Women and girls

Women in London face some specific challenges. These are different challenges to men and different challenges to women outside of London. For example:

• women in London, especially pensioners and those with children, are more likely to be living in poverty
• women in London are less likely to be employed. This is because of the cost and unavailability of childcare, as well as it being difficult to find part time jobs
• when women in London are employed, they earn on average less than men
• safety is still an important issue for women in London. Most reported rapes do not result in a conviction and too many women’s lives are damaged by domestic violence

We are working to address these challenges. Some of the ways we are already doing this are described below.

The first duty of the Mayor is to protect Londoners.

In 2013 the Mayor refreshed his strategy to tackle Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG). The five objectives and commitments of this strategy are:

• London will take a global lead to prevent and eliminate VAWG
• improving access to support
• addressing the health, social and economic consequences of violence
• protecting women and girls at risk
• getting tougher with perpetrators

The Mayor has also kept his promise to increase rape crisis provision in the capital. London now has four Rape Crisis Centres: one in the north, south, east and west.

Read more about the Mayor’s plans to tackle VAWG in our Policing and Crime section. For more information about the policies and strategies relating to VAWG please email [email protected].

What is period poverty?

Period poverty - not being able to afford appropriate menstrual products every month - is affecting thousands of young women and girls in the capital. The shame and stigma surrounding periods compounds this issue. With girls admitting to not being able to afford the appropriate products they need, many are resorting to using inadequate protection, or reluctantly asking for support from their school teachers and friends.

What's the scale of the problem in London?

Research carried out by City Hall reveals that 17 per cent of women aged 16-24 say they have experienced period poverty. In addition, 30 per cent of young women say they have had to change to using a less suitable sanitary product due to cost.

Not having the money for sanitary items forces young women and girls to use makeshift and inadequate protection. Some 14 per cent of young women and girls say they have had to improvise sanitary wear due to not being able to afford menstrual products - this can have serious repercussions for their health. A further one in ten (12 per cent) say they have had to ask to borrow items from a friend when unable to afford the products they need. This research does not take in to account the girls below the age of 16 who may also be experiencing period poverty.

The shame and stigma that persists around periods means that girls are missing school, and are prevented from fully engaging in their education, sports and with their communities. Research by Plan International shows that 49 per cent of girls have missed an entire day of school because of their period and 64 per cent of girls have missed a PE or sports lesson because of their period.

Working with the Red Box Project

City Hall is joining forces with community organisation The Red Box Project who supply sanitary items to local schools. The Red Box Project supports disadvantaged young women through their period by stocking schools with menstrual products donated through red collection boxes. These boxes are placed within local businesses and organisations willing to help.

The boxes are kept in schools with an appropriate member of staff, and plain paper bags are used to ensure discretion. A donation point is now set up in City Hall, and The Red Box Project will provide the products with girls at risk of period poverty at local school St Saviour and St Olave's in Southwark.

Women in custody

To tackle the issue of women experiencing period poverty in London, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) is working to ensure that women in police custody always have access to a female officer and a sanitary hygiene pack when on their period, which is currently not always the case.

Women’s Policy Summit, City Hall

On 6 March 2023, the Mayor of London held the first Women’s Policy Summit at City Hall. The conference was developed in partnership with the Women’s Resource Centre and built on research commissioned by the Mayor in 2020, which revealed that women had experienced disproportionate economic, social and psychological impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were more than 80 attendees at the event, including representatives from voluntary sector organisations and charities, campaigners, councillors, London Assembly members, trade unions and individuals who support women across the capital.
As well as the Mayor of London, the Deputy Mayors for Children and Families, Planning, Regeneration and Skills and Housing and Residential Development took part. The event was chaired by Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice.

Speakers at the Summit

• Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London
• Helen Pankhurst, feminist scholar and activist
• Sara Reis, Acting Director, Women’s Budget Group.

The Mayor of London called for all public bodies to be made ‘women-friendly’ workplaces and set out his policies on issues including domestic abuse, acute period pain and menopause.

Sara Reis outlined the Women’s Budget Group findings on the gendered dimension of the cost of living crisis.

Breakout sessions, facilitated by mayoral and sector leads, focused on some of the most pressing issues facing women in London, including the cost of living crisis, skills and employment, housing and the challenges facing the women’s sector.

A plenary session chaired by Maggi Ferncombe, Director of Executive Office, Unison, heard contributions from sector leads, with an opportunity for audience questions afterwards.
There was a consensus among the Summit attendees to hold future summits to bring together women’s sector organisations and experts, to enable their views to be fed into future policy decision-making at City Hall.

For more information about International Women’s Day, visit www.internationalwomensday.com
 

Rape crisis support: for information about how to get help if you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, please call 0808 802 9999 for free. This helpline is run by Rape Crisis England & Wales, a national charity and the umbrella body for independent Rape Crisis organisations across the country.

Domestic Violence support: for help and advice relating to domestic violence, please call 0808 2000 247, open 24-hours a day. This helpline is run by Women’s Aid (the national charity for women and girls working to end domestic abuse) and Refuge.

Legal and Financial Advice for women: call 020 7251 6577 (telephone) or 020 7490 2562 (textphone). These helplines are available Mondays 11:00am-1:00pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2:00pm-4:00pm and 7:00pm-9:00pm, Thursdays 7:00pm-9:00pm and Fridays 12noon-2:00pm. This legal advice helpline is run by Rights of Women.

Community Legal Advice: call 0845 345 4345 for free confidential and independent legal advice.

To test how well the Mayor’s Equal Life Chances for All framework is working for different communities in London, we carried out some assessments.

These assessments looked at the priorities and concerns for each community, and reviewed what differences our policies have had or will have.

Our 2013 assessment of the GLA's impact on gender equality highlights what the Mayor is doing to increase opportunity for women and girls in London. This includes:

• tackling poverty and raising incomes
• improving education and skills opportunities
• making it easier, safer and affordable for women to travel around the capital