Women of conviction
On 23 July 2020, American activist and Democratic Party politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed the House of Representatives, recounting an incident about a heated exchange with Republican Party politician Ted Yoho after which he reportedly called her a f***ing b*tch. Yoho had apologised on the House floor, but denied the slur. Alexandria later addressed this with impact: ‘Mr Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am two years younger than Mr Yoho’s youngest daughter. I am someone’s daughter too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.’
The speech resonated across the world and into the UK offices(TVM), a community interest company and quarterly magazine by and for women in the criminal justice system. Around 1,000 of 8,000 printed copies are sent to women’s prison libraries, 900 sent to named women prisoners. Women in the criminal justice system can contribute works to TVM and are paid £50, which is available upon release. It’s also a campaigning platform that amplifies the voices of women who have been marginalised by society. It was after that powerful speech in Washington highlighting gross misogyny in the political system by a woman who has risen to the top that further galvanised the team at TVM to act.
