This week Sister Supporter held their first meeting here in Bournemouth. Meeting in a local pub in Charminster, not too far from the BPAS clinic in Ophir road, a group of women discuss what their plans are going forward.
'Sister Supporter is a grass-roots organisation, set up by local residents in Ealing, London 2015. We successfully campaigned for the UK's first ever buffer zone outside our local abortion clinic and now campaign for abortion rights- including the right for any human to access legal healthcare without feeling harassed or intimidated- across the UK'
Up for discussion that evening was the frequency of protesters, who the protesters are, where they come from, and their behaviour. They also talk through the things that the Sister Supporter group in London got wrong the first time round and how they can avoid making those mistakes this time round.
They inform me that the council are keen to do something and have been gathering evidence but are falling short as there are not enough complaints from nearby residents. They briefly discuss talking with local residents and a ‘door to door briefing sheet’ is handed around. Everyone gathers their things and they head down the neighbouring roads around the clinic for their first evening of approaching residents and letting them know about their campaign in the hopes of drumming up some support.
A couple of doors in, as the team are walking down the street, they’re approached by a man who at first glance thought they were pro-life protesters. He explains that he visits here a lot as his friend is a resident on the road. He tells us he often sees the protesters outside of the clinic and thinks their behaviour is ‘disgusting’. He’s approached them himself in the past, telling them what he thinks about what they do and has many times wanted to park his van in front of them to block their view and also protect the women using the clinic.
Hannah (Protest Organiser for Sister Supporter Bournemouth) believes that their first night out was a good start, she tells me that it appears that “a lot of the residents seem to be aware of what is going on at the clinic but they’re not directly affected by it” but believes she has fairly good support from them so far. Next steps are drumming up a presence on social media, contacting local councillors, and just generally getting the word out.
You can hear more from Hannah in the documentary when it goes live.
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