Women's Views on News |
- Liberty and soldiers’ human rights
- Women’s cricket hits the headlines again
- London’s Girl Summit: a day for change?
| Liberty and soldiers’ human rights Posted: 22 Jul 2014 07:23 AM PDT
‘Military Justice’ is civil rights group Liberty's campaign to protect and uphold the human rights of those serving in the UK’s Armed Forces. And Liberty is currently representing the families of Anne-Marie Ellement, Cheryl James, Sean Benton and James Collinson - soldiers let down by the current system. One is Anne-Marie Ellement. She had always wanted to join the Army. She loved her job as a military policewoman and believed in justice. In 2009 she reported that she had been raped by two colleagues, also RMP officers. Other military police officers investigated but no charges were brought, a decision which devastated her. She was not believed. She began to be bullied by other soldiers. They called her 'skank', 'slag', 'liar', 'the girl who cried rape'. She was transferred to a new unit but the bullying continued. In October 2011 Anne-Marie took her own life. A very brief inquest was held which did not examine any of these matters in depth. Following a judicial review brought by Liberty acting for Anne-Marie's sisters Sharon Hardy and Khristina Swain, a fresh inquest was held in February 2014. Liberty also asked that the rape investigation be re-opened because the first investigation had been severely lacking. Most fundamentally, it was not independent – the RMP investigated the RMP. You don’t need to be a lawyer to understand the dangers of such a lack of impartiality. Liberty, using the Human Rights Act, demanded that a fresh investigation be conducted with service police from another branch of the military together with civilian police specialising in sex crime. The RAF Police have now begun a fresh investigation, with the assistance and expertise of Bedfordshire Police. Then there is Deepcut. Between 1995 and 2001 four young British Army recruits were undergoing initial training at Deepcut, Surrey. They all died there, of gunshot wounds. Questions about their deaths remain unanswered. Liberty is representing the families of Sean Benton, Cheryl James and James Collinson. We have serious concerns regarding the circumstances surrounding their deaths and how they were investigated. We are now calling for fresh inquests into the deaths of Sean, Cheryl and James. And what has this got to do with human rights? Chapter 303, Halsbury's Laws of England says: It is one of the cardinal features of the law of England that a person does not, by enlisting in or entering the Armed Forces, thereby cease to be a citizen, so as to deprive him of his rights or to exempt him from his liabilities under the ordinary law of the land. As a human being you have human rights and under British law those rights are protected by the Human Rights Act. If you are the victim of a crime, you have the right to a proper investigation and for those responsible to be held to account. That's how it works. Being a soldier doesn't make you less human. Those laws and those rights still apply. Article 2 of the Human Rights Act – the right to life – requires that the state not only refrain from taking life but also take steps to protect it. In the event of a death where the state may be involved, it also requires an independent, prompt and open investigation. Article 3 relates to inhuman and degrading treatment. Cases of rape, for example, must be investigated and those responsible held to account. You can help us, by emailing your MP. You could say something like this: ‘We want all service men and women to feel confident that if they are a victim of a crime, this will be properly investigated and appropriately addressed – and that if they don't feel this has happened, they have somewhere else to turn to. Our recommendations, set out below, address the problems that we have encountered in our legal work and largely concern military life away from the battlefield. While we welcome the inclusion of a Service Complaints Bill in the Queen's Speech we are now urging the Government to go further and create an ombudsman with full investigative powers and for their recommendations to be binding. This is about protecting members of our Armed Forces at home and on barracks abroad: 1. Service police forces and local police forces should collect and publish annually anonymised statistics on the number of allegations of sexual assault and rape made by or against a member of the armed forces. 2. Parliament should amend Schedule 2 of the Armed Forces Act so that sexual assault, exposure and voyeurism are not excluded from the Act's mandatory referrals process. 3. The parties to Circular 028/2008 should amend the protocol by adding rape and sexual assault to the category of "Very Serious Crimes" which must always be investigated by local police forces rather than service police forces. 4. Arrangements for the investigation of serious crimes committed abroad should be revisited so as to reflect the principle that an independent police force rather than the service police force should investigate them. 5. The three service police forces should be brought within the civilian system of police oversight. 6. The service complaints ombudsman should be strengthened to give the ombudsman's office powers to investigate the merits of a complaint as well as claims of maladministration. The office must also retain absolute discretion as to whether to investigate a complaint. The ombudsman's recommendations must be final and binding, with sanctions for non-compliance.’ To find your MP, click here. And Liberty is asking for anyone with information in connection with the death of Cheryl James to please contact them in strictest confidence. Thanks.  |
| Women’s cricket hits the headlines again Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:55 AM PDT
Last week saw a momentous shift in the profile of women's cricket in England. For the first time the England women's team has secured a sponsorship deal of its own, rather than hanging on to the coattails of the men's side. On 14 July the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that Kia Motors had signed a two-year sponsorship deal to be the official car of the England women's cricket team. Kia will be the named sponsor of England's home test matches over the next two years; versus India at Wormsley in August and the Ashes test against Australia next summer, and England women's contracted players will all be provided with new Kia cars for the duration of the deal. In an interview on the ECB website, Clare Connor, ECB's Head of Women’s Cricket, said: "This is a historic step for England women's cricket and I am thrilled to be embarking on this new partnership with Kia." This deal is undoubtedly big for women's cricket in this country. For the first time sponsors are seeing women's cricket as an entity in its own right. We all know it's cricket, but it is not simply a slower, less powerful form of the men's game, but a skilful, demanding, exciting sport and deserving of recognition as such. It has taken a while for potential sponsors to come to the same conclusion, but it seems they are finally getting the message. So there we were, especially the small (but growing) phalanx of aficionados of the women's game, getting all excited and slapping each other on the back at the triumph of this sponsorship coup, when news came in from the other side of the world that 17 year-old Pakistan cricketer, Haleema Rafiq, committed suicide in Multan, in the Punjab Province in Pakistan, on 14 July. Rafiq was a talented fast bowler who had played for the Pakistan national side. Thirteen months ago Rafiq and four other players accused Multan Cricket Club officials of sexual harassment. They alleged that senior officials demanded sex in return for being picked for the team. A two-member investigative committee was set up and the five were summoned to give evidence. Three of the five, Seema Javed, Hina Ghafoor and Kiran Irshad appeared and denied any knowledge of sexual harassment. The other two, Rafiq and Saba Ghafoor failed to appear. The inquiry found there was no case to answer and the charges were dismissed. The Pakistan Cricket Board gave Rafiq and Saba Ghafoor six-month cricketing bans and Multan CC Manager, Maulvi Sultan Ahmed, filed a suit for 20 million rupees in compensation. At this point Haleema Rafiq took her own life. I obviously cannot comment on why the other three cricketers withdrew their complaints or, indeed, why Rafiq and Ghafoor did not. All I know is that Haleema Rafiq's parents issued a statement that the whole incident had caused their daughter great distress. I would imagine that many, many female cricketers have had to put up with sexism in the workplace, just as we do in so many walks of life. Their achievements have been belittled, mocked and generally gone unrecognised until recently. Their talent counts as nothing compared with their looks. One only has to look at the place of women at the MCC to realise what women have had to go through to gain some kind of recognition. However, I think we can safely say that none of them will have gone through Haleema Rafiq's experiences. None will have got to the point where they felt their only option was to drink acid to escape it. It has been a great week for English women's cricket, but while the England women pose for the cameras with their shiny new Kia cars, perhaps we should be sparing a thought for those who may not be so lucky. Cricket is such a fabulous sport, and should be open to all to play and to excel at. Things are undoubtedly changing for the better for women throughout the cricketing world. But we should not lose sight of the fact that there is still a fight ahead for some and much work to do.  |
| London’s Girl Summit: a day for change? Posted: 22 Jul 2014 01:09 AM PDT
So it’s a start. The Girl Summit 2014 in London today aims to rally a global movement to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) within a generation. It is a chance to stand up for every girl’s right to a life free from violence, to give girls around the world the freedom to fulfil their potential. In the last decade 58 million women in developing countries, that is 1 in 3 women, were married before they turned 18. CEFM is a global issue that has a significant impact on girls, their families, communities and countries. For example: Girls who give birth when under 15 years of age are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s; The children of child brides are 60 per cent more likely to die before their first birthday than the children of mothers who are over 19; Girls who marry earlier are more likely to suffer domestic violence and sexual abuse, and to contract HIV from their husbands; and Girls who marry young are more likely to be poor and stay poor. The Girl Summit taking place in London on 22 July is bringing together women, girls and community leaders from the UK and other countries, alongside governments, international non-governmental organisations like Plan and representatives from the private sector. The UK's Home Secretary, Theresa May, and the Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, will host the event. The summit aims to secure new commitments from the private sector, faith leaders, other civil society organisations and governments. It also offers the opportunity to share success stories and spread good practice in tackling these issues. Attendees will hear from girls and women who have lived through the ordeal of FGM or early and forced marriage, and from inspiring individuals from affected communities who are now driving change to improve the lives of girls and women now and in the future. Plan, for example, will be represented by youth ambassadors, by chief executive Tanya Barron and campaigns team and celebrity ambassador, Hollywood actress Freida Pinto. Plan staff and volunteers will share knowledge and experience from our FGM, child marriage and EFM programmes in countries such as Mali, Egypt and Bangladesh. "We can end FGM and child marriage in a generation," said Barron. "If a girl knows her rights, and her community knows the risks, cases will come down over time." Everyone has a part to play in achieving rights for girls and women around the world. You can get involved by joining Because I am a Girl, the biggest global campaign for girls’ rights. You can subscribe to the End FGM e-bulletin to get the latest news, events and stories on how UK aid is supporting a global movement to end the practice. You can subscribe to the DFID e-bulletin to get the latest updates on all our announcements including our work with girls and women, FGM and child and forced marriage You can get informed about the issues and share your knowledge by finding out about FGM and child and forced marriage. Here, for info about FGM for example, or here info about child and forced marriage. Once you know the facts, tell your friends and spread the word. Or you can join up with, take action with partner organisations the fantastic organisations doing critical work on FGM and child and forced marriage. Here are just a few to check out: Girl Effect, Girls Not Brides, Plan UK, Forward, Equality Now, Orchid Project and UNICEF. Or you can join Catapult, Women Deliver's crowdfunding platform for girls' and women's human rights and development around the world. It connects people who care about justice with the people on the ground working to improve girls' and women's lives. Find out more about their projects on FGM and child marriage. The UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, speaking in Zambia recently, pointed out that girls make good choices if we let them. They can, she said, choose to stay at school, marry later and have fewer children. When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries later, has fewer children…and these children are more educated and healthier. And the ambition for the Girl Summit, she continued, is to secure a huge range of commitments from governments, businesses and charities… with everyone agreeing a declaration to end child and forced marriage and female genital mutilation in a generation.  |
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