Women's Views on News |
- Committee looking into Serco and G4S
- Events 1 July – 6 July
- Rape case coverage still an obstacle to justice
| Committee looking into Serco and G4S Posted: 01 Jul 2014 06:30 AM PDT At last. Multinational outsourcing companies Serco and G4S were questioned last week by the Home Affairs Select Committee about their running of the UK’s immigration detention centres. There was some hope that high on the agenda would be what MP Keith Vaz, chair of the Committee, called "shocking revelations" of rape and sexual assault in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, which is run by Serco. Women who have been held in Yarl's Wood, some of whom who have been victims of the abuse or witnessed it, are attending the hearing, to call for the Committee to hear their testimony. The Black Women's Rape Action Project (BWRAP) and Women Against Rape (WAR) have said that Serco's response to the allegations of abuse has been a determined and deliberate cover-up. The sexism and bias, say the two campaign groups, ran so deep that not only did Serco disbelieve what one victim said and questioned their credibility but when a female guard backed her and said she believed her, that guard was subjected to a character assassination. This was all revealed in an internal report that Serco tried to suppress and which only saw the light of day because the Observer took the company to court. The report revealed that senior officers claimed that the female guard 'required guidance to become more “objective” and to dissuade her making similar snap judgments in the future'. The two campaign groups said that 'any company that orchestrates this kind of cover-up cannot be trusted to give truthful and fulsome answers to questions from MPs on the Home Affairs Committee. MPs, they say, should ensure that they were well armed before they invited Serco staff to give evidence – and that they should have taken evidence from victims and witnesses first. And, they continue, the allegations 'add up to a regime of institutionalised predatory sexual abuse by guards in Yarl's Wood.' Allegation which include: guards taking women to the "photo suite" and other areas of the centre which are not covered by CCTV, and making them perform "sexual acts" a women being told by a healthcare worker that “she did not need medication but needed his penis” (as he assaulted her for the third time); guards demanding sex in exchange for "favours" from women desperate for help with their legal case and/or grief stricken about being separated from children; allegations that guards "deliberately pick on women with no English and no outside support"; threats to deport women if they complain including one complainant who faced deportation attempts to nine different countries. The campaigners also said that the Committee should also have invited the former Serco senior employee who became a whistleblower and has corroborated women's allegations. This whistleblower revealed the organised nature of the abuse by guards: for example, another guard told him of blind spots in the Centre, not covered by CCTV, where guards took women for sex; a guard making a woman pregnant; the targeting of certain women including "a particularly vulnerable detainee with profound psychological issues. It is understood she has since been deported"; the refusal to "identify the mental health needs of individuals because that would block the system"; women detainees self-harming and being left to suffer, including "a woman who poured boiling water over herself and was left for hours in a state of shock and a woman who tied a ligature around her neck while she was apparently under observation." BWRAP has been told by the Committee that women may be able to give evidence at a later date and is urging the Committee to ensure this happens and that Serco is then recalled. The campaigners also maintain that any company that is prepared to cover up the abuse of vulnerable women by guards in positions of power is not fit to run any public service, and that Serco's contract to run Yarl's Wood should be terminated immediately. They also protested at the government’s hypocrisy displayed at the recent World Summit to End Violence in Conflict, where William Hague claimed to support “courageous victims” fleeing rape in war zones, but rape survivors who claim asylum and protection in the UK – and victims raped in the UK – are routinely disbelieved, detained or imprisoned. Rapists and other abusers working in detention centres have, they said, been allowed to operate with impunity. Meanwhile Serco has, according to the Guardian, disclosed that 10 of its staff have been dismissed in relation to allegations of improper sexual contact with female detainees at Yarl’s Wood. Appearing before the Commons home affairs committee, Serco executives said that the dismissals related to eight separate cases – out of a total of 31 which had been investigated – at the centre in Bedfordshire over the past seven years. And the chief executive of Serco’s UK central government division, Dr Bob McGuiness, has apologised. The Guardian reported that he said: “We set very high standards for ourselves and our staff. On those instances where we have fallen short of the standards that we have set for ourselves, I absolutely am sorry and apologise for these cases.” It is not clear at whom the apology was directed. The women who were assaulted? And 'dismissed' in relation to allegations of improper sexual contact?  |
| Posted: 01 Jul 2014 04:12 AM PDT
Birmingham: 2/3 July: Women's Aid 40th Anniversary National Conference: Ready for the Future at Aston University Conference Centre, Birmingham. A key opportunity for services to come together to celebrate a movement which has saved countless lives and set the standard for domestic violence services across the world. It is also time – with a general election approaching – to develop a shared vision of the domestic violence services of the future, as well as identifying and addressing the key challenges we face in the present. This conference will identify the future needs of domestic violence survivors and how these can be met in a rapidly changing environment with increasingly limited resources. Highlights include keynote speeches from Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Norman Baker MP, Minister for Crime Prevention. For the full programme of events click here. London: 2 July: Millicent Fawcett Commemoration at Christchurch Gardens, off Victoria Street, London SW1, from 6pm. Join the Fawcett Society at the Suffragette Fellowship memorial for the commemoration of Millicent Fawcett and wreath laying. The Suffragette Fellowship memorial is in Christchurch Gardens, on the corner of Victoria Street and Broadway and opposite New Scotland Yard. The memorial itself is at the furthest corner of the gardens. The ceremony usually lasts 15-20 minutes and is organised by South London Fawcett Group. All Fawcett members and supporters are welcome. 2 July: Laura Bates and Everyday Sexism at the Feminist Library, 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1, from 6.30pm. Laura Bates joins those at The Feminist Library to discuss her recently released book, her online project as well as the everyday culture of misogyny. £3 suggested minimum donation. 3 July: Women resisting the racist 'security' state: Public Meeting at Room 417, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, from 6.30pm. What is the experience of BME women struggling for justice? What are the corporate and state practices targeting BME women? How can BME women and women's organisations get their voices heard and demands met? The Freedom Without Fear Platform is calling an open meeting to bring together people engaged in state-critical activities and campaigns to look at intersections of our work and ideas and: - to provide a platform for activists to increase awareness of issues facing black communities in the UK and local-global connections and impacts - enable deeper connection across movements - support more informed scrutiny of current UK state/corporate practices domestically and internationally Speakers include: Kamila Sheikh: Speaking of her and her family’s struggle for justice against a racist alliance of Police, Court and Neighbours. Aderonke Apata, Lesbian Immigration Support Group: Speaking of the struggles women are facing with asylum and immigration systems, detention centres/corporations and the surveillance and control non-British national women are increasingly subjected to. Sarah Lamble, Lecturer of Law at Birkbeck and involved with Reclaim Justice Network and Bent Bars: Speaking about the struggle against imprisonment and how the increasing surveillance and criminalisation agenda of the state is shaped by race, gender, sexuality and disability. 4 July: Stand Up Against FGM at Bloomsbury Theatre, from 7.30pm. With MC Daniel Kitson, Jo Brand, Isy Suttie, Shazia Mirza, Bridget Christie, Stewart Lee and Leyla Hussein. All proceeds to Manor Gardens Health Advocacy Project’s FGM prevention work. Tickets £20. Until 5 July: The F Word Project: Five Feminist Fables for the Twenty-First Century at Space Station Sixty Five, Building One, 373 Kennington Road, London SE11. The F Word Project: Five Feminist Fables for the Twenty-first Century is a body of art, collected in a series of feminist graphic novellas by Maureen Burdock. Each novella features a common heroine originating from a culture whose current traditions cause women hardship, despite which they emerge strong and triumphant. The F Word Project increases awareness of women's struggles worldwide and the need for elimination of the injustices they experience. It provides inspirational role models for women by creating brave protagonists from various walks of life. In addition to the depiction of problems, the intelligence and goodness of human nature that make change possible are emphasised through the use of humour and engaging art and narratives. 5 July: March for Decent Housing at Central Park, East Ham, London E6, from 3pm. Thousands of people are facing the threat of repossession and eviction, struggling with the bedroom tax, council tax and benefit cap. Families are battling soaring private rents, rogue landlords and letting agents, discriminating racially and charging huge fees, and poorly regulated, short term and insecure tenancies. We must stand together and fight for our right to housing security. Go and join Focus E15 Mothers: The Bigger We Grow the Louder We Become Focus On the Future. Swansea: 5 July: Soapbox Science at Swansea Bay, next to the 360 Beach and Watersports centre and café. Soapbox Science will join with Swansea University to transform the magnificent expanse of Swansea Bay into a hub of scientific learning and discussion, as some of Wales' leading female scientists take to their soapboxes to showcase science to the general public. Click here to see the list of speakers.  |
| Rape case coverage still an obstacle to justice Posted: 01 Jul 2014 01:09 AM PDT
The media coverage of women whose rape claims are deemed false is yet another obstacle to victims coming forward. A student barrister has received a three and a half year jail sentence after being found guilty of falsely accusing her former boyfriend of raping and assaulting her. Rhiannon Brooker's former partner, Paul Fensome, was originally jailed for 37 days after she made the accusations. However, bruises and injuries Brooker presented as evidence were subsequently deemed to have been self-inflicted and it was found that Fensome had alibis for some of the occasions he had been accused of rape, so the focus turned instead on Brooker. Under investigation, which reportedly included a morning home raid, the seizing of childhood diaries and extensive questioning about traumatic events in her past, Brooker briefly admitted that the claims were false before reiterating that the claims were true. Based on this admission, Fensome received £38,000 compensation and Avon and Somerset police decided it was in the public interest to charge Brooker with perverting the course of justice. During the ten-week trial that followed, Brooker was accused of staging the injuries and making the claims because she was failing her Bar exams, despite her being among the top ten per cent of students on her course. Numerous witnesses from Brooker's past were called to testify, and her character was subject to intense speculation both in court and in the media. The sentencing judge, Julian Lambert, argued that that claims like Brookers' which are deemed false made it more difficult for 'real rape victims' to be believed in court. And a police spokesperson said, “False claims have a clear adverse impact on victims reporting incidents to police and the prosecution of genuine cases.” Crown advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service, James Ward, said: “This case was brought both to protect the integrity of genuine rape allegations and victims of rape and because of the devastating effects false allegations of sexual offending can have on genuine victims, innocent people so accused and their families.” “It would be a travesty if this case were to undermine the confidence and experiences of victims," Chief Superintendent Sarah Crew, force lead for rape and sexual offences at Avon and Somerset police, added. "We want to assure all victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic abuse that we will listen to and support you every step of the way.” However, some argue the decision to jail Brooker for making the claims will deter the very people the authorities are hoping to encourage to come forward and report rapes and domestic abuse. Women’s rights campaigners claim that such a severe sentence will put off rape victims from going to the police for fear they could face prosecution if their allegations are not proven. More than a dozen lawyers and organisations, including the campaign group Women Against Rape (WAR) who had a representative at Brooker's trial, wrote to the judge. 'The prosecution [of Brooker] was not in the public interest. A prison sentence will put even more women off reporting, enabling even more attacks from violent men. ‘The resources spent on prosecuting Ms Brooker should have been put into prosecuting rapists and other violent men,' they argued. WAR has also released a press statement arguing that Brooker only retracted her claims under the intensity of the police interrogation to try and 'make it all go away'. WAR have called Brooker's sentence a miscarriage of justice which forms part of a broader problem where rape and domestic abuse victims are mistreated by the police. 'In our experience, charges against women often follow negligent and biased police investigations. ‘In many rape cases brought to us, police lost evidence or did not gather it, witnesses were not interviewed, statements were not taken,' WAR said. However, the police reject claims by WAR that it prosecuted Brooker to cover its back. What is clear is that reports of rape deemed false are punished more harshly in the UK than in the US, where accusers are unlikely to receive a jail sentence. 'Reporting [of rape and abuse in the UK] has increased in the wake of the Savile and other scandalous cases where women were not only disbelieved but threatened with prosecution. ‘If the authorities want to turn the clock back and put women off from coming forward, prosecutions like this are a very effective deterrent,' WAR said in their press release. However, the media coverage of the case has also played a role in punishing Brooker. Uninterested in objectivity, the media coverage has been almost exclusively focused on assassinating Brooker's character, painting her as suicidal, delusional, manipulative, conniving and an unfit mother to her nine-month-old baby, among other unsavoury portrayals. The disproportionate focus on Brooker's personal life and speculation about her motives is horribly indicative of how women involved in rape cases are put on trial not only in the court room but also across the pages of the newspapers. And knowing tabloid character assassination probably lies ahead is just one more deterrent for victims of rape and domestic violence, stopping them from coming forward.  |
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