Women's Views on News |
- Europe votes against drones
- Reddit’s paedophile problem returns
- Redefining the Strong Black Woman
- Female breadwinner families more likely to stay together
- Shocking results for UK in EU survey
- Survey reveals extent of abuse
| Posted: 06 Mar 2014 08:30 AM PST
According to a report by Stanford and New York Universities' Law schools, between 2,562 and 3,325 people were killed by drone strikes in Pakistan between June 2004 and mid-September 2012; between 474 and 881 of those were civilians, and 176 were children. The report states: “Their presence terrorises men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities. “Those living under drones have to face the constant worry that a deadly strike may be fired at any moment, and the knowledge that they are powerless to protect themselves.” The available reporting indicates that at least 50 women have died in nearly 380 drone strikes. One was Bibi Mamana. She was in her 60s, a grandmother, the wife of the retired headmaster of the Government High School in Miranshah, and a midwife who 'delivered hundreds of babies' in her community. Little else is widely known of her life. The events immediately around her death have, however, been well documented. The missiles physically hit Mamana, Amnesty researcher Mustafa Qadri said; 'hit flush’ and ‘blown to smithereens’. Drones are not just the preserve of the US military, as the London-based human rights organisation Reprieve has pointed out – they are already in the skies above in the UK. Annually deployed at the V festival in Staffordshire for example, police forces across the UK are increasingly using this technology as a method of surveillance. It's like a permanently running CCTV camera, recording and storing data; a permanently running CCTV camera hovering overhead, watching you. But the UK Government's current and ongoing relationship with the use of drones is marred by a lack of transparency and accountability. And police forces have been reluctant to be open about this use or whether they might at some point in the future arm their drones. We live in a society which is supposed to be policed by consent – but how can we consent to something we know so little about? Last week parliamentarians of the European Union passed a resolution which termed the use of drone strikes as "illegal" and proposed a ban on them, according to a report by Reprieve. Members of European Parliament (MEPs) voted – 534 to 49 – suggesting a ban on the use of drones and that "EU countries do not perpetrate unlawful targeted killings or facilitate such killings by other states". The resolution also called on them to "oppose and ban practices of extra judicial targeted killings," adding that drone strikes would be considered a "violation of international law" if a country did not permit them to occur in its territory. This vote will put further pressure on countries such as the UK and Germany to disclose the full extent of their involvement in the ongoing and covert US programme, both through intelligence-sharing and the provision of infrastructure at US airbases on their soil. The resolution, which was sponsored by the Green group of MEPs with cross-party support, also notes that: ‘drone strikes by a State on the territory of another State without the consent of the latter constitute a violation of international law and of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of that country’; ‘thousands of civilians have reportedly been killed or seriously injured by drone strikes [but] these figures are difficult to estimate, owing to lack of transparency and obstacles to effective investigation’; and that ‘drone strike policies have been documented as causing considerable harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians in the countries concerned, including deep anxiety and psychological trauma, disruption of economic and social activities and reduced access to education among affected communities.’ Kat Craig, Reprieve’s Legal Director, said that "this should be a wake-up call to countries like the UK and Germany; they need to clean up their act not only by ensuring that they stop cooperating with extrajudicial killings, but also by pressuring the US for greater transparency and accountability." Green MEP and chair of the Parliament’s sub-committee on human rights Barbara Lochbihler said the European Parliament has "raised serious concerns with the use of military drones and the deaths of thousands of civilians resulting from drone strikes. "MEPs have delivered a strong rebuke to the practice of targeted aerial killings outside a declared war zone, as well as the use of armed drones in war situations outside of the international legal framework. "The EU needs to address the legal, ethical and security challenges posed by the increasing use of drones, including the urgent need to secure complete transparency and accountability. "The resolution also stresses that EU member states should strictly refrain from participating in or facilitating extrajudicial targeted killings, for instance by sharing relevant information with countries such as the US.” And the Green's spokesperson on security and defence, Tarja Cronberg, added: “The market for armed drones has been rapidly growing in a regulatory lacuna. Millions of Euro of EU funds have already been spent on drone research and there are plans by the Commission and EU governments to develop an EU drone programme. "MEPs have today called for the urgent creation of a legal framework which regulates the use of drones and aims at preventing an arms race. "There is also a glaring need to integrate armed drones in relevant European and international arms control regimes and to stop research and development on fully automatic weapons which kill without human intervention.” The full text of the European Parliament resolution can be found here.  |
| Reddit’s paedophile problem returns Posted: 06 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST
Trigger warning: paedophilia, sexual harassment. Allegations have surfaced that a subreddit with over 5 million subscribers is “a safe space for paedophiles” – but not for women. A post was submitted to controversial subreddit Sh*tRedditSays recently, claiming that the moderators of r/AskReddit banned them for harassment when they pointed out that another user had admitted watching child pornography. The user claimed that they were banned during a discussion regarding child molesters and discrimination at work for pointing out that one of the people involved in the conversation had previously asked to view child pornography on the site, as well as revealing that they had viewed it before. The post alleged: ‘It is now official askreddit policy to ban without warning anyone who outs a p[a]edophile on their subreddit. ‘You do not have to specifically pull out comment history, merely mentioning that someone is a pedo is enough for a ban. ‘At the same time, the askreddit modteam will still be allowing users to comb through women’s comment histories to reply with their gonewild pictures. ‘This is still not considered harassment under current rules.’ Unfortunately, the related thread of comments has now been deleted from the discussion. The timing of this incident also coincides with a volunteer at the Winter Olympics being “doxxed” (had her personal information found and spread without her consent) by redditors in r/random sexiness, though it is unknown if any of the users involved were banned. Reddit has a history of tolerance for paedophilia, despite a 2012 statement made by the admin that: ‘Today we are adding another rule: No suggestive or sexual content featuring minors. ‘…As of today, we have banned all subreddits that focus on sexualization of children.’ Reddit was founded in 2005, and seemingly saw no need for such a rule until after Gawker had picked up on what appeared to be the open distribution of child pornography on the site in 2011, with subscribers of the now banned subreddit r/jailbait asking repeatedly for nude pictures of a 14 year-old girl. There was also Gawker’s unmasking of Reddit user ViolentAcrez – AKA Michael Brutsch – who personally moderated several offensive subreddits, including r/jailbait, in October 2012. Brutsch was later defended by reddit CEO Yishan Wong on the grounds of free speech; interestingly, many subreddits banned all links to Gawker after the exposé. This latest controversy has led to another Reddit user stating that they are beginning a project named ‘Reddit Report’, to collect data on the prevalence of tolerance for paedophilia on Reddit. Whether any of this will impact on Reddit or not in the long run remains to be seen, but it seems clear that there is an issue with what Reddit will and will not tolerate on the site.  |
| Redefining the Strong Black Woman Posted: 06 Mar 2014 07:42 AM PST
The Women’s Society at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) held an event series focused on the intersection of race and gender for black women recently. I managed to get to the discussion on redefining black femininity in the face of oppression, featuring Michelle Holmes, Chardine Taylor-Stone, Femi Otitoju, and Mundia Situmbeko. Called ‘Redefining the Strong Black Woman: Recognising and resisting oppression’ it made for an incredibly powerful evening, with a wide range of topics covered. Michelle Holmes began the evening by talking about yoga and black women’s health, a topic that is often undervalued by everyone – black women included. She believes that many black women heap so many responsibilities on ourselves that we forget to take care of our own bodies and minds; this was backed up not only by the personal experience of many in the room, but also by the fact that ethnic minorities in the UK are more likely to report ill health – though the causes for this are not yet fully determined. Next to speak was Chardine Taylor-Stone, drummer for black punk band Big Joanie, who focused on the black blues women of the 1920s – who have been overshadowed by the men that followed them. Elvis Presley was a prominent example of this; Big Mama Thornton sang Hound Dog before he did, but his version is often thought to be the only one, while Big Mama Thornton is almost forgotten. Today, punk music is racialised by many as being “white music” – yet, as Taylor-Stone said, if you define punk as being against mainstream culture, black women in particular are punk by nature in a society catering for straight white men. She ended by exhorting us to reclaim our own history of black music, as otherwise it could be lost. Third came Femi Otitoju, who spoke about her experiences as a black lesbian woman and how the intersections of her identity – racial, sexual, gender – had affected her in her life. She has come to believe that the more intersections you have to deal with, the stronger you become to cope with the accumulated ‘othering’ from Western society. She phrased it in her case as “Black plus lesbian equals strength squared”. And she added something that I thought very important to note: that when you start to question whether you should speak about your race/gender/sexual identity, that is a demonstration of internalised oppression. But in her words, “courage is catching” – and if you speak out, others are likely to follow. Last to speak was Mundia Situmbeko, on a topic which always brings black women together: hair. Her documentary, Kickin’ It With The Kinks, looks at how African hair has been stigmatised since the days of slavery and how many view it as “unmanageable”. Her view was that the perception of “woolly” African hair as unsophisticated and undesirable has not changed since then, but merely become more sophisticated. The prevalence of weaves amongst black women would seem to support this point; though she – and I – would both like to point out that what a woman does with her own hair is entirely up to her. The evening ended with some highly spirited discussion on what it means to be a black woman in the UK today – including one woman’s comment on how irritating it was to her that many of these events often come down to talking about hair, which was an interesting demonstration of what a huge issue it still is – and how we can demonstrate sisterhood to one another in the face of racism and sexism.  |
| Female breadwinner families more likely to stay together Posted: 06 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PST
The outdated notion that increased female independence would undermine traditional family structures has been turned on its head, thanks to new research. Heterosexual couples in which the woman earns at least 20 per cent more than her male partner are less likely to split up, according to a study published in the journal Sociology. The findings, which took into account almost 4,000 British couples, claim that couples who earned approximately the same were no more likely to split up than those where the father earned more. However, couples with nursery-age children are up to 80 per cent less likely to separate if the woman is the main earner in the family. Co-author of the research, Dr Shireen Kanji, of the Leicester University School of Management, said: "Sociological and economic theories have long predicted that women's increased economic independence would undermine the institution of marriage. "Previous studies of married couples in the UK provided evidence that women's higher earnings increased the risk of divorce. "We found that influential theories that a woman's higher earnings elevate the risk of divorce are unfounded amongst contemporary parents in the UK. "Our findings show that equal earning, and a mother being a main earner, are not destabilising influences on relationships, even at an intense time of childcare responsibilities." While the evidence points to the fact that equality could actually be the key to a happy relationship, it also highlights the well-documented impact that childbearing has on women’s careers. Researchers found that six per cent of mothers with children aged under one year earned at least 20 per cent more than their partners, but this figure fell to just under four per cent by the time the child was five years old. Similarly, 11 per cent of mothers with children under one earned a similar salary to their male partner, compared to just over four per cent by the time the child is five. Researchers said the study reflects the fact that "the potential for women to earn the same or more than a male partner has increased rapidly in recent years, in line with a steep rise in mothers' labour force participation and women's educational performance overtaking that of men." But they warned "these results do not necessarily signal a victory for gender equality. "Mother-main earner and equal-earner couples are not at a higher risk of splitting up, but they do overwhelmingly change to a male-breadwinner model [over time]. "The proportions of couples in which the mother is the main or equal earner decrease significantly as the first child ages." Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the gender pay gap has widened for the first time in five years – from 9.5 per cent to ten per cent in 2012. Once women have children they are often forced to make the choice between family and career, thanks to a lack of flexible working hours, expensive childcare and the current inequality in parental leave. As women have to take on part-time work, often in poorly paid industries, it’s no surprise then that female breadwinner families start to disappear. Perhaps that happiness will always be short-lived if we can’t find a better solution to retaining women in the workplace.  |
| Shocking results for UK in EU survey Posted: 06 Mar 2014 01:30 AM PST
A survey unveiled by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) in Brussels calls for all EU member states to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention as a measure for combating violence against women. The survey ‘Violence Against Women: an EU-wide survey’ was conducted by the FRA, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, over a period of two years. The survey involved interviewing 42,000 women in all the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU). A minimum of 1500 took part from each member state except for 900 for Luxembourg. One woman from each household was asked about her experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including incidents of intimate partner violence (domestic violence). The survey also asked about stalking, sexual harassment and the role played by technologies in women’s experiences of abuse. The results reveal extensive levels of violence towards women throughout the European Union, with significant levels of under-reporting of incidences. The figures for the UK show women have experienced higher levels of physical and sexual violence than the EU average. The UK ranked in fifth place – below Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and France – for the highest number of women reporting physical and/or sexual violence by a male since they were aged fifteen. Likewise, the survey indicates that the numbers of female children experiencing violence before the age of 15 years is higher in the UK than the EU average. In the UK, 44 per cent of women reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 years, compared to an EU average of 33 per cent. And 27 per cent of women in the UK have experienced partner violence; the EU average was 20 per cent. Physical violence by a partner after the age of fifteen is also higher in the UK than the average EU figure at 28 per cent compared with 20 per cent. At 7 per cent, the figure for women experiencing sexual violence after the age of fifteen in the UK is closer to the EU average of 6 per cent. Women experiencing sexual violence by a partner from the age of fifteen is 3 per cent higher than the EU average in the UK – at 7 per cent. Experiences of psychological violence by women since the age of fifteen is also reported as 3 per cent higher than the EU average, at 46 per cent. The figures reported in the FRA report equate to 13 million women in the EU experiencing male physical violence in the course of 12 months before the survey interviews and 9 million women in the EU experiencing sexual violence in the same period. Women were asked specifically about their experiences of stalking and sexual harassment and the role of the internet and social media. Sixteen per cent of the UK women involved in the survey reported experiencing some form of stalking in the twelve months immediately prior to the survey interview, and 19 per cent since the age of fifteen. This again is higher than the EU average figure. A shocking 68 per cent of UK women reported experiencing sexual harassment since the age of 15 years compared to 55 per cent on average in the EU as a whole. In the 12 months prior to the survey interview, 25 per cent of women in the UK reported having experienced sexual harassment; the average for the EU was 21 per cent. Of the women who reported having been victims of stalking, 34 per cent said they reported the most serious form of stalking to the the police. The EU average was lower than this, at only 26 per cent. One of the key ways to combat violence against women across Europe highlighted by the FRA is for all member states to be encouraged to sign and ratify the Council of Europe's Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence otherwise known as the Istanbul Convention. The purpose of the Convention is to establish a framework for governments to ensure they are working to combat violence against women by ensuring they prevent, investigate and prosecute violence against women and girls. It formally defines and criminalises forms of violence against women including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, physical, sexual and psychological violence. To date only three member states have ratified the Convention; Malta is shortly to become the fourth country. The UK signed the Convention in 2012, but it is yet to ratify it. If it did so, the government would be forced to implement the conventions provisions in its domestic policy and legislation. Ratifying the Istanbul Convention is seen as a way of protecting women from male violence and as a deterrent for perpetrators. Talking about the survey, Joanna Goodey, head of the Freedom and Justice Department at the FRA data, said: ‘Official statistics are lacking and that’s why the report was called upon. ‘It’s been needed for years and provides EU data on violence against women. ‘It involved a random sample of women aged 18-74 using face to face interviews conducted privately in women’s homes. ‘It took over two years to develop the survey with the help of experts and gives us women’s everyday experiences of violence by partners and non partners.’  |
| Survey reveals extent of abuse Posted: 06 Mar 2014 01:09 AM PST
A new report just released by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presents results from the world's biggest-ever survey on violence against women, and reveals the extent of abuse suffered by women at home, work, in public and online. As well as demonstrating the wide prevalence of violence against adult women, the report also details incidents of physical and sexual violence experienced by women in childhood. The survey shows that policymakers need to recognise the extent of violence against women, and ensure that responses meet the needs and rights of all victims of violence against women in practice and not just on paper. "These survey figures simply cannot and should not be ignored. "FRA's survey shows that physical, sexual and psychological violence against women is an extensive human rights abuse in all EU Member States," said FRA director Morten Kjaerum. "The enormity of the problem is proof that violence against women does not just impact a few women only – it impacts on society every day. "Therefore, policy makers, civil society and frontline workers need to review measures to tackle all forms of violence against women no matter where it takes place. "Measures tackling violence against women need to be taken to a new level now." The survey asked women about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including domestic violence. Over 42,000 women were interviewed for the survey. The net sample size was 1,500 respondents per country, except in Luxembourg, where the net sample size was 900 respondents. Respondents were 18-74 years of age at the time of interviewing. Questions were also asked about incidents of stalking, sexual harassment, and the role played by new technologies in women's experiences of abuse. In addition, the survey asked about respondents' experiences of violence in childhood. Drawing on the survey responses, some of the key findings show that: 33 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15. That corresponds to 62 million women. 22 per cent have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner. 5 per cent of all women have been raped. Almost one in 10 women who have experienced sexual violence by a non-partner, indicate that more than one perpetrator was involved in the most serious incident. 43 per cent have experienced some form of psychological violence by either a current or a previous partner, such as public humiliation; forbidding a woman to leave the house or locking her up; forcing her to watch pornography; and threats of violence. 33 per cent have childhood experiences of physical or sexual violence at the hands of an adult. 12 per cent had childhood experiences of sexual violence, of which half were from men they did not know. These forms of abuse typically involve an adult exposing their genitals or touching the child's genitals or breasts. 18 per cent of women have experienced stalking since the age of 15 and 5 per cent in the 12 months prior to the interview. This corresponds to 9 million women. 21 per cent of women who have experienced stalking said that it lasted for over 2 years. 11 per cent of women have experienced inappropriate advances on social websites or have been subjected to sexually explicit emails or text (SMS) messages. 20 per cent of young women (18-29) have been victims of such cyberharassment. 55 per cent of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment. 32 per cent of all victims of sexual harassment said the perpetrator was a boss, colleague or customer. 67 per cent did not report the most serious incident of partner violence to the police or any other organisation. The survey on which the report is based makes clear that a wide variety of groups need to take action to combat violence against women, including employers, health professionals and internet service providers. FRA makes a number of proposals to improve the situation and to support EU and national policy makers to introduce and implement comprehensive measures to prevent and respond to violence against women: EU Member States should ratify the Council of Europe's Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention). EU Member States must regard intimate partner violence as a public and not a private issue. The law in all EU Member States should therefore treat rape within marriage the same as other incidents of rape, and should respond to domestic violence as a matter of serious public concern. EU Member States need to review the existing scope of legislative and policy responses to sexual harassment, recognising that it can occur in various settings and can use different mediums, such as the internet or mobile phones. Police, healthcare professionals, employers and specialist victim support services need to be trained, properly resourced and given the necessary powers to reach out to victims. The police and other relevant services should be trained to recognise and understand the impact of psychological abuse on victims to ensure all forms of violence against women (and girls) in varied settings are recognised, recorded and acted on. The police should be encouraged to routinely recognise and investigate cases where cyberstalking and cyberharassment plays a role. Internet and social media platforms should proactively assist victims of cyberharassment to report abuse and be encouraged to limit unwanted behaviour. Specialist support services are required to address the needs of victims who suffer from negative feelings in the aftermath of victimisation, which can include self-blame and a sense of shame. Campaigns on and responses to violence against women must be directed at men as well as women. Men need to be positively engaged in initiatives that confront how some men use violence against women. There is a clear need to improve and harmonise data collection on violence against women, both in and between EU Member States. For more information, click here.  |
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