Saturday, July 13, 2013

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Report shows effect of cuts on BAME women

Posted: 12 Jul 2013 07:56 AM PDT

bameAnd the spending review is making a bad situation worse.

A ground-breaking new report published earlier this week by the Centre for Human Rights in Practice (CHRP), at the University of Warwick, Coventry Women's Voices (CWV), Coventry Ethnic Minority Action Partnership (CEMAP) and Foleshill Women's Training (FWT) has revealed the effect of the cuts on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women in Coventry.

It shows that BAME women are among the hardest hit by the coalition government's programme of spending cuts.

The report, ‘Layers of inequality: a human rights and equality impact assessment of the cuts on BAME women in Coventry’, is the first of its kind in examining the combined impact of cuts in a range of areas including employment, housing, welfare benefits, health, social care, education, legal aid, violence against women and voluntary organisations.

Findings include a rise in unemployment among BAME women in Coventry – up to 74.4 per cent between 2009 and 2013.

Unemployment among white British women increased by 30.5 per cent during the same period.

It also reveals that BAME women are more likely to be poor and to receive a higher proportion of their income from benefits and tax credits.

Report author Kindy Sandhu, from CWV, said, “Our report shows that BAME women are among the hardest hit by public spending cuts across many areas.

“Now the spending review is making a bad situation worse. BAME women will lose more jobs, more money and more services.

“This is a big issue for Coventry since a third of our population is BAME, but it will be the same for BAME women across the country.

“We did not cause this situation, but we are paying the price for it.”

This is the third report from CWV examining how the government cuts have affected – and will affect – women living in Coventry.

2011 saw ‘Unravelling Equality’, a report which showed how the cuts would adversely affect women.

This was followed in 2012 by ‘Getting Off Lightly, or Feeling the Pinch’, which revealed how older women in Coventry were being affected by the cuts.

The head of Coventry Council, councillor Ann Lucas said of these reports, “Both ‘Unravelling Equality and ‘Feeling the Pinch’ have had a huge impact both in Coventry and nationally.

“They bring together all the different effects of the cuts and demonstrate clearly how it is the combined impact that is most devastating.

“I am often down in Westminster and see both MPs and peers carrying around copies of these reports and referring to them frequently – they should be compulsory reading.”

To compound this, the organisations and agencies which work with BAME women are also having their funding cut.

Christine McNaught from FWT, who contributed to the report, commented, “We provide health and employment services to women in one of the poorest parts of Coventry.

“The women who use our centre are suffering increased poverty because of benefit cuts, longer waiting times for medical treatment and cuts to local services.

“And because our funding has fallen from £450,000 in 2010/11 to £190,000 in 2012/13 we have fewer resources to support them.”

Adding to the effect which financial cuts are having on BAME women, are the government policies being introduced which will only make the problem greater.

As a range of agencies have warned, the delay of a week before someone can claim benefits when they lose a job may increase child poverty and force people who lose their job to turn to loan sharks and food banks, with BAME women are likely to be disproportionately affected because of their greater poverty.

There is also a perception that BAME women do not wish to learn how to speak and write in English.

Varinder Kaur, from CEMAP, said:

“The announcement that job seekers must learn English in the spending review seems designed to demonise us.

“The problem is not that people refuse to learn English – the problem is that it is getting harder to get on an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class.

“The government seems to be deliberately creating the impression that the problem is about people who don't speak English but claim benefits, even though they must know that the proportion of people who are claiming benefits and can't speak English is miniscule, far smaller than the proportion of people who want to learn English but can't get on a course.”

The groups involved in publishing this report hope that it will put pressure on local and national government to address the inequalities the report highlights.

Report co-author, Dr James Harrison, of the CHRP, said, “The combined impact of cuts to benefits and services will disproportionately affect many of the poorest and most vulnerable BAME women in Coventry.

“Public authorities both nationally and here in Coventry have legal obligations under the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act to promote equality and protect human rights.

“They need to take these obligations very seriously when making decisions about budget cuts.”

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Picture: Pragna Patel (Southall Black Sisters), Mary-Ann Stephenson (Coventry Women’s Voices), Marcia Jarrett (CEMAP) and Kindy Sandy (Coventry Women’s Voices)

Micro loan boost to empower women

Posted: 12 Jul 2013 06:45 AM PDT

money-tree 2Micro loans can empower women and establish social change.

The MicroLoan Foundation (MicroLoan) prides itself, as evidenced in its motto, on 'giving hope not hand outs'.

Currently operating 21 branches in Malawi and five in Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa, MicroLoan is a charity that receives donations from the public and distributes these as loans to women in the two countries.

It provides small loans – on average a £25 starting loan – to groups of 10-18 women and supports them in establishing their own individual businesses though business training and mentoring.

Once these loans are repaid the money is lent out again to other aspiring entrepreneurs, thus ensuring sustainability of funds. MicroLoan asserts that 99 per cent of their loans are repaid.

In recognition of Microloans' work helping women in poor, rural communities to become self sufficient and the role of the ensuing businesses in alleviating poverty the Department for International Development (DFID), a UK government body, has awarded it a grant of £473,298.

The grant, announced by the MicroLoan Foundation last week, is from the 'Global Poverty Action Fund', which supports projects focused on poverty reduction and pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through tangible changes to poor people's lives.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established by the United Nations and agreed to 'by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions' and aim to improve the lives of the poor and extremely poor throughout the world.

There are eight MDGs, and they range from eradicating poverty to establishing universal primary education to eliminating HIV and other diseases.

MDG number three is to 'promote gender equality and empower women'.

The UN says 'in many countries, gender inequality persists and women continue to face discrimination in access to education, work and economic assets, and participation in government. For example, in every developing region, women tend to hold less secure jobs than men, with fewer social benefits'.

With this in mind the lendwithcare initiative – operated in partnership by the charity CARE and the Co-operative Bank to lend money to people in poor communities through microfinance institutions (MFIs) – emphasises that microloans can empower women and establish social change.

They say that microfinance can significantly contribute to women's empowerment by generating additional income opportunities, and acknowledge that 'most of the world's poor are women' and that 'women are one of the most vulnerable […] segments of society.

Compellingly lendwithcare go on to say that when women do start making visible economic contributions to the household, this can lead to growth in women's self esteem, self confidence and their status both within the household as well as the wider community.

With the ultimate affect that eventually this provides women with more choices and a greater role in family and community matters.

Catherine, the recipient of several loans from the MicroLoan Foundation, is evidence that loans to women greatly benefit the individuals themselves and advance their communities.

According to testimony from the MicroLoan website, Catherine initially used to buy fish and sell them on at a local market, but after receiving a microloan she purchased a net and began fishing herself.

She now employs several fishermen to fish for her; they catch produce that she sells at market.

Catherine is now able to house 18 members of her family, pay for her grandchildren to go to school and provide water through a tap she has had installed in front of her house.

Catherine's micro loans have profited herself, her family and the wider community through her employment of fisherman and improved infrastructure.

The DFID grant to MicroLoan will be used to fund our expansion in the Southern Region of Malawi and it is estimated that it will benefit 6,300 impoverished women.

MP and international development minister Lynne Featherstone is quoted in MicroLoans news article on the grant emphatically asserting that no country can develop if its women cannot reach their full potential.

That, she says, is why she is pleased that DFID is supporting MicroLoan’s work in Malawi to help women develop businesses.

New head of UN Women named

Posted: 12 Jul 2013 03:43 AM PDT

UN womenFirst woman to hold the position of Deputy President of South Africa to head UN Women.

Following consultation with Member States UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka from South Africa as the new executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the organisation leading UN's work on advancing gender equality and women's rights.

She takes over from Michelle Bachelet, who resigned in March to run for another term as president of Chile.

The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for the outgoing executive director's commitment in spearheading the organisation's work on gender equality and the empowerment of women at the global, regional and country level, and said he was particularly appreciative of Ms Bachelet's exemplary leadership as the first executive director of the UN Women.

The Secretary-General’s announcement said: "Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka brings to this position, a wealth of experience in advocating for women's issues with a combination of strategic leadership, consensus building and hands-on management experience”.

Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was born in 1955, initially became a Member of Parliament in 1994 and chaired the Public Service Portfolio Committee.

She was Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry  from 1996 until 1999, and then Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999 to 2005.

During this time she was a driving force behind the government’s policy of creating New Order Mining Rights which ended a period where big mining firms which controlled nearly all South Africa’s minerals reserves, were able to hold mining rights to them in perpetuity.

Mlambo-Ngucka’s policy of ‘use it or lose it’ created a situation where mining rights became available to a much broader segment of the population including many previously disadvantaged black people.

She briefly served as acting Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 2004.

From 2005 to 2008 she was the first woman to hold the position of Deputy President of South Africa.

From 1997 to 2008, Mlambo-Ngcuka served as member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).

Mlambo-Ngcuka was Young Women's Coordinator for the World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Geneva from 1984 to 1986.

From 1987 to 1989 she was director of TEAM, a developmental non-government organisation (NGO) in Cape Town, as well as being involved with squatter women and African independent churches, promoting economic self-reliance and running skills training programmes.

She served as the first president of the Natal Organisation of Women (NOW), when it was formed in December 1983 and was  an affiliate of the United Democratic Front which became the leading anti apartheid political movement within the country.

The establishment of NOW was a major factor in the increased role of women in political and civic organisations and in the establishment of the rights of women in the struggle and all spheres of society.

She established the Umlambo Foundation in 2008 to provide support to schools in impoverished areas in South Africa through mentorship and coaching for teachers and in Malawi through school improvements with local partners.

Mlambo-Ngcuka holds a BA in Education from the University of Lesotho (1980), completed a Gender Policy and Planning Development course at University College London in 1988, holds a Master's degree in Philosophy in Educational Planning and Policy from the University of Cape Town (2003) and – also in 2003 – was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Western Cape.

UN women was created on 2 July 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly after the unanimous adoption of resolution 64/289, and by merging the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW); the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) which had been established in 1976; the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues Advancement of Women (OSAGI) established in 1997, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) established in 1976.

UN Women's  goals are to support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms;  to help UN member states implement the above standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it and to forge effective partnerships with civil society and to enable member states to hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

For further information about the work of UN Women, click here.

First ever report on global domestic violence

Posted: 12 Jul 2013 01:09 AM PDT

gps training, domestic violenceWomen’s Aid calls for an increase in the quality of training given to GPs.

Following a report which highlights violence against women as ‘a global health problem of epidemic  proportions’, Women’s Aid is calling for an increase in the quality of training given to GPs.

The report, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), and written in partnership with the South African Medical Research Council and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was published on 20 June.

It presents the first global and systematic review of scientific data on the prevalence of two forms of violence against women: violence by an intimate partner (intimate partner violence) and sexual violence by someone other than a partner (non-partner sexual violence).

It shows, for the first time, global and regional estimates of the prevalence of these two forms of violence, using data from around the world.

Previous reporting on violence against women has not differentiated between partner- and non-partner violence.

Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of WHO, said the report’s findings send a powerful message that violence against women is a global health problem of epidemic proportions, and added: "We also see that the world's health systems can and must do more for women who experience violence."

The study found that globally, 38 per cent of all women who were murdered were murdered by their intimate partners, and 42 per cent of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner had experienced injuries as a result.

The health impacts of violence by an intimate partner, the report found, can be death and injury, unwanted pregnancy and abortion, depression, alcohol use problems, sexually transmitted infections, and babies with low birth weight.

Dr Claudia Garcia Moreno, a specialist with WHO, said: "The report findings show that violence greatly increases women's vulnerability to a range of short- and long-term health problems; it highlights the need for the health sector to take violence against women more seriously.”

And she admitted that in many cases health workers simply did not know how to respond.

In the UK, domestic violence support services are being hit by the coalition government’s public spending cuts and closing, and the number of victims turning to their GP for support has risen.

The UK’s GPs have in turn been criticised for their lack of understanding of domestic abuse and for their lack of confidence in stating that their patient is a victim of domestic violence.

Looking at the key findings from the report on the health impacts of violence by an intimate partner, there are a number of opportunities where GPs could offer increased support to victims of domestic abuse, such as alcohol use problems and depression.

WVoN reported recently on the impact of legal aid cuts on victims of domestic abuse.

Cuts which mean that more and more women are seeking support from their GP and relying on them to identify and provide a medical report giving evidence regarding their abuse.

The cuts to essential domestic abuse support services also mean that GPs are often be unsure where to refer patients who are experiencing domestic abuse.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “One in four women in the UK will experience domestic violence, so every GP in the country will regularly see many patients directly affected by abuse.

“GPs need to be aware of domestic violence, able to spot it, identify it and act appropriately.

“It is more than just having the skills to identify domestic violence where it is happening, although this is important.

“We need to protect both national and local domestic and sexual violence services so that GPs have somewhere to refer abused women enabling women and children in high risk situations to go to a place of safety.”

For those needing advice and support on matters relating to domestic abuse, Women’s Aid provides a package of vital 24 hour lifeline services through its publications (available in 11 languages including English), websites womensaid and thehideout, and running the Freephone 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, in partnership with Refuge.