Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Call to stop surrogacy now

Posted: 19 May 2015 02:13 AM PDT

EWL, Stop Surrogacy Now!, women's rights, children's rightsIt’s multimillion dollar global industry globally – but ‘no one has a right to a child’.

The European Women's Lobby (EWL) together with more than 160 personalities and organisations, has signed a statement in support of the ‘Stop Surrogacy Now!’ campaign, which was unveiled worldwide on 11 May.

Stop Surrogacy Now brings together a worldwide, ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse group opposed to the exploitation of women and the human trafficking of children through surrogacy.

The statement was also published on 12 May in the French newspaper Libération and the Belgian newspaper Le Soir.

The European Women's Lobby joined this campaign after adopting a motion on the issue of surrogacy in 2013.

An increasing phenomenon, surrogacy is not addressed yet in Europe as a women's rights or a children's rights issue, and its market has been organised and has grown to the point where it is a multimillion dollar industry globally.

The European Women's Lobby recently organised a series of activities which brought the issue of surrogacy to the attention of decision-makers, NGOs and the general public. The event – two days of advocacy on surrogacy – was part of EWL work on women's health in the framework of EWL 2015 Year of Action on Beijing+20.

On 6 May, the EWL organised a screening-debate in Brussels, together with Sweden's MEP Anna Hedh, around the documentary ‘Breeders’ which was produced the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network.

You can read a short report of the event and European Women's Lobby's activities here.

More than 50 people at the Swedish Permanent Representation in Brussels watching the documentary heard from surrogate mothers, doctors and people born from surrogacy; ‘Breeders’ investigates the reality of surrogacy in the United States, where the practice is legal.

After the screening, a discussion took place with two guests: Stephanie Thögersen from the Swedish Women's Lobby (SWL), and Ana-Luana Stoicea-Deram from le Collectif pour le Respect de la Personne (CoRP), who presented their views on the phenomenon and the position of their organisation.

MEPs Anna Hedh and José Bové also made comments on the reality of the situation in Europe.

Some quotes from the documentary and the discussion:

"It's not just her uterus, it's her whole body and 9 months of her life that a woman is giving" – a doctor;

'For the cost a woman has to pay, it's not worth it" – a former surrogate mother;

"In essence, you are bought, you are a product" – a woman born from surrogacy;

"Surrogacy reinforces inequalities between women and men and is an obstacle to women's empowerment" – Ana-Luana Stoicez-Deram;

"All forms of surrogacy, whether commercial or altruistic, is a trade with women's bodies and children. Legalising altruistic surrogacy leads to an increase in commercial surrogacy because it creates a demand" – Stephanie Thögersen; and

"Altruism is a sexist, racist and classist concept: sexist because it uses the sexist assumption that it's a women characteristics to be altruistic; racist because couples use surrogate mothers from other countries such as India but with 'white' eggs from Ukrainian women; classist because couples exploit the vulnerability and precariousness of other women, but want to choose the social class of the surrogate mothers (not too poor…)" – Stephanie Thögersen.

The Stop Surrogacy Now campaign statement reads:

‘We are women and men of diverse ethnic, religious, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds from all regions of the world. We come together to voice our shared concern for women and children who are exploited through surrogacy contract pregnancy arrangements.

‘Together we affirm the deep longing that many have to be parents. Yet, as with most desires, there must be limits. Human rights provide an important marker for identifying what those limits should be. We believe that surrogacy should be stopped because it is an abuse of women's and children's human rights.

‘Surrogacy often depends on the exploitation of poorer women. In many cases, it is the poor who have to sell and the rich who can afford to buy. These unequal transactions result in consent that is under informed if not uninformed, low payment, coercion, poor health care, and severe risks to the short- and long-term health of women who carry surrogate pregnancies.

‘The medical process for surrogacy entails risks for the surrogate mother, the young women who sell their eggs, and the children born via the assisted reproductive technologies employed.

‘The risks to women include Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS), ovarian torsion, ovarian cysts, chronic pelvic pain, premature menopause, loss of fertility, reproductive cancers, blood clots, kidney disease, stroke, and, in some cases, death.

‘Women who become pregnant with eggs from another woman are at higher risk for pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure.

‘Children born of assisted reproductive technologies, which are usually employed in surrogacy, also face known health risks that include: preterm birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, fetal anomalies, and higher blood pressure. A surrogate pregnancy intentionally severs the natural maternal bonding that takes places in pregnancy—a bond that medical professionals consistently encourage and promote.

‘The biological link between mother and child is undeniably intimate, and when severed has lasting repercussions felt by both. In places where surrogacy is legalized, this potential harm is institutionalized.

‘We believe that the practice of commercial surrogacy is indistinguishable from the buying and selling of children. Even when non-commercial (that is, unpaid or "altruistic"), any practice that subjects women and children to such risks must be banned.

‘No one has a right to a child, whether they are heterosexual, homosexual, or single-by-choice.

‘We stand together asking national governments of the world and leaders of the international community to work together to end this practice and Stop Surrogacy Now.’

To see the list of all signatories, click here. To sign it, click here.

Signatories to Stop Surrogacy Now demand a complete stop to surrogacy in order to protect women and children worldwide, and to end efforts that would seek to legitimise and normalise trafficking children.

“A woman is a human being not a machine,” Shagufta Omar, president of the Pakistan Chapter of the International Muslim Women Union said at the campaign launch: “Disconnecting both mother and the child from each other is the violation of the human rights of both.”

"There is no right to a child and rich people must be stopped from using a woman as a living incubator and then taking their baby away and showing it off as their own,” Dr Renate Klein, long-time health activist and FINRRAGE (Australia) co-ordinator said.

“We must prevent this reproductive slavery and stop it now.”

Tribunal fees and pregnancy discrimination cases

Posted: 19 May 2015 01:09 AM PDT

pregnant then screwed, tribunal fees, pregnant workers, TUC, ConDem An estimated 60,000 women are still being forced out of their jobs while on maternity leave.

The tribunal fee introduced in 2013 has seen pregnancy-related discrimination claims fall and employers go ‘unpunished’.

According to figures unveiled by the shadow women and equalities minister, Gloria De Piero, maternity and pregnancy-related claims now make up just three per cent of all claims since the fee was introduced in July 2013 – a fall of 40 per cent.

However, the figures also estimate that 60,000 women are still being forced out of their jobs while on maternity leave.

"Thousands of women are being denied access to justice because of this Government's ill-thought-through introduction of tribunal fees,"De Piero told the Independent.

In addition, the figures showed that sex-discrimination claims have also fallen – by 82 per cent – since the introduction of the £1,200 fee.

This is in line with an overall drop in the number of workers taking their employers to court.

Since the fee’s introduction, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has reported official statistics showing an 81 per cent drop in overall claims.

The introduction of the fee aimed to prevent 'unfounded' claims, but evidence gathered by the TUC, the Citizen's Advice Scotland, Citizen's Advice (England and Wales), the Law Society of Scotland and the universities of Bristol and Strathclyde has found that in fact workers with genuine cases are being affected by the fee, as it prevents them from lodging their claims.

As representatives of the research institutions stated in an open letter published in the Guardian earlier this year: ‘This effectively means that a growing number of unlawful employment practices are going unpunished.'

'When ministers say it's not right that taxpayers should food the bill for employment tribunals, they overlook the fact that workers bringing claims are themselves taxpayers.'

The law was changed to protect pregnant women in the workplace over forty years ago, but a TUC report released at the end of last year argued that many employer attitudes are still stuck in a time warp.

The report, The Pregnancy Test: Ending Discrimination at Work for New Mothers, highlighted that sacking, bullying and sidelining of expectant mothers was still common; 9,000 women took their employers to tribunal between 2008 and 2013 – before the tribunal fee introduction.

However, the TUC pointed out that few new mothers have the stamina or financial stability to begin such lengthy, fraught legal battles – especially in the cases where many women now face a £1,200 charge while earning the statutory maternity pay of just £138 a week.

The report revealed that about a quarter of women do not return to work after maternity leave at all, while of the women who do return, one in six will have to change jobs because their employer will not provide them with reduced or flexible working hours.

Women who do return also almost inevitably take a pay cut – especially those who work part-time, who then earn on average a third less per hour than the average hourly rate for full-time men.

According to an online survey by the TUC, the complaints made by pregnant workers included being sacked for being pregnant, receiving unpleasant and negative reactions to their pregnancy announcements, being prevented from attending antenatal appointments, and being given dangerous or risky jobs to do.

"More needs to be done to drag old-fashioned employers into the 21st century so that mothers who work are as valued by their bosses as working fathers," TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said.

“Stronger rights to flexible working are crucial too, to ensure that both parents are able to advance their careers and achieve a better balance between their busy work and home lives."

In a few months' time, the Equality and Human Rights Commission will publish the results of a study which will reveal the full impact of discrimination on women who are pregnant or taking maternity leave.

However, a new project called Pregnant Then Screwed is already exposing the sheer scale of the problem by allowing women – some of whom will have been forced to signed non-disclosure agreements by their employers – to post their stories online and anonymously.

Joeli Brearley, the site's founder, had the idea after suffering discrimination when she was pregnant and finding that many other women had similar stories.

“The problem is women are too scared to speak out for fear of being branded a troublemaker," Brearley said in an interview on the Victoria Derbyshire programme.

"Or if they still work for the company they are terrified of losing their jobs, particularly now that they are responsible for a child."

“You also only have three months to take a case of discrimination to an employment tribunal, and this tends to come at a time when you are weak, exhausted and frankly, this just isn’t your priority.

“It all just gets brushed under the carpet,” she argued.

The stories on the site make for harrowing reading, and many directly highlight the stress and financial strain of taking on an employer while being a new parent:

'I knew… that I could fight the case and win but the whole situation put undue stress and strain on a family who were lacking sleep and wondering when there would be two salaries again…';

'In the end I accepted redundancy because I simply couldn't face a legal fight to retain my position…';

'Acas advise [sic] me to appeal and said I would have a case against them… [but] I was pregnant, in poor health from pregnancy complications, vulnerable, exhausted and did not have the energy to fight them…';

'I … faced the stark choice of actually going through with the horror of a tribunal (something even my lawyer said she would almost never recommend) or a humiliating return to a job that I know I would be made redundant from the second I was no longer covered by maternity law…'.

Brearley said that many more women have contacted her to say they are too scared to share their stories, even though the site’s posts are anonymous.

“I hope we can trigger a public debate on why this is still happening, why it’s on the increase, and the repercussions for women, the economy and society as a whole,” she said.

This exposure is needed now more than ever now that pregnancy-related cases are no longer going to tribunal and many women – according to the stories on the site – are being paid by employers to settle out of court and to keep quiet.

“Mums don’t really know their rights, what they’re entitled to and how they should be treated,” explained Danielle Ayres, an employment lawyer for Gorvins Solicitors in an interview with the BBC.

These rights include maternity leave of up to a year and pay or 39 weeks, reasonable time off for antenatal appointments, the right to return to the same job if up to 26 weeks' leave is taken, and the right to return to a similar position if over 26 weeks' leave is taken, and protection from redundancy, dismissal, and detriment due to pregnancy/maternity leave.

“Some employers hit the nail on the head and manage pregnancies and maternity leave to the letter, and they really know how to support working mums," said Ayres.

“But others – either by fault or design – get it completely wrong, and it’s really deeply disappointing that in the 21st Century people are facing these challenges.”

Disappointing and shocking.

If you are struggling with pregnancy-related discrimination, Maternity Action can help with advice and support. Information sheets can be accessed here.