International Women’s Day 2024

History has sought to challenge the patriarchal, dominated world in which women and girls live and work, causing many women (and girls) to take a stance and fight for a safer and more equitable society in which we can all prosper.

Disappointingly however, despite many global and landmark successes, there is still a long way to go before we have created a more just society in which women and girls can attain their rightful place. A place where gender domination is brought to an end.

One such success is the establishing by the United Nations (UN) of International Women’s Day, a day through which we can all come together and promote an awareness of the impact of the discrimination and hatred directed at women and girls. A phenomenon which if continued unchecked leads to intense fear, torment and suffering. Even death.

International Women’s Day was first marked by the United Nations on March 8^th 1975, during International Women’s Year. Two years later, the UN General Assembly officially formalised the day, which has since become ingrained in international practice.

This year’s theme – ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’ shines a light on the importance of achieving gender equality by 2030. Working in collaboration with the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals – specifically goal number 5  ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’ and goal number 4 ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’, we emphasise the direct links between quality education and gender equality.

Despite the inroads we have made in challenging the patriarchal domination that continues to exist, disappointingly, more needs to be done. A lot more. Because women and girls continue to be trafficked, abused and killed, simply because of their gender. In a civilised society, this is grossly unacceptable and a heinous crime against humanity.

Within the UK much has been achieved through a number of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). Such groups aim to raise awareness and inform government of the impact of for example, domestic violence and abuse, through the APPG on Domestic Violence and Abuse; and the APPG on Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse. Furthermore, the APPG on Women’s Health aims to raise awareness of health conditions that affect only women or women disproportionately. There should be no need for any of these groups. Sadly, there is.

A variety of organisations exist that have taken up the challenge to make the world a safer place for women and girls. Soroptimist International is one such organisation.

First formed in 1921 in California the name Soroptimist was coined from the Latin soror meaning sister, and optima meaning best and so is perhaps best interpreted as ‘the best for women’. Members of Soroptimist International: ‘work tirelessly at both a local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable opportunities for women and girls’.

Membership of Soroptimist International is open to all women who want to make the world a safer and better place for women and girls to live, and to access opportunities that enable them to thrive and achieve their potential.

In the UK for example, we have Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI). Why not take a look? Nurses, as with women of all backgrounds are always welcome. You may even be able to use your leadership skills in some influential and productive way.

At the opening ceremony of the ‘Women Deliver’ Conference, held in Kigali, Rwanda on 17 July 2023, Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director announced: ‘Our hopes and aspirations for a brighter, more sustainable, more equal and more peaceful planet hang by a thread.’

Never a truer word has been spoken.

As nurses we can make a difference. We just need to understand how. By developing our knowledge and expertise, the more likely we are to understand how we can make that difference. One way in which we could do this is by joining the QNI’s professional networks, examples of which include the Homeless and Inclusion Health Network. It’s also well worth taking a look at the eLearning resources available (some are listed below) and building them into your long-term professional development plans and future aspirations.

For the more that we as nurses are able to recognise the subtle and not-so-subtle signs of, for example, sex trafficking, domestic and sexual violence, domestic abuse, gaslighting and coercion, the more we are able to help. It doesn’t just happen to our patients, it happens in all walks of life and goes unreported, partly due to the shame, associated stigma and fear of the consequences.

We may not change the world, in fact, it’s unlikely we will, but we can change the lives of women who come under our care. And that, it could be argued, is all that matters.

We just need to ‘grasp the nettle’.

Learning Resources

• E-Learning for Health is an obvious learning platform for those who work in healthcare and provide NHS-based services and includes a variety of training resources including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Domestic Violence and Abuse.
• A free online safeguarding training course that focuses on FGM, developed by the Home Office and run by Virtual College Free training exists which can be accessed here.
• The Charity Women’s Aid also provides a plethora of free learning opportunities, a list which can be accessed here as well as fee-paying courses.

FutureLearn Short Courses

• Supporting Victims of Domestic Violence developed by the University of Sheffield.
• Gender-based Violence: Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse developed by the University of Glasgow.
• Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in Pregnancy developed by Coventry University.

Why not take a look at the FutureLearn website? There are many more you may be interested in.

The QNI’s Networks

All of the QNI’s professional networks for nurses are free to join. You do not have to be a Queen’s Nurse to join the networks – it’s a simple online form to register your email and you can unsubscribe at any time.