Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 18 Apr 2016 03:13 PM PDT
At the start of National Stalking Awareness Week a campaign has been launched calling for tougher measures to be taken against stalkers. Stalking is a pattern of repeated and persistent unwanted behaviour that is intrusive and engenders fear. It is when one person becomes fixated or obsessed with another and the attention is unwanted. Threats may not be made, but victims may still feel scared. Importantly, threats are not required for the criminal offence of stalking to be prosecuted. On 5 December 2015 the Home Office announced an 8-week consultation on the Stalking Protection Order which they are planning to introduce to tackle stalking in England and Wales. But, campaigners say, what is important is that there is a register for serial perpetrators and that there are new orders that place a positive obligation on stalkers to change their behaviour, just like sex offenders. But currently there is no existing framework to do this. Police rely on victims to report multiple crimes and often it is the victim who is forced to modify and change their behaviour, flee their homes and disappear themselves to stay safer online and offline. This needs to change and the focus must be on the perpetrator – the stalker. This must be included if we are to better protect victims of stalking and shift the focus to the perpetrator. The Women's Equality Party (WE) and the national stalking advocacy service Paladin are calling for immediate action to reduce the risk to women, and are campaigning for ring-fenced funding for stalking support services, specialist-led training for criminal justice professionals, perpetrator treatment and a register for serial stalkers. WE is now working with singer Lily Allen and Paladin to campaign for prevention, protection and justice for the thousands of women that are stalked every year. One in five women will suffer stalking in their lifetime, which, WE’s party leader and London mayoral candidate Sophie Walker explained, is why WE is calling for a new, joined-up approach to stopping this crime. “As Lily’s story illustrates," Walker said, "the justice system still does not fully understand stalking behaviours and risks. “Lily carefully reported every single incident and collected evidence, but the police failed to join up the dots. The founder and director of Paladin, Laura Richards, said: “One of the key challenges with stalking is that, taken in isolation, behaviours might seem unremarkable. "However, in particular circumstances and with repetition, they take on a more sinister meaning. “This is why it is so important to understand the history and totality of what has been happening, rather than just the 'incident' reported. "Stalkers steal lives and take lives – early identification, assessment and management is crucial in stalking cases.” Lily Allen bravely told the Observer recently about her seven-year ordeal with a stranger-stalker and the insidious and terrifying nature of this crime, and how the police did not help. The campaign is calling for people to share Lily’s story, and their own, on social media with the hashtags #jointhedots #joinWE to raise awareness of the problem. As many as 700,000 women experience stalking every year. Tackling stalking requires a joined-up approach and by joining the campaigners, you will help push the issue up the political agenda. Paladin has set up an online petition calling for a Stalkers Register, similar to the sex offenders register. To find out more about the campaign to end the crime of stalking, visit the Join the Dots page. “As with many other forms of violence, these are not isolated incidents but a structural violence perpetrated against women” Walker said. “As we have seen with Lily’s case, the police minimised her experience and denied Lily the support she deserved, failing to effectively manage the risk to her and her family, and ultimately weakening the case against the perpetrator.” To find out more or seek support, visit the National Stalking Helpline. To find out how else to support the campaign for a Serial Perpetrator Register and Order, click here. Paladin also has a helpline: 0207 840 8960.  |
| Posted: 18 Apr 2016 02:35 PM PDT
If a person’s behaviour towards you is persistent and clearly unwanted, causing you fear, harassment or anxiety, then it is stalking and you should not have to live with it. Did you know: Stalking affects 1 in 6 women and 1 in 12 men at some point in their lives; 80 per cent of people are stalked by someone they know; and Stalking was made a criminal offence in Scotland in 2010 and in England and Wales in November 2012. To help raise awareness of the support available to people affected by stalking, Avon and Somerset Constabulary has been among those taking part in the Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s National Stalking Awareness Week campaigns. During last year's campaign – 'Is this stalking' – the Suzy Lamplugh Trust released a video to give people a clearer understanding of stalking and dispel myths and misunderstandings which have built up around it. 'Is this stalking?' is a question people should feel able to ask themselves and their loved ones if they are receiving unwanted attention. It is also a question for those persistent individuals who often try and convince themselves their behaviour is acceptable. And Avon and Somerset Constabulary are supporting the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to highlight the issue this Week too. There are a number of steps you can take if you think you are experiencing stalking; keeping a record of what happened; recording how the suspect looked and sounded; keeping copies of letters, text messages, emails and take screen shots of social media/other online messages (eg on Facebook); and keeping your apps and any online profiles secure is vital. A recent study by the Trust revealed that stalking is a crime that remains vastly under-reported. Research has shown that on average some victims of stalking experience over 100 incidents before contacting the police. The study also showed that training and support services across police services in the country are underfunded and need to be improved, with only around a quarter of forces having specialised services available to victims. David Tucker, crime and criminal justice lead for the College of Policing, said: "The College is supporting forces to be more effective in protecting and safeguarding people who may be at risk of harm. "We have developed a comprehensive course delivered to recruits and new investigators that addresses a range of public protection issues, including stalking and harassment. “In the coming months, we will be publishing new guidance on stalking and harassment. It updates the existing version to reflect changes in legislation and emerging knowledge about the experience of victims and the behaviour of perpetrators.” Avon and Somerset Constabulary wants to reassure people that their police will take action when reports are made and encourages more people to come forward; Avon and Somerset Constabulary officers and staff are trained to access risk and support you throughout the investigation. If you are a victim of stalking, Avon and Somerset Constabulary's advice page has details on ways you can contact them, including an online reporting form. The National Stalking Helpline – 0808 802 0300 (9:30-16:00 weekdays except Wednesday 13:00-16:00) – provides guidance and information to anybody who is currently or has previously been affected by harassment or stalking. If you feel a person’s behaviour is putting you in immediate danger, call 999 straight away.  |
| Posted: 18 Apr 2016 04:17 AM PDT
By Natasha Turner. I'm sitting in a café at McLaren headquarters with Katie Lawrence. Surrounding us are some of the fastest cars in the world. They are displayed on glassy pristine floors under meticulous lighting. Men walk by in smart suits or mucky overalls and brush non-existent flecks of dust off the cars as they pass. Beyond a wall of windows is a vast lake. It is all very James Bond, even for Woking. Petite and softly spoken, Lawrence might not be what people expect when they picture a motorsport engineer, but the 27 year-old has been running the show from the McLaren pit-lanes for five years. "Sometimes people are a bit shocked when a woman engineer turns up," she says, unphased. "But once I show them that I know my stuff, all the stereotypes go out the window." She certainly isn't going to let a little thing like gender stereotyping get in the way of working her way up the McLaren chain of command. Six months ago Lawrence was promoted to senior track engineer in the commercial side of the McLaren empire. She oversees a team of seven that will be racing McLaren's new £2 million supercar – a fast and expensive limited edition race car produced for private buyers – that Lawrence herself spent most of last year developing. She oversaw all aspects of the manufacture from designing and making car parts to testing it once it had been assembled. There are six races planned for the slick yellow supercar – an image of which continually flashes up on a screen behind us – including tracks in Mexico and California. "It's great to be able to travel all over the world in this job," says Lawrence, "but it's not as glamorous as it seems on TV." The unglamorous side of things become clear when Lawrence tells me about a race she worked at last year in Germany. This track, a 25km circuit south of Cologne, is one of the world's toughest. On the Thursday before the race was set to take place, the driver hit a hare on the track's fastest corner and destroyed the front of the car. With Saturday's race looming, the team had just hours to rebuild the car from scratch. "We slept for nine hours in total over a four-day weekend," says Lawrence. Exhilaration flashes across her face, even as she recalls the weary looks of her sleep-deprived colleagues. Teamwork and the adrenaline rush of working in a high-pressure environment are what motivate her. Accidents like that happen frequently and when they do it is all hands on deck. The job of a race engineer involves everything from planning races, to developing car parts, to picking up a spanner or a cable tie in order to build or rebuild a car. Most Formula 1 and other race engineers will have a degree in mechanical or motorsport engineering and will work their way up in the industry through different teams on the grid. Lawrence took a less traditional route. She studied mathematics at Royal Holloway for her first degree and then took a master's degree in aeronautics at Imperial College London. Lawrence's work ethic is impressive. After completing a year-long graduate scheme at McLaren Racing, the company paid for her to take a part-time management master's degree at Kingston University. She worked 8.30am-5.30pm during the week and attend lectures 9am-6pm on the weekends that she wasn't racing. Before work she would commute an hour from Wandsworth – where she lived before moving to Guilford – to do circuits in the McLaren gym at 7am. After work she stayed late to study. Her life sounds a lot like all work and no play. "Motorsport is a lifestyle," says Lawrence. "Everyone in the industry eats, sleeps and breaths race cars. It doesn't affect your work-life balance when your hobby is your work." Nothing in Lawrence's life is merely a hobby. Her second passion after race cars is riding, where she has competed at a national level. At 16 she represented England in a dressage championship in Ireland. "I do normal stuff as well," she quickly adds. "I like going to the cinema and watching rubbish TV like the Big Bang Theory." Relaxation comes in the form of visits to the family farm, which is roughly eight miles outside of Canterbury. Her mother is a barmaid and her father is the all-round village handyman. Her younger brother works on the farm. Lawrence was the first in the family to study a subject other than agriculture. "It's a small town where everyone knows each other," she says. "When I come back everyone asks me if they can have a go in a Formula 1 car." Lawrence finished her management degree last January and was awarded a distinction. With her weekends back and her new promotion, Lawrence jokes that she will now have lots of free time to enjoy. Having been extremely career-focused for so many years, it is now time for her to sit back and enjoy the ride. Box-out: Qualifications: A higher degree in some form of engineering that includes a work placement year. This will usually be a MEng. Formula Student is a university scheme that builds knowledge and contacts in the industry. Apprenticeships and/or graduate programmes are highly recommended. Salary Scale: £35,000 – £40,000 Hours: "It varies. Leading up to a race the hours are really long but my core hours are 8.30am – 5.30pm." Best thing: "I developed an entire car in a year. A £2 million supercar. That's pretty cool." Worst thing: "You don't know what you'll be working on and sometimes you'll be in all night. We've done tests where we've worked 20-hour days for a week."  |
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