Islington Labour councillors have welcomed the appointment of councillor Kadeema Woodbyrne as Islington’s Women and Girls Champion for 2018-2019 -; the first role of its kind in London.

Kadeema will be working to highlight what more can be done to protect the rights of women and girls, as well as championing services designed to support them and to end violence against them.

Councillor Kadeema Woodbyrne said:

“It’s an honour to be appointed Islington’s first ever Women and Girls champion.

“Although we have come a long way as a society in advancing the rights of women and girls, the fight is not over. Universal movements such as the #MeToo campaign show that there is still a long way to go in supporting and listening to the voices of all women, and particularly marginalised women whose voices are often in the whispers of the community and rarely bought to the forefront. Women and girls continue to face harassment, discrimination, and violence in their everyday lives, as well as persistent negative stereotypes about our achievements and abilities. This is just not good enough. I am committed to ensuring that services are designed to support women and girls, and champion work to end violence against them.

“I am glad that Islington Labour are taking steps to make Islington a place where woman and girls are listened to and part of designing services. As woman and girls Champion I will work hard to make sure women and girls voices are heard.”

The creation of the Women and Girls Champion was inspired by a Plan International report which recommended Girls Champions be appointed at local level to support girls to tackle injustices facing them in the UK. Islington Labour has taken this one step further by creating a Women and Girls Champion.

Islington Labour are proud that after the 2018 council elections the majority of Islington Labour’s councillors are female, with 26 female and 21 male councillors. The appointment of a Women and Girls champion sends a clear message that Islington Labour are on the side of equality, and will never be complacent.