Whats Coming up? Meetings and Events

21 Oct

What’s Coming up? Meetings and Events

Dear {{Recipient.FirstName}} {{Recipient.LastName}},

I hope you had a restful Summer. Time is indeed flying by and we have lots to update you on, do grab a cuppa and read on…

DJUK Campaign Meeting

I am delighted to say that our next in person meet up will be Thursday 22nd October in London. The exact details and venue are to follow. For now – if you are interested in attending, please sign up using the button below and we will keep you updated. It will be a wonderful chance to get together, meet others who are impacted, and help plan our campaign strategy and next steps. I promise that you will leave feeling empowered, nourished and inspired.

Westminister Meetings

We have written to the Patient Safety Commissioner, Professor Henrietta Hughes, who was recently vocal about her support for the Exeter project. We have asked for a meeting so we may share our concerns.

We are also working with our MP Support, Jessica Toale, in order to secure meetings with the Secretary of State for Health, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, and the Minister for Health, Dame Diana Johnson MP.

Labour Party Conference

The Labour conference will be in Liverpool. There are several events that we are engaging in.

Meeting with the Attorney General the RT Hon Ellie Reeves KC for a roundtable discussion on Victims Rights, Suzanne, one of DJUK’s Directors, will speak on behalf of the campaign about being victims of state harm and how it feels trying to be heard and seek accountability.

Angela and Susie, DJUK Directors will attend a Panel chaired by Jessica Toale MP centred on improving Women’s Long-Term Health, with a focus on the renewed Women’s Health Strategy and a keynote speech from Baroness Merron, Minister for Women’s Health and Maternity.

Myself and members of DJUK will attend a rally being hosted by Hillsborough Law Now and Hacked Off, being led by Hugh Grant. It is on Monday 28th September from 6pm. The rally is to celebrate Hillsborough Law ( Public Office Accountability Bill) and to call for greater press reform. I have spoken previously about how the Bill could help this campaign and indeed all those seeking Truth and Justice. Are you local to Liverpool? Would you like to attend the rally? Demand is high, to apply for a ticket please use the button below. If you do apply, drop me a line and let me know, as I will ensure you secure a ticket. It would be great to meet up with anyone attending, we also plan to give out DES Justice leaflets at the event!

Fabians Event ( - Click the title to read more)

The above event is also taking place at Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool on Tuesday 29th September. It is a great panel including Caroline Wheeler, Health journalist, and Dame Diana Johnson MP, Minister for Health, it again focuses on Truth, Trust and Transparency in The State. All issues that this campaign group is battling. At present, no one is able to attend this.

It would be a great opportunity to alert the panel to our cause and to give leaflets out. If anyone is local, or attending the conference from out of town and feels able to attend, let me know and I will get you a ticket!

Exeter Research: an update on our progress

At this early stage, an important part of our work is listening and learning so we were really encouraged by the level of interest in the review. More than 80 people got in touch to offer their knowledge, experiences and perspectives. We’re very grateful to everyone who has taken the time to contact us.

The response was even greater than we expected. We tried to involve as many people as possible so we asked everyone who got in touch to write and tell us: “What do you think we should know about DES and health impacts?”

We received an incredible 45 responses, sharing personal experiences, important concerns and issues that people felt researchers should be aware of. We heard from DES Mothers, daughters, sons, trans women and granddaughters. We also heard from Women and daughters of women prescribed DES for milk suppression.

We had conversations with DES Mothers, daughters, sons, trans women and granddaughters about the health impacts of DES. We spoke to 19 people in a mixture of one to one and small-group meetings.

This part of our engagement has now finished.

This has helped us build a fuller picture of the issues and experiences that community members feel are important, including aspects of DES and its health impacts that might otherwise be missed.

Thank you again to everyone who has contacted us and offered to share their experiences and knowledge. We look forward to keeping the community updated as the work progresses. (update provided by Exeter University)

I am also delighted to let you know that the campaign group is now formally incorporated. We will do an intro to Directors in the next newsletter! Always great to put a face to a name! As I have said previously, the campaign does need to start raising funds so we can scale up our efforts. For example, would you love to attend an in person meeting but are put off by the cost involved? This and many others, including printing materials, venue hire, insurance etc, are all reasons we need to fundraise. We hope that every campaign member will be able to engage and join in, and for the campaign to be able to support that wherever we can.

Here is the fundraising link

Signing off now – I hope to see as many of you as possible at the meeting in September!

You can get in touch with us at DESJustice@broudiejacksoncanter.co.uk.

I am helped on the DES inbox by Laura, who is passionate about this campaign and your information is dealt with in the strictest of confidence. Information can be overwhelming, so please take care of yourself and step away if you need to do so.

In solidarity,

Clare (Partner)