Janine GriffithsOn May 23rd 2026, a powerful meeting took place at Leeds Elders in Chapeltown. Spearheaded by Leeds Involving People in collaboration with elders from the black community, the event centred around black women’s experience of safety.
The aim of this gathering was to provide a safe space for black women to share their experiences of a lack of safety in the community. Ultimately, organisers plan to use these insights to write a comprehensive report on black women’s experiences of sexual abuse and misogyny, which will be sent directly to the Home Office.
This crucial step is designed to ensure black women’s experiences are included at the highest level so that whenever policy is drawn up, it will include black women.
Sharon Burke, the CEO of Leeds Involving People, highlighted the profound necessity of these gatherings. “Forums are so important for several reasons, firstly to empower people who feel they have no power, and secondly to make the services listen on the level that they should be listening, so we can reduce inequalities and promote equality,” Burke stated.
For Burke, this initiative is about safeguarding future generations and healing deep-seated wounds.
With an overarching goal to reduce violence against women and girls, Burke said that she hopes the discussions in the forum will inspire future generations and encourage the police and government to listen to the voices that are often ignored.
She said: “We hope the authorities will listen to us, read the report and co-create the next steps with us.”
Paulette Morris, a representative from Leeds Domestic Violence Service (LDVS) who works primarily with young people in the community said she hopes that these ongoing discussions around women’s safety will help women to recognise data and inspire policy change.
She added: “it’s really important that we see the predators in our communities, and that we really start to acknowledge the danger that black women are in so we can come together and acknowledge the fact that we need change, and we need to be part of that change.”
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