Women's Views on News |
| Refuting Labour MP’s sexist remarks Posted: 21 Aug 2014 04:15 AM PDT
By Johanna Baxter. Whilst I was out at the weekend campaigning in Hampstead and Kilburn to get the brilliant Tulip [Siddiq] elected, Austin Mitchell [Labour MP] picked up his poised pen and with one article brought shame to our PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party]. Not only were his comments ageist and sexist – in the extreme – he also demonstrated complete contempt for both our party and his constituents. In doing so confirmed every disengaged voter's fear about the politicians – that they're only in it for themselves – and showed us exactly why we need All Women Shortlists [AWS] and why politics needs to change. To suggest that having more women in the PLP would mean the party was more concerned with "social, educational and family issues" and "pre-occupied with the local rather than the international and small problems rather than big ideas" insults the intelligence of every woman MP and PPC out there and the party members who selected them. (As Kev Peel points out elsewhere he obviously hasn't ever met PCCs like Sophy Garnder, selected last year as Labour's candidate for Gloucester following a distinguished career in the Royal Air Force including deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.) It is also insulting to families everywhere to suggest that our party shouldn't be speaking out about the issues which are affecting so many of them. Apparently "Women MPs are more amenable and leadable and less objectionable" – I'd like to see him try to tell that to Harriet Haman with a straight face and see her response. But it seems to be young women in particular that Austin has a problem with "oldies being replaced by amenable youngsters". What makes them so 'amenable' and "less prepared for all-night shenanigans of the parliamentary kind" is a mystery… how very dare they ever agree with our leader and seek to bring Parliament into the 21st century! For someone who has sat on the Labour benches for some 37 years Austin has a surprising lack of knowledge about our own policy and how our party works. Apparently "most selections are no[w] AWS" – untrue. Party policy is to try to achieve a balance of AWS and non-AWS selections across the country. Apparently "not all of the 30 or so who are standing down wanted to go" – untrue. Every sitting MP was given the opportunity to state, very early on in the process, whether they wished to seek re-selection or not. Those choosing to step down are choosing to do so and at any rate the people who decide whether they serve another parliamentary term is not the Labour Party but the voters in their constituency. But his contempt for those of us within his own party doesn't stop there – apparently "the faceless functionaries on the Organisational Subcommittee (Org Sub) of Labour's National Executive, which makes the decision without knowing anything about local circumstances, are told they will accept one…It is duly imposed". What utter tosh! As a member of the NEC [National Executive Committe] I have always considered it my responsibility to get to know what our members are thinking, what their hopes and concerns are so that I can accurately represent them at committee. And as an independent member of the NEC no one controls my vote at the NEC but the members I'm there to represent. That's why I've used up my own annual leave from work and spent my own money (NEC reps don't get any expenses for any of this work) to travel to over 119 CLPs [Constituencies] across the country. I've been to speak to Great Grimsby CLP (Austin wasn't able to make it the day I was there) –so I know something of the local circumstances and the activists and have a huge amount of respect for them. Discussions on the application of AWS at the NEC Organisational Sub-committee look at the balance of AWSs across the region and the country, the electoral prospects of the seat, the history of selecting women in the past and, yes, the local circumstances. Many of us are lobbied prior to these meetings by CLPs with strong views and as a representative of those members I could not, and do not, ignore those representations. Our decisions are difficult – often impacting many groups of members who have different objectives and I know we cannot please everyone all the time – but we try to take a fair and balanced approach and deliberate at length. I've argued before that we do need to take a more strategic and transparent approach to deciding which seats are allocated AWS so we can tackle the, false, accusation that an AWS = a 'fixed' seat and will continue to do so. When Austin said that "Neither the PLP not the [House of] Commons are good places for oldies with any ambition" I hoped he was going to argue for other ways to contribute but his statement that "oldies don't get parliamentary trips, interesting assignments or media appearances, so what's the point of staying on" demonstrates the 'ambition' he talks about is for himself, not his constituents. What a sad way to end a 37 year career and what a slap in the face to the electorate. The people of Great Grimsby need a representative who is ambitious for them, who cares enough to fight the good fight and ensure their voice is heard in parliament. In amongst his bucket of bile Austin did have two valid points; there are not enough women coming forward for selection (women still only make up 13 per cent of all applicants in Open selections) and members should always be given a choice in selections. A view that says seats are "all sewn up" is both untrue and a deeply damaging self-fulfilling prophecy. We do need fairer selection processes that provide a level playing field for candidates of different backgrounds and resources – I have been arguing for that in my role on the Collins Implementation committee and support spending caps in selections. But it's also about providing pathways of development through the party – of the CLPs I've visited I've been struck by the fact that there are only about 10 per cent of those that have a woman Chair. In the vast majority of cases the CLP Chair is a man and the CLP Secretary is a woman. I've asked the party to provide the demographic breakdown of CLP Office bearers across the country to see how much of an issue this is and to start a dialogue about how we develop more of our under-represented groups in the party and I have previously asked that we draw up procedures to ensure that Org Sub is informed and can take action to ensure that all selections are competitive. Until these things happen and we achieve a PLP that is truly representative of the people, AWSs are absolutely necessary. But then what would I know, I am just a "faceless functionary", apparently… Johanna Baxter is a member of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC). A version of this post appeared in Labour List on 20 August 2014.  |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2014 01:25 AM PDT
By Lucy Dixon. The double stigma faced by women who use drugs and are involved in prostitution means that they are a largely hidden group in the UK. New research argues that for those who wish to rebuild their lives, policy and services must address these issues together. Debate over prostitution laws in Europe has been in the news a great deal over the past year, with controversial opposing stances seen in Germany’s legalisation policy and France's criminalisation of purchasing. In the UK, policy and legislative efforts have focused largely on sex trafficking rather than prostitution, and at a time when services for women involved in prostitution are shrinking by the day as public sector cuts are imposed. Whilst sex work can be normalised, and even glamourised, the reality is that many women involved in prostitution use drugs or alcohol to cope with selling sex – and the violence and abuse in their lives – and sell sex to support their substance dependence. This significant group of women is recognised as particularly vulnerable, yet these interlinking issues are rarely addressed together. In our collaborative report, The Challenge to Change, DrugScope and Against Violence and Abuse (AVA), looked at what services and policies currently exist to support women in the UK involved in both prostitution and substance use, and how support from policy makers, planners and commissioners, together with services on the groundcan be improved to provide greater choice and empowerment. This mixed-methods study included reviewing current international research and UK policy; an online survey of and visits to support services, such as substance misuse services, sex work projects and women's community projects; and interviews with staff and women accessing these services. Sarah is in her mid-30s. She started using heroin when she was 19, and crack when she was 21. She became involved in prostitution at the age of 23, and now works two or three times a week, primarily to pay for her drugs. She started receiving support from a service for women involved in street-based prostitution when she met one of their outreach workers, and subsequently started to engage with a drug treatment service alongside this. While she identified positive aspects to both services, she explained that "I do think the two should go hand in hand though because it's always there, if you want drugs you go down and get the money. It's always a way to get money." Sarah described her self-esteem as being "on the floor". She described how her partner, who also uses drugs, has "manipulated and scared me into going down and working the beat", and that he had used "scare tactics to get the money off me when I'd got the money". She explained that she wanted things to change: "I'd like to travel, and I'd like a full time job, and to be respected. Just a normal life really." However, she felt the support she is currently receiving is unlikely to help her to do this: "All they seem to give you is 10 minutes of an appointment, see what you're using, take a sample test and then give you a script and then ask you to come back in two weeks. That's about all the support you get." A hidden group experiencing substantial harms Many women like Sarah feel the impact of 'double stigma' associated with using drugs and being involved in prostitution, resulting in this being a largely hidden group. Moreover, both our primary research and the existing studies we reviewed point clearly to the reinforcing nature of drug use and prostitution. All of the women interviewed in this study reported working on the streets to obtain money for drugs. "Once you're out there and you're doing what you're doing… You need drugs to stay sane, but to pay for the drugs you need to carry on committing those offences, so to speak." The substantial harms experienced by women involved in prostitution and substance use include mental health problems, including resulting from trauma such as past physical and sexual abuse; poor physical health; sexual health risks, including sexually transmitted infections and HIV transmission - with those who are injecting drugs having a dual risk for HIV. The words used by the women interviewed to describe how they felt about themselves included 'ashamed', 'guilty', and 'worthless', with one woman saying she felt she was "in the gutter and deserved to be there". Violence was also a particular issue for most of the interviewees. In some cases this included violence from a partner; more often it involved violence from a customer or 'punter', such as being threatened, "smacked about", or raped. In line with these women's accounts, many of the services surveyed drew links between women's involvement in prostitution and substance use and experiences of violence: nearly 90 per cent of service providers believed that their clients who sell sex are often doing so to fund a partner's drug habit, and two-thirds believed that women are coerced or forced to sell sex for drugs. The current national policy context Very little attention is currently devoted to women involved in prostitution and substance use in national policy documents, including the 2010 UK Drug Strategy, and those focusing on multiple needs and women involved with the criminal justice system. Where strategies do mention substance misuse problems among women, or involvement in prostitution, there is rarely any consideration of addressing these issues together. The 2006 Prostitution Strategy, published under the last government, briefly highlights that "this is a particularly vulnerable group of problematic drug users due to their need to finance their drug use, and often that of their partners, through prostitution", and suggests that the first step must be "to set them free from the drug addiction that constantly forces them back on the street." The 2011 Review of effective practice in responding to prostitution, published by the UK Home Office, also notes that "support aimed at overcoming alcohol and drug abuses should recognise the complexities of these issues in relation to people involved in prostitution". The 2010 Drug Strategy, however, contains no mention of the words 'prostitution' or 'sex work', or even 'woman', 'women' or 'girl'. The 2012 Alcohol Strategy, which takes a 'public health' approach, is similarly reticent about identifying this group of women as in need of support and service provision. Barriers to accessing support Many women interviewed during the research had been accessing services on and off for a number of years, ranging from harm reduction services such as needle exchanges, as well as those providing free contraceptives and sexual health checks, to more structured treatment provision and wider social support. Although they gave a range of reasons for accessing services, in most cases, there was a feeling that they had had enough of their lifestyle, either because of health issues, a specific incident, or because they felt, quite simply, that they could not go on in the same way. Many also spoke of their desire for longer-term change, including being substance free, having a job and a nice home, and being with and providing for their children. While many interviewees gave accounts of positive experiences within services, they also highlighted a range of barriers to accessing the support they needed. Over half the women identified being in the same environment, surrounded by peers, friends or family who also use drugs and encourage them to continue doing so or to continue sex work, as a major barrier to change. Variation of key workerswas also cited as a limitation, consistency being crucial to enable a trusting relationship to develop, in which women feel able to share the reality of their lives. Lack of ongoing care and support following harm-reduction and initial support was another key limitation to enabling real, ongoing change and long-term recovery. Robust evidence points to the effectiveness of tailoring standard interventions for this group of women, but many of the services surveyed didn't take this approach. Under a third of substance misuse services reported that they provided advice and information around prostitution within their services, and just 30 per cent said they provided harm reduction advice related to prostitution. Seeking change: positives to build on There is strong evidence of the importance of integrated provision to address the multiple needs of women involved in prostitution and substance use. Most of the women interviewed favoured an integrated approach, with some explaining that it would be easier and more efficient, and would save having to go over the same ground with different people in separate services. While some women felt that services should be kept separate, this does not preclude close working to facilitate access to treatment. Other support identified as positive included women-only services and groups, and skilled, empathetic non-peers, and drop-in or open access services. Services need to reduce the stigma face by ensuring staff are thoroughly trained to understand the specific needs of women involved in prostitution and be non-judgmental and empathetic. Stigma may also prevent disclosure about involvement in prostitution to key workers in the first place, and robust assurances about confidentiality can help to counter this. Many women told us that their focus wasn't just to reduce risks and manage substance dependence, but to rebuild their lives. As one woman told us: "I'd love to be clean. I'd like to have a job but I've got no qualifications. I'd like to provide a nice house for my son. Holidays. You know, he's missed out on basic things other kids have…Things like that. Things that people would say is normal everyday lives." This means that to be fully effective, services need to provide access to housing and employment support, as well as ongoing aftercare for those who are substance-free and no longer involved in prostitution Lucy Dixon works for Against Violence and Abuse, a service working to end all forms of violence against women and girls in the UK. A version of this article appeared in OpenDemocracy on 18 August 2014.  |
| 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 | |