Eurythmics star Annie Lennox: 'cutting servies to vulnerable women really worrying'

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Communities

Singer Annie Lennox has described Government cuts to services helping vulnerable women as "really worrying".

Speaking at a march organised by the charity Women for Women International, the Eurythmics star voiced concern after being asked about cuts to services helping victims of domestic and sexual abuse, revealed in a survey for Women's Aid.

"I think it's really worrying. So many women suffer from abuse from their partners or their spouses," she said.

"I know for a fact two women die in the UK every week because of domestic violence and if we're cutting back, what does that mean for those women suffering?"

The Join Me on the Bridge march called for women to be included in peace negotiations in Afghanistan, a country described by the charity as "one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman".

The event is in its second year with Ms Lennox and other social activists including Bianca Jagger and Cherie Lunghi leading the way for more than 1,000 supporters along the River Thames.

Speaking after the march, Ms Lennox said: "The discrepancy that exists is not just in the job market where women always earn way less than men, but also with sexual violence, reproductive health and access to human rights.

"You'll see that there's a huge gap and that is extraordinary.

"We live in a Western world and there's still so much to do and women in developing countries are not even near the bottom rung of the ladder."

The Scottish star also criticised society for being "a culture obsessed with celebrity, with Posh Spice's hairdo and Jordan's breasts".

"I get frustrated by the media, with our society, with our obsession with things that are quite meaningless and superficial," she said.

"I think there's so much to be done in terms of evolving socially and in terms of our rights.

"I think about the achievements that have been created and yet, I know that one in eight women in Africa are dying in childbirth and when I look at the paper, I read about a young girl who was whipped to death because she was raped."