24 UK News: March 2016

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Women's Views on News

Posted: 30 Mar 2016 02:09 PM PDT

Commit to maintaining London's pioneering Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

Women's groups in London published a 'manifesto for ending violence against women and girls in the capital,' recently and sent open letters to Mayoral candidates highlighting the endemic levels of domestic and sexual violence in London, and asking them to make specific commitments on ending female genital mutilation (FGM), on prostitution, on ensuring support services are maintained, and the effective policing of these crimes.

A new 'mayorwatch' website, which will track all relevant mayoral and Assembly candidates' pledges has also been launched.

The manifesto and open letters precede an 'ending violence against women and girls hustings' in central London on 12 April, with Sian Berry, Green Party; Yvette Cooper MP for Labour; Stephen Greenhalgh for the Conservatives; Annabel Mullin for the Lib Dems; and Sophie Walker, standing for the Women's Equality Party, on the panel.

The End Violence Against Women Coalition and Imkaan's 12-page manifesto draws on a recent YouGov survey which revealed that 40 per cent of women in London have experienced unwanted sexual contact in public places, and 33 per cent have been subject to indecent exposure.

Both these figures are higher than the national average.

It also highlighted that:

Police in London recorded 146,000 domestic violence incidents in 2015, with 28 women murdered in domestic violence-related homicides over 12 months;

Police in London recorded 5,500 rapes in 2015 (it is estimated only 10-15 per cent are reported to police);

Police in London recorded almost 300 cases of forced marriage and 'honour-based violence' last year (also likely to be very under-reported);

Thousands of women are estimated to be being exploited in prostitution in London; and that

Specialist support services led by and for women are suffering due to cuts and competition.

The manifesto and the letters to candidates ask them to commit to maintaining London's pioneering Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy as developed under the current mayor Boris Johnson, and also specifically asks them to commit to:

Specialist training for police on all forms of abuse, and increased attention to online abuse; support the police in resisting media or political pressure to drop historic investigations;

Direct funding for Rape Crisis services across the capital as the current Mayor has done since 2008;

Direct funding for BME women's support services in London which provide holistic support for domestic and sexual violence as well as FGM, forced marriage and 'honour'-based violence;

Ensuring London's housing strategy includes a safe pathway for women at risk;

Maintaining a specific focus on FGM, forced marriage and 'honour'-based violence;

Changing police policy and practice on prostitution such that women do not face criminal penalties and the policing focus is switched to 'pimps' and 'punters'; and ensuring that there is a specialist exiting service available for every woman who needs it;

Ensuring that British Transport Police and TFL work tackling sexual harassment and assaults on the transport network continues; and

Ensuring the needs of women prisoners, who can be very vulnerable, are prioritised as Holloway prison is closed down.

The manifesto, the open letters to candidates and a tracker of candidates' comments and pledges on these issues can all be seen at new website VAWGMayorWatch – which also encourages visitors to the site to contact candidates directly asking about their policies for ending violence against women and girls. So please do!!

You could also let the candidates know that policy to end violence against women and girls matters to you by sending them a message through their websites or a tweet or two: @SianBerry @ZacGoldsmith @SadiqKhan @CarolinePidgeon @SophieRunning

Sarah Green, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: "Ending violence against women and girls has been a key pillar of Boris Johnson's Mayoralty since 2008 and it is essential that we see this work continue.

"London's Mayor must hold the police to account for their work policing these crimes, and ensure that the victims money from central Government is well spent on support services.

"The Mayor must also be prepared to lead and influence London's boroughs on the way they respond to abuse, and be willing to shine a spotlight on critical problems including the alarming levels of sexual violence facing girls in the capital, and the way the housing crisis is impacting women and their families who need to escape abuse.

"We will know London is making progress when we stop tolerating the harm prostitution is doing to women and girls in London, and when we end the acceptance of everyday sexual harassment."

And Marai Larasi, the executive director of Imkaan, said: "Our top priorities are to see London's next Mayor committed to ensuring that the women-led services, including those led by BME women, which literally save lives, are supported to remain open and that the police keep up with the surge in survivors of abuse seeking protection and justice.

"We need London's next Mayor to make this a personal priority by maintaining and developing the work started by Boris Johnson.

"We have a good Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and we want this to be strengthened.

"We want London's Mayor to be willing to speak out on issues, such as sexual harassment, that are too often ignored or wrapped up with blaming the victim.

"London's Mayor has significant policing, planning and spending power on violence against women and girls and can choose to make this a top priority," she added.

"We hope to hear that they will."

Click here to register to vote on 5 May. To vote, you need to be registered by 15 April.

We are failing victims of domestic violence

Posted: 30 Mar 2016 01:59 PM PDT

Documentary a heart-breaking insight into another reality of domestic violence.

"Stop it, please. No, please don't."

"If you love me, you'll know the answer".

"I can't."

"You can".

"No, baby please".

These were the distressing cries and shouts of one of three women featured in BBC One's documentary Behind Closed Doors, which followed three victims of domestic violence over the course of a year as they tried to get their abusers convicted.

The film, narrated by Olivia Coleman, was raw and powerful, and offered a heart-breaking insight into the reality of domestic violence.

The first victim, Sabrina, managed to call the police and throw her phone under the bed after being beaten by her partner for over six hours.

The exchange above was all the police could hear when they answered the call, but luckily they were able to track the location of the phone.

Sabrina later revealed that her partner Paul had been threatening to throw a speaker at her head. Had the police not arrived when they did, he might have killed her.

Despite the length and nature of the attack, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not think they would be able to get a conviction for Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) and wanted to reduce the charge to Actual Bodily Harm (ABH).

One of the women working with Sabrina told us, "unfortunately her injuries don't reflect GBH. It has to be either breaking of the skin, like a stab wound, or skull fractures, broken arms and legs, and it's not any of that.

"She had this awful beating and she looks horrendous yet she's very lucky and she only really had a fractured rib."

In saying that, she articulates what most viewers will be thinking: "It always amazes me that somebody can be beaten senseless but because they don't have really serious injuries, it can still only be an ABH".

Paul pleaded guilty to ABH and was sentenced to two years in prison, but given that most people only serve half of their sentence and he had already done ten months before the trial, he is likely to be released in a maximum of four months.

The ex-partner of another of the three women, Helen, is let off even more lightly than Paul. Despite a viscous assault on Helen, in which she was hit with a Playstation console, had chunks of her hair pulled out and was left with an imprint of a shoe by her right eye, her attacker was not sent to prison.

He was merely fined £1700. And that was as far as his punishment went.

Helen was justifiably shocked and frustrated at the outcome, saying: "I'm furious because he's got away with completely and utterly kicking me to bits.

"He could have killed me and he's walked away and is back out on the streets. He's just gone unpunished and I can't see him ever being brought to justice."

What kind of message do minor convictions and punishments like these send to the perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse – and to society in general?

It says that ultimately, that these crimes aren't a big deal and that you can commit horrific acts of violence against women and be faced with remarkably little in terms of punishment.

It is not unreasonable to question whether these cases would be taken more seriously if it was a man assaulting another man.

For decades domestic abuse has to an extent been normalised, accepted as a part of relationships and even regarded as inevitable by some, swept under the carpet, considered to be an issue that should be left for couples to deal with between themselves and people have been reluctant to interfere or get involved.

As Sabrina said, “I’d been under the impression from him [Paul] that people don’t really give a s**t anymore, they just keep themselves to themselves and don’t get involved in other people’s arguments.

“It made me think that that there was no help out there, nobody really cares, nobody wants to know.”

While the women in the documentary had fantastic help and support from teams within the police forces dedicated to domestic abuse, as seen in the documentary, the justice system as a whole is falling way short of providing what victims need – and deserve.

It is understandably difficult for perpetrators to be convicted if victims don’t report the abuse, retract their statements, and refuse to testify in court. And all too often men face no consequences for domestic violence because their victims are too scared to report them or go through with a trial.

But perhaps if society – and that’s also you and me – and the law took a harsher stance against domestic abuse, and it was openly discussed instead of being treated as a taboo subject, women would feel more able to come forward and make their abuser face the consequences of their actions.

Equally, if women were offered proper security and protection, they wouldn’t have to fear so much for their safety once they have reported their abuser – something which is a huge deterrent. Unless the police can keep them ‘in’ on remand, perpetrators are released and their victim is in potentially more danger than before.

The measures in place to prevent abusers from harassing and threatening their victims are still inadequate, and such behaviour is not taken seriously enough for them to be appropriately punished for doing so, or for breaching restraining and non-molestation orders.

When Helen gets a phone call telling her that ex partner Laurence has been released on bail she is visibly terrified, shaking.

One of the terms of his bail conditions is that he is not allowed to contact her directly or indirectly, but obviously that doesn’t stop him from doing so. It is incredibly naive and irresponsible to assume that a man who is capable of repeatedly and violently assaulting a woman will respect orders like these.

In general, it is the woman who is forced to abandon her home and job and move away for her, and often her children’s, safety. They are forced to leave their friends and family, probably the only comfort they have left, to live somewhere they don’t necessarily know or like, with the constant fear that their abuser will find them and continue to make their life hell.

Where’s the sense and justice in that? And quite frankly, as things stand, what are the incentives for women to report domestic violence?

Domestic abuse is ugly. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to deal with it. But violence against women is a very real and very dangerous problem, not only in the UK but around the world, and only by confronting it head on do we have any hope of eradicating it.

It could happen to anyone.

And we have a duty to speak up and fight for the vulnerable women who are – still – suffering behind closed doors.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Women's Views on News

Open letter to Stephen Crabb

Posted: 29 Mar 2016 02:14 PM PDT

For the second time in a year I am asked to prove that my daughter has not suddenly miraculously recovered.

Dear Mr Crabb,

Congratulations on your appointment as the new Work and Pensions Secretary.

I would like to draw your attention to an anomaly and an injustice in both the working of your department and the way it is presented to the public.

Mr Osborne has been able to claim to have increased spending on disability benefits by £1bn.

This is not really true.

If, as in this claim by Mr Osborne, only DLA/PIP is included in this figure, it is possible to claim a cash increase, although in real terms this represents a decrease when inflation is taken into account.

But if all those who were moved from Incapacity Benefit to ESA are included there has been a very real fall in the amount of benefits paid to disabled people.

Cutting a further £30 a week from ESA for new claimants is only going to make this worse, and is based on the illogical assumption that if someone is too disabled to work, adding starvation to their disability will make them suddenly recover enough to get a job.

But much of the spending allocated to disability is being wasted in a manner which is both profligate and discriminatory.

People who have congenital, incurable, degenerative conditions and who were awarded DLA indefinitely, are having to go through the stress and humiliation of a reassessment.

For the second time in a year I am being asked to prove to your department that my daughter has not suddenly miraculously recovered from her congenital quadriplegic cerebral palsy, autism, learning disability and partial sight.

Apart from the immense waste of the time I have to devote to this and the distress caused to my daughter who has no understanding at all of the system, I cannot imagine how much your department is wasting on this ridiculous and futile exercise – money which might, with a little creativity and forethought, have been spent on improving the already very difficult lives of disabled people.

Along with the rhetoric in the media which portrays disabled people as skivers and benefit scroungers there has been a 213 per cent increase in reported disability hate crime, with the unreported figure believed to be far higher, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The government has always pretended to distance itself from the language used in the media, but who can forget Mr Osborne’s disgraceful remark about the shift worker “leaving home in the dark hours of the early morning who looks up at the closed blinds of their next door neighbour sleeping off a life on benefits”?

As a result of unthinking, prejudiced remarks of this kind, people severely disabled by reason of conditions such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia or terminal cancer who cannot bear the glare of broad daylight have found themselves stigmatised and abused.

It is time to end this dreadful persecution of disabled people, and to ask what are their real needs, and how can these be met?

And it is long past time, as Mr Duncan Smith so belatedly recognised, to stop raiding the pockets of disabled people to line the pockets of the well-off.

I hope that as you begin your new job you will take these points into consideration.

Yours sincerely,
Rosamund Bayes

Women’s manifesto for Scottish elections

Posted: 29 Mar 2016 09:08 AM PDT

Document makes clear the key areas where women want to see change.

Women account for over 50 per cent of the adult population in Scotland, but are still overlooked when policy decisions are being made.

In 2003 the Scottish Executive set up the Scottish Women’s Convention (SWC) in recognition of the need to ensure women’s voices reach policy makers, and it works to develop ways in which to ensure women in Scotland can influence the strategies and policies which affect them.

It provides an effective way of consulting with a diverse range of women and has a network of over 300,000 women including women in business, churches, trades unions and voluntary organisations.

Before the start of the 2016 Scottish Parliament’s election campaign, the Scottish Women's Convention consulted with individuals and women's organisations and found the key issues that women want decision-makers to take on both during the election campaign and in the new government.

The ensuing document – a Women's Manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections being held on 5 May 2015 – details the key areas where women want to see change:

Carers:

It calls for recognition that unpaid care is work, which should be valued and remunerated accordingly; for the provision of respite services for carers, in order to safeguard their physical and mental wellbeing and for the reduction of 'targets' for women working in the care sector, allowing them to provide meaningful support and assistance to some of the most vulnerable in society.

Childcare:

Women want to see a national, flexible, free childcare service with well trained, well paid and valued staff providing the highest level of care to children; recognition that a 'one size fits all' approach to funded hours does not work in rural areas; more investment in remote parts of the country and more innovative ways of providing childcare made available and parity in wages, as well as terms and conditions, for all who provide childcare, whether they work in the public or private sector.

Employability and Social Security:

Women must be fully consulted on the impact of the devolution of social security; there must be a commitment that the Scottish government will engage with Westminster to mitigate the impact of conflict between reserved and devolved powers and new powers must be managed and administered in a way which keeps the dignity and respect of those claiming support at its heart.

Employment and Pay:

The Scottish Parliament must encourage all employers to pay the Living Wage, with incentives available to those who do; commit to ensure that all bodies and organisations which are publicly funded in Scotland produce frequent, robust equal pay audits and recognise the value of part-time work and commit to encourage employers to provide training and promotion for these workers.

Media Representation:

We need to see the promotion of positive female role models in the media in order to break down pre-conceived ideas of women's capabilities across television, radio, journalism and the arts; a ban on adverts which use sexualised imagery to sell products in public places, such as billboards, bus stops and on the side of taxis and recognition that the normalisation of hyper sexualisation is both a cause and consequence of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Mental Health Services:

Specialist mental health services are needed in more areas, recognising the geography of Scotland and balancing this with the needs of those with mental health issues and there needs to be more awareness from GPs of mental health issues and their impact on patients. Improved patient involvement in referral processes is vital.

Occupational Segregation:

Women are calling for recognition that women who work part-time, or who are unable to work beyond standard working hours, are no less committed or able to do their jobs; public bodies, such as the Scottish Parliament, Scottish government, NHS Scotland and others to put measures in place to create a 'talent pipeline' of women.

This will encourage support women to progress within their organisation. Women who are part of this scheme should be guaranteed that their jobs will be protected should they take time off to have a family, or require to work flexibly.

Political Representation:

All the political parties should put measures in place which ensure that equal numbers of women and men are encouraged to stand for election and following elections, political parties should publish gender specific statistics, with regards to the number of women seeking election and the number of successful candidates.

Publication of this information would not only show the percentage of women elected, but would help to identify gaps in representation.

Primary Healthcare Services:

Women want to see a unified approach to primary healthcare across Scotland so that all patients, regardless of where they live, are able to access an appointment within a timescale specific to their need, and the provision of information regarding appointment systems in all GP surgeries, as well as materials advising of referral and waiting times for various procedures.

Public Life:

In order to encourage gender equality on public boards, positions must be advertised where they are visible to women; organisations must consider when and where they hold meetings, taking into account women's working lives, caring responsibilities, where they live and the availability of transport in their area; anda framework should be put in place so that women who are already in these positions can act as mentors to others.

Skills and Training:

Parliament must encourage schools and careers advice services to promote all MAs to young women, particularly those which are at present mostly undertaken by young men; ensure that both societal and financial value is attributed to MAs in which women predominate; and re-instate part-time college places, across a variety of subjects, in order to allow women to enter into further education or build on existing skills.

Transport and Housing:

There needs to be an integrated system of safe, affordable, reliable public transport should be created. Particular focus is required on the difficulties faced by women in rural areas – a decent transport system would have a positive impact on their lives.

The stigma of living in social housing needs to be removed, making social housing a viable option for families and not a last resort, and more engagement within communities is needed when building more houses, so properties suit the needs of those who will live in them.

Violence Against Women and Girls:

Services which support women who have experienced violence and abuse need to be fully funded, without fear of reduction or removal of resources. Particular consideration must be given to the stretch on capacity in rural areas.

The unique challenges faced by BME women attempting to access VAWG services must be recognised, with advocacy and interpretive services being made available to assist them.

More public campaigns around specific aspects of VAWG are necessary. These should raise awareness and educate all aspects of society about the issues.

Young Carers:

There needs to be meaningful engagement and consultation with young carers and where appropriate, the people they care for, so that the next Young Carers Strategy for Scotland is created with their best interests at its heart.

We need to ensure that when powers over carers' benefits are devolved to Holyrood, there is a particular recognition that young carers will need additional financial support in order to enter into and sustain education or employment.

For despite a number of positive efforts across the political spectrum, women continue to face barriers and discrimination, which leads to an unequal and ultimately unfair society.

The issues that confront women on a daily basis cannot be tackled unless policy and decision makers listen to and take into account women's views, experiences and ideas. The SWC therefore calls on all political parties to:

Fully consider the gender impact of their manifesto commitments;

Engage with grassroots women to ensure that policy decisions do not have an adverse impact on them, their families and communities as a whole; and

Take into account the unique geography of Scotland and be aware of the diverse and varied issues faced by women in urban areas and in remote, rural and super sparse parts of the country.

To read the full manifesto, click here. Read it and pass it on!

Click here to register to vote on 5 May. You need to be registered by 15 April.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

EPakistanNews.com

JS Bank Inaugurates First International Branch in Bahrain

Posted: 28 Mar 2016 05:58 AM PDT

Business News : After successfully having strong footing within Pakistan with 278 branches across 138 cities, JS bank is set to conquer globally as well. JS Bank has officially opened its first...

For More Visit http://EPakistanNews.com

Monday, March 28, 2016

EPakistanNews.com

Tension grips Islamabad as protesters enter Red Zone
Lahore Blast in Gulshan e Iqbal Park
Lahore Bomb Blast in Park – Death Toll Rises to 35

Tension grips Islamabad as protesters enter Red Zone

Posted: 27 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PDT

Police fired tear gas on Sunday at thousands of stone-throwing supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, a month after he was hanged for killing a provincial governor for alleged blasphemy. The supporters of Qadri...

For More Visit http://EPakistanNews.com

Lahore Blast in Gulshan e Iqbal Park

Posted: 27 Mar 2016 09:02 AM PDT

Lahore News – A suicide blast attack hits the Lahore Gulshan e Iqbal Park on Sunday due to which over 50 people died and 200 people injured on Sunday, E Pakistan News Reported. A suicide blast...

For More Visit http://EPakistanNews.com

Lahore Bomb Blast in Park – Death Toll Rises to 35

Posted: 27 Mar 2016 08:47 AM PDT

Lahore Blast News Updates – A suicide blast reported in crowded park in Lahore on Sunday due to which at least 35 people were killed and scores of others were wounded, E Pakistan News...

For More Visit http://EPakistanNews.com