Members can vote for one of the following, in person at the January meeting or online here before Friday 20 January 2017.  Your vote counts!

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Alleviating loneliness

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This meeting calls on every WI and the NFWI to work alongside health and social care providers and their local community to raise awareness of the causes and the impacts of loneliness, thus ensuring better identification of lonely people in order to be able to offer them the appropriate assistance and support

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Download the full Briefing to read:

• Proposer's Position

• What is loneliness and who does it affect?

• What are the consequences of loneliness?

• How can loneliness be tackled?

• National responses to tackling loneliness.

• How could the WI work on this Resolution if it was passed?

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Equal access for all who need specialised maternal mental health services

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There is presently an acute shortage of quality specialised maternal mental health services, meaning that many vulnerable women, their babies, and families face a postcode lottery of perinatal mental health support.  The NFWI calls on NHS commissioners to prioritise the development of specialised perinatal mental health support services so that pregnant and post natal women, their babies, and families are able to access the support they need.

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Download the full Briefing to read:

• Proposer's Position.

• What is Perinatal Mental Illness and how common is it?

• What is their impact?

• What is being done?

• How could the WI work on this Resolution if it was passed?

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FGM: More awareness for more action

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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been illegal in the UK for over 30 years and the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 made it illegal to aid, abet or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad.  However there have been no successful prosecutions of those involved.  The NFWI calls on the Government to improve efforts to measure and disclose the prevalence of FGM in the UK and to take further action to help secure more successful prosecutions of those involved in this abusive practice and thereby advance the health of women who have suffered or may be at risk of suffering FGM.

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Download the full Briefing to read:

• Proposer's Position.

• What is FGM? 

• The scale of the problem

• The current situation in the UK

• Need for more action

• How could the WI work on this Resolution if it was passed?

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Plastic Soup: Keep microplastic fibres out of our oceans

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Microplastic fibres are shed from synthetic clothing with every wash and are the main contributors to microplastic contamination of the oceans.  The NFWI calls on government and industry to research and develop innovative solutions to this problem in order to stop the accumulation of microplastic fibres in our oceans,

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Download the full Briefing to read:

• Proposer's Position.

• What are microplastic fibres?

• Why are microplastic fibres a problem?

• What can be done to prevent the problem?

• Government approach

• How could the WI work on this Resolution if it was passed?

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Provision of appropriate welfare and safe spaces for women and children in refugee camps

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Millions of women and children are fleeing conflict and disaster around the world, finding themselves at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation in refugee camps.  This meeting calls on all WI members and the NFWI to raise awareness of the risks facing women and children refugees and push for action to ensure they have access to safe places to eat and sleep, to get the care they need and space to learn and play.

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Download the full Briefing to read:

• Proposer's Position.

• The scale of the problem.

• Women and children refugees.

• Safe Spaces.

• The current situation.

• How could the WI work on this Resolution if it was passed?

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Supporting Women's Refuges

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Many women and children rely on refuges to escape violence and abusive relationships, but in recent years refuges have faced significant cuts to their services. The NFWI calls upon the Government to safeguard refuges and increase service provision in areas without adequate support.

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Download the full Briefing to read:

• Proposer's Position.

• What is domestic violence and abuse?

• How do refuges help?

• Specialist Support

• What is the government doing?

• How could the WI work on this Resolution if it was passed?

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