6 Mar 2025
Experts by experience share their stories of attending the Parliamentary launch of the ‘Woman of the North’ report
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Experts by experience share their stories of attending the Parliamentary launch of the ‘Woman of the North’ report
Lorraine and Ashley are public members who have contributed to research work supported by the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, exploring the mental health impacts of Universal Credit.
Their experiences were included in the recent ‘Woman of the North’ report, led by Health Equity North.
You can read more about the ‘Woman of the North’ report here.
In recognition of their involvement, they were invited to attend a Parliamentary launch of the Woman of the North report, in September 2024.
In this blog, they share their thoughts on the event and what it meant to them.
Ashley’s reflections
What an honour to be invited to Westminster Hall in London. Sitting on the train to Kings Cross we weren’t sure what to expect but we were looking forward to hearing everyone’s views.
When we arrived, we passed the Harry Potter shop and looked longingly at the place where you can get your picture taken but had more important things to attend to.
Due to health reasons, I couldn’t get the tube so had to opt for taxis which I was so grateful for, but typical London traffic it was at a standstill. With some gentle persuading and making friends with the lovely female taxi driver she managed to get us there in time winding us expertly through backstreets.
When we finally got to Westminster Hall, we were looking forward to hearing the speeches and the parliamentary responses. Some of the talks were very inspirational especially some of the responses to the report and it was lovely to network afterwards and reconnect with people I had met before. It was also helpful for us to explain about what our involvement in the report was too.
I agreed with the points made by some of the speakers that children’s services are very disappointingly letting down woman and their families.
There also needs to be more support for women in the north going through domestic abuse and who have suffered this – which I have personal experience of.
We had to leave soon after the event ended as we had tickets for the London Eye which was such an amazing experience. As we were waiting for our train home, I just had enough time to dive into the Harry Potter shop as a ‘Pinky Puff’ was calling my name and needed a home – you’re never too old for magic.
I hope that there can be a sprinkle of magic when it comes to changes in children’s services actually supporting woman and their families, and more support to encourage women who have gone or going through domestic abuse to speak up and be fully supported.
No one understands until you are going through it how much of an impact it has and how it affects you mentally, physically and emotionally. I hope there will be a follow up to this event where there can be more questions and more involvement.
Lorraine’s reflections
Being a single mother of two children currently on Universal Credit, I was ecstatic when I received an invitation to the launch event of the ‘Woman of the North’ report taking place at the Houses of Parliament. I was invited to the event due to a contribution I had made towards the report, which appears on page 27.
I was so honoured to have been invited, particularly because the invite was based on a piece of work that I had managed to write, despite the many challenges that I have been dealing with on a day-to-day basis. I was also in awe of the fact that my work was deemed to be valuable enough to coincide with the other articles which were written in the report by experts in the field of health too.
My two children were also very pleased about the fact that I had been invited to the Houses of Parliament, and told me that, no longer did they just see me as just being their mum struggling to make ends meet, there to do the washing, cooking, cleaning and shopping, but, now (after the invite) they began to see me more as an inspiration – someone to aspire to. They even told their friends and some of our family members that ‘their mum had been invited to the Houses of Parliament’. I felt proud.
Furthermore, for me, visiting the Houses of Parliament was extra special, because, being born and bred in London, it has always been somewhere that I have wanted to visit, but never got round to doing so.
The event itself was very informative. One of the comments that stood out for me by one of the speakers there, was that the overall findings of the report seemed to suggest that unfortunately, ‘women of the north had been let down’ by some elements of the health care system. However, the fact that it has been noted and acknowledged is a step in the right direction, in my opinion.
After the ‘Women of the North report launch event had finished, we were treated to a ride on the London Eye, where I saw London in all its glory. Visiting the London Eye was extra special for me because it was being built at the time I moved out of London, so I never got to go on it. It really was a very magical experience for me, because I saw parts of London that I never knew existed even though I was born and raised there.
After our visit to the London Eye, we began to journey back to Newcastle. Our journey back was significantly marked by a huge double rainbow which seemed to have appeared suddenly out of nowhere and seemed to last for ages. It was beautiful, just like our day had been.
You can read more about the Universal Credit study and public involvement activities linked to this work, by following the links below:
If you would like to know more about this work, please email Dr Mandy Cheetham, Assistant Professor in Health and Social Care Research at Northumbria University, and part-time Research Fellow with the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria.