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Nominations are open!

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Nominations are now open for the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize and Centre for Women’s Justice Award 2022! The closing date for nominations is Friday 16th September. We all know many incredible women who deserve recognition for the work they do to end violence against women and girls.  Please take time to nominate an amazing woman or […]

2016 award winners

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We held the prize ceremony for the 2016 EHMP awards at Garden Court Chambers on the 6th of April 2017.

Many thanks to Garden Court for hosting us, to the young women who gave an amazing performance of Adrian Howe’s play Othello on Trial, and to all of you who came to support our amazing nominees.

This year the individual prize was awarded jointly to Shakila Maan, advocacy manager at Southall Black Sisters, and Houzan Mahmoud, a campaigner for Kurdish and Iraqi women’s rights.

The group prize went to Safety 4 Sisters Northwest, who campaign around the rights of migrant women.

2016 nominees

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Individual Nominees

Aisha K Gill is Professor of Criminology at the University of Roehampton. She is an activist academic who has been involved in addressing the problem of violence against women and girls/’honour’ crimes and forced marriage at the grassroots level for the past seventeen years. She is currently in the middle of documenting the experiences of victims/survivors of ‘honour’-based violence, including forced marriage and female genital mutilaion in Hertfordshire and working with the Police Crime Commissioner to improve specialist services for BME communities.

Claire Heuchan is a Black radical feminist and PhD candidate who campaigns for the rights of women, black and minority people, and lesbians. Claire’s work highlights the interactions between race and sex in shaping Black women’s experiences. She speaks at conferences and rallies, and her writing has appeared in French, Spanish, and Portuguese translations. Claire volunteers at the Glasgow Women’s Library and has delivered workshops on the topic of hate crime targeted at lesbians.

Hannana Siddiqui was one of the  founders of Southall Black Sisters and has remained one of the group’s key campaigners in their struggle against racism and sexism, including campaigns for justice for women driven by abuse into killing either themselves or their abusers, campaigns around ‘honour’ based violence and against racist and sexist spousal visa laws. Hannana has written numerous publications on violence against minority ethnic women and consults on policy and research for organisations including the Angelou Centre.

Houzan Mahmoud is a campaigner for Kurdish and Iraqi women’s rights. She is Founder of Culture Project, a unique platform for Kurdish writers, feminists, artists and activists to raise awareness about gender and feminism in Kurdistan and Kurdish diaspora in UK. She was one of the leading figures of the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq. Houzan has led many campaigns internationally, including campaigns against ‘honour’ killings, the rape and abduction of women in Iraq, and against the imposition of Islamic sharia law in Kurdistan and Iraqi constitution.

Nusrat Zamir is the founder of the Chadwell Asian Women’s Network, a community group that educates and encourages discussion and support around women’s experiences of abuse. Nusrat has travelled with the Karma Nirvana roadshow, using her own experience of forced marriage to campaign for other women. She is undertaking a masters in law and her research focuses on ‘honour’ based violence and ‘honour’ killings.

Shakila Mann is the advocacy manager of Southall Black Sisters and has been a member of the group since the mid 1980’s. Her approach to casework illustrates what good practice and emotional and legal advocacy in the domestic violence sector should look like. As well as this behind the scenes work she created SBS’ most iconic banners, has contributed to numerous documentaries and films, and continues to use the arts as a vehicle for her progressive Black feminism.

Sulema Jahangir is a lawyer and campaigner who works to raise awareness of violence against women both in the United Kingdom and in Pakistan. Sulema was pivotal in drafting new legislation in Pakistan on harassment of women at work, domestic violence and acid attacks. She is adept at spotting how cases may be used as ‘test’ cases, has lobbied judges and policy makers on the need for legal reform, and has co-authored and edited numerous publications on violence against women.

Zlakha Ahmed is the founder and manager of Apna Haq, an organisation that provides support services to Muslim and Black women experiencing abuse. She is a community educator, trains magistrates on violence against women, and has campaigned on a broad range of issues, most recently raising awareness of Black and minority ethnic girls experiences of childhood sexual abuse.

Group Nominations

IC Change is a grassroots volunteer-led campaign that has made a huge impact in a short period of time. Their work during 2016 to raise awareness of the Istanbul Convention and press for its ratification in the UK has been both inspiration and successful. They have effectively built broad-based support across the political spectrum, women’s sector and amongst campaign organisations.

Safety 4 Sisters is a Manchester women’s organisation that provides services to and campaigns for the rights of migrant women. The group have  documented the experiences of migrant women in the UK, the abuse they have been subject to and the barriers to accessing services that they face. They organise training, conferences, and protests, and have released policy briefings as well as a film capturing the voices of migrant women.

Southall Black Sisters was founded in 1979 following the murder of anti-racist activist Blair Peach and since then have combined providing advocacy for local women with nationally reaching campaigns. Their most high profile campaigns have included those for the release of Kiranjit Ahluwalia and Zoora Shah, and campaigns around forced marriage and the abolition of the No Recourse to Public Funds requirement.

2015 award winners

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Thank you to all the women who came to our awards ceremony at the Feminism in London conference on the 25th of October, and thank you to all our amazing nominees!

This year we received such amazing nominations that the judges decided to give two individual awards – one to Gabriella Gillespie, author of A Father’s Betrayal and one to Cath Elliot, a trade unionist and journalist whose writing focuses on male violence against women.

The group award went to Million Women Rise, a small collective of women who organise Europe’s biggest march to end male violence against women.

A special award was also given to Denise Marshall, the former CEO of Eaves and extraordinary feminist, who passed away on the 21st of August this year. The award was accepted on her behalf by her partner Lisa Alabaksh.

We’d also like to thank the Feminism in London organisers for hosting us at their conference again this year.

2015 nominees

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The nominees for this year’s Emma Humphreys prize have been announced. Join us at Feminism in London on the 25th October to find out who the winners are. The nominations for this year’s individual award focus on women who have challenged male violence against women through their writing.

Individual award nominees

Sharon Bryan – Sharon is a survivor and a domestic violence advocate and consultant. She has written about her experiences in the book ‘Getting Out’ (ed. Caroline Jory et al.) She also campaigns around the issue of domestic violence.

Cath Elliott – Cath is a feminist writer, campaigner, and trade unionist. Cath has written for publications including Comment is Free, as well as blogging at http://toomuchtosayformyself.com . She served as vice chair of UNISON’s National Women’s Committee.

Gabriella Gillespie – At the age of 12 Gabriella, along with two of her sisters, was sold into ‘marriage’ by her father. After escaping at the age of 29 she wrote a book about her experiences and now raises awareness through writing, media work and public speaking.

Winnie Li – Drawing on her own experience of sexual violence, Winnie co-founded and curated the UK’s first ever festival dedicated to talking about sexual assault and violence through the arts. She has written a forthcoming novel on the topic of rape and is undertaking a PhD on digital media and the public dialogue about rape.

Sian Norris – On her blog http://sianandcroockedrib.blogspot.com Sian explores issues around cultural femicide and male violence against women. She uses her blog as a hub for broader campaigns, including challenging cuts to domestic abuse services and preventing the deportation of a lesbian asylum seeker.

Louise Pennington – Louise is a radical feminist activist who always centres women in her work. She runs her personal blogs, http://elegantgatheringofwhitesnows.com and http://louisepennington.org , as well as the feminist network www.aroomofourown.org and co-runs the 2014 EHMP winning organisation Everyday Victim Blaming. She focuses on women’s position in society and the political analysis of male violence.

Una – Una is an artist and educator whose graphic novel ‘Becoming Unbecoming’ both draws on her own experiences of male violence and puts them in a broader context as it explores the societal reaction to the crimes committed by Peter Sutcliffe and Jimmy Savile.

Group award nominees

Clear Lines – In July 2015 Clear Lines held the UK’s first festival dedicated to talking about sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. More than 500 people attended the conference and it was widely covered in the press, including on Channel 4 News and the BBC, and in The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and The Huffington Post.

Million Women Rise – Million Women Rise (MWR) is a movement made up of thousands of women who are united by outrage at the continued daily, hourly, minute-by-minute individual and institutionalised male violence enacted against women worldwide. They organise an annual woman-only march in London as well as holding vigils across the United Kingdom for women murdered through male violence.

Sisters Uncut – Sisters Uncut is an intersectional feminist group taking direct action against cuts to domestic violence services. As well as organising visually striking and hard-hitting direct actions, members participate in events, workshops and panel discussions to raise awareness of violence against women and the cuts to essential and life-saving specialist services.

Rights of Women – For 40 years Rights of Women has worked to secure access to justice for all women affected by violence. From the campaign to make rape in marriage a crime in the early 1980s through to working with the government to develop new civil and criminal law remedies in relation to forced marriage and prostitution, Rights of Women has helped shape law and policy on violence against women. Since 1975 their advice service has also provided vital legal advice and support to women.