Women's Views on News |
- Fighting cancers in Europe
- New protocol on rape cases launched
- Women ‘will hold the balance of power’
| Posted: 14 Jan 2015 07:17 AM PST
MEP Christel Schaldemose has told an inter-party meeting of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) active on cancer today that: "Effective regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) represents an important opportunity for the primary prevention of hormone-related cancers, including breast, prostate and testicular." She was speaking at a meeting of MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) which was co-organised by the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) and the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), at which she was the host. "Curbing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals should become a central part of cancer prevention strategy in Europe," Wendy Tse Yared, director of the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), told the meeting. "It represents an exciting opportunity for prevention because reducing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in our everyday environment may stop cancers before they start." "We need to use every possible opportunity to prevent cancer so environmental prevention is important. "Hormone-related cancers, especially of those of the breast and prostate, have been increasing in recent decades. “Today, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in Europe, and prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men." Dutch toxicologist Dr Majorie B.M. van Duursen said scientific evidence of the role that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals plays in disrupting our hormones and triggering chronic disease, including hormonal cancers, is growing all the time. A recent review by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the ‘State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals’ published in 2012 has defined the advances that had been made since 2002. In answer to the question: "what we do we know?" Dr Duursen said: "On breast cancer, for example, numerous studies have shown that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as BPA [Bisphenol A], PBDE [Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers] and pesticides, can adversely affect the normal development of the mammary gland, potentially making it more susceptible to cancers." Génon K. Jensen, director of HEAL, a European not-for-profit organisation addressing how the environment affects health in the European Union, said: "Exposure to EDCs is a likely explanation of why cancers that are hormone dependent, such as many breast and prostate cancers, have been increasing in recent decades." She said that public concern related to this exposure was reflected not only in the interest that cancer groups are showing but also from the number of ordinary individuals who are responding to the EU consultation on EDCs. An online platform to support members of the general public who wish to respond to the current EU consultation has been launched by the EDC-Free Europe coalition, of which HEAL is a member. "Since it was launched five weeks ago, over 10,000 individuals have responded via this platform," Jensen said. Two recent publications have highlighted the prevention opportunities and potential health cost savings from regulatory action on endocrine disrupting chemicals. A report by the Nordic countries, ‘The Cost of Inaction’, estimated costs related male reproductive problems associated with exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. It suggested that exposure to these chemicals might be responsible for up to 40 per cent of all cases of testicular cancer. HEAL's report addressing the overall health costs related to EDC exposure suggested that associated costs may be up to €31 billion per year in the European Union. As the European Commission has made the public consultation very technical, the EDC-Free Europe coalition has launched an easy to use online platform to enable individuals to submit prepared answers to the European Commission. It is called 'Say NO to hormone disrupting chemicals'. Click here to see it. And please: it will take you less than five minutes to take action and say ‘No’ to hormone-disrupting chemicals.  |
| New protocol on rape cases launched Posted: 14 Jan 2015 05:55 AM PST
A joint protocol, created and implemented by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police, was launched last week, setting out how to deal with all rape cases from the initial complaint to after the verdict in a trial. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Alison Saunders, and Assistant Commissioner (AC) Martin Hewitt have written to all Chief Crown Prosecutors and Chief Constables to ensure the protocol is embedded into practice across England and Wales, as the number of rape cases going to trial this year is expected to be about 30 per cent more than in 2012/13 – around 550 extra jury trials and 650 extra decisions to charge. The protocol outlines the developments in both the CPS and police approach to these cases which have been made over the past decade and is an important step in ensuring that both organisations are fully prepared and empowered to deal with the changing nature of this casework. It will also provide greater consistency in the handling by both the CPS and the police, including support provided to complainants. The protocol forms a part of the joint CPS-ACPO Rape Action Plan, which the DPP and AC Martin Hewitt launched in 2014 and upon which real progress is being made in a number of areas. Progress which will be outlined at the national Rape Conference in London on 28 January. Some of the actions outlined in the protocol include: A reminder that early investigative advice from the CPS to the police is essential, and is a requirement of the Director’s Guidance on Charging; A commitment that each CPS area will maintain a dedicated RASSO unit, and rape cases will be allocated to rape specialists, responsible for their cases from beginning to end; Ensuring that victims have the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement describing the effect the offence has had on them for the court and to express an opinion on bail; and Maintaining the Victims’ Right to Review scheme which enables victims to apply for any no further action or discontinuance decision to be reviewed. In a letter circulated on the same day as the launch, the DPP and AC Hewitt said that the new protocol is an important step in ensuring that the CPS and the police are not only fully prepared to deal with the changing nature of their casework, but can also provide greater consistency in the quality of handling rape cases. It will also improve the service and support for victims, while enabling both police and prosecutors to manage this challenging caseload in the most effective and efficient way possible. “Rape and sexual abuse against women, men and children can have a devastating impact and the vast majority of offences are still not even reported,” Alison Saunders said. "A drop in cases referred to us was a real cause for concern when we identified it last year but we are now seeing a significant turnaround in cases coming to court. "I have learned this not only from projected volumes of cases for this year but also from travelling around the country where both my staff and others in criminal justice are telling me this in clear terms – including that a significant proportion of Crown Court trials are now in relation to sexual offences. “The number of rape cases going to trial this year is expected to be about 30 per cent more than in 2012/13, which is in the region of 550 extra jury trials this year compared to two years ago, and approximately 650 extra decisions to charge,” she continued. "This is good news, but what comes along with it is the inevitable increased workload in the area. "This shift in the nature of our work is something we have had to prepare for and I am determined to ensure our Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) Units have the skilled lawyers and the essential tools they need to do the job and work effectively with specialist Police rape teams. “That is why I have rolled out these units across England and Wales and why we have monitored them closely ever since – and this is why we and the police have developed this updated, comprehensive protocol on handling these cases from start to finish, taking into account all the developments we have made over the past decade.” Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, who is also the National Policing Lead for Adult Sexual Offences, said: “In order to build and maintain people’s confidence in how the police deal with rape and sexual offences and to continue to increase reporting, it is vital that all victims are treated with sensitivity and respect and that their allegations are investigated thoroughly. The protocol, he continued, "clearly lays out the steps that police and prosecutors should take to ensure a high quality investigation and build the best possible case. "Consistently following this protocol across the country will ensure that we are doing our very best for victims of this uniquely damaging crime.”  |
| Women ‘will hold the balance of power’ Posted: 14 Jan 2015 04:34 AM PST
New research commissioned by the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman is shaping Labour's new 'Missing Millions' policy. The research revealed that 9.1 million women did not vote in the 2010 general election, compared to 8 million men. The gap between women and men voters has been growing since 1992, which was the last time the voter turnout for women was higher than the turnout for men. And polls have shown time and time again that women are more likely than men to vote Labour. This undoubtedly reflects the fact that just about all progress for women has occurred under Labour governments from abortion and divorce law changes to equal rights and equal pay laws. In the Blair-Brown era alone we saw free nursery schools for 4 and 5 year-olds, better-paid and longer maternity leave, child tax credits, childcare credits, flexible working and 3,500 Sure Start children's centres established. The current Coalition government has said that it too has encouraged progress for women. However, most of its gains have been double-edged – from the increase in available paternity leave which few men are taking up, to the predominantly female beneficiaries when the personal tax threshold was raised which still reflects that women are stuck in the lowest paying jobs. For, as Polly Toynbee wrote in the Guardian, "[L]ow-paid women have lost far more through benefit cuts than they have gained in tax cuts." Since the research has been published, Harriet Harman has made it Labour's mission to go 'in search of these missing women's voices' to ensure that they are heard in May's election. "There's a growing trend for people not to vote. And this is worrying for our democracy," Harman said. "But it is striking that the fall in voting is even greater among women than among men… "These are the missing millions of women who will be the focus of Labour's 'Missing Millions' campaign in the run up to this year's General Election." Some opinion polls have shown Labour with a bigger lead among women than men, so persuading female voters could be decisive for Labour in what is likely to be a close election. Harman is right when she points out that there is a "general disaffection with politics" and that many women currently "see politics as a men-only zone" rather than a solution to their problems. She has been quoted as saying Labour will "bring politics to the school gate and the shopping centre as well as offices and factories" to win back female votes – but she may do well to expand her list of voter hotspots from the stereotypical if she really wants to persuade 9.1 million women a Labour government is their best option. "We believe that this election will be a watershed for women in this country," she said. "Women had been making progress in their lives with the backing of a last Labour Government. But now, with this Tory-led government that progress is stalling and the clock is being turned back on equality." "There's been a lot of talk about UKIP or the SNP holding the balance of power… [but the] reality is that the 9.1 million women who did not vote in the last General Election will hold the balance of power and decide who walks into No. 10." Engaging disaffected female voters is an admirable quest. However, as Toynbee pointed out, we women only hold the balance of power if we decide to vote. And it strikes me that 9.1 million women will need to be convinced to vote by concrete, progressive policies, not politicians hovering around their local school gates.  |
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