🧵 At around 11am on 15/10/2023, this happened!

On Wednesday we had no venue, on Sunday, we had
@jk_rowling

One year on, we wanted to share some of our memories of #FiLiA2023 💜🤍💚

#Sisterhood
#Solidarity
#OneYearOn Read how @jk_rowling felt after the event! 💜🤍💚

https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1713539479036711412

🧵 #FiLiA are very pleased to be at the 138th @DurhamGala where we have a stall, come find us!

#DurhamMinersGala is the world's greatest celebration of community, international solidarity & working class life ✊🏼

#SolidarityForever
#TheBigMeeting





This year is significant as 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike, which paved the way for the closure of most of Britain’s collieries, leaving a legacy of economic & social hardship in working-class communities.

#DurhamMinersGala

🔗👉🏼 theguardian.com/artanddesign/a…

🧵 The room is filling up ready for #FiLiASexed to start, lots of excited chatter!

#Sisterhood
#Solidarity And we are off @SamiraAhmedUK is introducing @SusannaRustin for an initial chat about her book, why she decided to write #Sexed

#FiLiASexed ♀️

🧵 On the last day of #RefugeeWeek, we are highlighting an amazing group, some of whom are #FiLiA volunteers.

@lisg_manchester are a group of women in Greater #Manchester who support lesbian & bisexual asylum seekers & refugees.

🔗👉

#OurHome lisg.uk
We met them in building for #FiLiA2018 in #Salford

@lisg_manchester was set up in 2007 as an anti-deportation campaign for a lesbian from #SierraLeone. The campaign was successful & she was given leave to remain in Britain.

🔗

#Sisterhood
#Solidarity lisg.uk/about

🧵 For #WorldRefugeeDay, we are shining a light on our #Kakuma sisters.

Escaping violence and lesbophobia in their home country, lesbian refugees are sent by UNHCR @Refugees to the Kakuma #refugee camp.

#OurHome 🧡
#RefugeeWeek
#WithRefugees 💙 This identifies their sexuality to other #refugees in the camp & they suffer ongoing violence & abuse as a result.

The UNHCR @Refugees & Police have been informed of these crimes but do nothing to support them or keep them safe.

#OurHome 🧡
#RefugeeWeek
#WithRefugees 💙

🧵 We are starting to gather ready for the book launch for The #TheWomenWhoWouldntWheesht

@LucyHunterB @DalgetySusan @holyroodmandy @MagiGibson @msjlindsay @PamGosalMSP @satiricole

The hashtags for tonight are:
#FiLiA4W
#TheWomenWhoWouldntWheesht #FiLiA is proud to host these amazing women.

We will be starting shortly and thank you to the almost 1000 of you for joining this herstoric event!

#FiLiA4W
#TheWomenWhoWouldntWheesht

🧵 This FANTASTIC article in the @M_Star_Online perfectly captures what we try to create at every #FiLiA and what we hope we created for you all at #FiLiA2023 #Glasgow #Sisterhood #Solidarity @joannaccherry @UNSRVAW 1/20

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/buil… 🧵"It was a conference that almost didn’t happen"

"We were dismayed when we were informed by Platform at very short notice that they were not going to allow us into the venue."

This is the moment the Volunteer Collective were told we had won, as captured by @PaulineMakov 2/20

🧵 @FreyaVanadiss is attending the debate for #FiLiA. Women from @Womans_Place_UK, @SexMattersOrg, @AllianceLGB here too, as women who have been impacted by gender ideology. Been chatting to a nurse forced from her job for stating #SexMatters #MakeTheEqualityActClear #EqualityAct For those unable to attend, you can watch live from 4.30pm, BST.

▶️ parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/60…

#EqualityAct #MakeTheEqualityActClear #SexMatters 🚻

As @sharrond62 shared earlier, her new book 'Unfair Play', written with journalist Craig Lord, is out on 22 June.

You can preorder at #OurFeministLibrary here:

uk.bookshop.org/a/7614/9781800…

#FairPlayForWomen #SaveWomensSports #booktwt #BookTwitter 📚♀️ @fairplaywomen @DerryBanShee 'Unfair Play - The Battle For Womens Sport' makes the case that this callous indifference to women in sport is the latest stage in a long history of sexism on the part of sport’s higher-ups & provides the facts, science & arguments that will help us ♀️ get the justice we deserve.

🧵We are getting ready to listen to @glosswitch talking to @soniasodha at @Womans_Place_UK online launch of #Hags #WPUKHags - very exciting!

#WomensHistoryMonth #readwomen #BookTwitter #IWD2023 #InternationalWomensDay #WorldBookDay #booktwt Victoria @glosswitch is talking first about how she got the idea for #Hags and how 2020 was named the 'Year of the Karen' and it struck her that middle-aged women were being demonised #WPUKHags

This week, we are sharing an exclusive interview with 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹, interviewed by our FiLiA volunteer from #Mexico (M.E.) and presented to you here in Spanish and in English.

filia.org.uk/latest-news/20… “The persecution against me, my detention, and the media lynching have been exhausting, and have resulted in anxiety, paranoia, and post-traumatic stress for me.”
𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹

filia.org.uk/latest-news/20…

Ali shares some stats from England and Wales: 2021 – 63,136 allegations of rape – 1.3% charged
2022 – 70,330 allegations of rape – 3,2% charged
20% of reports end in arrest
3% end in charge

#BythEiBaiHi
#NeverHerFault
#FiLiA2022 1 in 4 women experience rape or sexual assault.

1 in 2 are assaulted by their partner or ex-partner.

5 in 6 know their assailant.

90% of perpetrators of sexual assault are male.

84% of victims of sexual assault are female.

#BythEiBaiHi
#NeverHerFault
#FiLiA2022

Come join us now in the foyer where we are gathering for this year's rally.

#BythEiBaiHi
#NeverHerFault
#FiLiA2022 We are gathering to move off.

#BythEiBaiHi
#NeverHerFault
#FiLiA2022

1/ After #PrideCymru2022 where @GetTheLOutUK Lesbian marchers were told to leave by @SWPCardiff, we share our question asked of First Minister for Wales @PrifWeinidog about why Women in Wales in 2022 are frightened to speak about their sex-based rights. We attended with @WRNWales 2/ Mark Drakeford, First Minister @PrifWeinidog spoke earlier about the difficult discussions necessary for the Cooperative Agreement to succeed, challenging those who ‘pass on the hot potato’ ...hear how he passes the ‘hot potato’ of Women’s rights on to @JulieJamesMS to answer.

1/ FiLiA is driven by the passion + dedication of its team.

Our annual event is unfunded and organised by volunteers. In 2019 we measured the Woman-hours that made FiLiA happen ... 8,344! It's more now, as FiLiA has grown.

Some things along the way ...

filia.org.uk 2/ We took FiLiA out of London to reach more Women and to grow the movement. Our CEO moves every year to hear from and engage local Women.

We gained charitable status.

We started the Friends of FiLiA scheme to support Women to participate in FiLiA.

filia.org.uk/friends-of-fil…

1/

'the story ... is how “trans activists” and their “allies” have actively prevented FiLiA from doing grassroots work to benefit the #women and #girls of #Portsmouth - with the complicity of local institutions and elected representatives.'

#FiLiA2021

thecritic.co.uk/the-quiet-canc… 2/

'A year-long series, which FiLiA was due to run alongside the Play Youth Community youth groups within @portsmouthtoday , working with #girls excluded or at risk of being excluded from school was #cancelled.'

#FiLiA2021

thecritic.co.uk/the-quiet-canc…

BIG CHANGES COMING: FiLiA is rebranding to be more gender-inclusive. Check out our new mission statement here bit.ly/offspring-sprog, and follow this thread for a quick explanation 🧵👇 Last month, we were profoundly impacted by the very accurate quote from RGB shared by @ACLU and @TheLancet's new edition denouncing the neglect of bodies with vaginas.

1. Thread of FiLiA Guest Blogs and Podcasts so far in 2021.

A wide range of Women's voices on many topics. Take some time this weekend , if you can, to have a look.

Sisterhood and Solidarity!

FiLiA Team 2. LIFE AS A MIGRANT WORKER, MIGRANT WIFE AND MIGRANT ACTIVIST IN TAIWAN
By Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hà and Isabelle Cheng
‘To survive in this patriarchy, a Vietnamese wife has to become the decision-maker of her family. To do so, she has to work really hard.’
bit.ly/3qKdWPA

FiLiA had concerns when we met @ExtinctionR last year around lack of Female representation / focus

They informed us this would improve and that our politics were not an issue, as their focus was to bring groups together; even those of differing views

Lies They clearly are practicing the politics of division, with (as usual) Females being the ones who are scapegoated and dismissed.

When the impact of the environmental destruction is most keenly felt by Women and Girls, this is a travesty.

@ExtinctionR what a disgrace

A thread from @Blackbox666, one of our trustees looking at how according to its own words, @stonewalluk has changed its purpose, its priorities and its support for lesbians I’ve been re-reading Stonewall 25 – The making of the Lesbian and Gay community in Britain, published in 1994 to celebrate 25 years of @stonewalluk At that time it was an organisation that I supported, and I felt supported me as a fairly newly out lesbian.

FiLiA will release a full response later ...

The @Commonswomequ just published a report on 'Enforcing the Equality Act: the law and the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission'

Chapter 7 is dedicated to Balancing Rights in Single Sex Services

parliament.uk/business/commi… The report highlights 2 particularly difficult areas:

1️⃣ commissioning single-sex services
2️⃣ the ability of organisations to use Equality Act exceptions

Single Sex Exemptions are re-outlined, with a quote from the @EHRC Codes of Practice

Ch 7: bit.ly/32W1Yax