Women's Views on News |
- After the London summit
- Women in engineering awarded
- Shocking homelessness figures
- Gold medal for poet
- Nuclear weapons: the risks remain real
- Another Women’s Charter forty years on
| Posted: 18 Dec 2014 04:30 AM PST
Government representatives from over 120 countries, over 1,000 experts, faith leaders, youth organisations and representatives of civil society and international organisations came together at a Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict held in London from 10-13 June 2014. And they agreed to break the taboo around wartime rape, take action to put an end to it, and to break up the culture of impunity surrounding it. The International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict was then launched, setting out international standards on how to collect the strongest possible information and evidence, while at the same time nonetheless protecting witnesses, in order to increase convictions and deter future perpetrators. Sexual violence in conflict is prohibited under international law: under specific provisions of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, and under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is also grave breach of the Geneva Conventions. And, when used as a method of warfare, it is – and has been – unlawful, and states are – and have been – responsible for any breaches of international law committed by their armed forces. But although has until now been a feature of most conflicts, it has only recently been discussed openly in international conflict-prevention discourse. Following the Summit, the aim now is to instil efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict into standard discourse and practice on all aspects of international conflict prevention, stabilisation, peace-building, security and justice, humanitarian and human rights work. To do this, the UK government will pursue a programme of political and practical activity that includes: (i) Implementing the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict through advocacy, capacity-building and national application. It will promote the International Protocol as the key resource for the international justice and human rights profession with responsibility for investigating and documenting sexual violence in conflict and support training in the International Protocol for practitioners from the international justice community as well as local practitioners working in conflict and post-conflict countries. It will push for the International Protocol to become widely used and recognised as best practice for practitioners and first responders. (ii) Further lobbying of governments to implement fully in domestic legislation the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and encouraging more states to accede to the Rome Statute and to implement fully its provisions in domestic law. (iii) Pressing governments to do more to support Human Rights Defenders and building further the capacity of local civil society and grassroots organisations to document and respond to acts of sexual violence and to provide support to survivors. (iv) Encouraging governments to do more to include sexual violence issues in their doctrine and training and to enforce initiatives on military conduct and discipline. It will also work with and encourage those governments who announced new plans or commitments at the Summit to implement them as fully and as quickly as possible. This country activity will be complemented by ongoing UK support to the full range of multilateral bodies to ensure that the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and the outcomes from the Summit are fully integrated into their daily activity as well as future international events, such as the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. The Summit represented a unique moment in our collective efforts to end the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict. All of us must now build on the momentum of the meeting and encourage even greater international co-ordination and collaboration. In the months to come we must see clear evidence that those who participated at the Summit are delivering on the commitments they made — by putting in place measures to bring more perpetrators to justice, by providing better support to survivors and by ensuring that this issue remains at the very heart of the international policy agenda. The launch of the Protocol is just the first step. The next step is to implement the Protocol in a way that keeps it relevant, promotes its advocacy, ensures its accessibility and dissemination, adapts it to national contexts and monitors its progress.  |
| Posted: 18 Dec 2014 03:47 AM PST
Three outstanding female engineers have been officially recognised by the Institution of Engineering Techonology (IET) for their professional achievements and the work they do encouraging other young people to take up engineering. Senior hardware engineer Naomi Mitchison from Selex ES was named the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year, and is to play an ambassadorial role for the profession in the forthcoming months. Jessica Bestwick, who works for Rolls-Royce, was presented with the Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices. This is awarded to an outstanding female engineering apprentice who has made a contribution within the workplace beyond the realms of her normal duties and demonstrated dynamism in her approach to the solution of engineering problems. A real team player, she must be seen as an 'all-rounder' who will act as an enthusiastic role model to encourage other young women to enter the profession of engineering through the apprenticeship route. Lucy Ackland, who works for Renishaw plc, in Staffordshire, has been awarded the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) prize for her ground breaking work in 3D-Printing. The awards were presented by the BBC’s Steph McGovern – a previous young engineer prize winner – at the Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards ceremony in London. Renishaw is the only UK manufacturer of metal-based additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing) machines, and the company has a range of fully dense, complex parts that have been built using its pioneering process. Ackland said: “I’m so happy to have won this award – it means a lot to be recognised for the work I do in a really exciting, upcoming industry. "I’m pleased to be considered a role model for future generations of female engineers because I believe engineering is a really enjoyable career choice but sometimes people are put off by misleading stereotypes.” Recognising outstanding female engineers has become very important after recent statistics from the IET’s Skills and Demand in Industry survey showed that women represent only 6 per cent of the engineering workforce. Further IET research showed that only 1 per cent of parents of girls were likely to encourage their daughters into engineering, compared to 11 per cent for parents of boys. Michelle Richmond, the IET's director of membership, said: “The lack of women in engineering is a very significant problem, contributing to skills shortages which damage the economy. "The shocking reality is that the UK is missing out on half of its potential engineering and technology workforce by failing to attract women into the industry. "It also means that women are losing out on interesting and rewarding career opportunities. "The difficulty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things: from the careers advice girls are given in schools, to schools not instilling girls with the confidence to opt for science and maths at A-level, through to employers needing to do more to make their approach to recruitment and retention more female friendly. "But it’s also a result of the lack of inspirational engineering role models for girls – which is where our Young Woman Engineer of the Year winners can play a vital role.” Dawn Bonfield, president of the Women’s Engineering Society, said: “The Women’s Engineering Society is delighted that this award goes to Lucy Ackland, who has already done an enormous amount to engage and inspire the next generation of female engineers. "We are looking forward to working with Lucy this year to do even more for young people, and crucially their parents, in changing stereotypes of the engineering sector and especially of the apprenticeship route into engineering. Congratulations Lucy.”  |
| Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:56 AM PST
Figures show that 2,414 people were counted or estimated by local authorities to be sleeping rough on any one night in the 2013 rough sleepers count. This is up 5 per cent from 2012, 11 per cent from 2011, and 37 per cent from 2010. There are many definitions of homeless but campaigners agree on a spectrum of causes for women. Crisis research has shown that escaping violence at home can often lead to homelessness. Women experiencing violence, sexual abuse and other traumatic events can become homeless after failing to access appropriate accommodation – often because they are not deemed vulnerable enough by local authorities to qualify as being in 'priority need' for housing. Short-term prison sentences, mental ill health, substance misuse, the loss of children and violence in the home build a complex picture as to why women become homeless. And with the cuts to services and rising local authority thresholds for intervention services report a growing number of women becoming homeless. Then is addition something that is becoming increasingly clear is that services designed for homeless men often fail to address women's needs. For more information see the Shattered Lives Campaign. Homeless charity St Mungo's Broadway released a video recently that raised the issue of female homelessness. A hard-hitting video that states that women who are homeless have an average life expectancy of just forty-three years of age. This is a shocking statistic, meaning that homeless women die at under half the average life expectancy in the UK. And as many as 25 per cent of all the homeless people the charity cares for over night are women. Promoting women's needs through the Homeless Health Charter is key to sustainable action believe St Mungo's, and the Charter is being promoted to local authorities and health and wellbeing boards across the country. The London borough of Camden was the first council to sign up to it. "We are very concerned about female homelessness," Camden’s council leader Sarah Hayward said in the Independent. "It's something that, as a country, we are not doing enough on." The average age of death for a homeless woman is 43. You can help change this in under 60 seconds. Healthcare planning is carried out by local health leaders. They need you to tell them that homeless health matters. Simply fill in this form to find out who your local health leader is, then send the email on the next page. Thank you so much.  |
| Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:44 AM PST
Her Majesty's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2014 has been awarded to Imtiaz Dharker. The Poetry Medal Committee met at Windsor on 4 December and was unanimous in recommending the British poet Imtiaz Dharker as the 2014 recipient of Her Majesty's Gold Medal for Poetry on the basis of her new collection Over the Moon and a lifetime's contribution to poetry. The Queen has approved the award. Born in Pakistan in 1954, Dharker grew up in Scotland, worked for many years in India and moved to Wales and London when she married the late Simon Powell. Dharker is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and recipient of the Cholmondeley Award, has been Poet in Residence at Cambridge University Library, and has recently completed a series of poems based on the Archives of St Paul's Cathedral. Her collections include Purdah; Postcards from god; I speak for the devil; The terrorist at my table; Leaving Fingerprints; and Over the Moon. Dharker ‘s poems are studied by GCSE and A Level students throughout Britain and, with Poetry Live!, she reads to over 25,000 students a year. Dharker is also an artist who illustrates all her own books, and a documentary film maker. The Gold Medal for Poetry was instituted by King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John Masefield. Recommendations for the award of the medal are made by a committee of eminent men and women of letters, selected by the Poet Laureate – currently Carol Ann Duffy. Previous female recipients of The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry are: Ruth Pitter in 1955; Frances Cornford, in 1959; Judith Wright in 1991; Kathleen Raine in 1992; U A Fanthorpe in 2003; Fleur Adcock in 2006; Gillian Clarke in 2010, and Jo Shapcott in 2011. Duffy said: “Whether Imtiaz Dharker writes of exile, childhood, politics or grief her clear-eyed attention brings each subject dazzlingly into focus. "She makes it look easy, this clarity and economy, but it is her deft phrasing, wit and grace that create this immediacy. "She draws together her three countries: Pakistan, land of her birth, Britain and India, writing of the personal and the public with equal skill. "Hers is a unique perspective and an essential voice in the diversity of English language poetry. "It is a moral force – a force for good and a force for change – that refuses to see the world as anything less personal than an extended village of near neighbours sharing in common struggles for how best to live.”  |
| Nuclear weapons: the risks remain real Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:11 AM PST
By Rebecca Johnson. Participants at the HINW Conference were screened for nuclear contamination yesterday, before listening to testimony from survivors mobilising for the abolition of nuclear weapons in what Pope Francis called “our common home.” As I arrived at the famous Hofburg Palace in Vienna to attend the Third International Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons (HINW) I was met by Austrian Red Cross personnel in full radiation suits. As civil society and government representatives reached the entrance, we were told that we had to be checked for nuclear contamination before going any further. A Geiger counter was passed up and down my body, especially focussing on my face, hands, legs and feet. The Red Cross official was speaking to me, but I couldn't hear him well through the radiation mask covering his face. I felt my anxiety levels rising as I struggled to understand that he was telling me that I had suffered "some exposure to radioactive contamination" and would need to get "decontaminated". He gave me a white tag to wear, marked "Victim Contamination Control Record", showing the hotspots on my body. More radiation-suited officials escorted me to another line, where I was "decontaminated" – at least theoretically. The exercise ended there. Instead of being stripped and showered, my skin scrubbed and scoured, and my clothes destroyed, as a real decontamination process would require, I was ushered through today's "normal security" checks – a bag search and metal detector. The Austrian Red Cross action was extraordinarily effective as a way to make the Conference delegates wake up and think about what life would be like for survivors after nuclear bomb detonations. Watching the reactions of some of the diplomats going through this Victim Contamination Control process, I saw some try treating it as a joke, while others played along, and some even showed impatience – important people with a big conference to go to, not liking to be delayed by people wielding radiation detectors, even if they were from the Red Cross. Whatever their initial reactions, however, their faces reflected anxiety and nervousness. "It makes you think" I overheard one diplomat say, and hoped the thinking would lead to constructive action. The Conference was opened by the Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who reminded everyone that there are over 16,000 nuclear warheads, distributed among 14 countries (9 nuclear armed states and 5 NATO hosts). He emphasised that "As long as nuclear weapons exist, the risk of their use – on purpose or by accident – remains real". The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon's statement welcomed that the humanitarian "initiatives" had "energised civil society and governments alike". Noting that conferences like this have "compelled us to keep in mind the horrific consequences that would result from any use of nuclear weapons", the Secretary-General expressed his hope that "all participants come away with new resolve to pursue effective measures for the achievement of nuclear disarmament". For the first time, Pope Francis also sent a message about nuclear weapons, in which he stated: "Spending on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth of nations. "To prioritise such spending is a mistake and a misallocation of resources which would be far better invested in the areas of integral human development, education, health and the fight against extreme poverty. When these resources are squandered, the poor and the weak living on the margins of society pay the price." Referring particularly to the "unnecessary suffering" brought on by the use of nuclear weapons, as well as their capacity for "mass killing", Pope Francis argued that "if such suffering is banned in the waging of conventional war, then it should all the more be banned in nuclear conflict." Expressing the hope that "the desire for peace and fraternity planted deep in the human heart will bear fruit in concrete ways to ensure that nuclear weapons are banned once and for all, to the benefit of our common home", Pope Francis called on governments and civil society to take responsibility "for a world without nuclear weapons is truly possible". Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) argued: "the global and long-term humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, which we have heard about at the Oslo and Nayarit meetings, raise profound questions about the limits of warfare and the capacity of the human species to prevent foreseeable catastrophic events." He noted: "Nuclear weapons are often viewed as a tool of security, particularly during times of international instability. But weapons that risk catastrophic and irreversible humanitarian consequences cannot seriously be viewed as protecting civilians or humanity as a whole." Looking towards solutions, Maurer was clear that "more must be done to fulfill commitments to diminish the role and significance of nuclear weapons in military plans, doctrines and policies and to reduce the operational status of nuclear weapons systems." He wanted urgent action to reduce the risk of accidental use of nuclear weapons, and the indefinite continuation of the "nearly 70 year history of non-use of nuclear weapons". He concluded that "the only way to ensure this is to enshrine the non-use and complete elimination of nuclear weapons in a legally binding international agreement," as the ICRC had collectively called for in 2011. The most powerful statement of all came from Setsuko Thurlow, who was 13 years old when the first atomic bomb, codenamed "Little Boy", destroyed her "beautiful home city" of Hiroshima. She was pulled out of the rubble, hearing classmates crying for help and water, as fires engulfed their bodies. She described the "ghostly figures" she saw as she fled for the hills, some with their skin "hanging down from their bones" and carrying their own eyeballs. Setsuko made clear her determination to work for the complete banning and elimination of nuclear weapons as the only way to make sure that no-one else would have to suffer what she and her classmates and family suffered. There were further moving testimonies from survivors of nuclear testing. Abacca Anjain-Maddison testified about the appalling consequences of US nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, where the "Castle Bravo" bomb test on 1 March 1954 was far larger than the testers expected. She spoke of children playing in snow that they had never seen before – the dusty fallout that caused them terrible ill health. She spoke of being evacuated – exiled from their homes and islands – of "jellyfish babies" and other tragic monstrosities born from the radioactive contamination that spread through the Marshall Islands, briefly mentioning the court case launched by the Marshall Islands to pressure the nuclear-armed states to end and eliminate their nuclear weapons and programmes. Sue Coleman-Haseldine also spoke of contamination and exile… the legacy of her Aboriginal People after the UK conducted nuclear tests and plutonium dispersal trials in Australia. And then Michelle Thomas of HEAL Utah told of how she was sacrificed to the Cold War while still in her mother's womb, saying: "My country nuclear bombed us, not the Russians". These brief snapshots are intended only to give a flavour of the breadth and significance of the presentations on the first day of the Vienna Conference. It would have been good also to have heard testimonies from “down-winders” – people living near nuclear tests conducted by the other nuclear-armed states. But with much to cram into the agenda, the conference heard a range of panellists who addressed nuclear doctrine, operations, failures of deterrence in theory and practice, risks, accidents and other human and technological mistakes and nuclear dangers. It was impossible to avoid noticing that the majority of experts talking about the theoretical and technical aspects were men, while the survivors who spoke were women. And that Setsuko, Abacca, Sue and Michelle were not passive "victims", but intelligent, determined and inspirational campaigners telling their stories to mobilise for the prohibition and abolition of all nuclear weapons. As many statements as possible will be posted on the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The programme on the second day includes a session on international norms and the use of nuclear weapons, followed by a debate with statements from the national delegations and civil society representatives on the floor. These [were] live-streamed and tweeted. This is the second of three reports by Rebecca Johnson from the HINW conference in Vienna this week. Read article one: Gathering speed to ban nuclear weapons. Her third report, The Austrian pledge to ban nuclear weapons was published on 15 December. Rebecca Johnson, FRSA, is a feminist peace campaigner and academic author. She is the director of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, CND Vice-President, and a member of Women in Black.  |
| Another Women’s Charter forty years on Posted: 18 Dec 2014 01:09 AM PST
On 9 November more than 50 academics students and activists met to draw up a new Working Women's Charter, in the hope that the revised document will stimulate serious debate and discussion on the issues that matter most to Britain's working women. The event also marked the 40-year anniversary of the 1974 Working Women's Charter in which a group of British women sat down to address the gulf that separated working women and men. They came up with a Working Women's Charter, a list of 10 demands that they believed would help to bridge that gulf. This historic charter was drawn up by the London Trades Council and promoted by women activists throughout Britain. The Women's Charter's list of demands were aimed at creating the conditions for working women to achieve equal pay; equal opportunities (regardless of marital status); equal access to education and training; equal working conditions; equal legal rights; free childcare; more paid maternity leave as well as job security, pensions and promotions for working mothers; free contraception and abortion; increased family allowances and more women in public and political life. The one day event on 9 November this year was convened by Professor Pamela Cox – sociologist and historian from the University of Essex – and received support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the University of Essex. It was co-hosted with History & Policy, an organisation offering critical historical insight within policy-making today. Assessing the situation: Cox spoke to Woman-On-Top.com to explain why 40 years on from this historic event only four of the original 10 demands have been achieved. She said: "I think that the women who were involved in drafting the original charter would be surprised that 40 years on and things are still as challenging." Progress has been made in equal access to education and training, equal legal rights, free contraception and abortion as well as increased family allowances. However, there are six demands that still need further attention. "We still need to work on achieving equal pay," she explained, "As well as working on obtaining equal opportunities regardless of parental status; equal working conditions; affordable childcare; job security, pension, and promotion for working mothers as well as getting more women in public and political life." Balancing work life with family is a crucial area where working women particularly still suffer. She explained how "the 1974 charter called for free and flexible childcare, and we're nowhere near that. The spiralling costs of childcare is an obstacle as many do not have access, as it is one of the biggest issues facing working mothers at all levels of the labour market." Even the CBI, the business lobby group not known for its radical feminist credentials, [has] called on the government to extend free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds to all 1 and 2-year-olds. The other big issue for working mothers is job security and promotion. Cox described how "there are plenty of professional women I know who find themselves being dismissed or having to accept job reassignments because of maternity and as a result, are losing their pensions and finding it extremely difficult to get promotions." Part time work is also challenging. According to Cox, "Working lives have changed a lot in the last 20 years. De-regulation and things like zero hours contracts – found in professions like law as well as workplaces like supermarkets– have made the situation worse for many women employees trying to maintain a work life balance." Starting a bigger debate: According to her, people need to work together to re-assess the current situation. "Individually, people are personalising their problems as women don't know what other people are being paid and they often don't realise that they are being unlawfully paid less than a man doing an equivalent job. But it's not a personal problem, it's systemic." The new charter has been updated as the wording is more contemporary. This new document highlights concerns about the living wage, flexible working, better protection for part-time workers, greater diversity in senior executive roles and more transparency through statutory gender and diversity audits. She insisted that "we need to find innovative and creative ways to accommodate working women. As a mother of a 12-year-old daughter I sincerely hope she won't face the same challenges her grandmother and mother have." "How great it would be," said Cox, "if this new charter started a bigger debate about what still needs to be done. "With the 2015 elections around the corner, we'd love this new charter act as a springboard for people to discuss the needs of the working women so that forty years down the line, more than four of the ten demands will have been achieved." The New Working Women's Charter calls for: 1. Equal pay for equal work 2. Free or subsidised high quality child care 3. Flexible working for parents and other carers 4. Living wage 5. More protection for part-time workers and an end to zero-hours contracts 6. Stronger enforcement and monitoring of all equality, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment measures 7. Defence of reproductive freedoms and the extension of these to women in Northern Ireland 8. Greater diversity in public life including in boardrooms, politics, trade unions and professional bodies 9. Better access to skills training throughout working life 10. Greater transparency through statutory gender & diversity audits and value audits of unpaid care work A version of this article appeared on the Women-on-Top news site.  |
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