Women's Views on News |
| Inappropriate behaviour at uni ongoing Posted: 15 Sep 2014 06:13 AM PDT
The president of the National Union of Students (NUS), Toni Pearce, has called on the UK’s universities to join the NUS in its work on tackling lad culture on UK campuses. The call comes as new research reveals that one in four students – that is 26 per cent – have suffered unwelcome sexual advances, defined as inappropriate touching and groping. In the survey of over 2,000 men and women students: More than a third of women students (37 per cent) said they had faced unwelcome sexual advances. Just under one third witnessed verbal harassment based on a student's gender. Almost one third of respondents said they endure unwanted sexual comments about their body; 37 per cent of women and 12 per cent of men. Two thirds of respondents said they have seen students put up with unwanted sexual comments. More than a third of respondents were aware of promotional materials around their university that had sexualised images of women, and 51 per cent of women and 33 per cent of men agreed that the images made them feel uncomfortable. Examples included naked pictures of women accompanying a call for more photos of “top student totty”, and girls pictured kissing on a flyer. And 75 per cent of students are aware of online communities such as 'Unilad' and 'Lad Bible'. Almost two thirds of women students (63 per cent) agreed that these contribute to an unfair representation of women. Over half of survey respondents believed that women students are more vulnerable than men. The study also revealed a worrying lack of awareness among students of reporting procedures or provisions to prohibit and tackle such behaviour. And 60 per cent of respondents said they were not aware of any codes of conduct implemented by their university or students' unions that prohibit or tackle sexual conversations, sexual comments, unwelcomed sexual advances, group intimidation and verbal harassment. Speaking at the launch of this report on 12 September, the NUS's president, Toni Pearce, said: "These stats show that harassment is rife on campus, but we still we keep hearing from universities that there is no fear, no intimidation, no problem – well this new research says otherwise. "Sadly, all of these elements exist in campus life, we know because we hear it from students. "They told us in the Hidden Marks report in 2010, they revealed the depths of lad culture in 'That's what she said' last year, and they’ve spoken again today. "Today I say to universities everywhere the passing the buck approach of 'not on my campus' is now completely unacceptable. "They must acknowledge the problems and join us in confronting them. "NUS took the first step with the launch of That's What She Said; women students experiences of lad culture in higher education' in March 2013 and has since worked to make sure we can support students unions to effectively tackle these problems, details of which I am proud to share today. "Our Lad Culture National Strategy Team that includes students, students unions, and a range of external stakeholders, is launching a pilot scheme for five to ten UK unions that will assess what lad culture looks like on their campus, and what is currently in place to tackle lad culture. "We need a new deal for students. "Nobody should feel diminished, disrespected or unsafe on campus, and it is vital that behaviours resulting in this are challenged. "Students unions and universities must work together to create a campuses that are welcoming, safe and supportive to all.’ Laura Bates, who is the Lad Culture National Strategy Team's ambassador, said: "Students, are experiencing sexism, sexual harassment and assault within the university environment. "It is worth mentioning that one category of such experiences, “inappropriate touching and groping” actually constitutes sexual assault under UK law. "Though many students would not label it as such, this normalisation and lack of awareness is a major part of the problem." Since the Lad Culture Summit in February of this year, the NUS has been working to ensure that unions take responsibility and tackle this lack of awareness. The National Strategy Team will launch its lad culture pilot scheme for unions next month, with the central aim of supporting unions as they develop a cross-institutional strategy team to examine ways to tackle lad culture together on individual campuses. Lad culture, as defined by the NUS research in 2013 'That's What She Said; women students experiences of lad culture in higher education', is a set of behaviours and attitudes that dominate social behaviours – social norms that belittle, dismiss, joke about or even seem to condone rape and sexual assault. Click here to read the new research.  |
| Save the Independent Living Fund Posted: 15 Sep 2014 04:49 AM PDT
The Independent Living Fund (ILF) helps 18,000 disabled people with the highest support needs to live independent lives in the community rather than in residential care. The Court of Appeal found that last time the government tried to do this, it had breached their equality duties. Despite this, the government has decided to try and close it again and ignore the concerns of disability groups, unions and individual campaigners. The funding will be devolved to Local Authorities for 12 months, with no ring-fencing. Please email your MP now, to help save the Independent Living Fund. If you follow the links, you reach and could send this letter template: Dear MP I am writing to urge that the Independent Living Fund (ILF), on which nearly 18,000 disabled people with the highest support needs rely, be kept open. Specifically, I am asking that you: write to our Local Authority to find out both whether they will ring-fence the ILF money and what will happen to Personal Assistants (PAs) currently employed by ILF recipients; contact the Minister for Disabled People, Mark Harper MP, urging him to stop the closure of the ILF and reopen applications; and sign EDM 113 on the ILF which was tabled by Dame Anne Begg MP (if you are not prevented by parliamentary convention). The Independent Living Fund was set up in recognition of the fact that disabled people with the greatest support needs are at high risk of social exclusion and face particular barriers to independent living and working, and that their needs in this regard were not adequately addressed by Local Authority (LA) provision with its focus on meeting basic needs. Nearly 18,000 people currently receive ILF support and rely on it instead of being in residential care. In 2010 the ILF stopped taking new cases and the Government announced its intention to close the fund by March 2015. However, in November 2013 the Court of Appeal upheld a legal challenge brought by five ILF recipients because the then Minister for Disabled People was found not to have given proper consideration to the equality duties. Just four months later in March 2014, the then Minister for Disabled People, Mike Penning MP, announced that the ILF would close on 30 June 2015 and responsibility for the fund would go to Local Authorities (LAs), without ring-fencing. A new Equality Analysis was published that was supposed to show how the Government had addressed the Court's concerns. However, it has been sharply criticised by experts – including by a professor whose work was referenced in it – for its inaccuracies, misrepresentations and poor quality. The dignity, independence and human rights of disabled people with the highest support needs can only be met by the continuation of the ILF. As a national body with experienced and expert staff it is in a unique position to address disparities between Local Authorities and raise overall standards of care. It is also important to note that not only is the ILF the most effective option, it is the most efficient as overheads are just 2 per cent compared to an average of 16 per cent in Local Authorities. Furthermore, a recent survey of 144 Local Authorities social care departments found that Local Authority-run care is 'unsustainable' and the system is in crisis and cannot cope. The survey revealed that funding cuts and rising demands are key problems and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services says that they predict the situation will get worse, despite attempts to channel extra NHS money into the system. The Director of Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) stated 'Our survey shows beyond doubt that we have reached the point where we are unable to absorb the pressures'. The November 2013 judgment by the Court of Appeal that stopped the Government's previous attempt to close the ILF stated that the Minister should have ensured she was fully informed of the 'inevitable and considerable adverse effects which the closure of the fund will have, particularly on those who will as a consequence lose the ability to live independently' and understand that the closure might indicate '… that independent living might well be put seriously in peril for a large number of people.' I believe this is the case again and look forward to hearing from you, and seeing the responses from the Minister and our Local Authority. Yours, etc. And as Liz Carran, an actor and international campaigner on disabled rights issues who has spoken on many platforms, has previously said: “Disabled people make up 20 per cent of the population. "That's a conservative estimate. "We are hidden impairments, we are visible, we are old, we are gay, we are lesbian, we are black, we are white, we are all sorts of people, that's who we are. "But what we are not is victims. "We are not scroungers or frauds. "We are not vulnerable or work shy. "We are not charity cases or burdens or 'unsustainables' or useless eaters. “We are fighters, survivors, leaders, comrades, brothers and sisters in arms, campaigners, citizens and equals.” She praised the ILF for giving her choices and independence. But about 18,000 recipients face loosing their funding and the possibility of going into residential care if the government closes the ILF. Please help this campaign to stop the government’s latest attack on disabled people. You can: Email your MP now to help save the ILF and encourage all your friends and family to do the same; Sign the ILF petition to government; Tweet #saveILF with your own customised message; Facebook the link to the action so others can join the campaign; or Use the social media profile pictures to the right under campaign resources for sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Or all five. Thanks.  |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2014 02:27 AM PDT
These twenty voices, chosen by judges at the Poetry Book Society have been named this week as the bravest and most innovative voices in poetry and notably the leading literary list is made up over half women. Founded in 1953 by T S Elliot, the Poetry Book Society is a leading poetry society and largest poetry seller in the UK. Every ten years the Society selects the up-and-coming poets of the next generation they consider as "the ones to watch". These twenty voices could have an influence way past the confines of poetry; a judge of the prize said that those named on the list were destined to "lead our national cultural conversation for many years to come". The list has a winning formula and a history of success, the list included Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage in 1994. It is inspiring stuff, and it offers some hope that things are changing since "that" Booker Prize in 1991 when not one of the six shortlisted books were written by women, despite over 60 per cent of the novels published that year having been by women. The resulting outrage and ensuing constructive conversations lead to the establishment of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Quoted in the Guardian earlier this month, Next Generation judge and poet Clare Pollard said that in choosing for the list she was looking for poets who "were doing something new; tackling fresh subject matter, taking both emotional and literary risks", and "female poets seem to be particularly fearless at the moment, with names such as Emily Berry and Melissa Lee-Houghton shaking up and reinvigorating the poetry scene". Well done our women poets! Look forward to seeing the Booker Prize list next time round!  |
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