1 in 3 women and girls will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. In the UK, a woman is killed by a man every three days on average.
Next week, the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign gets underway. Starting from Tuesday 25 November you’ll see the Council supporting this initiative across our social media channels, and through the events taking place.
I’m not claiming for a moment that men don’t experience violence, of course they do, and my firm wish is for everyone to be free of violence and the fear of it, but this campaign is about shining a spotlight on the epidemic of gendered violence that exists in our society.
This year, the focus is on online abuse. Women are disproportionately targeted in online spaces and this has real-world consequences for their mental health and can spill over into physical violence through things like stalking.
The Soroptimists, a fantastic international women’s organisation whose Solihull chapter do great work in our community, are hosting a film screening at The Core tomorrow (22/11) ahead of the campaign. The equally excellent Solihull Women’s Stride Squad, who I have walked with before and mentioned previously in this column, are hosting a glow walk, open to all, on Wednesday 26 November.
Moving on now to a story that caught a lot of peoples’ eyes this week. After a Solihull resident posted a video on TikTok of their binman going ‘above and beyond’ to make sure the road was left neat and tidy following a collection last week. I wasn’t surprised, I think the refuse collectors working for our partner Veolia do a fantastic job. It certainly isn’t an easy one, the early mornings and physical nature of the work are enough to put most people off, but I know they take pride in their work and so it was lovely to see all the comments from Solihull residents recognising that. I’ll add my voice to the chorus saying to all those involved in collecting our waste and recycling - thank you for your hard work.
On the subject of going the extra mile, there’s still time to nominate for the Civic Honours. We’re particularly keen on hearing about good neighbours. This doesn’t necessarily mean someone who volunteers in a formal way, but maybe someone who gives up their time helping others with the shopping or pharmacy runs, tidying up their garden for them, the small acts that add up to make a huge difference to the lives of people in their communities. If you’re reading this and thinking ‘I know someone just like that’, then please take a few minutes to submit a nomination.
Earlier this week I went along to the model COP30 summit for Solihull Schools, held in our Council Chamber. I was happy to see all the children engaging so enthusiastically with local and global environmental issues. It was great to talk to them about what we do as a council to help our environment. Their commitment to local actions that can be part of a global solution to the problem was impressive. I’m so often struck by how bright and talented our children and young people are in Solihull.
My role as Lead Member for Children’s Services and Education alongside being Leader of The Council means that I have plenty of opportunities to see this first hand. I enjoyed the conference, thank you to everyone involved in the organisation and thanks particularly to the pupils in attendance who were so inquisitive, considered, and insightful about the environmental challenges we all face.
A little note to say that just after I sent my column out last week, which featured the Kinghurst Village Centre regeneration programme, we got news that the homes built as part of that had won an award. You can find all the details here, congratulations to everyone involved in getting the homes built for our residents.
Finally, we’re consulting on our Council Tax Reduction Scheme. It gives a discount for people on low incomes, we massively simplified the system last year and we’re looking for your views on a few tweaks to the system for the new council tax year, which will start in April 2026.
Thanks for reading,
Karen.