Friday, April 27, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

“Be a man and speak up” for women’s rights

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:29 AM PDT

Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor 

Wales International Rugby Star Adam Jones will tell men in Wales to "Be A Man and Speak Up" for women's rights at the National Assembly for Wales on 2 May.

It's part of an innovative project by Cardiff Women's Aid to challenge gender inequality and domestic violence.

“Cardiff and the Vale's Women's Rights, Education and Advocacy Project“ has already recruited and trained 42 female volunteers to oppose violence against women, in all its forms.

Now the project is looking to recruit male volunteers to promote gender equality and to speak out against domestic violence in their own communities.

The event is also supported by Minister for Finance and Equalities, Jane Hutt, and Assembly Member Julie Morgan.

Hutt said that: “The Welsh Government is determined to do all it can to help victims of violence and abuse and to ensure they are supported and can live safely within their local communities.

“Cardiff Women’s Aid’s project is exactly the kind of scheme we want to see across Wales.

“Domestic abuse is not acceptable and should not be tolerated by anyone.  It’s vital that men as well as women play a role in reducing incidents of violence and I wish Cardiff Women’s Aid well in their latest project to tackle this important issue.”

Project leader, Claudia Donati added:

"At the heart of our project is the belief that change will benefit men and boys as well as women and girls. Increasingly men themselves acknowledge they too are constrained by rigid gender roles.

"Many men are willing to envisage a world where they are able to be the kind of men they want to be: in a world free from violence.

“However, every man who stands up for gender equality has to face the difficulties of going against societal norms which are reinforced every day.

“This is why the project needs men to stand up for gender equality and bring about positive change"  

The 'Be a Man and Speak Up' Launch will take place between 12.30 and 1.20 in the Pierhead Seminar Room at the Assembly's Pierhead Building on 2 May.

Controversial legal aid bill passed by Lords

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 07:30 AM PDT

Jem McCarron
WVoN co-editor

Yesterday evening the British government’s controversial Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was finally passed in the House of Lords.

The bill, having been defeated a total of 14 times, has raised concerns over changes to the way it deals with victims of domestic abuse.

Earlier this week, the Observer newspaper reported that an alliance of women’s groups (including Mumsnet and the Women’s Institute) had written to Kenneth Clarke, justice secretary, regarding changes to the bill relaxing legal aid restrictions for only those women who enter a refuge.

Recent research shows that of the 124,895 women who requested support for domestic violence only just over 17,000 went to refuges.

The letter said "We know from our work with victims of violence that women most often seek shelter and comfort from family and friends after experiencing violence; a natural and understandable reaction to a traumatic situation."

Other concerns have been raised, particularly in relation to the amount of time between the crime and the claim being made, which the government has reduced to 12 months.

Lady Scotland of Asthal, a Labour peer and former attorney general, earlier this week requested amendments to allow evidence admissible for up to six years after the crime in cases of domestic abuse.

She said there had been a “narrower gateway” for evidence in the past and “lives had been lost.

“We on this side of the house have made a choice – our choice is to support victims and their children.

“While we have a situation where many, many women do not have the support they need, we cannot close our eyes.”

However, it appears that this amendment was not in the final bill agreed yesterday.

Justice Minister Lord McNally said that the government had agreed to widen the definition of domestic violence and that legal aid would be made available "even in older instances of domestic violence”.

A spokesperson for Sound Off for Justice, a group campaigning against the bill said:

“For over a year, we have warned the impact of this cut will not be to save money but to leave thousands of victims with no way of escape. The government knows this is an attack on the family and on women.”

Siobhan Benita, future Mayor of London?

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Brogan Driscoll
WVoN co-editor 

With May 3 fast approaching, Londoners have their eyes fixed on the mayoral elections.

Although you could be forgiven for thinking it is a two-horse race between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, there are other candidates.

And this time round, there are two women, one of whom – Siobhan Benita – is standing as an independent.

But Benita has her work cut out for her, with the latest poll putting her in joint fourth place and the bookmaker Paddy Power putting her odds at 20-1.

To add to her problems, the current electoral guidelines of many UK broadcasters only give airtime to candidates from parties with either a track record in previous elections or evidence of support in polls.

The Guardian newspaper was outraged, pointing out in a recent editorial that: “Politics in London needs something much better than the established parties are offering so far. It is not too late to shake things up for good."

But Benita reckons she has pulling power and that voters will be attracted to her independence, saying that: "An independent Mayor can bring together people, groups and organisations who are usually divided by party politics."

You have to admire her courage in standing. Framing herself as “not a politician”, she was a senior civil servant until she resigned from her job earlier this year to run for mayor.

A 40-year-old mother of two, she is fighting under the slogan of “A mum for London”. Her manifesto includes a commitment to appoint an Education Commissioner, to create a fixed-price housing market, improve transport in London and build better, safer neighbourhoods.

Whatever you think of her politics, she clearly deserves to be heard above the male-dominated personality-driven campaigns that represent the Ken and Boris show.

And you never know, she may surprise us all. We can but hope.

Female marines to be trained for combat roles

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 03:30 AM PDT

Liz Draper
WVoN co-editor

The US Marine Corps school that trains infantry officers will enrol female students for the first time this year.

The move takes the Corps a step closer to allowing women to serve in combat roles.

The Marine Corps Times reported last week that volunteers will take part in the Infantry Officers Course (IOC) in Quantico, Virginia, which trains marines for direct combat.

The change follows a new policy announced by the Pentagon in February allowing women to serve closer to the front line, and is designed to study how women perform in units previously limited to men.

In line with Pentagon policy, women will continue to be barred from roles in the infantry, or when direct combat is the primary mission.

However, women graduating from the course will now be eligible for roles that were previously for men only such as artillery, tanks, assault amphibian, combat engineer, combat assault and low-altitude air defence.

The US army is also exploring how women could be integrated into combat units.

Women have until now been banned from combat roles in both the army and the marines due to concerns about their strength and stamina.

In annual fitness tests that marines undergo, men and women are judged on different, "gender-normed" standards. Unlike in other branches of the armed forces, the Marine Corps runs separate basic training for men and women.

However, women serving in non-combat roles have died alongside men in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 140 servicewomen have lost their lives in the two countries.

The move has been welcomed by many. Speaking to the BBC, former Marine Corps captain and executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network Anu Baghwati called it an exciting development.

"As proven by 10 years of leading troops in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are women that are physically and mentally qualified to succeed at IOC, and lead infantry platoons,” she said.

How can America claim to be the champion of democracy?

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:48 AM PDT

Aliyyah Ahad
Freelance writer 

Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court decided to uphold a law which subjects anyone arrested for even a minor violation to a strip search.

An apparent triumph of security over privacy, the ruling came as a surprise to many.

But isn't it obvious? If you haven't paid your speeding ticket or gotten your license renewed, it's probably because you are on drugs. These being the same drugs that the police will no doubt discover before putting you behind bars.

If it isn't drugs that have encouraged you to avoid paying your dues, it is most likely that you have a weapon. For why else would you feel that you are above the law?

The issues at stake in this debate are the right to privacy and the severity of crime that invalidates that right. Strip searches are both humiliating and degrading and should not be used as a standard procedure.

The four liberal judges on the Supreme Court voted against the law while the five conservative judges voted in favour of it.

Interestingly, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in the ruling, noted that there are many definitions of "strip search". The Supreme Court took close visual inspection without touching as its measure. This is because a close visual inspection with touching is a sexual assault.

It was this ruling, which occurred in what we like to consider the world’s champion of democracy, that immediately ran through my mind when I read about virginity testing in Egyptian prisons.

When the military arrested 190 demonstrators in Tahrir Square on March 9, 2011, many of the detainees were women.

A prison military doctor, Ahmed Adel, performed "virginity tests" on the unmarried women. This involved exposing their genitals and using his fingers to examine their hymens.

Despite evidence that these tests were a routine procedure for women entering Egyptian prisons, the military insisted that the doctor was acting of his own accord and not following a military procedure.

The military prosecutor initially charged Adel with sexual assault. However, only five days later this charge was reduced to committing "an act of public indecency" and  he was ultimately acquitted.

Rape and other serious charges are treated very severely when committed by civilians. Sentences range from 25 years to the death penalty.

When the perpetrator is a member of the military, on the other hand, the same crime can be punishable by only three years in prison. Clearly there is a huge miscarriage of justice where the military is concerned.

But how does this relate to the American case?

It’s quite simple – it should make us ask to what extent one must violate the law in order to be deemed not to deserve its protection.

The women in Tahrir Square were protesters.Is the expression of free speech and the right to assemble also a crime in America?

The Occupy protesters can attest to the fact that this is now reality. Should you be subjected to humiliating practices when your only crime is challenging the status quo?

Is the role of the police to protect and serve or to arrest and debase?

It is not clear that this law is serving the interests of the people, be they totally or only partially law-abiding.

Just as we would denounce the virginity tests in Egypt, we should not overlook the rights that can no longer be taken for granted in the US.

Far right leader wins over French women

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Samantha Reeve
WVoN co-editor

The leader of France’s far right party, Marine Le Pen, succeeded in increasing the number of women voting for the National Front (FN) in the first round of Sunday’s French presidential elections.

In previous elections, about twice as many men as women voted for the party, but this time round the proportion of men and women was roughly the same at 18%.

Agnes Balle, director of political surveys at CSA pollster, said that French women generally avoid extreme candidates at both ends of the political spectrum, but Le Pen has successfully bucked this trend.

Le Pen polled 6.4 million votes in Sunday’s first round, or 17.9% of the total, compared to 28.6% who voted for the Socialist candidate, Francois Hollande and 27.1% for the current president, Sarkozy.

Since becoming president of the FN in January 2011, she has given the party’s macho image a major overhaul. It is part of an overall image change for the party, moving away from neo-nazi and overtly racist groups.

Le Pen has also widened the party’s policies, talking not only about race and immigration, but also economics and the Euro. According to Le Pen, she represents the ‘invisible’ in society – those who have been excluded by the crisis.

Sarkozy and Hollande will now have to win over these “invisible” French citizens before the run-off election on May 6. Le Pen is not expected to endorse either candidate.