Not In Our Name: A Practical Guide
How to talk about the weaponisation of violence against women and girls
Why is this guide needed?
Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. Yet it is increasingly being used for political point-scoring.
It is wielded as a weapon to target migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum. In moments of national tragedy, misinformation and disinformation have been used to feed an anti-immigration rhetoric to divide communities and stoke further violence.
This is not limited to isolated incidents – it is reinforced daily on social media, in the news, and even in Parliament.
This stokes community division, fuels racism and anti-migrant rhetoric, and causes harm to us all.
Our response to politicians, activists, and journalists who weaponise VAWG to justify harm is clear: not in our name.
We urgently need to tackle the disinformation, hostility and racism that put us all at risk. The Government, media, and public must act now to change the narrative. This guide is designed to help us do just that.
This guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and tactics you need to communicate with the people in your life about this issue. We hope you find it useful.
Together, we are powerful and can create change.
Key takeaways if you've only got a few minutes
Remember most people are kind.
Most people are kind, compassionate and trying to do their best. But they might be relatively uninformed on issues such as violence against women, or immigration. They might be exposed to and swayed by harmful and regressive views on these issues.
Find common ground.
Effective conservations are about finding common ground and appealing to people’s better selves, not winning an argument. That means listening to understand and asking open questions to establish rapport and trust.
Facts alone don’t work.
Our hearts rule our heads (even if we think they don’t). So, avoid making the mistake of trying to convince people of the truth by telling them the facts alone. If those facts jar with what people already believe, they’ll ignore or reject them.
Foreground hope.
Remember that hope is a powerful motivator. And fear can cause us to look for simple answers to complex problems (for example, wrongly blaming people seeking asylum for everything wrong in our lives). Talk about the good future we want, rather than the bad things we want to get rid of.
Offer concrete and realistic solutions.
Help people see and believe that change is possible. And name the villains and heroes – the people responsible for both causing and solving the issue.
Tell the structural story.
When you use personal stories, you bring the issue to life and create an emotional connection. Make sure you tell the structural story behind the personal one, so that it isn’t dismissed as a one-off.
Lean into the ‘good’ values.
Frame facts with the ‘good’ values we all share. Values like freedom, mutual care and concern, community, equality and justice, that appeal to our common humanity.
Tell a new story.
Always tell or pivot to the new story – the truth about VAWG and the reality for people seeking asylum – using your own words.
Be clear and on point.
To maximise the chance people will pay attention to your message, use plain language, avoid jargon, and explain complex terms – like racism and misogyny – rather than assuming people understand what they mean.
With huge thanks and respect to the organisations we collaborated with to create this guide: End Violence Against Women, Hibiscus, Southall Black Sisters, Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), Imkaan, and Asylum Matters.