Thursday, October 30, 2014

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

You should know about honour-based killings

Posted: 29 Oct 2014 05:49 AM PDT

right to knowThere are some things that very young person has the right to know.

In 2010 more than 2800 cases of "honour" based violence were reported to the police.

But this is not the full picture: in 2012 1 in 5 police forces failed to properly record cases and many cases are never reported.

On 10 October, the eve of the Day of the Girl, the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO) launched their Right To Know campaign, to tackle "honour" based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).

Every young person has the right to know:

That they have the right not to face "honour" based violence, forced marriage or FGM.

That support is available for them if they are worried about "honour" based violence, forced marriage or FGM.

That their teachers and the staff at their school or college will understand and take steps to protect them if they disclose "honour" based violence, forced marriage or FGM.

For, as ‘Laila’ wrote for Huffington Post recently, life could have been very different for her and her two younger sisters if their schools had taught them about their right not to face “honour” based violence and forced marriage, had understood what they were going through so that they could have properly supported them, and if someone had informed the girls about the help that was available.

What needs to happen:

Schools must embed the prevention of "honour" based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation into their safeguarding procedures, which must be monitored by Ofsted.

And school staff must be trained to understand and spot the signs of "honour" based violence, forced marriage and FGM and to know what to do if any student could be at risk.

Every student must be educated so that they know they have the right not to face "honour" based violence, forced marriage or FGM and that support is available for them – and for anyone who they are concerned may be at risk

A new Bill is currently going through parliament which, if it is passed, will make teaching Personal Social Health and Economic education (PSHE) a statutory requirement.

The Bill states that PSHE would cover education on ending violence against women and girls and that teachers must be trained on how best to deliver this education.

The Bill is still in its early stages. It faced its second reading in the House of Commons on 24October 2014.

To get through to the next stage, the Bill it needs to be voted through by MPs.

You can – still – help here.

Write to your local MP to let them know that this issue is important to you, that you want them to support the Bill and that you want it to explicitly address "honour" based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

We know that every personal letter that an MP received from their constituent makes a big impact. Here is a letter you can send to your MP – feel free to alter it.

If you do amend it you can send your letter in an email to Write to Them  – but only if you make changes to the template, because – please note – identical letters get blocked by this particular site.

Even if you are too young to vote do please write to your MP, because this issue affects you and your peers and your MP cares what you think. You are, don't forget, a future voter!

When you have written to your MP we would be really grateful if you could let IKWRO know by emailing Sara, IKWRO’s campaigns officer or via twitter @IKWRO using #RightToKnow or via IKWRO’s Facebook page.

When your MP responds to you, please let IKWRO know that too. And it would be great if you can share their response by emailing Sara.

You could also write to the head of your local school and ask them if they have an education policy and a safety policy in place.

Thank you