Women's Views on News |
- Homeless services failing women
- Daily Mail demeans female scientists
- Events 24 – 30 March
- Flying the flag for equal parenting
| Homeless services failing women Posted: 24 Mar 2014 09:30 AM PDT
In 2013, women made up slightly more than a quarter of the people who accessed homelessness services, a percentage that translates into approximately 10,000 individuals. A charity helping homeless people, St Mungo's, released a report recently, called Rebuilding Shattered Lives, which says, 'We suspect that the true number of women who are homeless is higher than these figures suggest. 'Many will be 'hidden homeless,' sofa surfing, staying with family or friends, or trapped in abusive relationships because they have nowhere else to go. 'Others will be squatting or living in crack houses, or engaged in prostitution.' As men are the majority of the users of homelessness services, it isn't surprising that most of the available care is developed for and by men. However, Charles Fraser, St Mungo's chief executive, said, 'This evidences a sad chronicle of missed opportunities where women fail to get the help they need.' Writing in the Guardian, Alexia Murphy, St Mungo's lead on women's homelessness, said, 'The women we work with often enter services at a much later stage than men, and when their problems have become more severe and enduring.' ‘They also tend to have particularly 'complicated, interrelated problems contributing to their homelessness, which are often rooted in trauma due to violence and abuse in childhood and then adulthood.' One of the main hurdles women face in accessing appropriate care is the lack of women-only services. Because many of the women using or approaching homelessness services have experienced domestic violence, they 'do not generally like being a minority in mixed hostels or housing projects as they can feel unsafe in male-dominated environments.' Add to that vulnerability an uncertainty of what services are available and the opportunities for women to miss out on care and support grow substantially. And, unfortunately, the uncertainty of what is available is evident on both sides of the care system. Many staff have not received training specific to dealing with self-harm or eating disorders and may not know where to refer women for more help, particularly as more female homeless people (70 per cent) have mental health needs than do men (57 per cent). Thirdly, losing contact with their children is another powerful reason why women do not contact homelessness services. The St Mungo's report stresses that leadership is key to preventing and addressing women's homelessness and points to the dangerous mix of continued growth of homelessness in the UK and funding decreases, particularly for specialist services. As the number of available specialist services decrease, remaining organisations, both specialist and general, have to try to fill the gaps in provision. Which obviously leaves wider cracks in society for people to fall through. Pointing out the 17 different services that women may come into contact with before and during homelessness, one of the report's ten recommendations is that 'Local authorities should ensure organisations that come into contact with vulnerable women recognise the risks of homelessness and are equipped to provide, or signpost to, preventative support.' Other recommendations include 'Commissioners must ensure that local provision gives women a choice between women-only or mixed services,' and that 'Each Local Authority should identify a senior member of staff to lead on women and homelessness, including improving and coordinating service provision and strategy, and monitoring progress on ending women's homelessness.' The report also recommends that 'The Minister for Women and Equalities be added to the membership of the Ministerial Working Group on homelessness to ensure that it expressly considers women's homelessness.' St. Mungo's itself is planning to expand its Women's Strategy this year by putting together a toolkit and training package to share with other agencies. 'Homeless women have been overlooked for too long,' the report says in conclusion.  |
| Daily Mail demeans female scientists Posted: 24 Mar 2014 07:15 AM PDT
Last week the Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle (aka Peter Mackay) wrote: 'Newsnight’s Guardian-trained editor, Ian Katz, is keen on diversity. ‘So, two women were invited to comment on the report about (white, male) American scientists who’ve detected the origins of the universe – giggling Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Sri Lanka-born astronomer Hiranya Peiris.' David Price, Vice-Provost for Research at UCL, has since written an open letter of complaint to the Daily Mail’s editor Paul Dacre. Dr Peiris, a reader in Astronomy at University College London (UCL), and a Royal Astronomical Society award-winner, said: 'I deeply pity the sort of person who can watch a report about ground-breaking news on the origins of the universe and everything in it, and see only the gender and skin colour of the panellists' 'I am disturbed that he has even erased the contributions of all of the non-white and non-male and non-American scientists involved in the discovery at the same time.' Dr Aderin-Pocock, an honorary research associate in UCL’s department of physics and astronomy, added: 'I find Ephraim Hardcastle’s idea very interesting, I now picture the Newsnight team flipping through their Rolodex, saying ‘too white, too male… ah, two ethnic minority females, perfect!’. 'Monday was a very busy day for me, receiving 10 requests for news interviews, I was able to do Radio 4′s PM programme, 5 Live, Channel 5 News and Newsnight. ‘I believe that the requests were made for my ability to translate complex ideas into something accessible, rather than my gender or the colour of my skin.' To complain, Tweet the Mail at @MailOnline or contact the Press Complaints Commission.  |
| Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:05 AM PDT
Brighton: 29/30 March: Witch: The Queen at The Marlborough Theatre, 4 Prince's Street, Brighton, from 8pm. This is the final installment of a Spring season, each play can be enjoyed individually or as part of the full trilogy. Set in a dark and timeless speakeasy, this new trilogy captures the progress of but one night: a confrontational night of roving maidens, brutal princes, musicians, dancers and drink. We invite you to follow the adventures of three beloved fairy tale characters, as they lose themselves in a mystical and frightening reality. Inspired, in equal measure, by the likes of the Grimm brothers and Britain’s ‘modern feminist’, Caitlin Moran, this concoction of new music, contemporary physicality and old, old tales looks at gender and its apparently stoic implications both past, present and perhaps even future. Tickets £5. Bristol: 25 March: Translation/Transmission: Sweet Sugar Rage + Discussion at The Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol, from 1pm. March is Women’s History Month and the Translation/Transmission season celebrates the diverse ways women activists have communicated their struggle and resistance through film. Founded in 1977, Sistren is a women’s popular theatre company based in Kingston, Jamaica, which use drama-in-education as a means of problem solving at a community level; questioning in particular society’s failure to value the work and skills of women. Sweet Sugar Rage highlights the harsh conditions facing female workers on a Jamaican sugar estate in the 80s. We travel from Kingston to the sugar cane fields of Clarendon and back again, guided by an infectious reggae rhythm. Followed by a discussion with Professor Gail Lewis, a long standing member of Brixton Black Women’s Group and a co-founder of the Organisation for Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD), who will reflect on her memories of Sistren’s visits to the UK. Tickets £5.50/£4. 28 March: Melissa Gira Grant: Playing the Whore at The Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol, from 7.45pm. Part of Bristol's Festival of Ideas. The sex industry is an endless source of prurient drama for the mainstream media. Recent years have seen a panic over “online red light districts”, which supposedly seduce vulnerable young women into a life of degradation. But rarely do these fearful dispatches come from sex workers themselves, and rarely do they deviate from the position that sex workers must be rescued from their condition, and the industry simply abolished – a position common among feminists and conservatives alike. In Playing the Whore, journalist Melissa Gira Grant turns these on their head, arguing for an overhaul in the way we think about sex work. She dismantles pervasive myths about sex work, criticises conditions within the sex industry and its criminalisation, and argues that separating sex work from the “legitimate” economy only harms those who perform sexual labour. Melissa argues that sex work is work, and sex workers’ rights are human rights. Tickets £7/£6. 30 March: Translation/Transmission: Facing Mirrors + Discussion at The Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol from 1pm. Set in contemporary Iran, Facing Mirrors is a story of an unlikely and daring friendship that develops despite social norms and religious beliefs. Although Rana is a traditional wife and mother, she is forced to drive a cab to pay off the debt that keeps her husband in prison. By chance she picks up the wealthy and rebellious Edi, who is desperately awaiting a passport to leave the country. At first Rana attempts to help, but when she realizes that Edi is transgender, a dangerous series of conflicts arise. Followed by a response from Elhum Shakerifar, programmer at Bird’s Eye View and documentary producer (The Reluctant Revolutionary). Tickets £5.50/ £4. London: 26 March: Sex workers safety and rights: 'Stop the Criminalisation of Sex Workers' at Committee Room 12, House of Commons, London, from 6.30pm. An All-Party Parliamentary Group has just recommended changing the prostitution laws to criminalise clients. The argument is whether criminalising clients will stop prostitution, stop the criminalisation of women or make it more dangerous and stigmatising for sex workers. Sex workers from Sweden – who know first-hand the impact of such a law – and from a number of other European countries, including the UK, will be speaking against this proposal. MPs are promoting increased criminalisation when unemployment, benefit cuts and sanctions, lowering wages, and homelessness are driving more women, particularly mothers, into prostitution. These proposals will further divert police time and resources from investigating rape, trafficking and other violent crimes, to policing consenting sex. The existing prostitution laws force sex workers to work in isolation and danger. Of the two women murdered in London in the last few months, one was working on the street and one was working indoors alone. Senior police officers recently acknowledged that "operations to tackle the trade are 'counterproductive' and likely to put the lives of women at risk". Despite this, recent mass raids against sex workers in Soho, London, have thrown scores of women out of the relative safety of their flats. Arrests continue of sex workers on the street. Speakers: Sex workers from England, France, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, anti-rape, church, health and legal professionals, red-light residents, students. Reports from: New Zealand, which decriminalised sex work 11 years ago and Canada's Supreme Court, which ruled that criminalisation is in breach of sex workers' human rights. 30 March: Kate Smurthwaite + Elf Lyons + SH!T Theatre at The Grosvenor, Sidney Road, London, SW9, from 8.30pm This will be a benefit gig for the Organisation Promoting Afghan Women’s Capabilities (OPAWC) who have been empowering Afghan women since the 1980s. Kate Smurthwaite will perform her award winning Edinburgh show: “The News At Kate: My Professional Opinion”. Its a real honour to be welcoming her back to the Grosvenor. Shit Theatre will be performing their show “Women’s hour”. Elf Lyons completes the line-up. “Lyons needs no work on her stage presence, she's already got that honed to a fine art [...] quirky, funny and bold – certainly one to watch” Sheffield: 23 March: Michelle Shocked at The Greystones, Greystones Road, Sheffield. Michelle Shocked is a traveling troubadour whose musical talent is so eclectic it is difficult to categorise. As a young feminist, she left Texas to travel, Kerouac-style, and was caught up in Reagan-era grassroots politics. Her musical career was ignited by a bootleg recording made around a Kerrville Folk Festival campfire on a Sony Walkman. In a 26-year career that has seen critical acclaim at every juncture, she famously escaped major-label indentured servitude in 1996, subverting the artist-label relationship that helped lead to the current trend toward artistic self-containment. She has made good use of her independence, releasing more critically-acclaimed albums on her Mighty Sound label. Her 2009 album, Soul of My Soul, was the latest of these. Her current work-in-progress, the as-yet-unrecorded Indelible Women is schedule for a 2014 release. In 2010, she launched Roadworks, an ongoing, 5-year touring project which curates audience’s favourite songs while developing Indelible Women. “Michelle Shocked” is the nom de guerre given at her arrest in a political protest called “The War Chest Tour” during the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California. The demonstration challenged the practice of US corporations receiving lucrative military contracts from the US government while giving generous campaign contributions to both political parties, thus benefiting from political favors regardless of election results. "Michelle Shocked" was intended to invoke the spectre of "shell shock" as a result of Reagan’s Cold War policies. Tickets £15. Wakefield: 29 March: Big Boogie Prom at Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, from 7pm. Big Boogie Prom will be a plus size, queer, and trans inclusive party, celebrating body positivity. Your ticket will get you a welcome drink, a buffet, and a disco. Tickets £25.50. York: 28 March: March, Women, March Voices from the Women's Movement with Lucinda Hawksley at York Theatre Royal, St Leonard's Place, York, from 12.30pm, Part of the York Literature Festival. Meticulously researched, and using letters, diaries and reminiscence to tell its tale, March, Women, March is a moving account of the women who fought for the right to vote. Published to commemorate the centenary of the death of the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, it offers a fascinating insight into the social and political struggle of women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lucinda Hawskley, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, presents her amazing story of the women's movement and how the book came to be written. She has written several books, including a biography of Lizzie Siddall, and she is an excellent and highly knowledgeable speaker. Tickets £7. 28 March: Austen's Women at Studio Theatre, York Theatre Royal, St Leonard's Place, York from 7.45pm. Part of the York Literature Festival. Jane Austen created some of literature's most celebrated characters, defining her era, sex and class. Two hundred years on, her works continue to speak for the yearning heart as much as they did when they were written – so just how much has really changed for women since then? In a solo performance of extraordinary virtuosity – using only Austen's words – Rebecca Vaughan boldly revisits the most rewarding moments from the 'two inches of ivory'. In scenes of high comedy and profound pathos, she deconstructs the souls of Emma Woodhouse, Lizzy Bennet, Mrs Norris, Miss Bates and nine other beautifully observed women. Divorced from their historical context (and in the absence of their men), these women present a glorious distillation of 19th century feminism and speak volumes about love, friendship, and notorious improprieties. Austen lovers and the uninitiated alike will revel in this brilliant and illuminating evocation of Austen's Women. Tickets £12/£10.  |
| Flying the flag for equal parenting Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:09 AM PDT
With the wealth of magazines, websites and forums out there aimed at mothers – from Mother & Baby magazine to the mighty Mumsnet – you’d (almost) be forgiven for assuming that childcare is very much still the woman’s role. One website aims to challenge this glut of mumsy material – not with a resource aimed at under-represented dads, but with something that actually promotes equal parenting. Created by Duncan Fisher, co-founder of the Fatherhood Institute and once board member of the Equal Opportunities Commission, mumsanddadsnet.com says it offers "a conversation that's about mums and dads together, where both are equally welcome." Talking to the Independent, Fisher said he hoped the website would spark "a new conversation". Commenting on his experience of becoming a father 17 years ago, he said: “I felt in an odd place as a man. I didn’t feel the infrastructure fitted. “Setting up the Fatherhood Institute to lobby on dad-related issues didn’t help – I don’t particularly want to talk to other dads; I want to talk to parents.” “Communities for dads are not the answer to communities for mums,” he said. “My main interest in this debate is child development. “I’m convinced that the key to a child’s wellbeing is not the quality of a single carer, but the ability of the group around the child to provide strong backing to all the carers and to create multiple strong attachments with the child. “Mums and dads talking to each other is essential for children’s welfare and yet our structures obstruct this,” he continued. Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts hit back at the website, whose name is deliberately close to her own, saying: “I agree with the principle, it would be nice if dads wanted to identify as dads. But they don’t. They identify as men who talk about parenting.” Resources specifically aimed at dads tend to be patronising and simplistic, or are simply tacked on to the ever-growing body of advice and guidance designed specifically for mums – perhaps as an afterthought. Mumsnet claims that 15 per cent of its users are men, which, Roberts feels, ‘has the issue covered’. Pigeon-holing parents into gender-specific roles is not helpful. Mums are given advice on everything from when to panic about a runny nose to what to wear on the school run, while dads are treated to an idiot's guide to changing a nappy or how to cope with your partner’s hormone-induced mood swings. These attitudes, which are borne out in magazines and online forums every day, underline the inequality that still exists when it comes to caring for our children. There may be women in boardrooms across the land, but the increasing equality that we see in the workplace is unfortunately not reflected in the home. If it is (more) acceptable to have a female boss than it was 30 years ago, why is it still such a shocker to see a man at the parent-toddler group? Redressing this imbalance is essential if we want to see true equality between the sexes. Men, and many women unfortunately, are still conditioned to measure male success on the footing they have on the career ladder. If they put a career on hold to care for children, men risk losing their ‘manhood’. I’m all for any forum or resource that encourages equal roles for mums and dads in bringing up their children – men shouldn't be frowned upon for valuing family as much as work, just as women shouldn’t be excluded from senior positions in the wokrplace. Until we’ve got the childcare sorted, I’m afraid we’re a long way from equality.  |
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