Women's Views on News |
| Police attend ‘honour-killing’ awareness day Posted: 12 Aug 2016 05:48 AM PDT
In the last five years an estimated 60 young women have been murdered in the UK in the name of 'honour' – and a further 12,000 have been the victims of 'honour' crimes which include both beatings and abductions. Last year, the Forced Marriage Unit, a task force comprised of staff from the Foreign Office and the Home Office and set up to deal with the issue, reported that it dealt with 1,220 cases, taking an average of 350 calls a month. Calls which came from many different communities in the UK. The Metropolitan Police Service (the Met) in London, working in partnership with the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO), recently held an awareness session with police officers to discuss the challenges around identifying and tackling the problem of forced marriage and honour based abuse of young girls and women. Around 35 officers from various departments in the Met attended the event aimed at helping them get a better understanding of the issues and how best to uncover these often hidden crimes. During the session, a screening of the BBC film 'Murdered By My Father' was presented to officers, and they were given a chance to discuss its content. In an interview with the Radio Times about this TV drama, one of the advisors for the BBC film, Derby-born Jasvinder Sanghera said: “Nazir Afzal from the Crown Prosecution Service said a while ago that we have no idea how many unmarked graves there are in Britain, let alone the girls who are taken abroad, because their parents obviously don’t report them missing. “And sadly, the NHS reports that for South Asian women born in Britain between 16 and 24 years old, the suicide and self-harm rate is three to four times higher than national average for the UK. “I understand that statistic because the victims are so isolated because they internalise that guilt and shame.” Sanghera ran away at the age of 15 to escape forced marriage and was then disowned by her Sikh family. After one of her older sisters, trapped in an abusive forced marriage, killed herself, Sanghera set up the charity Karma Nirvana to support victims in similar situations. "When people say ‘forced marriage a cultural thing, it's their problem, we shouldn’t get involved’, what I say is this; ‘I was born in Britain, I want to be afforded the same level of protection to my white counterparts," Sanghera said. "It cannot be right that so many girls go missing each year in the summer holidays, the time when young people get taken out of this country and forced into marriages. "Why is it that when we go missing the same questions are not asked about us as they are of my white counterparts? It's the attitude of ‘oh it's cultural’, but I expect people to take abuse for what it is — abuse." Along with the discussion about the film, IKWRO's advice team gave the officers practical advice on how to identify a potential victim and highlighted the ‘dos and don’ts’ in cases of honour based violence. Police officers have an important role to play in identifying victims. Whenever they attend a domestic incident they need to think, could this be a result of honour based abuse or being forced into marriage? Officers were also advised not to discuss the incident with the victim around the family members, as they are often the ones involved. They were also reminded to keep an eye out for any siblings who might be potential victims in the future. These situations are very sensitive and support from partner agencies like IKWRO are very important. Last year, IKWRO alone received calls from around 2,500 women, girls and professionals. They also assisted 800 women through intensive one-to-one casework. The Met received just 79 reports about forced marriages in 2015-16. IKWRO supports women and girls through advice, advocacy, making effective referrals, training and one-to-one and group professional counselling. The advice team speaks seven community languages as well as English and counselling is provided in Arabic, Kurdish, Farsi and English. Below are just some of the signs which might indicate that someone is facing or is already a victim of forced marriage: Domestic abuse or rape; But this is not just a London-based problem, and anyone can help to raise alarm if they feel something untoward is happening to a young women or child. Anyone with information or concerns relating to forced marriages or honour based abuse are asked to contact the police via 101, or can call 0800 555 111 – Crimestoppers – if they want to call for help anonymously. Anyone who is being directly threatened should call 999. Forced marriage is not the same as an arranged marriage which is a cultural practice, which is not unlawful, and takes place with the consent of both spouses. Detective Constable Christine Roberts, the organiser of the event, said: “It is clear this issue is being under-reported but simply contacting the police isn't that straightforward for victims who are faced with a dilemma of going against their family. If it is not fear that stops them, it's a sense of betrayal. “We want to make it clear to young girls and women who are being subjected to honour base abuse or being forced into a marriage, it is a crime and we are here to help and protect you.”  |
| Khan takes first steps against gender pay gap Posted: 12 Aug 2016 05:35 AM PDT
The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has been living up to his promise to be a “proud feminist” at City Hall. Sadiq Khan has been in office as the Mayor of London barely three months, but he is already leading the way in trying to achieve gender equality in the workplace. During his campaign to replace Boris Johnson as the Mayor of London earlier this year, Khan put gender equality and the safety of women and girls at the centre of his manifesto. He pledged that closing the pay gap between men and women would be a priority for him and that he wanted to increase police presence on public transport in the capital to help tackle sexual harassment and assault. Refreshingly, Khan is already making good his promises, and last month he published City Hall's first-ever gender pay gap audit. The audit found that there was a pay gap of 4.6 per cent at City Hall, with women working full-time earning an average of £21.40 an hour compared to their male counterparts' average wage of £22.44. While more than half of City's Hall workforce is comprised of women, and two fifths of employees being paid £60,000 or more are female, less than a third of those earning more than £100,000 in March 2016 – before Khan became mayor – were women. Khan wants other employers in the capital to follow suit and commit to closing the gender pay gap, which falls at 12 per cent for full-time workers in London and 23 per cent overall. For women to be earning almost a quarter less than men in 2016 is an outrage, especially when the cost of living in London continues to rise to obscene amounts, and Khan is right to make tackling this a priority. As he said, "it is unacceptable that in London, one of the world's greatest and most progressive cities, someone's pay and career prospects can still be defined by their gender". As part of his strategy, the mayor has launched an action plan for full pay equality throughout the Greater London Authority (GLA), which includes Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police Service, who are expected to undertake their own audits like that carried out by City Hall. Khan said: "I have vowed to be a proud feminist at City Hall, and I am determined to make the GLA a model employer that removes any barriers to women by adopting the highest possible standards for fair pay, good working conditions and gender equality." Within City Hall there are plans to increase part-time and flexible-working options and to offer help with career progression, as well as mentoring, career-support programmes and sponsorship for qualifications. Managers are also going to be trained to make sure the recruitment process is as fair and non-discriminatory as possible and will be trying out ‘no-name’ application forms. The leader of the Women’s Equality Party, Sophie Walker, made a good point however when she pointed out that Khan’s plans to close the gender pay gap couldn’t be wholly effective unless something was done about providing affordable childcare. The cost of childcare is an increasing problem throughout the UK and is a real problem for both parents and single parents nowadays, so hopefully Khan will take Walker’s comments on board and act on this issue too. Khan has also expressed his support for, and dedication to, the LGBT+ community in London since he was elected. Former Mayor Boris Johnson absented himself from the capital's Pride march for the last five years of his time at City Hall, but Khan pledged to review the Mayor of London's role in leading the parade, and duly carried out this promise. Khan also wants London's police force to include transgender officers. And he plans to implement gender-neutral toilets. He said: "Identity is an area that is evolving and developing, so I think you should respect people's right to choose how they want to be identified." A Mayor of London who prioritises disadvantaged groups such as women and the LGBT+ community is a long-awaited breath of fresh air, particularly in light of the current hostile and unstable wider political sphere. Khan’s actions and policies are a smart example to employers and society in general, and hopefully we will see similar positive steps being taken throughout the UK in the weeks and months to come.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |