Women's Views on News |
- Taking on acid violence
- Events: 18 – 24 November
- Sports round-up: 11-17 November
- Facing homelessness at Christmas
| Posted: 18 Nov 2013 06:16 AM PST
Acid violence is on the rise in the UK, but campaigner Shabina Begum believes it can be eradicated if we all take a stand against it. A UK campaigner and lawyer working with victims of acid attacks, Shabina Begum made a passionate presentation at the recent Feminism in London (FiL) conference 2013 which left the audience silenced by the horrific tales of acid violence. According to the Acid Survivors Trust (ASTI), which works towards ending acid violence throughout the world the victims of acid violence are overwhelmingly women and children. Attackers often aim to maim, disfigure and blind their victims rather than kill them and so target the head and face. And although it rarely kills, it causes severe pain and physical, psychological and social scarring. Victims are often left with no legal recourse and limited access to medical or psychological assistance. The crime is not restricted to any particular race, religion or geographical location. We most often hear of acid violence attacks occurring in countries other than the UK, but it most definitely happens here. In the UK there were 44 crimes of acid violence in 2007. In 2011 this had increased to 110. It is a crime which is definitely on the rise, even so, acid violence remains to be recognised as a specific crime in the UK. The BBC reported recently that experts say that women and girls are victims in 75-80 per cent of cases, and of those female victims, about 30 per cent are under 18. Katie Piper, who suffered third degree burns after her former boyfriend arranged for someone to throw sulphuric acid in her face in 2008, has since done much to raise awareness of the issue in the UK. Mohammad Jawad, a plastic surgeon who helped rebuild Katie Piper’s face and works with victims in South Asia, told the BBC it is about trying to destroy someone’s identity. “The attacker is saying: ‘I don’t want to kill her, I am going to do something to distort her.’ It’s a walking dead situation for the victim and often a grey area in the eyes of the law.” It is, he added, “an extreme form of domestic violence.” While the scarring on the face and body of acid violence victims is the most obvious to see, victims are also often left with a loss of senses, not to mention the deep lasting psychological effects acid violence attacks have. Shabina Begum told us about a woman who was force-fed acid by her husband and her mother-in-law, leaving her unable to speak or to breathe through her nose. There are four main motivations for acid violence on women: hate, jealousy, business disputes and family disputes. Cases tend to be prosecuted as offences of grievous bodily harm (GBH) in the UK. In the Crown court this can carry a sentence of life imprisonment but, Begum reported, in reality, perpetrators tend to receive sentences in the region of ten years in custody. For the victim left with life-long scarring to their face and body, loss of hair, melted features, loss of sight, or touch, or their sense of smell or who no longer able to hear their children's voices, ten years seems a measly punishment. I urge you all to visit the You Tube link that we all watched during Shabina Begum's presentation at the FiL 2013 conference. It doesn't make for easy viewing, but it shows you just how horrific this crime is, far better than any words ever will. Begum asked us to make a promise to tell at least one person about acid violence. I've kept my promise. I ask you to do the same. Will you? For more information about – or to donate to – the Acid Survivors Trust International, click here. Follow Shabina Begum @shabz_at_law and Acid Survivors Trust International @Acid_Survivors  |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2013 04:09 AM PST
Edinburgh: 23 November: Starz in their Eyes at Pilrig Church, 1B Pilrig Street, Edinburgh from 7.30pm. Bringing an added touch of waistcoat sparkle to Leith Walk this November to celebrate female pop power, one cover at a time. Each act will be covering a female artist of their choice – and they won’t be revealing anything until they walk through those famous doors! All event proceeds are in aid of Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre. Tickets £6 in advance, £7 on the door. For tickets click here. Leeds: 23 November: Leeds Roller Dolls v Glasgow Roller Derby at Futsal Arena, Millshaw Park Drive, Leeds from 3.20pm. Do you like your sport infused with a touch of drama? Yes? Then this is the season finale not to be missed! Since both leagues formed in 2007, Leeds Roller Dolls' and Glasgow Roller Derby's A teams have met on track twice, outside of tournaments. Both times fans have been left on the edge of their seats right up to the final whistle, as both teams point-matched each other jam after jam. Doors open 3:20pm first whistle at 4pm. Tickets £6 in advance via PayPal, £7 on the door. Under-12s free. London: 18 November: Gender, Politics and the Life Cycle at Paul Hirst Seminar Room, 10 Gower Street, London from 1-2.30pm. This event is an opportunity to consider how women’s political activity varies across the life cycle. Dr Rosie Campbell and Professor Joni Lovenduski (Birkbeck) will discuss the political attitudes and preferences of older women. Dr Emma Crewe (SOAS) will draw on her experience using ethnographic methods to study Parliament to reflect on how gender and other aspects of identity affect the experience of politicians. Dr Elizabeth Evans (Bristol) will use her research on contemporary feminism to reflect on the politics of younger women. Places are limited. Please reserve your place by emailing britishpoliticscentre@bbk.ac.uk 18 November: She Grrrowls: Identity at The Gallery Café, 21 Old Ford Road, London, E2 from 7.30pm. She Grrrowls showcases a range of talented women and includes poetry, comedy and a musical finale. Come along and take part in the all-inclusive open mic section, with this month’s theme: IDENTITY. Hosted by Sophia Walker, with poetry from Greta Bellamacina and Sarah Perry, comedy from Sarah Arnold and music from Hannah Rose Tristram. All ticket sales go towards the payment of artists and producers with an even door split. Tickets £5. From 19 – 23 November: UnderWire Festival at The Yard Theatre, Unit 2A, Queen's Yard, London, E9. UnderWire's founders Gabriella Apicella and Gemma Mitchell launched the festival in 2010 with the belief that women working in the UK film industry needed more encouragement and a bigger platform for their work. The fact remains that women still make up a small proportion of film creatives, and UnderWire looks to recognise the best short work made by women across a range of crafts – from director to cinematographer; screenwriter to editor. UnderWire believes that a more gender-balanced industry will benefit everyone by creating a diversity of perspectives, stories and experiences for audiences. For the full programme of events, click here. From 19 November – 9 December: Body Wars at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, London Body Wars is a contemporary art exhibition that will deal with the raw subject of anorexia and obesity. The exhibition will suggest that the media's enormous influence, as well as that from the fashion, health, beauty and cosmetic industries, may be having devastating effects on men, women and children. Using different art mediums such as paint, drawing, sculpture, photography and film sourced from international artists, the viewer will be challenged in an educational and visual way to address the issues and to question whether these industries are major factors in contributing to the paranoia and neurosis of those suffering these diseases. 20 November: Fanny & Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England at The Bishopsgate Institute, London from 7.30pm Part of the Girls & Boys series. This talk from Neil McKenna, award-winning journalist and author of Fanny & Stella, is a tale of cross-dressing, cross-examinations and a scandal that shocked and titillated Victorian England in equal measure. The alluring Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton were no ordinary young women, they were young men who liked to dress as women. As their show trial unfolded, Fanny and Stella's extraordinary lives as wives and daughters, actresses and whores were revealed to an incredulous public. With a cast of peers, politicians and prostitutes, drag queens, doctors and detectives, Fanny & Stella is a Victorian peepshow, exposing the startling underbelly of 19th century London. Tickets £9/£7. 21 November: ‘To Kill a Wife with Kindness: Misogyny and Stereotyping in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew’ at Shakespeare's Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London, SE1 at 7pm. An exciting panel discussion with actors and scholars exploring issues around misogyny and violence towards women in Shakespeare's ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. The panel will include Dr Farah Karim-Cooper, actress Samantha Spiro, director Lucy Bailey and Dr P. A. Skantze. Tickets £10/£8. 24 November – 30 November: London Feminist Film Festival at Hackney Picturehouse, 270 Mare Street, London, E8 from 3.30pm. The first night's theme of Body Politics will include a panel discussion featuring Elizabeth Gezahegn-King (Africa Programme Manager at FORWARD), Rebecca Sesny (director, ‘Still Fighting’), and Abortion Rights. Chaired by Hannah Pool (journalist, curator, and Chair of UK Feminista). The films in this session feature the UK premieres of ‘The Cut’ and ‘Blank Canvas’ and the world premiere of ‘Still Fighting: The Story of Clinic Escorts’. 24 November: Waltham Forest Rising's Winter Rising at The Warrant Officer pub, Higham Hill Road, London from 6pm. This is a fundraising night of music in celebration of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November. There will be performances from Rebecca Jade, Bernard Hoskin and Rambling Valentines, as well as a raffle. Until 6 December: Restored's exhibition of members' photos at The Salvation Army International HQ, 101 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V. 'Restored' is an international Christian alliance which aims to transform relationships and end violence against women. The alliance believes that Christian churches have huge potential to help prevent violence, but also need to change their own attitudes and practices. This exhibition is features photos from members which represent work undertaken on transforming relationships and ending violence against women. Entry is free. Newcastle upon Tyne: 18 November: The Vagina Monologues at the Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, from 7.30pm. Eve Ensler's hilarious Broadway and West End smash hit is back with an all new all star cast. Featuring the feisty Hollie-Jay Bowes (Hollyoaks), TV favourite Terri Dwyer (Hollyoaks, Grange Hill, Loose Women) and national treasure Diane Keen (Doctors, Ruth Rendell Mysteries). The Vagina Monologues donates a percentage of revenue from ticket sales to V-Day, benefiting women's charities across the world. Tickets £20/£18.50. Until 21 December: Inspirational Women North East at Hatton Gallery, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. A portrait exhibition featuring the work of photographers Bryony Bainbridge and Kami Dodds, celebrating the achievements of women who have played a vital role in the North. York: 23 November: York Reclaim The Night / White Ribbon Walk meeting at Mansion House, St Helen’s Square, York, from 6.45pm. Domestic violence and sexual abuse is often not spoken about and this campaign will raise the issue very publicly. The White Ribbon campaign urges men to speak out against violent and abusive behaviour towards women, and highlight the problems faced by women in society. The White Ribbon campaign will also seek to go beyond raising awareness of domestic violence to reduce the instances of it as well. Domestic violence often impacts children too, whether directly or indirectly, and we need to protect them from it. The Reclaim The Night march gives women a voice and a chance to reclaim the streets at night on a safe and empowering event. Through this march and the White Ribbon campaign, we aim to put the issue of women’s safety on the agenda for this night and for every day. Because this event is part of York’s White Ribbon Campaign, men who support the aims of this march are welcome too: together we are stronger. Please arrive at 6.45pm for a 7pm start.  |
| Sports round-up: 11-17 November Posted: 18 Nov 2013 03:00 AM PST
Football: This week England captain Casey Stoney became the first woman to sit on the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) management committee. “It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed and I’m really looking forward to the new role,” she told the BBC. “I want to take women’s football forward. This enables us to have a voice for the women’s game and spread awareness of the great things the PFA do and can offer.” England's women players have only been members since 2011 with the wider WSL allowed to join last year. Currently there are only 100 female members of the PFA, compared with 3,500 men. In the Champions League this week, both Arsenal and Birmingham had convincing wins to progress to the quarter-finals. Both sides took leads into the second legs of their respective ties. Arsenal reached the quarter finals for the twelfth season in a row with a 3-2 win at Glasgow City. City took the lead through Suzanne Lappin in just the second minute, before Rachel Yankey and Jordan Nobbs put the English side in front. Glasgow captain Rachel Corsie drew the home side level with a header, but Arsenal were not to be denied. In stoppage time Alex Scott scored to take the match. The tie aggregate score was 6-2. Birmingham also won their second leg against Russian side FK Zorkiy Krasnogorsk winning 5-2 at home, taking the tie 7-2 on aggregate. It was a momentous occasion for the Blues, as it was the first time they had played at St Andrew's, home of Birmingham City's men's team. Two goals from Kirsty Linnett plus one each from Izzy Christiansen, Kerys Harrop and Melissa Lawley saw Birmingham cruise through to the quarter finals. Rugby Union: England's women claimed their second victory in their autumn internationals against Canada on 13 November, winning 32-3 at the Twickenham Stoop. Two tries from prop Sophie Hemming and 17 points kicked by Katy McLean ensured the win. The damage was done in the first half with tries from Hemming and Thompson and some fine kicking by McLean. The hosts went in to half-time 21-3 up. Canada never recovered this deficit and England were in no mood to let up. Hemming crossed the line again and the result was never in doubt. Each team had a player sin-binned, but in the end it made no difference as England repelled all Canadian attacks to finish the game strongly and claim a good win. Rowing: Six-time world champion and Paralympic rowing gold medallist Naomi Riches has announced her retirement. The 30 year-old, who is registered blind, only took up rowing seriously in 2004. She won her first world title in the same year. “I feel that I have achieved everything that I wanted to in the sport,” she said to the BBC. “What better way to finish than on the high of a home Paralympic Games gold medal in London, followed by the world title?” Speed skating: Scottish skater Elise Christie took bronze in the 1000m short-track World cup in Kolomna on 17 November. This was a great comeback from Christie who had crashed out of the 1500m semi-final on Saturday and needed hospital treatment. The gold medal went to Arianna Fontana of Italy with Alang Kim of South Korea taking the silver. Boxing: Irish boxing star Katie Taylor has received a setback in her plan to turn professional while still aiming to box in the 2016 Olympics. Currently, male boxers can compete in a professional competition, the World Series of Boxing (WSB), and still be eligible to box in the Olympics. However, there is no female equivalent. Taylor has been busy campaigning for this to be rectified. However, Sebastién Gillot of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) announced this week that while they were looking into it, a competition for women boxers would probably not be created soon enough for Taylor. If they don't come up with a plan in sufficient time, Taylor will have to forego her dreams of boxing in Rio and will turn professional.  |
| Facing homelessness at Christmas Posted: 18 Nov 2013 01:09 AM PST
The report, by the housing and homeless charity Shelter, and based on government statutory homeless statistics and interviews with homeless families, also revealed that many women and children are in totally unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation. There are currently 2,090 families living in bed and breakfast accommodation. This is the highest figure in almost ten years. It is also one that no doubt involves illegality on the part of some local councils – under the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2003 families should only be placed in bed and breakfast accommodation in an emergency and then for no longer than six weeks. Shelter’s report, like so many before it, has highlighted the squalid, cramped and often frightening conditions families placed in bed and breakfast accommodation are consistently faced with. Many of these problems are spatial, such as cramped sleeping conditions and shared bathroom facilities, and can leave a lasting physical and emotional legacy. There is also the problem of placing families in rooms alongside homeless people with chaotic lives and entrenched, complex needs. Neither group are well-served by bed and breakfast living, and long-term or repeat homeless cases are let down just as badly as families by overburdened local authority homelessness departments. So it looks like local authorities, who have a duty to protect, are flouting this duty by exposing women and children to environments fused with intimidation, violence and unchecked illegal activity. It is also pertinent to note that pregnant women fall under the government rubric of ‘homeless families’; a fact that is often overlooked but adds another dimension to an already unacceptable situation. Another recent report – this one by the housing ombudsman – revealed a retrenchment in good practice among local councils and gave an insight into the human cost of living in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation. One case reported was that of Kim, who approached her local council for help after losing her home. Kim and her daughter were placed in bed and breakfast accommodation for 24 weeks, during which time they had to share bathroom and kitchen facilities with other families and single homeless men. Another told of Marianne, who was left in a tiny cramped bed and breakfast room with her four children for almost 20 weeks. During this time Marianne’s 12 year-old daughter attempted suicide and her other children were ‘traumatised by their experiences’. The latest government statistics reveal that, of the 26,620 single parent headed families placed in temporary accommodation to the end of June 2013, 24,320 were headed by women. Cases such as those of Kim and Marianne are clearly just a snapshot of a grim, shameful reality. The use of bed and breakfasts is often the subject of opprobrium because of the illegal nature of their prolonged provision to families. Yet other types of temporary accommodation utilised by increasingly stretched councils are often far from suitable. Homeless applicants in some parts of the country are being placed in unregulated and often far from scrupulous privately run hostels. And it is not just families being placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation by local authorities. Young people of 16 and 17 and victims of domestic violence are also being forced into volatile environments in which they are at risk of exploitation and abuse. One report produced in August by North-East Regional Homelessness Group presented a damning indictment of the temporary accommodation used by local councils. Stories of sexual exploitation, extortion, unsanitary conditions and theft littered the report, exposing the vulnerabilities of, particularly, single women. There is a raft of evidence to support the notion that homeless women are particularly and uniquely vulnerable, and are often homeless as a result of current or historic abuse. There is also evidence to suggest that homeless women placed in mixed sex accommodation have weakened outcomes, not least due to the often very real threat of sexual exploitation or violence. There appears neither the economic nor the political will to create and sustain suitable homeless accommodation for women and children, or to provide safe spaces for homeless people with drug and alcohol problems. The statutory homeless have become a commodity for a particularly nasty sub-section of society; private hostel and bed and breakfast owners eyeing the dividends of their occupants’ housing benefit claims, preying on their vulnerability and straightened circumstances. The government and local authorities continue to display a distinct lack of understanding about multiple deprivation and entrenched poverty, with burdened councils using the cheapest available options in an unregulated and often unethical private sector. It is worth remembering too that statutory homeless figures merely scratch the surface of the homeless and housing crisis. To be accepted as statutory homeless is to fit a narrow criteria; a specificity of circumstance that leaves many, particularly those without children, left to sleep on sofas, or on floors, or on the streets. Recent legislation and government policy has left councils saying they are left with little choice but to use unsuitable temporary accommodation, unable to cope with cost and demand. Changes to housing benefit, including the ‘bedroom tax’ and overall benefit caps are making people homeless and then, horrifically, unable to be rehoused due to a lack of social housing. There is also the problem of private landlords, many of whom are reluctant to take on tenants who may have significant shortfalls in rent due to the way Local Housing Allowance is calculated. A 2012 poll by SpareRoom.co.uk revealed that 59 per cent of landlords advertising on the site were stipulating ‘ no housing benefit tenants’, largely due to the fact that rent rebates in the private sector go directly to the tenant. Many landlords claimed previous experience of tenants not paying on time, or at all, and felt tenants not in receipt of welfare benefits were more ‘trustworthy’. The shortage or availability of affordable, permanent accommodation is consequently leaving families ‘parked’ in temporary accommodation for inordinate periods of times. Although this does not excuse the dereliction of duty displayed in many recent cases, the Housing Minister Kris Hopkins’ response was less than helpful: “The funding we’ve given, and our change in the law to enable families to be placed in suitable, affordable private rented homes, means there is no excuse for councils to breach this.” Nearly £1 billion has been given to councils to tackle homelessness, help those affected by welfare reform, and tackle rough sleeping. Setting aside money for initiatives to help councils cope with the massive human fallout of punitive welfare reforms seems, at best, incredibly cynical policy-making. Devolving power and responsibility to local authorities gives the state a nice get-out clause, but fails to take into account the fact that many local authorities simply aren’t equipped to deal with the deluge of housing-related problems they are now being faced with. No sense of crisis from Hopkins, though, merely what seems dangerously close to uninformed, conscience-salving philanthropy along the lines of: ‘we have thrown some money at the problem and created some problematic legislation. Be grateful’. The ‘change in the law’ referred to by the Housing Minister is the Localism Act 2011, which, worryingly, gives authorities the power to place homeless applicants in the private sector without option, allowing them to discharge their duty if the applicant does not agree. The Homeless (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012 has set out guidance for councils concerning when it might be ‘suitable’ to place homeless applicants in the private sector. Yet the private rented sector remains problematic, and an insufficiently regulated and often dangerous place for vulnerable individuals. Most tenancies in the private sector are short term, and do not provide a sustained solution to the problems faced by many homeless families. In addition to this, Local Housing Allowance often does not cover full rents and the spectre of the ‘rogue landlord’ has far outlived Peter Rachman. The problem keeps returning to the same sticking point; the unwieldy and unregulated nature of the private rented sector. Both temporary and longer term providers in the sector need to be regulated and subjected – stringently – to minimum standards. Local councils need to develop better relationships with private landlords and encourage them to take their responsibilities seriously; not merely to see their property as a pension-substitute nest egg and their tenants as a commodity. There is always the hope that now white, middle class, young people are priced out of the housing market and increasingly turning to the private rented sector that there might be the political will to start reforming what has become a sprawling, exploitative mess. It seems doubtful though, and for many people can never replace truly affordable and secure housing. However, borrowing caps placed on local authorities mean they are unable to build affordable homes. The Chartered Institute of Housing has estimated that lifting the borrowing cap would ‘unlock the construction of 15,000 homes a year’. A Shelter report estimated that temporary housing was costing, each year, an extra £10 million on additional visits to GPs due to health problems, and an extra £50 million in out of school provision. And that report was written almost ten years ago. With NHS budgets slashed and local authorities and charities stretched to breaking point it is left for us to wonder how, in 2013, our society will cope. We’re not supposed to mention one of the greatest lead balloons in modern policy, the Big Society, yet one can only assume it would inform David Cameron’s response to this mess. But the rhetoric and policy of our government hasn’t created the civic unity they, at best naively, envisioned. They have, though, created an environment intended to make communities turn against each other through a trusted cocktail of stigmatisation and neo-Victorian notions of deservedness. They have sought to create an artificial schism between ‘hard working families’ and those who, presumably, deserve to languish in squalid bed and breakfasts, robbed, victimised and assaulted. In 2007 David Cameron wrote an article in the Guardian about his vision for a country under the Conservative party; a master class in a brand of politicking best described as ‘not-Thatcherism (honest)’. "No one will be left behind in a Tory Britain" he said. No one. Unless they display problems too entrenched to solve with a shallow, pithy sound bite. We’ll probably leave them behind, and hope the rest of you are too involved in your own nightmares to notice.  |
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