#EmbraceEquity – International Women’s Day 2023

At Restored, this is something we strive to do every day of the year! But we love that International Women’s Day gives people an excuse to join in in ways they might not usually, taking time out to focus on encouraging the women in their lives and standing up against gender inequality.

The theme of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023 is ‘Embrace Equity’. The idea is to highlight the necessity of gender equity: going beyond ‘equality’, where everyone is given the same resources and opportunities, towards ‘equity’, where resources and opportunities are allocated according to the specific circumstances of different groups. This article on the IWD website explains the nuance really well.

In the area of domestic abuse, there’s still a long way to go to even reach equal access to services and support; the ‘postcode lottery’ of services is still a very real problem. However, even beyond basic access to services, we know that the needs of survivors aren’t all the same, and that the challenges they face in other areas of life are unique. For example, we know that survivors of domestic abuse face barriers to accessing mental health support, and that this is especially so for Black and minoritised women. Research has also shown that disabled victims and survivors are less likely to be referred for domestic abuse support, despite being twice as likely to experience domestic abuse.

So it’s clear that simple equality of opportunity and resources won’t be enough to fully meet the needs of all survivors of domestic abuse: we need to #EmbraceEquity, so everyone can get the support that they need. It’s also crucial that we continue to speak up about the realities of domestic abuse (a key element of our mission at Restored!) to raise awareness of the particular challenges that survivors face. If you’d like to join in with this, why not subscribe to our newsletter, or invite someone you know to come along to one of our training courses?

This March, we’ll be joining in the fun of International Women’s Day by celebrating the achievements of women. We’ve asked some of our Survivors’ Network to tell us some of the things they’ve achieved and are proud of, big and small – we can’t wait to share them with you on our social media pages throughout the month (make sure you’re following us so you don’t miss out!). We’ll also continue, on International Women’s Day and throughout the year, to speak up for survivors, and equip the Church to walk with survivors on their specific journeys of healing, helping them find hope and restoration.