Words by Smiley Team
At a time when they are needed more than ever 67% of frontline service supporting women and girls are worried about surviving the coronavirus. As a result of the pandemic, there has been an increase in domestic abuse cases by 25% although the real figure is thought to be closer to 50%.
In light of this, the Women’s Resource Centre has announced that all future donations to their campaign ‘Pay Back The Tampon Tax’ will now go to a specialist group of services in Manchester which form the Mama Health and Poverty Partnership, including a minimum 20% of funding being ring fenced for BME women’s charities.
In 2019, the Women’s Resource Centre started a campaign for the Tampon Tax Fund to be awarded solely to women’s specialist charities, asking the government to act on its original 201 promise that the money would be distributed amongst women’s charities. The Fund is made up of the VAT collected by The Treasury on each purchase of Period Products and currently sits at around £700 million. The Women’s Resource Centre have also written to the DDCMS four times, three of those to the current Secretary of State for DCMS, Baroness Barran, most recently to request that she uses her powers to repurpose the Fund for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis.
Vivienne Hayes MBE, CEO of the Women’s Resource Centre, tells us that ‘Most of our network is made of pretty small local women's charities who most people who have never heard of but who are quietly and ferociously getting on with what often ends up saving women’s lives, to be honest. Our network are working night and day - maybe operating in women’s sanctuary in small community organisations, or running drop in shelters as part of a violence against women and girls organisation or for an organisation supporting pregnant women.’
As a result of the pandemic, a recent survey conducted by the Women’s Resource Centre, Rosa Fund for Women & Girls and Women’s Fund for Scotland found: 78% of services for women and girls said the most pressing challenge was the ability to run their services effectively ad 73% said their most pressing need was funding.
Hayes said ‘After three refusals by DDCMS to talk or even listen to us, we have been left with no alternative but to take matters into our own hands. We have been delighted that our original Pay Back The Tampon Tax fundraising campaign smashed through its original target, therefore we are now putting our precious funds where our mouth is with all future donations and backing to go to Mama Health & Poverty Partnership.”
“The most frustrating part of this is that it is in Baroness Barran’s hands. At the stroke of her pen, she could cast an immediate lifeline for women with nothing; next week might be too late for some of them. Again, we call upon Diana Barran to do the right thing.”
Urgently needed donations can be made directly here: https://www.wrc.org.uk/appeal/donate-to-tampon-tax-campaign
By Ellen Jones
