Women's Views on News |
| Manifesto for London mayor candidates Posted: 30 Mar 2016 02:09 PM PDT
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
"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.  |
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