Heads Above the Parapet: Women Who Make Change

In aid of International Women’s Day and the Cassandra Centre domestic abuse charity (https://cassandracentre.org.uk/) join presenter Victoria Derbyshire, who has kindly agreed to host an evening with anti-FGM campaigner Hibo Wardere, ex GMP whistleblower and detective from ‘Three Girls’, Maggie Oliver and domestic abuse campaigner, Jennifer McDermott, for a virtual chat about how their experiences have shaped them.

Maggie, Jennifer and Hibo have all experienced a lot of suffering in their lives. Jennifer lost her daughter, Cassandra, to domestic abuse when she was just nineteen years old, after Cassie’s ex-boyfriend beat her to death, leaving Jennifer devastated. Hibo was mutilated as a six year old child when she had FGM performed on her, leaving her with a lifetime of physical and emotional pain. And Maggie lost her beloved husband and grand-daughter unexpectedly – and then her job – after she stood up to Greater Manchester Police about their failure to investigate the sexual abuse of young girls in Rochdale.

But despite all this, all three women went on to achieve great things for the advancement of women’s rights.

Jennifer founded a domestic abuse charity in Cassandra’s name – the Cassandra Centre – and then went on to gain the first ‘double jeopardy’ conviction after a previously unsuccessful prosecution of her daughter’s killer. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Hibo arrived in London from Somalia, learned English, and then wrote a book about her experiences of FGM (called ‘Cut’) and became a prolific anti-FGM campaigner.

Maggie set up the Maggie Oliver Foundation (https://www.themaggieoliverfoundation.com/), which helps and supports young women and girls who have suffered sexual exploitation and abuse.

Hear from them the stories of how their life experiences shaped them. Learn what makes them tick, why they do it – and what hurdles they have had to overcome in order to meet this chatllenge.

Donations

We want to keep this event open to all so in lieu of purchasing a ticket we kindly request that you make a donation to the Cassandra Centre domestic violence charity and/or The Maggie Oliver Foundation, which both work with women and girls, offering help and practical support when they have suffered, or are suffering, domestic abuse and child sexual exploitation. Find the link here https://www.justgiving.com/cassandralearningcentre and here https://www.justgiving.com/maggieoliverfdn

Please follow the Cassandra Centre at https://twitter.com/CassandraCentre that works to support and help women and girls who are suffering – or have suffered – domestic abuse.

The Maggie Oliver Foundation at https://twitter.com/MaggieOliverUK

Hibo Wardere at https://twitter.com/HiboWardere

and support their work when you can.

Also follow Victoria Derbyshire here https://twitter.com/vicderbyshire

Cassandra Centre

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heads-above-the-parapet-women-who-make-change-tickets-143296921951