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Write to End Violence Against Women Awards 2020 Winners
Thursday 8 December 2022 we hosted our Write to End Violence Against Women Awards in partnership with EVAW. The awards recognise and reward journalists, writers, and content creators across the UK who raise awareness of gender inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
We were delighted to have domestic abuse advocate Luke Hart speak on the night speak in relation to this year's Wooden Spoon Award: reporting that is sympathetic to the perpetrator and fails to name the crime committed. We were also joined by our 2022 judges Jane Dubois, Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, Laura Bates. Unfortunately, Samira Ahmed was unable to join us on the night but sent words of congratulations.
A big thank you to everyone who submitted articles for consideration and our steering group for their support and shortlisting.
Winners
Congratulations to all the 2022 winners!
Best Piece - News
Author: Marion Scott
Publication: The Sunday Post
Date: 27.03.2022
Best Piece - Features
Author: Dania Akkad
Title:After #WhereisNoof, Qatari women question how safe they really are
Publication: Middle East Eye
Date: 02.02.2022
Best Piece - Opinion and Comment
Author: Anna Moore
Title: Frank Mullane: how the murder of his sister and nephew changed his life and purpose
Publication: The Guardian
Date: 27.10.2021
Best Piece - Blog and Self-Published
Author: Winnie M Li
Title: The Emotional Labour of Dealing with the Media
Publication: On Road Media
Date: 05.07.2022
Wooden Spoon
Reporting that is sympathetic to the perpetrator and fails to name the crime committed.
We’ve all seen countless examples:
- Describing child sexual assault and abuse as ‘sex’
- Describing perpetrators of violent offences as ‘admirers’ or ‘jilted lovers’
- Reporting neighbours’ descriptions of violent perpetrators as ‘a nice chap’ or ‘family man’
- Framing crimes as perpetrated by men ‘pushed to the edge’ or left with no choice but to commit violence against women due to her words, actions or beliefs
Reporting like this doesn’t just harm the individuals involved in the piece, but promotes and reinforces victim-blaming narratives and beliefs and actively shapes the attitudes and behaviours of society as a whole.
Shortlist
News
Judged by Jane Debois, Head of Standards & Regulation at Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)
Author: Pritti Mistry
Title: Domesic abuse protection orders "absolutely pointelss" say victims
Publication: BBC News
Date: 21.09.2022
Author: Billy Briggs
Title: Women had suicidal thoughts after misogynistic abuse by Patriotic Alternative's supporters
Publication: The Ferret
Date: 09.01.2022
Author: Harriet Clugston
Publication: National World
Date: 02.11.2021
Author: Hannah Partos
Title: Life after FGM
Publication: Positive.News
Date: 02.02.2022
Author: Marion Scott & Alice Hinds
Publication: The Sunday Post
Date: 12.12.2021
Author: Alys Harte & Rachel Stonehouse
Title: Reproductive coercion: 'I wasn't allowed to take my pill'
Publication: BBC News
Date: 14.03.2022
Features
Judged by Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana (she/her),Head of Regulation at IMPRESS
Author: Zainab Iqbal
Title: The problem is men: Muslim women speak out against abuse in the US
Publication: Middle East Eye
Date: 28 July 2022
Author: Nadine White
Title: Child Q’s abuse reminds us that Black people are dehumanised every day
Publication: Independent
Date: 16.03.2022
Author: Sirin Kale
Title: ‘Honour killings? It should be called the devil’s work’: Bekhal Mahmod on the murder of her sister
Publication: The Guardian
Date: 22.06.2022
Author: Louise Wilson
Publication: Holyrood
Date: 16.03.2022
Author: Hannah Al-Olthmen and Megan Agnew
Title: The army's shameful secret
Publication: The Times
Date: 30.01.2022
Author: Stephen Stewart
Title: Women in football: Our investigation reveals scale of sexist abuse facing those who love the game
Publication: Press and Journal
Date: 16.02.2022
OPINION AND COMMENT
Judged by Samira Ahmed is an award-winning journalist with 20 years' experience in print and broadcast, and is a Visiting Professor of Journalism at Kingston University
Author: Sophie Gallagher
Title: Why do we ask this one terrible question every time a woman is killed?
Publication: Independent
Date: 07.07.2022
Author: Anna Moore
Publication: The Guardian
Date: 03.03.2022
Author: Dania Akkad
Title: After #WhereisNoof, Qatari women question how safe they really are
Publication: Middle East Eye
Date: 02.02.2022
BLOG AND SELF-PUBLISHED
Judged by Laura Bates, feminist campaigner and author and founder of the award-winning Everyday Sexism Project
Author: Olivia Dickinson
Title: Like a girl: Gender stereotypes in education
Publication: Optimus Education
Date: 23.11.2021
Author: Caitlin Stuart-Delavaine
Title: Violence against women isn’t inevitable, it’s unbearable
Publication: University of Glasgow
Date: 07.10.2021
Author: Elizabeth Dalgarno, Natalie Page, Mukesh Kapila
Title: The malignant pseudo-science of ‘parental alienation’
Publication: Mukesh Kapila Blog
Date: 10.10.2021
Author: Lady Ragnell
Title: A Domestic Abuse, Victim vs. Survivor?
Publication: The Medium
Date: 16.02.2022