Women's Views on News |
| One hundred days for six women’s rights Posted: 22 Jul 2016 08:03 AM PDT
The Women's Equality Party, backed by Women’s Aid, Women for Refugee Women and IC Change, has launched a campaign setting out six achievable goals for Prime Minister Theresa May to commit to by the end of her 100th day in office. With the hashtag #100daysofMay, the idea is to allow the new Prime Minister to have shown her commitment to gender equality by October 22. They are calling on May to commit to: sufficient and sustainable funding for specialist services seeking to end violence against women and girls; state-funded universal childcare from the end of parental leave at nine months; compulsory sex and relationships education in schools; a timeline for ratifying the Istanbul Convention; an end to the detention of asylum seekers and an end to the detention of pregnant migrant women at Yarl's Wood detention centre; and equal representation of women in Parliament. The campaigners intend to hold the Prime Minister to account on these six commitments with regular updates throughout the 100 days. Sophie Walker, leader of the Women's Equality Party, said: "As Home Secretary, May introduced laws to criminalise coercive and controlling behaviour, saw through significant progress in tackling FGM and early forced marriage in the UK, and called out police attitudes in dealing with cases of domestic violence and abuse. "Under her watch reporting rates for sexual violence and abuse also increased, and these gains should be celebrated," Walker continued. "But there is so much more to do, and we now are calling on May to go further as our new Prime Minister, committing to these six realistic policies that would transform the lives of women across the UK." Natasha Walter, director of Women for Refugee Women said: "Detention is traumatic for women who have fled persecution and we hope that the government, under Theresa May’s leadership, will now begin to move away from the use of indefinite detention for those seeking asylum, particularly for pregnant women and women who have fled torture, trafficking and sexual violence." ICChange campaigners have worked alongside major women's organisations since November 2014 to speed up the UK government's ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Rebecca Bunce of the IC Change campaign, said: "We have been encouraged that during Theresa May's time at the Home Office we saw significant changes to our laws to ensure we comply with the Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women, including laws on psychological violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). "Now we need to finish this work," she continued, adding: "We need a clear timetable for completion." Polly Neate, CEO Women's Aid, said: "Having worked with Theresa May during her time as Home Secretary, we know she is committed to ending violence against women. "We urge her to seize this opportunity to make a step change in both the protection of women and the prevention of domestic abuse." And as Walker pointed out, "These commitments are not hard to do; they just require the political will to create a fair and just society for women and girls." For fuller details of the campaign, click here. You can help by contacting the Prime Minister and asking her to make these six commitments.  |
| Posted: 22 Jul 2016 08:01 AM PDT
One hundred years ago the House of Commons contained no women, had only ever returned a handful of minority ethnic men and was largely filled with ‘men of independent means’. Much has changed over the last century. Yet the House remains unrepresentative and its working practices continue to reflect the traditions and preferences of Members who have historically populated it – and its membership remains disproportionately white, male and elite. The House of Commons is, then, at some distance from meeting the international democratic standard for a Good Parliament: 'truly representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective in all its functions'. And historically the House of Commons has lacked the institutional will to address issues of representation and inclusion. Members of Parliament are often regarded as individual office-holders. This can obscure a wider institutional responsibility to act. Hence, parliamentary reform is too often the result of individual MPs expending significant time and political capital. This is no longer a satisfactory state. The Good Parliament Report written and compiled by Professor Sarah Childs, of Bristol University, and launched earlier this week, presents one way for the House, as an institution, to redress its institutional deficiency. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP, established a new group of MPs, the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion, to provide the necessary political and institutional lead to deliver on The Good Parliament. Formally chaired by the Speaker, it is comprised of a small number of Members, male and female, from across the House, and with the Deputy Speakers as Acting Chairs. The recommendations in this Report are a blueprint for a more representative and inclusive House of Commons. They have the potential to significantly enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of the House. The 43 recommendations in this Report address three dimensions of the Diversity Sensitive Parliament: Dimension 1: Equality of Participation in the House: Ensuring a diverse composition and achieving equality of participation Dimension 2: Parliamentary Infrastructure: How Parliament organises itself and supports the work of Members Dimension 3: Commons Culture: Making the culture of the House of Commons more inclusive This report recommends that: The Speaker 1. Secure cross-party support for a concord regarding what constitutes unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour in the Chamber, and more widely in the House; formally restate the House's commitment to the highest standards of Member behaviour at the start of every parliamentary session; and improve sanctions against those who break the rules. The Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion 6. Publish a series of statements detailing and promoting the role and work of MPs, to both educate the public more about what it is that MPs do, and to explicitly signal the range of characteristics, skills, dispositions, and experiences relevant to the job of being an MP. The House of Commons Commission 17. Recognise the House's collective responsibility for enhancing representation and inclusion by formally taking note of the establishment of the Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion. The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities 22. Immediately commence Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 (which requires political parties to provide data relating to parliamentary candidates). The Women and Equalities Committee 24. Call the Secretary of State for Women and Equalities before the Committee regarding commencement of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010. The Leader of the House of Commons 25. Put before the House a motion to establish the Women and Equalities Committee as a permanent select committee of the House, by amending Standing Order No. 152. The Liaison Committee 28. Require the House Service to provide comprehensive and systematic diversity data in respect of select committees witnesses at the end of each session, and establish annual rolling targets for witness representativeness. The Procedure Committee 29. Ensure that House rules and structures, institutions, nomenclature and culture are diversity sensitive and inclusionary. In the context of the expected temporary decant from the Palace of Westminster for Restoration and Renewal: 33. Trial sittings of the House based around 'normal business hours'. The new Restoration and Renewal Body 36. Trial new layouts in any decant Chamber, and review provision of a new Chamber for the return to the Palace of Westminster. The Works of Art Committee 40. Abolish the '10 year dead' rule, whereby only individuals who have been dead for at least a decade are represented in the artworks in the Palace of Westminster. The Women in Parliament (WIP) All Party Parliamentary Group 42. Campaign for male MPs to sign up to #nomoreallmalepanels The Political Parties 43. Engage in various activities to increase the supply of, and demand for, diverse parliamentary candidates. The timing of this Report is highly auspicious: two 'windows of opportunity' arise in the present moment conducive to Parliamentary action. One is the centenary of the Representation of the People Act and the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act: 2018 is a timely reminder of the promise of equality in parliamentary participation and representation in the UK. The other is the 'Restoration and Renewal' programme for the Palace of Westminster, which offers an additional opportunity for the House to deliver a new vision for Parliament, and in so doing achieve international recognition as the 'gold standard' Good Parliament. By implementing this Report, Childs points out, much could be realised by the House of Commons within two years. To read the full report, click here. Please email a link to this report to your MP and ask them to support it – and #nomoreallmalepanels  |
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