Never underestimate the power of organised women: LOVE & POWER
This blog is part of a series highlighting the amazing work of our grantee partners.
Love & Power is a grassroots, intersectional, feminist community. Founded in 2020, they aim to build a powerful, mass membership movement that can win big on gender justice.
They are training and organising local, grassroots gender justice groups, helping members win local and national change on issues that matter to them.
Love & Power celebrates diversity and inclusion. They know that race, class, geography, gender identity, religion, and disability, all shape women’s experiences. And they work with people in their early stages of feminism, experienced activists, and committed male allies.
Impact
In 2020, Love & Power piloted the UK’s first intersectional feminist organising bootcamp. They tailored the course for different age groups and partnered with local authorities; domestic abuse shelters; and migrant and refugee organisations to reach those who have traditionally been denied this kind of learning. The bootcamp included training on feminist theory and how to run effective campaigns.
In order to build an intergenerational movement that brings people together across lines of difference, building a shared language, culture, and community is a must. Love & Power’s intersectional feminist bootcamp is testing and refining how to build these bonds.
At the same time, they launched the ‘Some Women Need to Walk’ campaign, responding to the lack of provision for women living with their abuser during the Covid 19 lockdowns. They mobilised 80,000 supporters; spurred 13 socially distanced local actions across the country; and reached two thirds of UK MPs. A group in Kent led by local school girls won a meeting with their MP, who became Love & Power’s first Domestic Abuse Champion.
Love & Power are also working with universities to address sexual abuse on campus. In 2020, they released a first-of-its-kind intersectional analysis of over 8,000 students. This revealed the shocking prevalence of sexual abuse in universities. They found that survivors are suffering in silence and that Black and minority ethnic students are twice as likely to face assault. They are now collaborating with survivors and universities to tackle this abuse head-on.
This incredible impact in such a short space of time captures the power of organising. By combining self-determination with effective political strategy, Love & Power are building a base of people power that can win big in the pursuit of gender justice.
Next steps
Love & Power is gearing up to take its mission to the next level. They are about to assemble local teams; put their membership models and engagement strategies to the test; and forging ahead with university and student partnerships to tackle sexual violence in higher education.
Love & Power is also laying the groundwork for their second national campaign, “It’s a Bum Deal.” This aims to ensure equitable access to baby change facilities for male caregivers. They are on a mission to make it clear that changing babies’ bums isn’t just a task for mums.
We cannot wait to see what else they have in store and are *so* excited by their incredible contribution to organising action and gender justice. Thank goodness for Love & Power!
