Our year in action: ActionAid's community campaigner highlights

As Community Campaigners, we campaign domestically to contribute to large-scale, global change. This year we’ve focused on ending violence against women and girls, climate and gender justice, period poverty, and our newsletter, which shines a light on modern day feminism.

This year, we have seen major momentum meeting with decision makers, taking to the streets to demand change, and amplifying the voices of women and girls around the world.  

Ending violence against women and girls

Starting off strong with the International Women’s Day march, hosted by Million Women Rise in March, ActionAid Community Campaigners joined to support this year’s call for action on violence against women and girls worldwide. This was a moment of immense solidarity: with chants echoing our support for women in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, India, Bangladesh, and around the world.

Campaigning for climate justice

Climate and gender justice remain interlinked, and the importance of discussing the impact of the climate crisis on women and girls will continue to grow as banks and big businesses continue to fund climate destruction. We have been creating momentum calling for the UK Government to regulate investment in polluting industries and take action on climate change.

In July, ActionAid UK launched a report on how HSBC are fuelling climate destruction. We invited MPs to the launch event in Parliament, asking for accountability and proposing means to better resolve the climate crisis that we face ahead of us.

Community campaigners at the parliamentary event.

ActionAid

Amy, our coordinator for the Climate and Gender Justice Group recalls the parliamentary event:

This was a great experience and tied our campaigning activities with government advocacy. During the event, we were able to meet with ActionAid Bangladesh’s Director, Farah Kabir and discuss the importance of voluntary community engagement. Following this we were able to meet virtually with several members of their team and learn about their incredible projects, activism and community engagement.”

Read more about the event in the July newsletter.

The  UK Treasury's official answer1 remains vague: with promises of “aiming” to make the UK into a clean energy superpower and zero carbon electricity by 2030. They continue to encourage private companies to make sustainable decisions, but will not take action to stop UK banks’ investments in climate harmful industries.

We must continue to call for the UK Government to take a regulatory approach towards something that will affect us all. Promises remain to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035, though this excludes international aviation and shipping emissions. We cannot afford to be vague in our measures when all major environmental bodies express consensus on the climate crisis we are to face if we do not take action NOW.

Community Campaigners involvement with ActionAidUK’s climate campaign continued at the Make Them Pay march in London this September. We attended alongside numerous other organisations in support of making polluters pay, taxing extreme wealth, and a just energy transition.

COP30 was another huge moment this year. Countries came together in Brazil to make decisions on the climate crisis. Community Campaigners held a webinar to reflect on what took place in Belem. We heard from ActionAid Brazil, ActionAid Tanzania, and ActionAid UK on what COP30 means for climate and gender justice. We shared our hopes for the future following the agreement at COP30 to develop a Just Transition Mechanism to support communities as we move away from fossil fuels – a huge win!

Our work on climate and gender justice so far has been empowering and enjoyable and we are excited for what’s next!

Period justice

With our ongoing advocacy for access to period products and awareness, Community Campaigners shared their experiences of period myths they have come across with their friends or family. This campaign was for World Menstrual Hygiene Day and featured in the July edition of our newsletter.

Joy as an act of resistance

With continued violence against women and girls, our call to action is loud and clear: we must be strong. To quote Toi Derricotte, “joy is an act of resistance”, and we must, even in these difficult times, remember that our spirit will not be shaken and our existence will continue to be.

This means taking the time to do the necessary work to resist tyranny but also celebrate the momentum we have made so far and all what we are about to achieve!