Women's Views on News

One clear question about prostitution
Lamenting sexism in classical music
Help keep a woman on UK banknotes
Abuse victims failed by police

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 08:34 AM PDT

The real question about prostitution is the question of men's rights.

Finn Mackay closed a clear and exhaustive look at the issues relating to the pros and cons of legalising prostitution with some so far unanswered questions.

The real question about prostitution is the question of men's rights, Mackay wrote, and whether we as a society believe that men have a right to buy and sell women's bodies or whether they do not.

We know that people will do what they have to do to survive and to make money, and people make desperate choices to provide for their children, to keep a roof over their heads, to feed their families or just to make an income – and they should not be criminalised for doing so when their situation and/or vulnerability is exploited within prostitution.

But why, she asked, do men choose to buy women's bodies, men who are often in full time employment, in relationships and in a position of relative privilege?

‘And why do we as a nation protect and condone that choice as if it cannot be helped, as if it is a feature of our human biology that some of us are born with a price on our head and others with a birthright to buy us?’ Mackay continued.

Imagine, she wrote, if our country stood up and said that this is not acceptable, as Sweden has done.

Stood up and said that every woman is worth more than what some man will pay for her and that we will criminalise rather than condone men who assume a right to buy the body of another human being.

For despite the changes in the Policing and Crime Act 2009 under the last government, which were indeed a step forward, for the first time directing the eyes of the law onto those who fuel prostitution – punters – our laws are clearly lacking on this issue.

The victory this far – as far as it goes – was a result of tireless campaigning by women's groups, led by the feminist, abolitionist 'Demand Change' campaign.

But these changes do not go far enough and those exploited in the 'sex-industry' are still being branded as, and treated as, criminals, Mackay points out, with all the increased vulnerability that engenders.

In her paper’s conclusion, Mackay wrote that rather than simply throw our hands in the air and legalise the whole of the 'sex-industry', some genuine vision and ambition was needed.

And it is, as Mackay said, time to choose which side we are on; the multibillion dollar 'sex-industry' is doing fine and well. It does not need our support, it certainly does not need our protection.

But around the world, exploited in prostitution, there are women, children and men who do need our protection.

Many of them can see no end to their situation; so we must make that end happen.

We must end one of the oldest human rights violations our world has known and relegate this blot on our humanity to history.

And for those of you who are flummoxed by the excuse question 'Isn't prostitution the oldest profession?'

The answer is no.

Apparently agriculture is actually the oldest profession.

Abolitionists view prostitution as one of the oldest oppressions.

And the length of time an oppression has been in existence is not grounds for its continuation; it is even more reason to try to overcome it.

Lamenting sexism in classical music

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT

Marketing female artists as sexy makes them more acceptable.

In another story about 'sex sells' recently, Dame Jenni Murray, the BBC’s Women's Hour stalwart, has been having a bit of a 'pop' at the world of classical music, asserting that women who make it to the top predominantly do so because of the way they are marketed.

She cites violinist Nicola Benedetti and trumpeter Alison Balsom as prime examples.

Both are glamorous, good looking women and both have musical talent in spades.

Dame Jen isn't saying that these women aren't talented – au contraire; her concern is that their talent is not always the first thing that's noticed or written about them, but the fact that they are 'sexy'.

Moreover, she believes that women in classical music struggle to succeed without capitalising on their appearances, and that those who don't go along with the tired notion that sex sells, fail to do so well.

Well that's a bit depressing.

Sadly, she may have a point. The world of classical music is hardly a bastion of equal opportunity, and has historically been hostile to women who want to excel.

Now though, according to Dame Jenni, throw in a little sex appeal and Wolfgang's your uncle.

The extent to which these women actually engage with the notion that 'sex sells', however, is open to debate.

Maybe it's more about soldiering on and hoping that, in the end, people will be more interested in the music than in the ‘tits and teeth’.

Talking of which, Nicola Benedetti, who has been described in a predictable hackneyed fashion as 'fit as a fiddle', was subjected to a Paxman-like interrogation in The Sun last year.

The introductory paragraph to this intellectual mind-probe read: 'So I guess Nicola won't be posing for the lads' mags anytime soon. Pity, because she looks fit as a fiddle when we meet at Edinburgh's plush Sheraton Hotel.

‘But Nicola doesn't always take the bonniest photo — she's beaky in pics sometimes, which is weird because in the flesh she's an absolute knock-out.

'The classical musician is wearing skinny jeans which show off her long legs. She's also busty with a washboard flat tummy, tottering around 5ft 10in in her Dune platform wedges.'

You can imagine how the piece continued. The most penetrating question that the, erm, journalist asked her was aimed more at her violin.

'Gie’s a shot?' he asked (which is Scottish for 'may I have a plinky plink of your instrument?').

Naturally, she declined.

Trumpeter Alison Balsom's erstwhile nickname is more direct – she has simply been described as the 'trumpet crumpet'.

I'm not totally convinced that either Benedetti or Balsom would entirely approve of their monikers, given that they have both worked their backsides off to get where they are.

Jenni Murray has a harsher outlook. She believes that female musicians struggle in the classical music world and are only accepted when they are marketed in a particular way – or allow themselves to be marketed in a particular way.

But this throws up an age-old argument.

Why shouldn't these women be allowed to enjoy a bit of glamour, to dress how they like without provoking such trouser-rubbing drooling?

You are supposed to be listening, not ogling.

Or maybe that's naive.

Post-Dame Jenni outburst, in a responding piece for The Telegraph, violinist Tasmin Little saids she is inclined to agree.

'In my experience, there is, sadly, much truth in what [Jenni] says.

‘During my 25-year career in the profession, I have noticed an increased emphasis on appearance … and youth and beauty are perceived as almost equal to talent,' she said.

Dame Jenni also went on to lament the general chauvinism that exists in the orchestral world as a whole, saying it is 'blighted by sexism'.

This is nothing new.

Jenni herself quotes Sir Thomas Beecham, who once told a female cellist, ‘You have between your legs the most sensitive instrument known to man and all you can do is sit there and scratch it’.

Charming.

But others have a more optimistic view of women in classical music.

Writing in The Guardian, Tom Service said that he believes British orchestras are becoming more feminised across all departments, particularly – and most noticeable – in youth orchestras.

And the BBC Proms, after 118 years, have finally allowed a woman to conduct the hallowed 'Last Night'.

Time will tell if that marks a sea change in itself.

But the rank and file of orchestras in general is still pretty bereft of women, especially in European orchestras.

Women make up only fourteen per cent of the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic only began admitting women full-time to their ranks in 1997. These are the two most feted orchestras in the world.

However, British – and American – orchestras do seem to fare rather better, and women are beginning to be much better represented.

But for those women who manage to make it to the spotlight, like Nicola Benedetti and Alison Balsom, they are still seen as anomalies, and still commented on as much for their looks as for their talent.

Oh, for the day when the perception is dead that you have to pull a few strings to be among the top brass.

In the meantime, Jenni Murray is due to conduct the BBC Philharmonic in the Overture to Bizet's Carmen for a special edition of Women's Hour that focuses on women in music.

Help keep a woman on UK banknotes

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 03:31 AM PDT

From Week Woman.

Help bring the Bank of England to account for its decision to remove Elizabeth Fry from the £5 note. Fry is currently the only woman represented on our currency (and, no, the Queen doesn’t count).

Week Woman has challenged the Bank of England to show that its decision to remove Fry has been made with due consideration given to the requirements of the 2010 Equality Act. The Bank is currently refusing to meet that challenge. As a result, Week Woman is attempting to raise money to mount a legal challenge against the Bank to force it to do so. That’s where you come in!

We are running out of time; help spread the word and see justice done!

We have raised an amazing amount of money to see justice done, but our deadline of the 24th of June is fast approaching! Please copy and paste this letter and send it to all your friends and colleagues; if you are at university as a student or academic, please ask your Women's Officer to send it round. We need to spread the word as far, wide and fast as possible if we are going to stop the Bank of England evading justice!

Feel free to adapt it if you think it can be shorter – it is written with people who haven't heard of the campaign before in mind.

Suggested Email Subject: Please read this in full: it's important to me

OR: Don't let the Bank of England buy their way out of justice! Help spread the word!

Dear [xxxxx]

I am getting in touch to ask for your help. Nearly two months ago, the Bank of England announced a new figure for our paper currency. That person was Churchill. What they did not mention in the long speeches they made at the time about the 'gilded list' that he was joining and the 'uniquely privileged position' they were in to be able to 'promote our shared cultural heritage', was that Churchill would be replacing the only female historical figure on our banknotes. This means that our banknotes will exclusively feature white men.

This matters. It matters because we still live in a culture where women's achievements are routinely undermined and erased – you only need to look at the paltry representation of women in our new history curriculum to see this in action. It matters because a growing and compelling field of research on role models shows how much impact they have on young women – including a negative impact where they are absent. And it matters because, as the Bank of England themselves say, the choice of figures on our banknotes promotes a shared cultural heritage – and what does it say about us as a country if we see that heritage as exclusively white and male?

This is why it matters – and this is what I am doing about it. To date, more than 28000 people have signed a petition (change.org/banknotes), asking the Bank of England to reverse their decision to remove the only woman on our banknotes and replace her with yet another man. In response, the Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King informed us that 'with respect', the Queen is on the notes, thereby completely evading the conversation we are having about merit rather than inherited privilege, and also demonstrating that, far from respecting the 28000 people who had signed the petition, he had not even read it, since the issue of the Queen is addressed there.

In a more concerning move, he also said that he was 'sure' that all people 'would' have been treated equally, despite the fact that at this point, the Bank of England had already been sent a legal letter arguing that they were in breach of the 2010 Equality Act, which is not satisfied with conditionals such as 'sure' and 'would'; on the contrary, it requires Mervyn King himself to know that he has paid due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and promote equality. In line with King's own comment, the Bank's formal response also demonstrated a lack of understanding of their duty under the Equality Act. They claimed that the duty is not engaged, but also claimed that they had complied with it; considering the positive action required under the Act it is arguable that it is possible to fulfil the duties of the Act while at the same time thinking they are not engaged. They also refused to provide any documentation regarding the decision-making process, calling it a 'fishing expedition' – this despite the fact that the Equality Act explicitly refers to the decision-making process, meaning that evidence of how a decision was taken is paramount to demonstrating compliance. Finally, they completely changed their tone about the the significance of the people on banknotes – no longer a 'gilded list', it was an irrelevance which 'prominent dead person' replaced another.

I do not want to take the Bank of England to court. I simply want them to recognise their duties under the Equality Act – indeed a very easy way out is open to them, since Darwin is in fact an older note than Fry and therefore is due a change anyway. However, the Bank is not taking this option. Instead they are throwing all the public funds they have at their disposal into defending the decision not to have a single woman on our banknotes; their solicitors are as expensive as they come. This is without doubt a David and Goliath situation, but I do not believe that the Bank should be able to buy their way out of justice. There is no doubt that the Bank is big, powerful and rich. But what we lack in funds, we make up for in strength of numbers. We only need 671 people to donate £10 to reach our target (gofundme.com/banknotes) – but time is running out. We only have until the 24th of June to make our target amount. Please help us get there: forward this email on to all your friends; tweet about the petition; share it on facebook; and please donate whatever you can (gofundme.com/banknotes) to help us see justice done.

I believe we can get there, but it requires us all to pull together and stand firm against inequality and injustice. This may be a small thing, but small things add up to a toxic culture in which women are routinely discriminated against. Let's not let the small things slide.

Thank you so much for your support.

Shorter version of the letter – you know your audience!

Dear [xxxxx]

This is why it matters – and this is what I am doing about it. To date, more than 28000 people have signed a petition (change.org/banknotes), asking the Bank of England to reverse their decision to remove the only woman on our banknotes and replace her with yet another man. We have also issued a legal challenge under the 2010 Equality Act, asking the Bank to demonstrate how they have complied with their duty to eliminate discrimination and promote equality. They have refused to do this, calling our request for documentation a 'fishing expedition', despite the fact that the Equality Act required positive steps to be taken for compliance.

Thank you so much for your support.

Find Week Woman here.

Abuse victims failed by police

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:09 AM PDT

Essex police failing victims of domestic abuse, a report has found.

Last week HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) published its findings from a review to assess whether Essex police is doing enough to protect victims of domestic abuse.

Essex police were forced to overhaul the way they handle domestic violence complaints following three brutal and, arguably avoidable, domestic murders committed in the county.

Murders which also triggered three separate investigations from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

In December 2008, Maria Stubbings was strangled and murdered by her ex-boyfriend Marc Chivers, after suffering months of violence at his hands.

Chivers, who had served time in a German prison for the murder of another former partner, was initially convicted of common assault after a particularly brutal attack on Stubbings and sent to prison for four months.

He was then classified by the police as a "very high risk perpetrator" – but the deactivation of a panic button in Stubbings' home coincided with Chivers' release from prison.

Less than two months later, Stubbings contacted Essex police to report that she suspected Chivers had broken into her home, but the call was not logged as a domestic violence call and the operator took down the wrong address for her.

Maria Stubbings' body was found in her home and Marc Chivers was jailed for life in December 2010.

The IPCC revealed a catalogue of further serious errors made by the force.

The report concluded that Stubbings' death was 'predictable and preventable' and she had not been given enough protection, despite her repeated contact with Essex police.

Two and half years later, Christine Chambers and her two year-old daughter Shania were murdered by Shania's father, David Oakes.

The IPCC found that Chambers had made complaints of violence against Oakes over a two-year period, but calls had been incorrectly logged as isolated incidents.

Officers also failed to consider that Chambers' unwillingness to pursue a complaint against Oakes could be a direct consequence of her fear of an escalation in his violence towards her.

In the fortnight before her murder, Christine Chambers handed over to the police more than one hundred threatening text messages Oakes had sent her.

Christine and Shania Chambers were shot dead in their home in June 2011. David Oakes was jailed for life. The IPCC investigation concluded that Essex police's response had been "inadequate".

Less than two months later, Jeanette Goodwin was murdered. She was stabbed thirty times by Martin Bunch, a jealous former partner, in a frenzied attack at her home.

Between January 2011 and her murder in July 2011, Goodwin made seven separate reports to Essex police about the harassment and domestic violence she was suffering at the hands of Bunch.

Again called in to review the police investigation into the crime, the IPCC found that there were failings in the force's handling of the case and concluded that officers had not recognized the need for "urgent action".

The IPCC reports which followed each of these three tragic murders highlighted that Essex police were failing victims of domestic abuse by neglecting to link incidents, performing ineffective background checks, and improperly downgrading calls for help.

The police inspectorate was called in to investigate after the problems were exposed and their report concluded that while significant improvements have been made in the way that reports of domestic abuse are dealt with, victims in Essex are still being put at risk.

HMIC inspectors found that that the way that officers handled domestic abuse calls was "fragmented" and of "significant concern".

A consequence of which, 'risks undermining trust among victims and increases the likelihood of victims being unwilling to support prosecutions'.

The HMIC has highlighted five keys areas for improvement.

Training staff to understand how dealing effectively with domestic abuse can prevent deaths and enhance the confidence of victims; intensifying work with domestic violence agencies to develop a more co-ordinated approach; reviewing the way it priorities domestic violence complaints; continuing monitoring of cases so that victims can receive renewed support if perpetrators are released from custody and ensuring that that the right information is available to officers handling domestic abuse cases.

Speaking from the HM Inspector of Constabulary, Zoe Billingham said it was absolutely vital the police got the handling of these cases right for victims.

"The force has taken a number of important steps to address how domestic abuse cases are handled.

"However, there is still more work to do to ensure that victims get the best possible service from their force," she said.

Accepting the findings by the inspectorate, Essex’s Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh attempted to draw on the improvements that have been made by the force, but acknowledged that there was still work to be done.

"We are committed to helping victims of domestic abuse and we would urge anyone suffering at the hands of a violent offender to contact us immediately," he said.

And he announced plans to implement new strategies to tackle domestic abuse in the county.

"I want to "dare to share" in Essex with other agencies and with women themselves.

"It means women who are entering into relationships with an individual they have concerns about will be able to ring the police to find out about them – that is something we want to be able to provide."

For those victims that are too frightened to seek prosecution, he also plans to bring in an ‘Achilles heel’ policy, which targets repeat offenders for prosecution for other offences they may have committed.

It is a sad reality, however, that it has taken the lives of Maria Stubbings, Christine and Shania Chambers, and Jeanette Goodwin to bring about plans for change in Essex.

But two women a week are murdered by current or former partners in the UK.

How many more women must needlessly die before these strategies, and more besides, are implemented by police forces nationwide?

As Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, said: "Essex Police have come under scrutiny in this new report… but the truth is that police failure is not confined to one force.

“It is widespread across the country."

24 UK News

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Archive