Amesbury Group Raises 1K pound for Violence against Women Summit

A fundraising fish and chip supper organized by the Amesbury Community Bingo Group has raised £1,000 in support of the upcoming Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Summit. The event will contribute to preparations for the summit, which is scheduled to take place in Marlborough this October.

Cllr Dr Monica Devendran, organizer of the summit, said: "This cause matters deeply to me. "Last year we raised funds for the Salisbury refuge, and tonight Amesbury has stepped up once again.

"Huge thanks to my brilliant team, Jeff Coy and Maureen Swaffield, to the wonderful people from Christ the King Catholic Church, and to everyone who came out to support us."

The event builds on previous fundraising efforts, including £500 raised by the group in May, bringing their total support for the summit to £1,500. Jeff said: "The Amesbury Community Bingo Group, run by Monica, myself and Maureen, is privileged to support community causes.

"Tonight is very special to me, and I want to thank everyone who came along." The event drew a full house and was described as a night filled with laughter and community spirit. The summit is led by Lady Lansdowne and aims to support women and girls across Wiltshire.

Key Highlights:

• Amesbury Community Bingo Group raised £1,000 for the upcoming summit
• The Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Summit will be held in Marlborough on October 23
• EVAWG Wiltshire Group is providing domestic abuse awareness training to schools and colleges

Next year's Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Summit will be held in Marlborough on 23rd October, joining together leaders, policymakers, public-sector organizations, charities, practitioners, community groups, businesses and advocates from around the UK. This event aims to offer an opportunity for exchange of good practices and reinforcing the cooperation in the field of violence against women and girls.

The summit comes on the heels of broader work across Wiltshire to build the community's capacity to respond to violence against women and girls. The Ending Violence against Women and Girls coalition was set up in 2024, comprising members from the judiciary, police, domestic abuse organizations and the business sector. The coalition is chaired by Lady Lansdowne and also works with Wiltshire Police as an Independent Advisory Group.

The group has also participated in prevention and awareness programs. The EVAWG Wiltshire Group is currently collaborating with society without abuse to deliver free domestic abuse awareness training resources to schools and colleges in Wiltshire and Swindon in 2025.

This initiative is designed to increase safeguarding awareness of education professionals, and to support children and young people living with domestic abuse. The broader work across Wiltshire has engaged with organizations in policing, charities, business, education and the community.

Wiltshire Police said the partnership will be used to help inform the delivery of enhanced services to victims and communities as well as to help develop new service provision and approaches to prevention and making women and girls safer in Wiltshire.