Using God’s Name in Vain: Spiritual Abuse By Ruth Akinradewo The simple definition of spiritual abuse is: controlling or coercive behaviour in a religious context. However, widespread abuse in a faith-based context is much more nuanced, and may include: manipulation and exploitation; enforced accountability; censorship of decision-making, requirements for

The Prevention of  Women & Girls Access to Education By Ruth Akinradewo Women face inequality tied to their gender at every stage of their life, and one of the most recognisable forms of this society-perpetuated imbalance is in preventing women and girls access to education. Traditional beliefs that the

When Home isn’t a Safe Haven: Domestic Abuse by Ruth Akinradewo Attacks in the home constitute one of the oldest existing forms of abuse against women and girls. In the UK, domestic abuse encompasses any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse

I Do Not: Forced Marriage, Bride-Selling and Bride-Napping By Ruth Akinradewo Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or both parties have not expressed their full and free consent to the union. Forced marriage became a criminal offence in Britain and Northern Ireland in 2014. The British Home

Tied with a Knot: Child Marriage By Ruth Akinradewo The UN considers child marriage as any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. It is deemed a form of forced marriage, given that one or both parties have not yet reached adulthood

The Dark of Pornography  By Ruth Akinradewo Pornography. I don't love to hear that word, nor to think about what it means. The term derives from the Greek word porni, meaning 'prostitute' and 'graphein' ("to write"). It was initially used to classify any work of art or literature depicting

Prostitution: Patriarchal or Liberating? By Ruth Akinradewo Prostitution can be understood as "the practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables" and is an age-old societal ill that places women and girls in particular, in grave danger. The crux of the

End Human Trafficking By Ruth Akinradewo The United Nations defines human trafficking as: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of

No Room For Grooming By Ruth Akinradewo Grooming, as defined by the NSPCC, is “when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.” This topic is one that has hit the headlines