Women's Views on News |
| London vigil for Tuam and other Irish babies Posted: 08 Jul 2014 04:12 AM PDT
Very disturbing allegations have emerged recently regarding excessively high infant mortality rates in mothers and children's homes, like the one in Tuam, recently in the headlines, which were run by religious organisations in Ireland for several decades. Previous investigations by the Irish State into allegations of wrongdoing by religious organisations have been severely lacking, and have attracted strong criticism from international organisations. A vigil was held at the Irish Embassy in London last week to draw attention to these shortcomings and as part of an endeavour to ensure that they do not happen in the investigation now being established. As part of the vigil the Justice for 800 Tuam Babies campaign group called for the following: The investigation to be comprehensive, and must cover all similar institutions. The investigation should attempt to ascertain the location of other mass unmarked graves of children such as those at Tuam and Castlepollard; For a full investigation of allegations of drugs testing on children at these homes, and allegations that this was done in some locations without consent. Where a defence of consent is made, efforts should be made to discover whether any practices of obtaining consent from mothers utilised coercion or duress. The Irish government has, say the campaigners, partially addressed these first two points, but has not addressed these others: The inquiry should investigate claims by Paul Garrett, a professor at the National University Ireland, Galway, that a Catholic Organisation “Child Protection and Rescue Society of Ireland” (CPRSI) forced women who had fled to Britain from mother and children homes to return; The investigation should cover the extent to which the practice of forced removal of children from their mothers for adoption was widespread, and the investigating commission must be empowered to make suggestions regarding Adoption Legislation if it deems it necessary, in order that those forcibly separated may be reunited where there is a desire on both sides for this to happen; The strong criticism of the McAleese report into the Magdalene Laundries by the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) has given significant cause for concern. The Committee said that the reports of survivors were not given sufficient account, and that the investigation was not sufficiently comprehensive. The Committee wrote, in its letter of 22 May 2013, that the investigation "lacked many elements of a prompt, independent and thorough investigation". The Committee requested information as to whether a proper investigation would be established. Amnesty International has adopted a similar position. In order for the Irish State to properly comply with its International Human Rights Obligations, further investigation of the Magdalene Laundries is necessary, as stated by UNCAT and Amnesty International, and given the relevance of the circumstances of the Magdalene Laundries to the Mother and Children Homes, the Magdalene Laundries should be included in the investigation being established so that a proper inquiry can be made in line with UNCAT's recommendations. To not do so would make any investigation incomplete. Survivor testimony must be considered to be of prime importance in the inquiry being established, otherwise the inquiry’s ability to discharge its purpose would be significantly undermined; UNCAT in the same letter also heavily criticised the lack of criminal prosecutions by the Irish State in relation to the findings of child physical and sexual abuse in Institutions run by the Catholic Church which were outlined by the Ryan Report. As the Committee noted in the letter, ensuring prosecution is a key element in addressing past failings and providing better protection. However they note that at the time of their writing that though 14,038 victims of physical and sexual abuse had been awarded financial recompense, only one case had been prosecuted. This is unacceptable and projects the impression that one gains criminal immunity by virtue of membership in a religious organisation. The current investigation which is being established should have the power to recommend that criminal investigations be instituted with regard to certain persons/ organisations/information for whom evidence has been found disclosing criminal acts. Irish Criminal Law, and Irish International Human Rights Obligations, do not countenance criminal wrongs going unpunished; It is necessary that any investigation have a strong, independent international presence in order to ensure objectivity. It would be ideal if the investigation was directed by international experts. At the very least it is necessary that those directing the investigation be comprised partially of international experts; Lastly, when the investigation into child physical and sexual abuse was being conducted, Judge Laffoy, who formed part of the investigation, felt compelled to resign as she felt that a review on costs done by the Government left the investigation unable to properly perform its duties. Given the importance of the investigation being established to the survivors of these homes, and the Irish State as a whole, similar issues must not be encountered in the present investigation. Another area of concern has been the response of the Irish media to recent events. Newspapers were slow to report on issues relating to Mother and Children Homes. The Irish Times, through Rosita Boland, even grossly misrepresented Catherine Corless's views and falsely claimed that she had issued a retraction regarding Tuam, for which they have refused to apologise. Many Irish media outlets however have now begun to publish insightful and sensitive articles on Irish Mother and Children Homes, and we call on them to continue to do so.  |
| Maternity Leave Directive threatened Posted: 08 Jul 2014 01:09 AM PDT
The European Women's Lobby, (EWL), has learned with dismay about the European Commission's proposal to withdraw the proposed Maternity Leave Directive, as a gesture of 'legislative management' before the new Commission is installed. "This is a classic example of the backlash against women's rights and gender equality in Europe," Joanna Maycock, the EWL’s Secretary General said. "It sends a very bad signal to women and men in Europe about how much the EU can do to support real people's rights and lives." The proposed Maternity Leave Directive was adopted democratically by a large majority of the European Parliament on its first reading on 20 October 2010. It has nonetheless been blocked by Member State governments (Council) for over three years. The proposal provides a number of forward-looking measures including 20 weeks fully paid maternity leave, strengthened measures to protect women from dismissal on return and two weeks fully paid paternity leave also available to same sex couples. "The threat to remove the Maternity Leave Directive from the legislative process is serious and undermines the democratic process of the European Parliament's adopted position," Maycock said. "This negates Europe's rhetoric on its commitment to gender equality and effective work-life balance for women and men in Europe." Women continue to earn 16 per cent on average less than men and it is often at the moment of childbirth that the gender pay gap kicks in, with life-long often irreversible consequences, including the fact that women receive on average 40 per cent less pension than men. Despite existing laws that protect pregnant workers, more and more women today are experiencing discrimination in the work place as a direct result of pregnancy and/or birth. This is why it is urgent to strengthen the rights and protection of women during pregnancy and on return to work. "It is unacceptable that measures to protect women's rights are part of a trade-off to cut red tape: women's rights are not red tape," Maycock pointed out. In an Open Letter to the newly designated President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the EWL calls on him to reject this proposal to withdraw the Maternity Leave Directive, immediately reinstate the proposal and to give his full commitment to reaching a decision with the Council. The EWL expects the newly-elected European Parliament will react strongly against this proposal and will work with the Italian Presidency towards achieving a favourable conclusion.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |