International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November - this is why it is important

The 25th November has been designated by the UN as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

25 November. the 2019 theme is
‘Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape’
The official website has messages and announcements from the day. It is difficult to give an exact figure for the number of women who have suffered sexual assaults as definitions and measurements differ. The UN page has a range of shocking data including:
"It is estimated that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives. "
PAHO focuses on Latin America. Their 2019 resources page
includes a systematic review which revealed that experiences of intimate partner violence ranged from 14-17% of women in Brazil to over 58% in Bolivia

In the UK the Home Office website has the latest data on domestic violence and sexual assault
and the CPS have on their website policy statements on how rape allegations are prosecuted
the ONS website also has crime survey data and freedom of information requests regarding rape convictions. According to the latest release
"Rape offences have increased dramatically in England and Wales since 2012/13 when there were around 16.3 thousand incidents. After this year, rape offences increased to 20.75 thousand, then 29.3 thousand in 2014/15, before increasing to 35.8 thousand in 2015/16, and 41 thousand in 2016/17. In 2017/18 there were almost 54 thousand rape offences recorded by the Police in England and Wales, an increase of over ten thousand when compared with the previous year, the largest year-on-year increase in this period."

For comparisons with Europe see the Eurostat website . You can click through to data tables.

Transgender day of remembrance- this is why it is so important

On Transgender Day of remembrance
we are sharing these resources on why it matters.

Find out the origins and aims of the day on the GLAAD website

The Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) project monitors, collects and analyses reports of homicides of trans and gender-diverse people worldwide. Its website shows the degree and levels of abuse suffered and why it is important for us all to oppose it. "TDoR 2019 update has revealed a total of 331 cases of reported killings of trans and gender-diverse people between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2019"


TGEU Europe has maps and reports of the situation in European nations. It also includes some news and materials form other nations including a recent report on central Asia.


In the UK a Stonewall report from 2017 found that 51% of trans people hid their true identity in the workplace through fear of discrimination. 12|% had faced physical abuse from a colleague.


The New York City Anti-violence project is a USA based organisation. Its website shares news, experiences and has reports on the community

Today is Universal Children's day - yet 25% of children in the UK are unhappy- find out more.

United Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.

Yet recently the Children's society reported that 25% of children in the UK are unhappy

The annual report on childhood is based on a large scale survey multi dimensional index of items which measure subjective well being. These include health, education, social relations and living conditions. They are also cross matched with gender and socioeconomic position.. Past indexes are also available on the website for a longer term comparison of trends.

For further insight into the lives of children in England today consult the website of the Children's Commissioner. the latest bulletin spotlights what they worry about.

Another good source for researchers and students to keep up to date with the latest research publications is the NSPCC website. They have a specialist library and it is possible to sign up to alerting bulletins. These include the CASPAR current awareness alerting bulletin.

The Social Care online database maintained by SCIE is another good source for literature searching it indexes journal articles, reports and grey literature on all aspects of social work and social care

On a broader scale how does the UK compare with other nations?

The KidsRights Index from the KidsRights Foundation, in cooperation with Erasmus University Rotterdam: Erasmus School of Economics and the International Institute of Social Studies has an annual ranking for all 181 UN member states that have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

UNICEF ranks OECD and EU nations countries in terms of family friendly policies

UNICEF state of the Worlds children report focuses in 2019 on the state of malnutrition and diet experienced by young people worldwide. It includes an extensive data dashboard

Save the Children publishes regular Global Childhood reports. In 2019 it found that Since the year 2000, circumstances have improved for children in 173 out of 176 countries, saving hundreds of millions of childhoods
However, Today, 1 child in 4 is still being denied the right to a childhood. This is detailed in its End of Childhood report which details the number and age of children being forced into marriage, work and out of education.

on world Kindness day try our recommended resources

Today is world Kindness day

It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations' kindness NGOs.

its website has details of projects involving sustainable development

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has inspiring stories and lesson plans

UCLA has just launched a Kindness research institute so take a look at the website to follow their research.

Are people in the UK kind?
fascinating survey form Carnegie Uk conducted in 2018. includes regional/urban breakdowns and breakdowns by gender and ethnicity.


If you measure kindness in terms of charitable giving and/or helping strangers view the reports and data from the Charities Aid Foundation World Giving report. Full methodology is supplied on the website.


How kindness helps builds better communities.

in 2017 the Carnegie Foundation. worked with seven organisations to test what, if anything, could be done to encourage kinder communities. This report summarises their ideas and the value it brings
the Practice of Kindness report and video also explores experience sin Scotland

Can kindness be added to public policy?
Explore some arguments put forward by Julia Unwin in 2018

Does being kind help your health?

The British Psychological Society blog considered this in 2018Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume 76, May 2018, Pages 320-329 found 27 studies fitting its criteria . Researchers conclude that being kind to others causes a small but significant improvement in subjective well-being. The review found that the effect is lower than some pop-psychology articles have claimed, but also concluded that future research might help identify which kind acts are most effective at boosting happiness.

30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall

It is the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The official Berlin website has details of events

The Berlin Wall even has its own website. This has details of its research library and a bibliography of key books.

A good starting point for a history of the building of the wall is this site maintained by Die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. It has a chronicle of events with images, accounts of victims and reflections by leading political figures. Text in German or English.

An alternative is “The Berlin Wall – A multimedia history”  an online project developed by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall on November 9, 2014. This also has timelines, videos of key events and interviews.

See some original news footage from British Pathe. This has a selection of clips from the 1960s and 1970s showing events relating to the wall.

The JFK Library has an account of President Kennedy's visit to West Berlin in 1963 and his famous speech.

The National Security Archive George Washington University has a book of declassified US documents relating to the construction of the wall and the Cold War.