Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2014 02:49 AM PDT
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines female genital mutilation (FGM) as all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. As part of the Department of Health's FGM Prevention Programme, the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) published the first dataset of cases of FGM treated by acute hospital providers in England. In September this year 1,279 active cases and 467 newly identified cases were reported by the four commissioning regions in England. Active cases are defined as patients identified as having a history of any FGM type prior to the reporting period and still being actively seen/treated for FGM-related conditions. The four commissioning regions of England are London, Midlands and East of England, North of England and the South of England. The collection of this data became mandatory on 1 September 2014 for all foundation and non-foundation hospital trusts, including A&E departments. This first publication of data revealed that the majority of FGM patients were treated in London, with 740 active cases and 252 newly identified cases. The remaining numbers were fairly evenly distributed among the other three commissioning regions, with the Midlands and East of England treating slightly more than the other two. While shocking, the publication of the dataset may also serve the purpose of forcing more rapid change, following as it does on the growing momentum of campaigns for preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls as they continue to gain world-wide attention. In the UK, violence against women and girls has increasingly taken centre stage in policy considerations. The UK hosted the first Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in June 2014, and politicians continue to more vocally take up the fight against gender inequality and domestic and sexual violence. Earlier this year, in February, International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone said: “We will not see an end to FGM in the UK unless the practice is eliminated worldwide. “This will take a grassroots movement across Africa that can change attitudes and help communities see FGM for what it is: child abuse.” On 11 October 2014, as part of the UN's International Day of the Girl, the UK-based Daughters of Eve charity, which is run by campaigners Nimco Ali, Sainab Abdi and Leyla Hussien, helped launch the Department for International Development (DfID) funded but Africa-based The Girl Generation campaign. Its goal is to end FGM within a generation. In the UK campaigners are now calling on Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, to do more in the UK, and calling for a focus on education in schools by teaching children about FGM and that it is a crime and assisting schools in placing FGM within their child protection policies.  |
| Crisis checks up on homelessness aid Posted: 22 Oct 2014 12:10 AM PDT
Just recently eight mystery shoppers visited 16 local authorities across England to examine the quality of assistance single homeless people receive from Housing Options and homelessness services. Each mystery shopper took the role of a particular character to explain why they needed help with their housing. These were based around one of four characters which were drawn from real life situations that may cause an individual to become homeless: someone who has been forced to sleep rough after losing their job; a young person who had been thrown out of the family home; a victim of domestic violence and a very vulnerable person with learning difficulties In 37 out of the 87 visits, local authorities made arrangements to accommodate the mystery shoppers that evening, either through the provision of emergency accommodation or because they had negotiated for them to return to their previous address But the report reveals that at the majority of visits the mystery shoppers were not adequately assisted. In over half of the visits (50 out of 87) they received little or no help from local authorities, though in the scenarios they were presenting they had nowhere to stay that evening. Gatekeeping occurred in a third of visits (29, all in London) and meant that mystery shoppers did not receive an assessment of their needs and were turned away without any help. It also reveals there were marked regional differences in their experiences. At one London authority and all of those outside the capital mystery shoppers were able to speak to a Housing Advisor and staff were sometimes more proactive in trying to provide assistance. A lack of privacy when they were discussing their circumstances and sometimes being made to feel like "a number" caused mystery shoppers to feel anxious, vulnerable and humiliated. On a number of occasions, mystery shoppers – some of whom played very vulnerable characters – were denied any type of help until they could prove that they were homeless and eligible for assistance, and the local authorities in question made no effort to make inquiries themselves or provide temporary accommodation in the interim. So even in the 21st century, homeless people who ask their council for help are being turned away to sleep on the streets – cold, desperate and forgotten. This is nothing short of a scandal. Crisis, the national chairty for single homeless people, is calling for the law to be reviewed to ensure that all homeless people who approach any local authority are given the help they need. And you can help: please send this link to your MP and sign this petition. Thanks.  |
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