Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 02 May 2013 07:30 AM PDT
Groundbreaking feminist magazine Spare Rib is to re-launch with original co-founder Rosie Boycott now a confirmed member of the team led by freelance journalist, Charlotte Raven. The Guardian announced the re-launch, quoting from Raven's email to potential supporters outlining her plans and asking for contributions. ‘We’re looking for a commitment of £100 or more from prominent supporters who are as frustrated as we are by the PR and celebrity-filled women’s magazines and long for an alternative,’ she wrote. Having already raised the £6,000 needed for the on-line aspect of the project, Raven also recently announced that the new Spare Rib website will be formally launched on 27 May. The team of ‘disaffected artists, activists and journalists’ that Raven has gathered will create a magazine that will sit alongside Cosmopolitan on the newsagent’s shelf, ‘instead of on those carousels in Whole Foods alongside Green Parent [and] will revive the spirited and soulful vision of feminism that SR once embodied, not the timid liberal one that dominates the mainstream media.’ The news of the re-launch has been met with general enthusiasm tempered with caution. The caution relates to the somewhat fractured feel of today's feminism and the role of the internet in disseminating ideas and debate. Sophie Wilkinson wrote in the Observer recently that she hopes Spare Rib doesn’t fall victim to the internet’s ‘dissections and preference for immediate reaction instead of thought-out reasoning’, because ‘as much as it has to look out for itself in this unregulated territory, it could be a welcome guiding light’. ‘The brand’s legacy’ she continued, ‘is one of a time when women achieved change through genuine activism, not idle clicktivism.’ Writing in the Independent, Louisa Saunders said that she was ‘still slightly smarting’ from the feeling she had in the 1980s that ‘it sometimes felt less like I was fighting the enemy, more like I was the enemy,’ and that she hopes the new Spare Rib is the forum she always hoped it would be – ‘accessible, intellectual, campaigning and far-sighted.’ Raven's email could be seen as addressing some of those types of concerns, saying that the new version will be funny and will feel like an inclusive girls' club, rather than an old boys' club. Launched in 1972, the original Spare Rib magazine was considered radical, in both look and content. Its purpose, ‘as set out in its editorial, was to investigate and present alternatives to the traditional gender roles for women of virgin, wife or mother.’ Articles were political and used as campaign material for the Women's Liberation Movement. Some retailers, including WHSmith, refused to stock the magazine, and some women readers felt unable to subscribe to the magazine or read it openly. Subscriptions to the original Spare Rib numbered around 20,000 per month, although readership was probably higher as women passed the magazine around their various social groups or read it in the library. The tagline for the 2013 version of Spare Rib is ‘Life, Not Lifestyle’, and at the moment, while the website is being built, readers can contribute financially and sign up for email announcements via the on-line holding page. Raven says that she hopes to begin publishing the print magazine in autumn 2013.  |
| Keir Starmer: lighting the path Posted: 02 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT
Keir Starmer, who, as Director of Public Prosecutions, has done a remarkable job in moulding the CPS into a more professional and effective service, announced this week and will be stepping down from the role. He will not be applying for an extension to his contract in October 2013. The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, praised him as “one of the most successful directors of recent years” who has brought a “sound instinct and humanity” to the role. Following his appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) five years ago, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) became the first government department to develop an integrated strategy for tackling violence against women and girls. Conviction rates for rape and domestic violence are currently at an all-time high. In 2007/2008 when the conviction rate was recorded as 58 per cent; the rate of conviction for rape and domestic abuse now stands at 63 per cent. The conviction rate for domestic violence has also increased; in 2005/2006 the conviction rate stood at 60 per cent and it now stands at 74 per cent after a further one per cent increase this year. While it is clear there is still a lot of work to be done about violence against women and girls (VAWG), Keir Starmer will certainly leave a constructive legacy, a vast improvement in the fight against domestic abuse, sexual assault and rape. Starmer said: “For victims of these appalling crimes, the message is clear: you can have confidence that the criminal justice system is getting better and better at prosecuting these offences and if your case is charged there is now a very strong chance that your attacker will be convicted. "Offenders too should be warned.” His departure was announced shortly after he announced the introduction of a dedicated rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) unit established in every CPS Area. Referring to this unit, Starmer said: "I hope this will help to sustain and improve our performance in these types of cases. “In addition, in November last year we also produced, in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers, a new domestic violence checklist for police officers and prosecutors to help build the best possible prosecution case and ensure victims get the service they deserve. “Recent developments in the VAWG strategy include the implementation of a CPS action plan to improve prosecution of cases.” And his time in office has seen an improvement in the way violence against women and girls has been perceived and the way such cases are handled by both the police and the CPS. Starmer also implemented an action plan for the CPS to use to improve prosecution of cases involving female genital mutilation, and he is currently informing prosecutors on new guidance for the issues of child sexual abuse. Some have criticised Starmer's relevance to the role of DPP because of his background in Human Rights law rather than criminal prosecutions, and there are now calls for Starmer's replacement to be an experienced prosecutor. But with conviction rates at this all time high, Starmer has proved that experience in defence work really does not put you at any kind of disadvantage. And we can really appreciate that someone has – at long last – been getting to grips with these issues.  |
| Looking at the Merseyside model Posted: 02 May 2013 01:09 AM PDT
Should crimes against sex workers be classified as hate crimes? In 2006, police in Merseyside said sex workers were a vulnerable group of people they wanted to protect and they declared crimes against sex workers to be hate crimes. This is ‘the Merseyside model’. In 2010, the results of the introduction of the Merseyside model brought about astounding results – the overall conviction rate in Merseyside for crimes against sex workers was 84 per cent, with a 67 per cent conviction rate for rape. The national average conviction rate for rape is just 6.5 per cent. In Merseyside sex workers are treated like victims not like criminals, but this proactive approach is not being replicated in other areas of the UK. The Oath a police officer takes states that they: "do solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that I will well and truly serve the Queen in the office of constable, with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all people; and that I will, to the best of my power, cause the peace to be kept and preserved and prevent all offences against people and property; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof faithfully according to law." So, no matter what your occupation, the police are therefore bound to treat everyone with equal respect and dignity. Yet many sex workers say this does not happen. Rising author Ruth Jacobs studied prostitution in the late 1990s undertaking a dissertation on prostitution, examining the psychological and social issues and theories of crime. Part of her research involved spending time with, and interviewing, three women who worked as call girls. Since then, she has continued to draw on her research, writing her debut novel 'Soul Destruction: Unforgivable' and campaigning for the Merseyside model to be introduced nationwide. Ruth's campaign, 'A cry for the Merseyside model' can be found on her website, where she publishes interviews she has conducted with exited prostitutes. These interviews contain accounts from women who have been attacked and raped by clients. They describe how they felt unable to report the incidents to the police for fear of being considered a 'deserving victim'. They describe how the police have made them feel like criminals rather than victims and how they have felt judged rather than supported by those they needed help from. Kate, an escort in Ireland, talking about the times she was raped, explained why she did not report the incidents to the police. She said: "I felt I would be judged by the police and [I feared] their detailed questioning. “I felt [the rapes] would be categorised as 'alleged' rapes, with question marks over my reliability and circumstances … and that feeling would be too hard to handle." She went on to describe how that feeling of being unable to report the crimes against her has left a lasting impact on her life. "It's like I have to take responsibility for everything: being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being raped, not fighting back, not trying harder to get away and now not letting it happen to anyone else. "If I stop and think about it for too long, all my energy disappears. "So I have placed both episodes in the back corners of my mind for now." Maria, a prostitution survivor who was also raped, described how she too felt unable to report the attacks to the police. "I was raped and I was beaten up on more than one occasion. One time, I was drugged and left in the car park of a nightclub. "When I came to, I was bruised on my waist, legs, and breasts. "I was too frightened to go to the police… there was lack of trust. You didn't know which policemen to trust. "Half the girls were being touched up by them. It was a vicious circle. There was no one to help you. "It would be like you chose to do this job: get out and do it, or get a life." Maria continued: "…[the police] don't take crimes committed against [prostitues] seriously, not when I was working. "They have the attitude that you've put yourself in danger and you need to get yourself out of it." No one deserves to be raped; no one puts themselves in the position of being raped. Rape or sexual assault of any kind should not be considered an occupational hazard of sex work. If sex workers report a crime and seek support from the police they should be treated like victims, like any other victim of a crime. The Merseyside model seeks to do this. It also seeks to provide sex workers with the support they need to leave the sex industry if that' i what they want to do. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have a nationally agreed definition of hate crime. Hate crimes are taken to mean any crime where the perpetrator’s hostility or prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised. This is a broad and inclusive definition. A victim does not have to be a member of the group. In fact, anyone could be a victim of a hate crime. The CPS and ACPO have, however, agreed five monitored strands of hate crime; hostility or prejudice in relation to disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender identity. So, presumably under the current law relating to hate crime, a sexual assault or rape against a transgendered sex worker or homosexual sex worker could be considered a hate crime. But this leaves a massive group of people not protected by hate crime. Hate crime is currently high up on the agenda for the police and criminal justice sector. If crimes against sex workers were defined as hate crimes, as in the Merseyside model, and sex workers were treated as victims of hate crime, this would help bring this abhorrent crime into the spotlight. Defining crimes against sex workers as hate crimes is hugely important to the lives of sex workers. Police would be forced to record the crimes in their annual reports and perhaps this would suffice as the evidence required to ensure all areas bring into force new policies which actively seek to protect sex workers. The general population tends to be repulsed by hate crime – by classifying crimes against sex workers as hate crimes, the general public will be made to stop and think. As Kate said: "I would like to think that no matter which part of the spectrum you belong to – pro or anti, the actual health and safety of those working in the here and now [should] be uppermost. “The Merseyside model should not be allowed to become part of the sex trade debate – it's more important, more urgent than that." Introducing the Merseyside model nationwide would encourage sex workers and prostitutes to report crimes against them to the police. It would help to ensure the police took these reports seriously and to ensure the police offer the right level of support to an extremely vulnerable group of women. It would help to increase knowledge of those 'clients' who are dangerous. The police could actively seek them. Women could actively avoid them. Lives have been lost. Prostitutes and sex workers are not only raped; some are killed by 'clients'. A nationwide Merseyside model could significantly reduce these risks. You can support the campaign to make all crimes against people in prostitution and sex work hate crimes throughout the UK, by signing the petition. If you have a blog or website, you can help support the campaign further. See here for details. You can follow Ruth Jacobs on Twitter @RuthFJacobs.  |
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