Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 29 Mar 2016 02:14 PM PDT
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,  |
| Women’s manifesto for Scottish elections Posted: 29 Mar 2016 09:08 AM PDT
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.  |
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