WAVES

is an action-focused grassroots organisation founded to enable women
to come together to support one another to make Lewisham a place where violence against women and girls is unacceptable, girls and women are safe and able to fulfill their potential.

Our principles

We have  a set of principles which informs all of our activity:

• We believe in equality for women.
• Women have the ability to change Lewisham to be a better place.
• We believe that women and girls have the right to live free of violence and the threat of violence.
• No one should be subject to violence and we speak up for ourselves and others particularly people who are isolated, vulnerable and believe themselves to be unsafe.
• We believe that men have a part to play in making positive change to end violence against women and girls.
• Everyone involved in planning and delivering Lewisham WAVES actions is female, but men may be included in events
• There is never any excuse for violence against women and girls.
• We want boys and men in WAVES to respect girls and women in all settings including at school, in workplaces, places of worship, at home and in the street.
• Although WAVES focuses on women and girls, we recognise that men can also be victims of sexual and domestic violence and abuse.
• We want all perpetrators of violence against women and girls to be held accountable for their actions

Our Aims 

Our aims are:

• that all agencies and authorities in Lewisham take steps to ensure prevention and elimination of VAWG in all settings and that this is a priority in which they actively invest
• that women and girls in Lewisham have access to services and information about VAWG so they have support when needed to stop or prevent violence in their lives.
• that Lewisham is a borough where authorities and institutions work in partnership with civil society to support victims and survivors, challenge perpetrators of VAWG and ensure women and girls have a voice.

Our Objectives

We will achieve our aims by:

• identifying and delivering campaigns to end violence against women and girls in all forms in Lewisham
• working in collaboration with others to tackle violence against women and girls in Lewisham
• holding decision makers to account to ensure that they are using public resources effectively to ensure that girls and women are safe from gender-based violence in all settings and are enabled to reach their full potential.
• reaching out to local, regional, national and international partners whose objectives reflect our own to achieve common aims.

Cartoon by Jacky Fleming

(WAVES acknowledges Waltham Forest Rising who have kindly allowed us to amend their principles for our local use.)