Local Women Speak
Local Women Speak groups are completely free to join! It is women only. We have a number of trusted women to lead local groups all over the country and globe.
All of our Locals members are verified, so if you would like to join please fill out the form below which may help to speed up the process!
This is also the relevant form to fill in if you would like to volunteer to help with our Let Women Speak events. We need to add you as a Local in order to introduce you to our organising team. It is completely free, and we can remove you from Locals after the event if you wish.
Local Women Speak - LONDON
Action - 2nd February 2024
On the 23rd of January 2024 Network rail unveiled what they're calling their "Pride Pillar". It's been widely criticised for a number of reasons, including the flagrant hypocrisy: when Let Women Speak put up an " I ♥️ JK Rowling" poster in Edinburgh Station, Network Rail removed it for being "too political".
On Friday 2nd February some of our London Locals decided to let their voices be heard about this. This was featured in an article by Josephine Bartosch, and you can watch what happened below.
Local Women Speak- Brighton
Brighton Council won't Let Women Speak
Like many parts of the UK, Brighton and Hove has seen a significant increase in the number of recorded sexual assaults against women and girls.
Brighton Councillor, Bella Sanky, described the surge as ‘unacceptable and intolerable’ and urged the development of ‘an ambitious agenda that challenges the pervasive misogyny that undermines women's rights’.
In light of this, an event was organised by the council on 29/01/24 to ‘create an opportunity for all members of [Brighton’s] community’ to come together and share their ideas on how to achieve that goal. Sanky added that the ‘valuable ideas and experiences’ offered by participants would be used to strategise and combat Violence Against Women.
However, when one woman, Allison Hooper, a proactive and dedicated member of Let Women Speak Locals, attempted to share her ideas and experiences, she was not only left out of any such strategy, her voice was angrily dismissed.
Allison, of Sussex Locals, had booked a ticket for the event but was unable to attend, and aware the session included discussion groups, she decided to create a handout. Allison felt this was a way her concerns about men in rape crisis centres for women, and her personal experience of self-exclusion, could be discussed.
Allison’s handout
As reported on X/Twitter, the handouts were ‘snatched’ away by councillors and council representatives alike. There were numerous organisations at the meeting who allege to be advocates of women's rights, and Allison is concerned the fundamental truth will be lost.
Allison insists, “Rather than get into all of the waffle or analysis of who was there and what was said, at the end of the day, they didn't let me speak and they didn't let anybody else speak on my behalf. The ins and outs don't matter. They're just trying to silence us.
The one thing about Let Women Speak is that we keep it simple, that we speak facts and that's what we need and, ultimately, Brighton & Hove council do not want to #LetWomenSpeak”.
Proud and proactive member of LWS Sussex, Allison Hooper (Right)
Allison (2nd left) organised direct action with LWS Sussex against The Queery who are giving out binders