NFWI Annual Review 2015-2016

OVER 1,000 000
VISITS TO THE
WI WEBSITE
announcement expands these vital support services to cover 75% of the
country, and reaffirmed its aspiration to 100% rollout by 2020. The
announcement was made at a Care not Custody coalition event hosted in
the House of Commons.
February saw the publication of the National Maternity Review, which
assessed current maternity care provision and proposed wide-ranging
recommendations to improve services and meet the changing needs of
women and babies. The NFWI has a long held interest in maternity
care, having passed our first resolution on the topic in the 1920s.
The More Midwives campaign stems from the 2012
resolution calling for action to address the chronic
shortage of midwives and findings from the
NFWI’s maternity report, Support Overdue,
contributed directly to the
recommendations for better, safer
and more personalised maternity
services. Our report was cited in
the terms of reference for the
review, and many of the
recommendations were taken up.
The review included positive
recommendations around
personalised care, continuity of
care for women giving birth as
well as the importance of safe
staffing levels.
In Wales, NFWI-Wales
encouraged federations and
WIs to support the SCC Cymru
CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: More Midwives
report, NFWI Wales Not in my Name
campaign activity, WI members
IMAGE: Ezzidin Alwan
activities organised ahead of the UN climate conference (COP 21) in Paris
in December. Hundreds of people attended a Wales Climate Action Day in
Cardiff, which involved a mass bike ride from the city centre to the
Senedd where a rally was held. Ann Jones, Chair of the Federations of
Wales, addressed an event organised by the Climate Change Commission
for Wales at the Wales Millennium Centre and later spoke about the role
of women in tackling climate change at a public meeting in January at the
Temple of Peace in Cardiff, which was targeted at stakeholders and
decision-makers. A Not in my Name Stakeholder Event was hosted by
Joyce Watson AM in November in the Senedd for the Not in my
Name campaign, where Ann Jones spoke alongside a
domestic abuse survivor from homeless charity
Llamau; Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for
Public Services; and Rhian Bowen-Davies,
National Adviser for Violence against
Women, other forms of Gender-
Based Violence, Domestic Abuse
and Sexual Violence. Following
this, a Candlelight Vigil was held
by the NFWI-Wales and Joyce
Watson AM outside the Senedd
where supporters heard from
ambassadors, a victim of domestic
abuse and politicians, and many
male ambassadors and groups
from their communities were
recruited for the campaign. As
part of the 2016 Not in my Name
campaign, WI members were
asked to write a piece of prose on
the title ‘Not in my Name’
reflecting on the campaign to end
violence against women, and 45
entries were judged by Joyce Watson
AM, and Mererid Hopwood, Poet.
The winner was Therese Casemore,
IMAGE: NFWI Wales
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