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Monday, November 30, 2015
Casino Life November
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Women's Views on News
Women's Views on News |
- Women to be taken out of A level politics
- Support for Muslim women and girls in the UK
- WE can now stand candidates
| Women to be taken out of A level politics Posted: 27 Nov 2015 12:55 PM PST T Earlier this month the UK government's Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual put forward proposals for a revised Politics ‘A’ Level syllabus. The details of the revised syllabus proposal ‘Politics – Draft AS and A Level subject content’ can be found here. It doesn't include feminism. In the current syllabus there is a section on 'feminism', unarguably one of the most important social rights movements that the UK has ever seen, spanning several centuries and continuing to this day. The current syllabus can be found here. But in the proposed syllabus the section on feminism has gone, along with the topics of sex/gender, gender equality, patriarchy, the public/private divide and essentialism. If this proposed syllabus goes ahead, after the next syllabus revision, British sixth form and college students will no longer learn about feminism. And the women in the syllabus? Women are still there, but only just. The Suffragette movement, arguably the most important female rights movement that ever existed, has been neatly squeezed into the 'pressure groups' section, along with questions such as 'whether pressure groups help or hinder society'. And Mary Wollstonecraft has been fitted into ‘liberalism’ – and is the only female thinker in that section, as well as the only female thinker in the entire proposed politics syllabus at A Level. That's despite leading thinkers in conservatism and socialism being cited – they are just all men. But, as Jaqeulyn Guderley, co-founder of @Stemettes, points out in her blog, that's 1 x female rights movement and 1 x female thinker in the entire new A Level Politics syllabus – despite the fact that it is 2015 and we are going through a huge feminist revival. And even if we weren't, our daughters and granddaughters, sons and grandsons, nieces, nephews, and families need to know about the movements and key female figures that got women to where they are today. The stage of gender equality which we are now at. This is so important, as Guderley points out. It is important because we are still striving, still moving forward, fighting against the remaining societal pieces – norms, traditions, prejudices – that stand in the way of complete gender equality. We still have some way to go. It is 2015. If we know nothing of key social and political milestones – women gaining the right to matriculate and graduate from many universities in 1920 and gaining the right to vote in 1928 – how can we learn from them and progress? This syllabus change can't happen. The government has a responsibility to everyone, including themselves, to be a progressive force for change; to allow this country and this world to march towards betterment. This change can't happen and it mustn't happen. Women's voices are often silenced. We mustn’t let them silence women's voices from the past too. What can you do? The government is still consulting on their decision, so there is still time to change the conclusion. Visit this consultations page 'Further additional GCSE and A Level Subject Consultation' and counter their proposal. Or go and remark on the proposed changes via the Political Studies Association website link. You have until 15 December. You can also show your support for women's right to have a voice, now and in the past, by signing – and sharing all over your friends’ pages and social media – this petition created by 'A' Level politics student June Eric-Udorie and join Jacquelyn Guderley and the many other women who want women to be written into history, not erased from it all together. And then write to or Tweet the Minister for Women and Equalities and the Secretary of State for Education and ask her what on earth she is doing. Thanks.  |
| Support for Muslim women and girls in the UK Posted: 27 Nov 2015 12:31 PM PST
The Muslim Women's Network UK (MWNUK), a national charity that works to improve social justice and equality for Muslim women and girls, was, like so many of us, shocked and angry at the recent terrorist attacks that took place in Beirut and Paris. Responding to the attacks, MWNUK said: ‘We must do all we can to reclaim Islam from extremists who purposefully manipulate religious texts to justify hatred and murder for their own political agendas and in doing so are dishonouring God and Islam. ‘The Quran warns us about these religious zealots: Exceed not in your religion (Quran 5:77).’ And MWNUK’s chair, Shaista Gohir, said: "Sadly there are others who have been circling like vultures, shamelessly using the Paris attacks to promote their own versions of extremism and promoting hatred of Muslims. "We must," she said, "remain resilient in the face of all forms of extremism. "ISIS wants to trigger an Islamophobic backlash to reinforce their narrative that there is a 'war on Muslims' and use this as a recruitment tool. "Sadly the backlash may also result in the targeting of refugees who themselves are fleeing the terror of ISIS." "It is important to remain vigilant; it could easily have been London or any other city in the UK," she added. "We must remember that although the highest numbers of European fighters that have joined ISIS are from France, the second highest numbers are from the UK. "To warn against joining ISIS, [MWNUK] have produced a 30-second video, ‘Say No to ISIS‘. "We urge that any concerns people have are reported to the police. "People can also talk to us [at MWNUK] if they are worried about any Muslim women and girls who may be thinking of traveling abroad to join ISIS." It is clear, MWNUK pointed out, that the overwhelming majority of British Muslims are outraged at this brutal assault on innocent civilians. And it is unfortunate that there is a minority which has refused to condemn the Paris terror attacks because they feel 'they should not have to just because they are Muslim' or because 'there is no equivalent outrage of murders of innocent Muslims such as those killed by ISIS in Beirut or those Muslims who are killed through Western bombings.' Such critics themselves also portray double standards, MWNUK continued, because they show less moral outrage when Muslims are killed by people from their own faith (such as by ISIS) and are angrier when Muslims are killed by non-Muslims. As decent human beings we should condemn all violence regardless of faith or whether people have denounced other forms of violence or not; two wrongs do not make a right. Unfortunately, the likelihood is that the Paris attacks will also result in increased hate crimes, particularly against Muslim women and girls. It is important that these are also reported to the police. Discrimination by employers, work colleagues, fellow students or pupils and public servants may also occur. If you have been affected you can call the MWNUK helpline for advice on 0800 999 5786 or 0303 999 5786. In an emergency call 999. Editor’s note: there have been several instances reported in the UK news recently of Muslim women being insulted, assaulted, harrassed in public spaces while people simply watch. Insult, assault and harassment count as an emergency, sisters: you can call 999 as soon as you can safely do so.  |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2015 05:49 AM PST
The Women's Equality Party (WE) has announced that they have raised enough funds to stand candidates in the London mayoral race, the London and Welsh Assembly elections and the Scottish Parliament elections next May. Following a previous call to WE members and supporters for donations, and a crowd-funding campaign, the party have raised the over £31,000 needed to fund candidates. Donations will help to support candidates and break down barriers that prevent women from standing for election. These include childcare costs for candidates who need support, mentoring during the entire campaign and bursaries to support candidates who would otherwise be unable to stand. The leader of WE, Sophie Walker said, "Our amazing members and supporters exceeded all our expectations, hitting the £31k target in 6 days, 22 hours and 50 minutes. "They are determined WE become an electoral force, challenging seats in 2016. "WE are a new political party, we're growing fast, and we're doing things differently." "The incredible support we've received shows there is a real appetite for change," Walker continued. "For the first time people will have the chance to vote for candidates who are united in their determination to see women enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men." "WE are calling for more support for vital services for women and girls under threat. "WE will stand against those parties who are not doing enough to promote gender equality in this country. And," she said, "WE are confident we will win." The party is continuing to raise money for candidates in order to ensure that the campaign is strengthened. To find out more about the campaign and to read the Women's Equality Party's policies, click here. You can also follow WE and keep up-to-date with all the latest news via their Facebook page and Twitter.  |
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Friday, November 27, 2015
Women's Views on News
Women's Views on News |
| New report on BME women’s services Posted: 26 Nov 2015 09:39 AM PST
A powerful and authoritative new report on the health of the black and ethnic minority (BME) women's organisations which support women and girls fleeing or at risk of violence and abuse in the UK, was published on 21 November. And on 21 November campaigners marched from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street to hand in the report and a petition about protecting these services ahead of the spending review on 25 November – which was also the International Day for Ending Violence Against Women. The report outlines the extremely serious funding crisis now facing these BME women's services, which include refuges, helplines, outreach services and advice centres. And it warns of the devastating consequences the loss of this unique sector would have for BME women and girls in the UK, something which prominent leaders in these organisations now fear could happen. The report finds that BME women and children in the UK have great and urgent need of specialist BME women's services, which uniquely understand the situations they face; in the last financial year, in London alone, 733 BME women sought refuge spaces but only 154 were successful. Nationally, in one year alone, 17 BME violence against women and girls (VAWG) organisations supported a total of 21, 713 women. Case study: Apna Haq – The crisis facing Black women's services came to national attention this summer when Rotherham-based Apna Haq was threatened with closure, despite being the only specialist service for BME women and girls in a town which has a national spotlight on it following the child sexual exploitation prosecutions there. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council awarded funding for 'floating support' targeted at BME women at risk of domestic violence to a non-BME specialist provider. Apna Haq's fight to survive continues, and the service users and supporters who gathered at Trafalgar Square and delivered their petition to Downing Street on 21 November are demanding centralised funding for Apna Haq and the national network of BME violence against women and girls services. Zlakha Ahmed, executive director of Apna Haq, said: "Independent, specialist and dedicated services run by and for the communities we seek to serve are lifesaving. "Our 'led by and for' services offer uniquely empowering experiences to women and children as service users are reflected in staffing, management and governance structures. "In Rotherham, we are a critical space for Black women to come together and share our experiences, keep each other safe and share our dreams. Demand is increasing every day. "We, and many others, simply cannot afford to close. Central government must take action now." More report findings: The 2011 census found that the BME population of the UK increased from 8.8 per cent in 2001 to 14 per cent, and in London stands at 40.2 per cent. Yet BME women's services have experienced a devastating reduction in funding, forcing some to close down and many to reduce capacity. There are currently over 34 dedicated specialist BME VAWG services in the UK, of which half are refuge providers who between them have over 700 years of experience of supporting women from BME communities. But the report shows that these services make up only a tiny proportion of violence and abuse services offered in the UK – most local councils fund no support for BME women facing these issues at all. Many areas in the UK have no such service, meaning BME women must travel further to receive support. This also demonstrates the need for a national funding solution for these life-saving services. Sixty-seven per cent of BME VAWG organisations spoke about the huge barriers they experience in accessing local funding because of the unequal playing field created by a funding/commissioning environment and culture, which favours larger, generic service providers. Imkaan's data suggests a worrying increase in specialist BME VAWG organisations being taken over and managed by generic providers across the UK, where just over half of BME VAWG services are currently managed by a large, mainstream organisation. BME VAWG services reported overwhelming uncertainty: "In the long term it does not look bright…they have announced the budget from 2015-2018 and I'm not convinced BME services will be considered from 2018-2021." The report has six main recommendations. To ensure the protection of BME women victims and survivors of violence, Imkaan makes the following recommendations: 1. National and local recognition of BME violence against women and girls ('VAWG') organisations as a unique specialist model of provision, providing local and national benefits across all aspects of health and social care, as well as contributing to the development of better-informed policies, legislation, practice innovation and significantly enhancing UK society. 2. A single national ring-fenced budget for specialist BME VAWG 'led by and for' organisations including refuge providers and outreach/ advocacy services, similar to the nationally based precedent set through the Rape Support Fund. 3. A mixed package of funding, consisting of national ring-fenced funding and grant-based funding by Local Authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and Health commissioners to BME VAWG organisations. This should be attached to robust local accountability structures including lead VAWG commissioners in local areas, trained on all equalities strands. Any VAWG commissioning approach and setting of priorities should be linked to national and regional hate crime and VAWG strategies. 4. National accountability through a Violence Against Women and Girls Ombudsperson who will hold to account local commissioning services, highlight good practice in local areas and regions and take complaints. 5. Central funding for second-tier organisations, which supports services around sustainability including the development and implementation of specialist BME quality assurance frameworks, measuring impact, supporting consistency and strengthening skills and expertise. 6. For charitable funders, trusts, foundations to develop specific funding streams framed around VAWG and equalities based principles and aims. Both the full report and a summary are available here. Statistics on violence against women and girls: With 2 women a week killed in the UK at the hands of current or ex partners, 1,267 people seeking support from the forced marriage unit in one year, an estimated 137,000 women and girls affected by FGM, and approximately 85,000 women raped in England and Wales every year, we know that any further cuts to VAWG services will cost lives. New EU obligations to provide high standard services for victims: By November 2015, all EU member states will need to fulfill requirements set out in the Victims' Directive 2012/29/EU which sets out a set of minimum standards to ensure rights, protection, support and dignity to all victims of crime, regardless of residency status. Marai Larasi, executive director of Imkaan, said: "Support services which are set up and run by black and minority ethnic women are unequivocally the best at providing tailored support for women and girls who may be fleeing domestic violence, a threatened forced marriage, sexual abuse and more. "The women leading and working in these services understand the particular risks and dynamics of violence in different communities. "And they understand how the barriers to approaching mainstream services like the police and health, or even other charities, are greater for some women. "These organisations are well known in the communities they serve and have the highest numbers of women approaching them directly rather than being referred on by police, social workers or others. "Bigger, more generic services are rarely able to achieve this profile or these 'self-referrals'. "If these services are lost, lives will be lost. "When this lesson is learnt, it will be hard to start again and rebuild. "We urge the government to show that it understands the needs of BME women facing violence and to commit to a nationally ring-fenced funding solution."  |
| Police apology for relationships: where next? Posted: 26 Nov 2015 08:59 AM PST It's an extraordinary statement by any standards. Even when the police pay large compensation, they usually do so with no admission of culpability for anything. But last Friday they issued a detailed, unreserved apology for the abuse of women who had relationships with undercover police officers. Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt even made a video of the admission, bluntly stating for the record that the relationships were "abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong. "I acknowledge that these relationships were a violation of the women's human rights, an abuse of police power and caused significant trauma… "Most importantly, relationships like these should never have happened. They were wrong and were a gross violation of personal dignity and integrity." The outrageousness and severity of how these women were treated is finally an acknowledged, settled fact. Some of the harrowing, heart wrenching impacts were spelled out by Lisa Jones – partner of Mark Kennedy for six years and whose discovery of his true identity brought the issue to light – when she gave her first ever interview on Friday. As ‘Rosa’, who had children with undercover officer Jim Boyling, said, "This has affected my whole view of the state and it went as deep as my womb." Kate Wilson's description of what was done to her was similarly powerful, and her highlighting of the continuing lack of transparency – "the police have made no effort whatsoever to provide any kind of answers" – shows that all this is far from over. It echoes what was said a year ago when the Met settled the first such case. Jacqui, who had a child with Bob Lambert, received £425,000 compensation but said "The legal case is finished but there is no closure for me. "There is the money, but there is no admission by the police that what they did was wrong, there is no meaningful apology and most importantly there are no answers." Although Friday's apology is a major historic victory, it is only confirming that what the women already know to be true. There is so much more still hidden from view. The Met's admission of their officers' serious abuse must surely mean that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have to revisit last year's extraordinary decision not to bring charges against these officers for sexual offences. As Gayle Newland starts her eight year sentence for creating a false identity to deceive someone into a sexual relationship, it's pretty clear that if this gang of men weren't police officers they would already be behind bars. Nobody else would get away with just giving an apology and a cheque from public funds. The CPS also decided not to prosecute them for other offences, explaining "In order to prosecute misconduct in public office, the prosecution would have to show that an officer knowingly abused their position in order to bring a sexual relationship about." It is hard to see how anyone could say anything else now. The Met have just conceded that the relationships didn't just happen but "none of the women with whom the undercover officers had a relationship brought it on themselves. They were deceived pure and simple…. [it was] an abuse of police power." But even now, the Met can't quite admit the whole truth. They "accept that it may well have reflected attitudes towards women that should have no part in the culture of the Metropolitan Police." They still can't bring themselves to use the word 'sexism'. The Met is institutionally sexist as well as institutionally racist. This cannot ever change if they refuse to fully face the facts, and in this apology they just shied away once again. Police say relationships were never authorised in advance and were never used tactically. But the overwhelming majority of known officers – all but two – did it. Most had long-term, committed life-partner relationships. One of them, Bob Lambert, lived with a woman and fathered a child before going on to run the unit, overseeing protegee officers who did the same thing, including ones involved in this week's settlement. He must surely have known. Sometimes officers were deployed together. Certainly, Lambert, Marco Jacobs and Lynn Watson saw colleagues having relationships. So, did they fail to report this 'grossly unprofessional, never allowed' behaviour to their seniors (thereby placing themselves at risk if they were ever found out)? Or did they report it but their bosses didn't intervene? Or was it, as it appears, an established, accepted tactic? Three years ago police lawyers said relationships weren't authorised, trying to blame individual 'rogue officers' and shield managers from responsibility. But then it was pointed out that if this was unauthorised behaviour then it wasn't covered by the rules governing surveillance in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. If that were so then any case would be heard in open court instead of a secret tribunal where the women's' side weren't allowed. So those same lawyers went back to the same court and argued that relationships were actually authorised after all. That was just one twist in the course of the four years and hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' pounds police spent trying to stop these women bringing the facts to light. The blanket use of "Neither Confirm Nor Deny" to refuse to even admit anyone was a police officer was an additional insulting hurdle to make the path to truth more gruelling. It's a pattern familiar from so many other justice campaigns – there's the injustice of what the police did, then the double injustice of the cover-up, smearing and legal obstacles that follow. The apology statement rightly mentioned the extra distress caused by the protracted legal case and paid tribute to the tenacity and mettle of the women. Even now, having just paid compensation and apologised to the women abused by John Dines and Mark Jenner, the police have not actually confirmed they were Special Demonstration Squad officers. Nonetheless, the apology, like the agreement to be liable for damages paid to people spied on by Marco Jacobs, is effectively an admission that these men were police. It is another hammer blow to the devious, farcical tactic of Neither Conform Nor Deny. With the public inquiry still to come, that is significant. All the appalling abuse these women suffered came from just five police officers. Even this isn't the end of it – there are several other similar cases are still ongoing, including more partners of Mark Kennedy and Marco Jacobs. We only know of the exposed officers due to the investigations and luck of activists and journalists. These are not necessarily the worst of them, merely what chance has revealed. There is so much more beyond. We have the names of around a dozen officers, less than 10 per cent of those known to have worked undercover in the political secret police units. How many other women were similarly abused? How many other children searching for their fathers are doomed to failure because it's a name a police officer made up or stole from a dead child? How many campaigns were stymied? What other outrages have occurred that none of the known officers committed? At least 500 groups and uncountable thousands of individuals were spied on. They all have a right to know. If these seven women deserve justice, so do the rest. If the public deserves the truth it deserves the whole truth, not somewhere under 10 per cent of it. Chair of the forthcoming public inquiry, Lord Pitchford, says "The Inquiry's priority is to discover the truth." The only way we will get the truth is if those who were targeted tell their stories. The only way that can happen is if they know that their former friend and comrade was in fact a police spy. If the Inquiry is to serve its purpose, and if the Met are truly contrite, then they must publish the cover names of all undercover officers from the political policing units. A version of this article appeared on COPS – the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance – website on 23 November 2015.  |
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Thursday, November 26, 2015
Women's Views on News
Women's Views on News |
- Start of 16 Days of Activism
- Orange the world: end violence against women
- Sweden leads fight for our health
- Cuts to public health spending a false economy
| Posted: 25 Nov 2015 08:32 AM PST
The Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) launches the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign on 25 November each year. Along with over 5,478 organisations and other participants from 187 countries and territories, The Center for Women's Global Leadership is calling for an end to gender-based violence and for accountability on the part of policymakers and community members to end violence, discrimination, and inequality. The '16 Days' campaign begins on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – 25 November – and ends on International Human Rights Day, December 10, and emphasises that gender-based violence in its many forms is a human rights violation. This year, the 16 Days campaign will focus specifically on the relationship between militarism and the right to education in situations of violent conflict, in relative peace and a variety of education settings, while continuing to make the links with militarism, as an encompassing patriarchal system of discrimination and inequality based on our relationships to power. Responding to the increased violence against education, especially of young girls and women, the 2015 campaign theme, 'From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All', recognises that education is a public good and a fundamental human right recognised in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is upheld in various international and regional human rights conventions and treaties. Nonetheless, the right to education is subject to political, economic, and social shifts and upheavals, leaving certain groups – especially women, girls, people with disabilities, LGBTQI people, migrants, and indigenous people – particularly vulnerable and liable to being denied an education. As many as 58 million children of primary school age do not have access to education, with approximately half of these (28.5 million) living in conflict affected areas. And recent data shows that approximately 38 million people are internally displaced worldwide, while 16.7 million are refugees. Girls and young women in particular are most adversely impacted by insecurity and crisis, with the most recent estimates showing that 31 million girls at primary level and 34 million at lower secondary level are not enrolled in school , and 15 million girls and 10 million boys will never see the inside of a classroom. In 2014, global military spending stood at USD1.8 trillion, while experts cite a USD26 billion financing gap to achieve basic education for all by end of 2015. Children and young people of all genders can face further disadvantage due to disability, race or ethnic origin, economic difficulties and family whether in times of violent conflict, after an environmental disaster, or during relative peacetime. Girls and young women face early marriage or forced marriage that can cut short their education; the threat of different forms of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV), including sexual violence and abuse on the way or within education settings; and discrimination in the availability of essential infrastructure such as adequate and safely accessible sanitary facilities. "The political, economic, and social implications of the right to and denial of education must be at the forefront of the agenda for policymakers, communities, and concerned individuals," Krishanti Dharmaraj, executive director of CWGL, said. "When we have women, girls, people with disabilities, LGBTQI people, migrants, and indigenous people denied the right to education in safe and equal spaces, we as a world community stand to lose. "It is imperative that for gender-based violence to end, we work to end all forms of discrimination." Many events are planned worldwide to shed light on the impact of the global arms trade and militarism on communities all around the globe and to call for an end to gender-based violence. The 16 Days campaign is a powerful way to educate the public and governments about gender-based violence, human rights, and the intersections of political, economic, and social realities. Follow the 16 Days online @16DaysCampaign #16Days or on Facebook.  |
| Orange the world: end violence against women Posted: 25 Nov 2015 08:13 AM PST
Prevention is the theme of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence this year and the focus of the UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign's call for action. Violence against women is a human rights violation. Violence against women is a consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women. Violence against women impacts on, and impedes, progress in many areas, including poverty eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and security. Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. Prevention is possible and essential. But violence against women continues to be a global pandemic. From parades to soccer matches, school debates, and the lighting up of hundreds of iconic monuments, starting on 25 November a United Nations call to "Orange the World" aims to galvanise global action calling for an end to violence against women and girls, violence which affects one in three worldwide. Unifying the large-scale social mobilisation and global events will be the use of the colour orange, which has come to symbolise a bright and optimistic future free from violence against women and girls. The call to action is part of the UN Secretary-General's UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, led by UN Women. It will be carried out during the civil society-driven 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which run from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until 10 December, Human Rights Day. This year's 'Orange the World" initiative will focus on the theme of preventing violence against women and girls, in the specific context of the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which includes targets on ending violence against women and girls. Coinciding with the 16 days of Activism, UN Women’s executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will undertake visits to three continents, highlighting the urgent need for efforts to address the pandemic of violence at all levels – from global to the local – as well as all sections of society, during high-profile events in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Spain and Turkey. The official commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, which takes place in New York, will also see the launch of a landmark "UN Framework to Underpin Action to Prevent Violence against Women," jointly developed by a number of UN entities including UN Women, ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA and WHO. "Violence against women and girls remains one of the most serious – and the most tolerated – human rights violations," Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is the UN's Under-Secretary-General as well as UN Women's executive director, said. "It is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality and discrimination. "Its continued presence is one of the clearest markers of societies out of balance and we are determined to change that." "The focus must now be on prevention, and although there is no single solution to such a complex problem, there is growing evidence of the range of actions that can stop violence before it happens. "This comprehensive approach forms the core of the new framework developed by UN Women and our partner agencies." There has been some progress over the last few decades; today 125 countries have laws against sexual harassment and 119 against domestic violence, but only 52 countries on marital rape. Despite efforts, violence against women and girls continues in every country, with women being beaten in their homes, harassed on the streets and bullied on the Internet. Preventing and ending violence means tackling its root cause, gender inequality. In 2014, the WHO called it a 'global epidemic' and a public health crisis, given its impact on one in three women experiencing physical or sexual violence at some point in her life – mostly by an intimate partner, and sometimes rising to affect a staggering 70 per cent of women in certain countries. And among all women who were the victims of homicide in 2012, nearly half died at the hands of a partner or family member. An estimated 133 million girls and women have experienced some form of female genital mutilation/cutting. Adult women account for almost half of all human trafficking victims detected globally. With the recent adoption by world leaders of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a bold new global development agenda in September 2015, a critical juncture was reached in global recognition that violence against women and girls is a serious but preventable problem. The gender equality goal, Goal 5 of the SDGs, aims to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls. It recognises violence against women as an obstacle to fully achieving the development agenda and will provide comprehensive indicators on what we should do to address that goal. It focuses also on the provision of services to address sexual and reproductive rights. At the historic Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment event on 27 September 2015, many of the 70 world leaders who took the stage named ending violence against women and girls as a priority for action, demonstrating not only the size and universality of the problem, but also the recognition of heads of government or heads of state of this pandemic of violence being a major obstacle to fully achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. The UN Secretary-General's UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign invites you to "Orange the world," using orange, the colour designated by the UNiTE campaign, to symbolise a brighter future without violence. Organise events to orange streets, schools and landmarks! read the Toolkit; see the poster. Join the conversation on social media: follow @SayNO_UNiTE and share your messages using the hashtags #orangetheworld and #16days  |
| Sweden leads fight for our health Posted: 25 Nov 2015 05:18 AM PST
A crucial court hearing against the European Commission took place recently when the European Union Court of Justice in Luxembourg heard Sweden's case against the European Commission for failing to fulfil its legal obligations regarding hormone disrupting chemicals, also known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The European Commission failed to adopt scientific criteria by 13 December 2013 for the identification of hormone disrupting chemicals under the Biocides Products Regulation. That law, adopted in 2012, requires biocide substances to be examined for endocrine disrupting properties, and if any are found, the substances are to be taken off the EU market – except under certain circumstances. A similar, even stricter, law exists for pesticides. The European Commission Environment Directorate General had made good progress on draft criteria by spring 2013, but after immense lobbying by the chemical manufacturers and pesticide companies, the European Commission Secretary General decided an impact assessment on the criteria and further regulatory adjustments were necessary, and under the new Commission President Juncker, the work on biocides criteria was transferred to the Health Directorate General. Sweden's anger erupted after the European Commission missed its legal deadline to put forward criteria to identify EDCs by the end of 2013. The case is supported by the EU Council of governments, which is considered to be the highest political body of the European Union. The European Parliament and three governments – Denmark, France and the Netherlands – are individually backing Sweden. EDCs interfere with the body's highly sensitive hormone system. Studies point to EDCs causing obesity, diabetes and cancer. Even tiny amounts of EDCs pose particular risks to unborn children and infants. The Endocrine Society published its Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in September 2015, in which it says there is no longer any doubt that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), found in food and consumer goods, are contributing to some chronic endocrine-related diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cancer. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest and most active organisation devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. To read its 2nd Scientific Statement click here. The Endocrine Society's statement includes a review of 1,300 studies on EDCs, which show more evidence than ever of the links between EDCs and health problems including: obesity and diabetes, female reproduction, male reproduction, hormone-sensitive cancers in females, prostate cancer, thyroid, and neurodevelopment and neuroendocrine systems. Policies are urgently needed to reduce human exposure. The International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), which represents 125 national organisations, called for greater efforts to prevent toxic chemical exposure at its recent congress in October 2015. As far as FIGO is concerned: "Documented links between prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals and adverse health outcomes span the life course and include impacts on fertility and pregnancy, neurodevelopment, and cancer. "The global health and economic burden related to toxic environmental chemicals is in excess of millions of deaths and billions of dollars every year." (…) Costs attributable to exposure to a selected sample of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (with only the highest probability of causation) were recently estimated at €157 billion per year in the European Union. The EU Commission is currently conducting an impact assessment partly prompted by intensive lobbying by the chemicals and pesticide industry. This is expected to delay the setting EU criteria for defining EDCs until 2017 at the earliest. Over 20 campaign partners from the EDC-Free Europe coalition met with several MEPs on 11 November to raise awareness about EDCs and the need for urgent EU action. A group meeting was organised between the coalition and MEP Michele Rivasi. Lisette van Vliet, the Senior Policy Adviser for Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), who attended the hearing, said: "When all EU governments and the European Parliament join together to prosecute the European Commission, it is clear that the Commission is getting it wrong. "These delays are keeping Europeans exposed to chemicals that contribute to breast and prostate cancer, diabetes and obesity, infertility and learning disorders. "We look to the European Court to make the Commission abide by deadlines set in European law to protect the health of Europeans."  |
| Cuts to public health spending a false economy Posted: 25 Nov 2015 05:15 AM PST
‘Unprotected Nation 2015’ is a report commissioned by the sexual health chairty the Family Planning Association (FPA) which considers the knock-on effects of a 10 per cent cut in spending on contraception and sexual health services. It concludes that cuts to public health spending will have a devastating effect on these services, and any supposed savings will result in far higher costs in the long run. A 10 per cent reduced spending scenario could, for example, result in an additional £8.3 billion spending due to unintended pregnancies over the next five years and an extra 72,299 sexually transmitted infection diagnoses by 2020, at a cost of £363 million. Services already face a £200 million cut to public health spending, due to be implemented by local authorities in January 2016. If this kind of cut were to become the norm over the next five years, every £1 considered a “saving” in sexual and reproductive health could actually cost £86. Cutting contraceptive services could reverse teenage pregnancy rates to 2003 levels and lose years of progress. It could mean almost 20,000 extra gonorrhoea cases by 2020. And as the FPA's chief executive, Natika H Halil, said recently: "This report clearly shows that making cuts to sexual and reproductive health funding results in enormous costs further down the line and is incredibly short-sighted. "We have already seen evidence of service restrictions and the potential effect of further cuts is frankly terrifying. "This report must serve as a stark warning to the government ahead of announcing its spending review." And Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), added: "Cuts to public health budgets are a false economy, leading to much greater costs in the medium and long-term as we struggle to cure what could have been prevented. "This is as true for sexual and reproductive health services as it is for other areas of prevention, a point which has been starkly illustrated by FPA's Unprotected Nation report. “As the NHS Five Year Forward View has clearly stated, the future health of the nation and the survival of the NHS is dependent on a radical upgrade in prevention and public health – we need to make those words a reality."  |
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