Around 30 people took to the streets in Bury St Edmunds this afternoon to make a stand over violence against women.
The Multicultural Women’s Group of Bury St Edmunds (MWG) organised a demonstration on Angel Hill in support of One Billion Rising (OBR), an international campaign, opposing violence against women.
This is the fifth time that MWG has “risen” in support of OBR and, as in previous years, they dressed in red and performed the “Break the Chain” dance.
St Edmundsbury Mayor and Mayoress, Terry Clements and his wife Vivienne, took part, as did Deputy Mayor Margaret Marks.
Councillor Clements said: “We have been trying to learn the dance; we looked at it online, but it was not so much learning the dance as hearing the words of the ‘Break the Chain’ song. When you hear those words, that is when it actually means something. And when you see how many people across the world are doing the flash mob dancing, and how it has caught on, you have got to be part of it.”
Sandra Attolini, founder of MWG, said: “We are doing this because we support women who are victims of violence – a billion women around the world. It might be physical or psychological. As a multicultural group, we feel that we can speak to the world at large with this event. We have had good participation today, we are visible and it is good to see men in the group, because we need men on our side.”
Representatives from the local Women’s Aid charity were there, making a collection for the women’s refuge in Bury St Edmunds.
Heather Hunt, CEO of BSEWAC, said: “We are very happy to have been invited to be involved in this event. Something like this draws attention to the violence that occurs across all walks of life. We are telling the world that violence against women isn’t acceptable.
“The situation in West Suffolk is the same as it is up and down the country. We are very fortunate to live in a relatively affluent area, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t violence and abuse happening behind closed doors.”
BSEWAC has a website and their contact telephone number for advice and help is 01284 753085.
The Multicultural Women’s Group of Bury St Edmunds is a community group which offers a social support network to women of all nationalities in and around Bury St Edmunds. MWG is grateful for funding support from Bury St Edmunds Town Council.
Find out more at www.multicultural-womens-group-bse.weebly.com, email iwgbse@hotmail.co.uk or find the group on Facebook.
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