Women's Views on News |
| Liberty Human Rights Awards shortlist Posted: 07 Sep 2015 07:38 AM PDT
The nominees for the Liberty Human Rights Awards include ground-breaking activists, fearless young campaigners, lawyers and artists who have been at the forefront of the fight for human rights and civil liberties in 2015. The awards celebrate the achievements of organisations and individuals from all walks of life who have worked tirelessly to protect and promote fundamental freedoms at a time when the post-war human rights consensus faces an unprecedented attack. This is the shortlist. The nominees for The Christine Jackson Young Person Award are: Cardiff Law School Innocence Project – For becoming the first innocence project to help successfully overturn a wrongful conviction; Helawit Hailemariam – For co-developing the play Ask to pressure the British government into pressing for the release of her father, democracy activist Andargachew Tsege, who is being detained by the Ethiopian regime; and Temi Mwale – For founding Get Outta the Gang, which works across London to tackle youth violence and the prevalence of gang culture. The nominees for the Human Rights 'Close to Home' Award are: Integrate Bristol – For working toward better integration of young people and children and supporting young people to campaign on issues they care about; Kalayaan – For leading the campaign, alongside others, for a reversal of 2012 visa rules which tie overseas domestic workers to abusive employers; and Jan Sutton – For defending the Human Rights Act and inspiring others to fight for the right to live with dignity through her blog and online film. The nominees for the Human Rights Arts Award, in association with Southbank Centre, are: Helen Benedict – For her play The Lonely Soldier Monologues, which tells the verbatim stories of seven women serving in the US Armed Forces; Don McVey – For his documentary The Price of Love, which follows British families affected by the 2012 UK Spouse Immigration Rules; WAST Nightingales – For bringing women refugees and asylum seekers together in song and raising awareness of the injustices suffered by women seeking asylum in the UK; and Penny Woolcock – For Utopia, her immersive audio art installation investigating the hidden narratives of the world's biggest cities. The nominees for the Human Rights Lawyer of the Year are: Ben Jaffey, Blackstone Chambers – For leading the challenge to mass surveillance in the courts, acting for Liberty, Privacy International and others; Nathalie Lieven QC, Landmark Chambers – For acting for Detention Action in its successful challenge to the Detained Fast Track asylum process, resulting in its suspension; The Public Law Project (PLP) – For a highly successful year of legal challenges and for running a vital project helping people apply for exceptional funding; and Adam Wagner, 1 Crown Office Row – For launching the innovative RightsInfo project, which seeks to correct misinformation and explain why human rights matter. The nominees for Human Rights Campaign of the Year Award are: Detention Action – For its successful legal challenge to Detained Fast Track, which saw the scheme ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal and suspended in July; Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association – For campaigning to reform the law doctrine of joint enterprise, persuading the Justice Committee to recommend urgent change; and Lord Ramsbotham, CRAE, The Howard League for Penal Reform and the SCYJ – For persuading the Government to abandon plans for a 'secure college' – a titan prison for children. The winners will be announced on 7 September as part of an evening of uplifting stories and entertainment hosted by critically acclaimed writer, actor and comedian Jo Brand at London's Southbank Centre. And three other awards will be presented on the night: the Courageous Voice Award, honouring those who speak out with courage and determination to change the world; the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising those who dedicate their lives to working to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of others and the Collective Voice Award, honouring the power of collective action and positive campaigning. The event, which is open to the public, will also feature performances from soul singer Lizzie Emeh, the first solo artist with a learning disability to release a mainstream UK album, and multiple award-winning performance poet Sabrina Mahfouz. Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: "This year's awards take place under the darkest of shadows – the threat to our Human Rights Act, our most formidable tool for protecting fundamental freedoms and holding the powerful to account. "At this time, it's more vital than ever to celebrate the power of collective action and fearless campaigning, and to remind ourselves that toxic misinformation, divisive dog-whistle politics and appalling injustice can, and will, be challenged, exposed and ended."  |
| Raising seriously awkward issues Posted: 07 Sep 2015 07:07 AM PDT
Last year more than 70,000 16 and 17 year-olds were classed as children in need, and of those teenagers, around 25,000 were in need because of abuse and neglect they experienced at home. A further 1,350 children aged 16 and over were recognised by children's services to be at risk of significant harm. This graph illustrates the types of risks they faced. Despite this, the law does not recognise cruelty and neglect to 16 and 17 year olds as an offence, meaning that parents who treat their 16 or 17 year-old child with cruelty cannot be prosecuted. Changes to welfare and education legislation in recent years and a lower minimum wage than for workers over the age of 18 mean that living independently is no longer a viable option for young people aged 16 and 17. Over nine out of 10 young people aged 16 and 17 continue living with their parents and carers relying on emotional and financial support from their families to the same extent as children under the age of 16. This is a particular problem for 16 and 17 year-olds who experience cruelty and neglect at home. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Children Act recognises 16 and 17 year-olds as children. Yet they are often denied the support they need in practice – and UK laws do not consistently treat them as children when it comes to protecting them from abuse and neglect at home. The Children's Society is campaigning to improve protections in the law, increase access to services and make sure that no 16 and 17 year-olds at risk of harm are left with nowhere to turn to. The Children's Society is a national charity that runs local services, helping children and young people when they are at their most vulnerable, and have nowhere left to turn. It also campaigns for changes to laws affecting children and young people, to stop the mistakes of the past being repeated in the future. The report backing the Children's Society's Seriously Awkward campaign revealed that because of their age, the most vulnerable 16 and 17 year-olds are falling through the cracks of childhood and adulthood. The Children's Society is calling for the law on child cruelty and neglect to recognise that 16 and 17 year-olds can be victims of child cruelty and neglect and for housing legislation to be amended to ensure that people aged 16 and 17 cannot be evicted from their accommodation and thus be considered intentionally homeless by local authorities, something which can prevent them from getting further help with housing. They are being let down by the law and they are not getting the same basic protection as younger children to keep them safe. Support drops off at 16 when teens can be abandoned or seen as 'beyond help'. Too often the needs of 16 and 17 year-olds are overlooked by professionals and services. The Children's Society estimates that half a million 16 and 17 year-olds face particular risk of harm because they are already dealing with multiple issues such as poverty, poor health or a lack of supportive relationships. They are more likely to go missing and more likely to be a victim of violent crime than any other age group. They are at high risk of sexual exploitation, domestic violence and mental health problems. Yet 16 and 17 year-olds are less protected from abuse and neglect than younger children. A teenager has to be under 16 to be protected by laws on child cruelty and neglect. And 16 and 17 year-olds often fall through the gaps between children’s and adult services for things such as mental health services or housing. Clearly, something isn't quite right. This needs to change. And you can help. Please sign – and share – this petition calling on the government to change the law to protect 16 and 17 year-olds from harm, abuse and neglect. In particular, the government should: 1. Raise the age of a victim of child cruelty and neglect from 16 to 18, so 16 and 17 year-olds living at home have the same protection as younger children 2. Amend housing laws to ensure that 16 and 17 year-olds at risk of homelessness can never be evicted from their accommodation and become 'intentionally homeless' 3. Raise the age for Child Abduction Warning Notices from 16 to 18, to ensure that the police can intervene where vulnerable 16 and 17 year-olds are targeted by predatory adults for the purposes of exploitation, either of a sexual or criminal nature.  |
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