Women's Views on News |
- Doreen Lawrence: an example for us all
- Government ignores court ruling
- UN Women critises MDG progress
| Doreen Lawrence: an example for us all Posted: 20 Mar 2014 07:10 AM PDT
Doreen Lawrence’s steadfast courage in the face of repeated police failures to investigate her son’s death is admirable, especially in the light of recent revelations that her family was spied on. Thankfully, Theresa May has called for a public inquiry into unethical police methods such as these; but we have little basis to believe justice will be meted out. From Jean Charles de Menezes to Mark Duggan, the police have a record of being found not guilty in court; but despite these precedents, Lady Lawrence has never given up hope. She should be commended for this; not only because the Metropolitan police have a particularly bad relationship with the black community as a whole, but because her particular circumstances must have been nigh-on unbearable. As well as having to cope with the brutal murder of her son, disinterest from police in the immediate aftermath, her son’s alleged killers walking free after being put on trial the first time around, a groundbreaking inquiry revealing institutional racism in the police (which doubtless she knew about already), and only two of the five killers eventually being convicted. And now this further betrayal. All of this has been dragged out for 20 years, but still she has fought for her son. It takes a special kind of resilience to continue a battle like this: a battle against the establishment, against those more powerful than you and with all the backing of societal oppression behind them. But these are the battles that count – even if there is little chance of winning them, it will inspire others. It only takes one person to show this kind of bravery to allow others to speak out; and the more we do, the easier it will become to force those in power to recognise us.  |
| Government ignores court ruling Posted: 20 Mar 2014 04:45 AM PDT
The UK government has announced that it will go ahead with its planned closure of the Independent Living Fund despite a unanimous ruling in December by the English Court of Appeal. The Independent Living Fund (ILF) is a £320million ring-fenced fund which has enabled 16,000 disabled people to employ their own personal assistants and live in the community. In June 2010 the government closed the fund to new applicants, and in 2012 it announced its intention to close it altogether and reallocate the money to local authorities. In December the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that the government had failed to properly consult disabled people over the closure, but earlier this month the Department for Work and Pensions announced that it would close the fund in June 2015 anyway. But Sue Elsegood, an ILF user from London, said disabled people had not given up yet. Users of the fund intend to discuss their next move at a conference organised by the Disabled People Against Cuts group, DPAC, on 12 April. Elsgood said they would demand the government and a future Labour government keeps the fund open and that it is re-opened to new applicants. “We want the ILF to stay open because it is working. It is a national scheme. The social workers in the ILF are specialised. “As a service user I can get more continuity than with the local authority where there is a different person every time,” she explained. “For all we know the funding [when allocated to local authorities] may not be used for current recipients. There is a sense of insecurity around the planned closure. I only got my letter the day before yesterday.” Elsgood said disabled users of the fund feared they would be placed in residential care or forced to rely on agency staff. “At the moment I employ people directly, so I can choose who I employ and who works for me and when I get that support. “Everyone should be offered direct payments but if you only have a few hours it can be very difficult to recruit people, so some people are reliant on agencies who have such a turn-over of staff, the quality of support is not as good. “I am much happier employing my own staff,” she said. Anne Pridmore, one of the five ILF users who took the court action against the government last year agreed. "We are not going to go down without a fight. "Quite a lot of people on ILF go to work and they won't be able to do that. "I have six or seven women working for me and I feel very responsible because their jobs will end. "Because I am of a certain age it looks likely that they will stick me in an old people's home," she said.  |
| UN Women critises MDG progress Posted: 20 Mar 2014 02:09 AM PDT
UN Women's executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke at the high-level event with heads of UN agencies “Accelerating progress on the MDGs for women and girls” in New York recently. She said: More than a decade ago, leaders at the Millennium Summit agreed to tackle some of the world's most pressing development challenges, giving themselves until 2015 to make substantial progress. Gender equality was recognized as a global priority and as essential for achieving all development goals. Today we can celebrate progress in some areas. There has been significant progress in girls' enrolment in primary education, with developing countries as a whole achieving gender parity in primary education in 2011. Yet progress for women and girls on the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] remains unacceptably slow and uneven. And we will hear more today on this from the panel members. Suffice it to say that we have much more work to do, from now until 2015, and beyond. Widespread and persistent gender inequalities are holding back progress for all. There can be no poverty eradication without resolving women's – half the world's – poverty and their right to an adequate standard of living. We cannot ensure food security and adequate nutrition for all without ensuring that the world's women farmers and food producers have access to land, credit, and technology, and the right to feed themselves and their families. We cannot resolve maternal mortality without fully considering sexual and reproductive health and rights. We cannot ensure water and energy for all without making sure that all women have access to these essential public goods without having to walk long distances to get them. We must learn from the past and do better as we move ahead. First, we must ensure women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights. We must address the structural barriers that are holding back women and girls from realizing their rights. We must address: Violence against women and girls. This is a missing MDG and it must be addressed with urgency since one in three women worldwide will experience gender-based violence; We must also address women's disproportionate share of unpaid care work; Women's lack of access to resources; Constraints on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and Women's unequal participation in decision-making, not only in national parliaments but also at both sub-national and global levels. In all of these areas we must look beyond global and national averages and address the inequalities that lie behind the averages. Second, we must pay attention to the broader context and strengthen the enabling environment for gender equality. We need strong political will to affect change, nurture gender-responsive institutions, put in place strong governance and accountability systems, and economic policies that promote gender equality and human rights and reduce other kinds of inequality. Third, it is now time to reverse the significant underinvestment in gender equality and women's empowerment, if we want to see real progress in achieving the MDGs and ensuring that development gains and achievement of rights are equally enjoyed by all women and girls. Fourth, the full and equal participation of women and girls is critical at all levels to shape and influence policies, to monitor the MDGs and shape the post-2105 agenda. We must recognize and support women's collective action because we know that this plays a critical role in advancing women's rights, holding decision-makers accountable and putting emerging issues on the agenda. We also need full engagement of men and boys. The post-2015 development agenda provides a historic opportunity to learn from the MDGs and get it right for women and girls. Gender equality, women's rights and women's empowerment must be a priority in the post-2015 development agenda and comprehensively addressed throughout the future framework. This CSW [Commission on the Status of Women] review of the MDGs is taking place at a critical juncture in advancing the global agenda for women's and girls' human rights. I call on Member States to do their part in the next two weeks to achieve a strong forward-looking outcome that will deliver transformational change in the lives of women and girls. The UN system must also do its part. Today we are launching our joint statement which sets out our commitment to take urgent action to realize women's and girl's human rights and accelerate the achievement of the MDGs for women and girls. We commit to working in partnership at all levels and prioritizing our resources for gender equality to accelerate achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals  |
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