha Webster, has written a report of the Study Day, which will also appear in Soroptimist News for September.