Women's Views on News |
| Remembering all victims of enforced disappearances Posted: 31 Aug 2016 02:49 PM PDT
UN Women was one of many organisations and parties that issued a statement for the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 30 August. Enforced disappearance has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole. Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and is not restricted to a specific region of the world. Once largely the product of military dictatorships, enforced disappearances can nowadays be perpetrated in complex situations of internal conflict, especially as a means of political repression of opponents. Of particular concern are: the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders, relatives of victims, witnesses and legal counsel dealing with cases of enforced disappearance; the use by States of counter-terrorist activities as an excuse for breaching their obligations; and the still widespread impunity for enforced disappearance. While no exact figures exist, the overwhelming majority of reported cases of disappearances are men. This means women make up the majority of those left behind to search for the missing person, pick up the pieces and cope with the economic and emotional consequences of the disappeared. Indeed, it is precisely because men have been the primary victims of this crime that the gendered impacts of enforced disappearances have for so long remained unnoticed. However, when research conducted by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and supported by UN Women, was published last year it revealed clearly how female relatives of the disappeared, in contexts as diverse as Kashmir and Guatemala, experience social and economic discrimination as a result of, or aggravated by, the loss of a male family member. In at least 80 countries around the world, tens of thousands of individuals have been disappeared in contexts of conflict or repression. These enforced disappearances are typically used to eliminate political opponents in secrecy, without witnesses, survivors, or physical evidence. Relatives and targeted communities are left in fear and uncertainty, risking abuses themselves when they search for the truth about the fate of their missing loved ones. The 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance identifies both the disappeared and their family members as victims of enforced disappearance. This has important consequences for women, who comprise the minority of the disappeared but the majority of family members who suffer exacerbated social, economic, and psychological disadvantages as a result of the loss of a male family member who is often a breadwinner. And world-wide women have been and are taking the lead in movements to push for investigations and an end to impunity. UNWomen, commemorating the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August this year, wanted to celebrate women's perseverance and strength under these circumstances, and mark several important gains in addressing this crime. The recent conclusion of a peace agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army (FARC) includes an agreement specifically to address the question of the missing, calling for the establishment of a specialised unit to investigate the whereabouts of those disappeared. Similarly, with renewed efforts towards transitional justice in Sri Lanka, an Office of Missing Persons will be established to investigate the disappearance of more than 20,000 people in that country's civil war. But more remains to be done to address the inequalities that underpin women's experiences of human rights violations during conflict, including enforced disappearances. Many states do not have legal categories that recognise the missing, meaning that women are forced to choose between giving up hope and declaring their husband or family member dead, or enduring daily administrative battles as a result of a system that does not recognise them. This can include struggles to access bank accounts in the name of the disappeared, obtain identity documents for children, retain custody of children, claim inheritance, and eventually perhaps to remarry. And the emotional turmoil and uncertainty is compounded by material deprivation. Those who eventually choose to declare their husbands dead report feeling tremendous guilt and shame, and a sense that they are extinguishing the remaining vestiges of hope. Responding to this dilemma, Argentina, followed by countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile and Peru, has created a separate legal category of "absent by enforced disappearance", which enables women to inherit property, hold title to land, and access the material support needed to rebuild their lives. Yet these gains are few in comparison to the number of new cases in this past year and the thousands of families that remain without knowing the truth, seeing justice done, or the with no means to cope with the impact of the disappearance of their loved ones. UN Women has made clear that it stands in solidarity with the families of the disappeared, in particular with the grandmothers, mothers, wives and daughters across the globe, who have led the fight for answers, and whose enduring advocacy and pursuit of justice, accountability, truth and redress have placed a human face on hope and led to significant steps forward in addressing the gendered dimensions of this crime. And with them UN Women call for steps that can determine the fate of their loved ones and bring an end to impunity.  |
| Why are doctors striking again? Posted: 31 Aug 2016 02:27 PM PDT
by NHAspace. The BMA are planning a further series of walkouts, this time stretching to five consecutive walkouts each month and from 8am-5pm on those days. But why are doctors still unhappy? NHAspace looks at some of the reasons. 1 – The contract still isn’t fair. There are some serious problems with the contract that Jeremy Hunt is imposing, including poor treatment of pregnant women and parents who work part-time. The latest version of the contract pretends to fix these, but the fix is time-limited so that future doctors will suffer. Hunt is treating the contract like a broadband contract, offering a good deal initially but a bad one in the long run. Doctors who care about their future colleagues aren’t about to sell them out. 2 – The government is slashing the NHS. Groups such as the NHA have been aware of the Sustainability and Transformation Plans hospital closure plans for several months. Now that these ‘secret plans’ are finally being reported in the media, you can be certain that every doctor is aware of the latest hatchet job being performed on the NHS. 3 – Whistleblowers are still being punished. The Chris Day case highlighted the fact that doctors in training posts have no whistleblowing protection and could lose their careers just for speaking up. The BMA has made some headway by asking Health Education England to acknowledge their duty as a de facto employer, but you can expect doctors to push for a cast iron commitment to whistleblower protection. 4 – The government are privatising the NHS. The Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) hospital closure plans will create huge gaps in England’s healthcare system; gaps which the private health companies will be happy to fill – for a fee. Healthcare is already being rationed – ask anyone applying for routine surgery that requires ‘funding approval’ – but the STPs will take us to the point where co-payments and top-up health insurance become the norm. This isn’t what today’s doctors signed up for. Read more about privatisation: 5 forms of NHS privatisation you should know about. 5 – Everybody hates Jeremy Hunt. By inviting Jeremy Hunt to continue as Health Secretary, Theresa May has shown a lack of respect for medical professionals. But in all honesty, Hunt is just a figurehead. The gradual sell-off of the NHS and mistreatment of its workforce is a core Conservative policy, both due to the party’s ideology and their ties with corporate party donors, many of whom own shares in private healthcare. Doctors will express their anger at Hunt, but of course the problem goes much deeper. A version of this article appeared on NHAspace, a blog for and about the National Health Action Party, a political party that formed in 2012 in response to the Health & Social Care Act., on 31 August 2016.  |
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