Women's Views on News |
- Celebrating global female condom day
- Exams: issues with womens’ texts
- Malala’s new book launched
- Unending: violence against women in the UK
| Celebrating global female condom day Posted: 16 Sep 2014 10:07 AM PDT
A group of advocates founded Global Female Condom Day (GFCD) in 2012. Inspired by the idea of female condoms being a powerful tool for protection and pleasure, the idea was to do something to expand awareness and access. So now there is an international day of action on September 16 to increase knowledge, availability, and use of female condoms. These organising partners of include: the National Female Condom Coalition (NFCC); Universal Access to Female Condoms Joint Programme (UAFC); PATH; the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) and the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH). Female condoms increase protection options and offer unique and important benefits: People need a variety of STI and HIV prevention and contraception options to meet diverse needs, desires and situations throughout the course of their lives. Female condoms can play an important role in fulfilling those varied needs, especially for those seeking woman-initiated dual protection; The female condom is the only tool currently available designed to offer woman-initiated protection against STIs, HIV and unplanned pregnancy; Women and men who engage in receptive vaginal and anal sex have limited options for protection. Female condoms help receptive partners of any gender to take greater control over their sexual health; Many women cannot or do not want to use hormonal contraception. Female condoms may be a more viable option for these women because they provide effective, non-hormonal dual protection from unintended pregnancy and STIs, including HIV; Female condoms complement and can be used for added protection from STIs/HIV along with anti-retroviral based HIV prevention—including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—and long- acting reversible contraception; Latex-free female condoms offer people with latex sensitivities an option for dual protection; Pre-lubricated female condoms offer post-menopausal women a solution to vaginal dryness that can enhance their pleasure. Female condoms also offer acceptable and effective protection. Numerous studies indicate that female condoms are acceptable among diverse groups of women and men. Data show that female condoms are comparable to male condoms in preventing pregnancy and STIs, including HIV. The female condom offers increased protection against skin-to-skin STIs by covering the external genitalia. Female condoms contribute to higher rates of protected sex. Studies demonstrate that providing both female and male condoms as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy increases the overall number of protected sex acts because people have multiple choices for protection. When offered as part of a well-planned prevention program, female condoms can be cost effective. Mathematical modelling conducted in South Africa, Brazil and the United States comparing the costs of female condom programming to the costs of HIV treatment show that female condom distribution can lead to substantial cost savings to the health sector. Female condoms are an empowerment tool. Access to a wider array of prevention options, including female condoms, offer receptive partners greater ability to take an active role in their own sexual health. • The multiple prevention benefits of female condoms provide women with a unique and critical ability to reduce their risk of HIV and STIs while preventing unintended pregnancy. Female condoms can help receptive partners negotiate safer sex in some situations when male condom use is not possible. And female condoms can increase pleasure for both partners because of the characteristics of specific products, such as heat transmitting material (non-latex female condoms), stimulation from the inner and/or outer ring, wider size, and looser fit. Unlike male condoms, female condoms are not erection dependent, enabling partners to remain close after climax and enjoy greater intimacy. Female condoms can allow for greater spontaneity as they can be inserted vaginally minutes in advance of intercourse. Partners can use female condoms as part of foreplay. But although female condoms are recognised by leading health authorities as an essential component of reproductive health and HIV programs, global access remains limited. Global Female Condom Day is a day of education and advocacy, to increase awareness, access, and use of female condoms. Check out the day's worldwide actions. Get ready to join us next year!  |
| Exams: issues with womens’ texts Posted: 16 Sep 2014 06:00 AM PDT
Earlier this year, significant education reforms were announced, including changes to make English Literature GCSEs place greater importance on ‘English literary heritage’. As exam boards revise their qualification specifications to incorporate these changes, For Books’ Sake analysed the 2015 draft specifications (to be examined in 2017) for five major exam boards in England and Wales, and compared them with materials from previous years. In the year of #readwomen2014, when we live in the most culturally rich society ever known, armed with an incredibly cognizant Children's Laureate who continues to tackle pervading social concerns during her term, we should be moving forward. We are in the best position we have ever been to offer children and teenagers a broad and multi-vocal literature curriculum that properly reflects the world they live in. But the statistics indicate that representation of women is getting worse. This is a disturbing trend that cannot be allowed to continue. A snapshot of the data shows that in 2017, 69 per cent of the texts studied at GCSE English Literature will be by men, a 12 per cent increase in disparity from the 60/40 split in 2014 exams. With over 500,000 GCSE students annually, this means more than half a million children are being presented with texts that fail to represent a society that is more diverse than ever before. Crucially, reading lists are doing increasingly less justice to the brilliant women writers informing literary and cultural heritage. While the results show that the gender breakdown of the set texts has never been even close to equal, the latest statistics are evidence it's becoming more and more heavily skewed towards white men, a demographic with a long-standing tradition of dominance, to the exclusion of women writers. For Books’ Sake is petitioning exam boards to commit to gender equality, and to better diversity in terms of race, class and sexuality. We do not think it is acceptable that in a purportedly progressive society, young women and people of colour will struggle to find themselves represented in the books that they study. We think this regressive, imbalanced approach to children's education needs to be addressed. A token Brontë novel does not excuse the omission of voices for a range of classes, races, sexualities or political movements, nor does it do justice to an English heritage that includes a vast amount of strong, outspoken and groundbreaking women writers. There is no shortage of women writers. Our archive – curated by a voluntary, unpaid team – features almost 2,000 reviews, interviews, features and news stories championing women writers from all backgrounds. And there is no excuse for women writers to account for less than a third of those studied from 2015. It’s time for action. It’s time to #BalanceTheBooks. Over 500,000 young adults take GCSEs in England and Wales each year. A commitment to gender equality by exam boards could mean more than half a million students annually reading more women writers, and accessing a more diverse range of voices; Overall, students taking their exams in 2017 will study 38 per cent more texts written by men than texts written by women – that's a 12 per cent increase in disparity from those who took exams in 2014. For study period 2015-2017, AQA are proposing a specification with 74 per cent of its texts by men – a significant change from previous years where the split was 60/40. Students sitting their GCSEs with WJEC consistently receive 48 per cent fewer texts by women to read than texts by men – that's half the representation for women writers' work. In the proposed texts to be studied in the CIE drama module for the 2017 specification, there are currently no women whatsoever. In total, there are only twelve texts by women writers proposed for 2017, and only three authors are women of colour. Remarking on this, author and journalist Dr Brooke Magnanti (Belle du Jour) said: "Reading at school is one of the best opportunities to open people’s eyes to diverse experiences and to discuss works they might otherwise never have seen. "Women’s writing is not only an important part of this experience, it’s an essential one: women from Austen to Angelou subvert and challenge what we think is default and acceptable in society, their words inspire readers and change lives. "Accepting others for who they are starts with understanding, and what better way to understand someone than to read the words they write?” "As a feminist teacher who works on designing and teaching inclusive curricula, it is critical that women’s voices be a part of literature classrooms. "Students need to read the wide range of texts that have been written not only by men but also by women and the contributions they have made to literary history,” educator and activist Ileana Jiménez added. To sign our petition, click here.  |
| Posted: 16 Sep 2014 04:05 AM PDT
I had the privilege of hearing Malala Yousafzai speak at the launch of her new book at Birmingham Library on 14 September. In a follow-up to the hugely successful I Am Malala, which was published just under a year ago, Malala has retold her story for a younger audience. In Malala, The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World we learn about Malala’s home in the Swat valley; her love of cricket and her passion for learning. A passion which led her to become a spokesperson for the educational rights of girls when the Taliban banned her and her classmates from attending school, and which ultimately led to her being shot by extremists. And how it was that in October 2012 she was flown to the UK for life-saving treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. In the barely two years that has passed since then, Malala has become an internationally known name, and a symbol of the flight to give every child access to education. With the money which flooded in after her story became known she has set up the Malala Fund, which aims to change the fact that an estimated 57 million children worldwide have no access to education. The launch of her new book was hosted by Birmingham Library, which Malala opened a year ago, and took the form of a conversational interview, led by Birmingham’s young poet laureate, Lauren Williams. Both young women, still just teenagers, spoke incredibly eloquently and entirely captured the audience’s attention, covering a range of different issues from reading, to politics, to Malala’s fighting with her two brothers. Since recovering Malala has lived in and attended school in Birmingham, and the city has become home for her and her family. They, as well as several of Malala’s classmates and teachers, were in the audience. When Lauren asked Malala about her favourite subjects at school, she answered very tentatively, acknowledging the fact that her English teacher was just feet away from her in the front row… She spoke fondly of Birmingham and of how its people have welcomed her, praising the fact that (in contrast to Pakistan) people stop at traffic lights here – and revealing her secret party trick, a wicked Brummy accent! When asked about her career hopes, she explained how she had hoped to become a doctor, but she now hopes to become a politician and that a woman who has inspired her greatly is the late Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. When the questions turned to education, personal ambitions and the message that Malala would give to her peers, she answered with the wisdom and passion she has become known for. Malala enthused about the value of education in her own life and about the need to ensure that children all around the world have the same opportunities. She spoke about the families she visited recently in Nigeria, whose daughters have been abducted by Boko Haram, for the crime of attending school, and she called on all of us to use our voices to speak out about such injustices, continually stressing the sentiment that one person can make a difference. She also spoke about her religion, and about the need for messages in the media about Islam to change. Her faith, she said, in one of peace and teaches the pursuit of knowledge. Though these messages have been obscured by a small number of extremists around the globe, she hoped that her message could help change the public perception of Islam. Malala speaks with such thoughful clarity, each word hitting the mark; my eyes became misty more than once as she spoke about women having equal opportunities and the difference one person’s actions can make. But she was also funny; several times she had the audience in fits as she made cracks about school life, her brothers and the British weather. It felt like such an honour to hear this young woman speak; a young woman who has been through so much, who lived in fear of her life and survived an attempt on it, but who continues to speak fearlessly with courage, conviction and passion. She is a huge inspiration to many, but her message is repeatedly that each of us can make a difference and ‘change the world’ too. Her book, Malala, The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World,is available in bookshops now. You can find out more about the Malala Fund and how you can support it here. The picture here is of Malala in Jordan.  |
| Unending: violence against women in the UK Posted: 16 Sep 2014 01:10 AM PDT
By Rahila Gupta. A decade on from the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, progressive policy, laws and attitudes are being undermined by draconian cuts to legal aid which are drastically reducing access to legislation put in place to protect women against violence. This month marks the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the first significant federal law to deal with this issue in the US – a good moment to assess where we are at in the UK, 10 years after the passing of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. In the 70s, when women were beginning to organise around domestic violence and even into the 80s, it was common for police officers to dismiss such call outs as a 'domestic' i.e. not real police work. In the 90s, however, posters began appearing in police stations declaring that 'Domestic Abuse is a Crime', a gratifying and visible symbol of the success of women's lobbying. However, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2013, at a post-show discussion of Our Glass House, a site-specific immersive theatre piece on domestic violence performed in a 'real' house on a council estate, police officers who participated in the discussion shockingly referred to it as a 'domestic'. You might say, plus ça change. However, we have made real progress in terms of policy, law and attitudes but implementation of the legislation remains patchy despite all the training in the world; and misogynist and sexist attitudes hard to shift. Whilst progress is quantifiable in terms of government policy, press coverage, public condemnation, preventative work in schools and more responsive policing, what is hard to determine is whether all of this has had any impact on the scale and frequency of violence against women. In fact, most of the figures are worse. The familiar figure of one in four women having experienced abuse at some point in their lives has now risen to one in three. This can be explained partly by the lack of reliable national data and partly by an increase in reporting rates in proportion to the decrease in stigma attached to it. However, there is no ambiguity in the number of women killed in the UK through male violence which has risen from 101 in 2009 to 143 in 2013; this can only be explained as a result of a pervasive 'culture of disbelief' that so infects the police that they continually fail women and our collective, societal failure to loosen the patriarchal stranglehold. Funding is a key part of this equation. Polly Neate, chief executive of Women's Aid, in her foreword to A Growing Crisis of Unmet Need, says that the sector has suffered from chronic structural underfunding, 'The services have never been "contracted out" from the statutory sector. They have grown up in a highly challenging, even hostile environment, led by women who have been determined to meet a need whose very existence has often been disputed every step of the way.' The figures neatly encapsulate some of the tensions in the violence against women (VAW) sector. Funding of the domestic and sexual violence sector was cut by one third from 2010-12. In 2013 there were 21 less specialist refuge providers, and a loss of 71 specialist non-refuge services alongside an increase of 24 generic services. A disproportionate 47 per cent of services for black and minority ethnic (BME) women have experienced significant loss of funding. There is severe pressure on women-only services to provide support for men, despite lack of demand and lack of evidence that women's services are best placed to meet men's needs. At a time of loss across the women's sector, services to support men have increased in number: there are 29 additional services for men in 2013 than in 2011, leading to a total of 146 services. All regions have lost children's services. It is against this background of funding cuts that we must assess the determination of government to tackle severe institutional failures to protect women and girls such as the recent scandal of sexual abuse of 1400 girls in Rotherham; the Jay report into the Rotheram abuse repeatedly returns to the lack of resources as one of the factors. Thus the recent announcement by Theresa May, British Home Secretary, to plug a known loophole, proposing to strengthen the legislation on domestic abuse by criminalising controlling and coercive behaviours, invites the cynical response that this is gesture politics. The move away from grants to commissioning in our neo-liberal world, which I have discussed more fully elsewhere, has decimated this sector because it lacks the capacity to engage with competitive tendering. The attempt to save money also lies behind the growth of generic services. In 2008, Southall Black Sisters (SBS) defeated Ealing Council's attempts to cut funding by arguing that its 'specialist' remit excluded women from the majority community and was therefore in breach of equality duties. After this victory, SBS advice was widely sought for months afterwards by other groups attempting to fight similar initiatives by their local councils to no avail. As the figures above show, the loss of specialist services is not matched by the growth in generic services. And we know from anecdotal evidence that the loss of specialism has led to a deterioration in the quality of service offered. Although the move to generic services is driven by funding cuts, it may have found ideological cover in BME women's groups arguing in support of 'mainstreaming' of their issues. The Sixth Report of the Home Affairs Select Committee sums up their position well, 'On the whole, South Asian women’s groups agree that policies to address so-called “honour”-based violence and forced marriage should be integrated into broader domestic violence policy as this allows the issues to benefit from the resources and best practice developed in this area, and can help to prevent the development of “differential policies which negatively impact on minority communities, such as racist immigration controls”. This approach also stresses that, although the term “honour”-based violence describes a particular motive for violence, whatever the background the result is still domestic violence.' It is the risk of promoting a racist agenda that has led BME women to argue against honour crimes being exoticised and placed outside the boundaries of domestic violence. It is for the same reason that no real research has been conducted in Britain into anecdotal evidence that suggests differential rates of violence in different communities – out of fear that it will be used by racists to attack minorities. At a global level, research conducted by Lori Heise et al found that women who faced physical 'intimate partner' violence ranged from 6 per cent to 61 per cent depending on the country. What are the differences between societies where 6 per cent as opposed to 61 per cent of women experience violence? This leads us onto very controversial grounds. One of the holy, and very useful, cows of feminism has been the assertion that domestic violence cuts across race, class, religion, age and so on. It acts as an effective counter against racism which seeks to portray men of particular backgrounds, i.e. minority men, as more barbaric. Of course, it is not an issue of racial or ethnic differences. It is a question of the economic, political and social development of a society, of the levels of democracy and devolution of power within communities. Lori Heise found that low-violence cultures shared key features that included female power and autonomy outside the home, strong sanctions against interpersonal violence, a definition of masculinity that is not linked to male dominance or honour, and equality of decision making and resources within the family. As the VAW sector is concerned precisely with the development of such a culture, it is important that we begin to research these difficult issues. What we have begun to accept is that domestic violence manifests itself differently in different communities. For example, dowry abuse appears to be more common in the Indian community; while forced marriages may be prevalent in all South Asian communities, abduction i.e. taking girls abroad to be married is more common in the Pakistani community who accounted for 47 per cent of cases in 2012. The desire to avoid the racism that can bedevil debates on VAW has also led to a form of moral equivalence, similar in effect to cultural relativism, in that it shields a culture from criticism: for example, some black women attempt to extinguish all differences between FGM and cosmetic surgery such as labiaplasty which some women in the West opt for. We have also seen the gradual adoption of the term 'gender' as in 'gender based violence' rather than 'women' as in 'violence against women', another variant of government closing down specialisms and deliberately adopting a neutral stance which allows us to discuss violence against men in the same breath as violence against women; this also implicitly rejects a central feminist plank that violence against women is a consequence of the imbalance of power between men and women in a patriarchal society. This is not to deny that men experience violence, but to emphasise that violence against men isn't directly comparable to that faced by women: it often takes place in same-sex relationships; the frequency and severity of abuse is nothing like that suffered by women; and there have been reports that refuge spaces for men are frequently unoccupied. As violence against women came to be increasingly, and quite rightly, criminalised, laws introduced to deal with it crashed slap-bang into civil rights concerns. Helena Kennedy cautions against this development in her book, Eve was Framed, arguing that more justice for women should not be demanded at the expense of less justice for men. Women's demands have either been deliberately hijacked to undermine civil liberties, or there have been unintended consequences. She gives the example of legislation introduced to deal with stalking being used to stop picketing, or the introduction of a power of arrest attached to common assault in cases of domestic violence now being used at random against 'boys on street corners'. When Harriet Harman lobbied for harsher sentences for men convicted of the manslaughter of their wives/partners in the early 90s, it had the unintended effect of making it harder for women to receive compassionate sentences even when they had killed men who had battered them for years. Most women working in the VAW sector believe that the legal position is about right now; the irony is that access to that legislation is being stripped back by the draconian cuts to legal aid. Research carried out by Rights of Women and Women's Aid has found that 43 per cent of women do not have the required standard of evidence of violence to apply successfully for legal aid. Uneven implementation of the law and chronic under funding reveal that the issue is still fairly low-priority despite the rhetoric. Rahila Gupta is a freelance journalist and writer. Her books include From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters ed., Provoked and Enslaved: The New British Slavery. A version of this article appeared in OpenDemocracy on 15 September 2014. The image at the top of the page is from Counting Dead Women. 100 women in the UK have been killed through suspected male violence so far in 2014. 100 women in 238 days is one woman every 2.38 days.  |
| 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 | |