Women's Views on News

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 02:31 PM PDT

Bank signs up to TUC's charter for helping terminally ill workers.

Santander Bank recently added its name to a now growing list of businesses supporting a new charter aimed at helping employees who become terminally ill at work.

Dying to Work has been taken forward by the Trade Unions Congress, the TUC, following the case of Jacci Woodcock, a 58 year-old sales manager from Derbyshire, who was forced out of her job after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

The TUC is asking employers to sign up to its voluntary charter to stop cases like Jacci Woodcock's happening in the future.

The charter is part of the TUC's wider Dying to Work campaign which is seeking greater security for terminally ill workers through a 'protected period' where they cannot be dismissed as a result of their condition.

Santander is the latest high-profile employer to sign up to the Dying to Work Voluntary Charter, following in the footsteps of companies such as E.On, Legal and General, and Carillion Rail.

Among those attending the signing were Barbara Hobday, Santander's Employee Relations, Policy and Change Director; Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary; Linda Rolph, General Secretary, Advance, and Debbie Cort, CWU Telecoms & Financial Services Executive.

The TUC's Dying to Work Voluntary Charter states the following:

1 – We recognise that terminal illness requires support and understanding and not additional and avoidable stress and worry.

2 – Terminally ill workers will be secure in the knowledge that we will support them following their diagnosis and we recognise that safe and reasonable work can help maintain dignity, offer a valuable distraction and can be therapeutic in itself.

3 – We will provide our employees with the security of work, peace of mind and the right to choose the best course of action for themselves and their families which helps them through this challenging period with dignity and without undue financial loss.

4 – We support the TUC's Dying to Work campaign so that all employees battling terminal illness have adequate employment protection and have their death in service benefits protected for the loved ones they leave behind.

"Having a terminal illness does not just affect the person who has been diagnosed with the condition – it affects their family and friends also," Linda Rolph said.

"People with such illnesses are faced with the heart-breaking task of having to make plans for their loved ones for after they are gone.

"Dying to Work encourages the employers of individuals in this position to give them the help and support that they need in this difficult time.

"By giving peace of mind through the provision of financial security whilst also being sensitive to the unique workplace needs of people with terminal illnesses, this gives these people dignity and respect at a time when they need it most.

"I am pleased to see that Santander has subscribed to this important charter."

The TUC’s Deputy General Secretary, Paul Nowak, said: "Worrying about your job should be the least of your concerns when you receive a terminal diagnosis.

"We are delighted that Santander have committed to sign up to the TUC's Dying to Work Charter.

"More than 60,000 employees across the country are now covered by the charter.

"There is real momentum behind the campaign as we work to secure the dignity and protection that all terminally ill workers deserve.

"Over the coming months we expect more companies to follow Santander's lead and commit to the charter as we take the Dying to Work campaign into more workplaces."

Other employers to sign up to the charter include Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Harrow Council and Nottinghamshire County Council; Nottingham City Homes; The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company; Southport & Ormskirk NHS Trust and AB Produce.

"Supporting colleagues through terminal illness is something we take very seriously at Santander and we fully endorse the TUC's initiative to ensure protection and peace of mind at this most difficult time," Barbara Hobday said.

"We are proud to be the first bank in the UK to sign up to the TUC's charter."

More information about the TUC’s Dying to Work campaign can be found here.

Stop the objectification of women

Posted: 17 Oct 2016 02:24 PM PDT

Prostitution, whether forced or "voluntary," cannot fit [any] definition of decent work.

In September and October 2016, UN Women ran a consultation on "sex work, the sex trade and prostitution".

This is the text of the submission that Nordic Model Now! made to that consultation jointly with 13 other UK-based groups that work for women's rights and development, and/or to resist the objectification of women and girls, and male violence against women and children.

Terminology:

We reject the terms "sex work" and "sex worker" because they confuse and obscure the reality.

"Sex work" covers activities from lap dancing and phone line work, to the intimate contact of prostitution.

Those who style themselves "sex workers" may not have experienced prostitution as such, but have dabbled in phone or dominatrix work, or be pimps or brothel keepers.

Invariably these are the voices that dominate the debates, and even determine policies, and not the vulnerable and marginalised women and girls who are the majority in prostitution.

The term "sex work" suggests prostitution is service work, like waitressing.

"Service" is defined as "the action of helping or doing work for someone."

Being paid to be penetrated, to endure a stranger ejaculating on you, and other core components of prostitution are not helping or active work.

Rather it is being used as an object for someone else's gratification.

This is the brutal reality of prostitution – it is neither work nor service.

Question 1: The 2030 Agenda commits to universality, human rights and leaving nobody behind. How do you interpret these principles in relation to sex work/trade or prostitution?

The Agenda aims to ensure "all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment" and is based on international human rights (HR) treaties:

"10. The new Agenda is guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including full respect for international law. It is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), international human rights treaties…"

The protection of human dignity is a cornerstone of the UDHR and other HR treaties:

The 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of Prostitution states that "prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community."

Article 6 of CEDAW explicitly prohibits the exploitation of prostitution of women:

"States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women."

The Palermo Protocol asserts an obligation to address the poverty and inequality that make women and children vulnerable to trafficking and to address the demand for prostitution that drives sex trafficking.

It also makes clear that the essential feature of sex trafficking is third-party involvement in someone else's prostitution and that consent is irrelevant when the person is under 18 or when any of the following means have been used:

"threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation"

These treaties consider prostitution a violation of the human rights of the individual and of all women to equality with men.

Moreover the prohibition of the "exploitation of the prostitution" of another implicitly prohibits pimping, procuring and brothel keeping – key aspects of the sex trade.

Evidence supports the harms of prostitution. For example:

A study conducted by UCL found that "violence is a prominent feature in the lives of sex workers in almost all sex work settings"; "a single year of engagement in sex work is likely to have the same impact on mental health as an entire life of experiences prior to involvement in sex work"; and "Social exclusion is the leading cause of entrance into sex work and exclusion is often deepened as a result of engaging in sex work."

A UN multi-country study found that men perpetrating rape of non-partners and/or violence against intimate partners are associated with prostitution buying. Studies of prostitution buyers have found they are more likely to commit rape and other aggressive sexual acts. In addition, the contempt they have for women is borne out by survivor testimony and research on punter forums.

Prostitution involves a series of male strangers penetrating the woman's vagina and anus, often with violent and prolonged thrusting. This can lead to infection with HIV and other STIs and injuries to the reproductive and other internal organs, which can cause sterility, problems in pregnancy, and long-term ill-health.

Since prostitution itself causes harm, positioning "voluntary" prostitution as fundamentally different from forced prostitution is misguided.

Any policy that legitimises or normalises prostitution inevitably leads to its increase, and therefore causes more women and girls to be "left behind," more male violence against women and girls (MVAWG), and deeper gender inequality.

The treaties underpinning the 2030 Agenda place binding obligations on UN Women, as a UN agency, to oppose any trivialisation of prostitution and to work towards its elimination.

To comply with these obligations, UN Women therefore has a duty to:

1 – Avoid using the terms "sex work" and "sex worker" because they trivialise and normalise abuse.

2 – Oppose decriminalising pimping, procuring, and brothel keeping.

3 – Oppose criminalising prostituted persons.

4 – Support criminalising prostitution buyers.

Question 2: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out to achieve gender equality and to empower all women and girls.

The SDGs also include several targets pertinent to women's empowerment, such as a) reproductive rights b) women's ownership of land and assets c) building peaceful and inclusive societies d) ending the trafficking of women e) eliminating violence against women. How do you suggest that policies on sex work/trade/ prostitution can promote such targets and objectives?

Prostitution, whether forced or "voluntary," is harmful to the individual, contributes to MVAWG generally, and tends to entrench individual women's disadvantage and all women's inequality.

Any policy that legitimises prostitution leads to its increase and works against the SDGs.

SDG 8 calls for decent work for women (8.5) and safe and secure working environments for all with particular attention to women migrants (8.8).

Page 33 of the UN Secretary General's Leave No one Behind report defines decent work as follows:

"productive work for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Decent work involves opportunities for productive work, delivers a fair income, guarantees equal opportunities and equal treatment for all, provides security in the workplace and protection for workers and their families, offers better prospects for personal development and social inclusion…"

Prostitution, whether forced or "voluntary," cannot fit this definition of decent work.

Sex trafficking is driven by the vast profits that can be made because ordinary men pay to buy women and girls for sex, and legislation against it is often ineffective.

Even under legalised regimes, ruthless organised criminal gangs control large swathes of the sex industry.

This is also true in the UK where enforcement of laws against pimping and brothel keeping is lax.

We support the conclusions of the European Parliament study on Prostitution and its Impact on Gender Equality that laws against sex buying that rely on consent are ineffective; the notion of vulnerability should be treated in a wide sense when assessing whether victims meet the definition of trafficking; and the definition of vulnerability should include poverty and deprivation.

We therefore believe that UN Women policies must conform to the points set out in response to Question 1 and call for:

1 – Legislation against trafficking that conforms to the Palermo Protocol.

2 – Pimping, procuring, and brothel keeping to be criminalised and effectively policed, with penalties that reflect the harm they cause.

3 – Prostituted persons to be decriminalised and provided with well-funded holistic services to help them exit.

4 – Measures to address women's poverty and inequality, including equal education and decent, safe, healthy and productive employment.

5 – Prostitution buyers to be criminalised and effectively policed to reduce the demand that leads to sex trafficking.

6 – Public education about the harms of prostitution.

Question 3: The sex trade is gendered. How best can we protect women in the trade from harm, violence, stigma and discrimination?

We reject UNAIDS' advice that decriminalising the entire sex trade is the best way to ensure prostituted persons have access to healthcare and support:

We note that Alejandra Gil, Vice President of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) has been jailed for 15 years for sex trafficking and that the NSWP under her leadership was appointed co-chair of UNAIDS and advised on its policy. We believe that this alone justifies UNAIDS revisiting its policy;

Evidence from New Zealand and Germany suggests that in practice full decriminalisation of the sex trade reduces the negotiating position of the woman and therefore makes the use of condoms less, not more, likely;

Decriminalising the entire sex trade legitimises prostitution and therefore increases the amount that takes place and the number of women and girls being drawn into and harmed by it.

Prostituted persons should be decriminalised and afforded full access to healthcare, justice, support and condoms. While condoms reduce the risk of transmission of infections, they do not stop the other physical and mental health risks associated with prostitution.

Prostitution can never be safe (regardless where it takes place) or meet the definition of "decent work."

Therefore efforts must be focused on reducing prostitution; providing services to help those in it to build a life outside; addressing women and children's poverty; and ensuring that education and decent employment is available to women.

Research in Norway and Sweden shows that the Nordic Model has reduced human trafficking and the amount of prostitution, with a decrease in violence against the women. It has therefore reduced the harm overall.

The stigma associated with prostitution is intrinsic to its nature – so the best way to eradicate stigma is to eradicate the practice itself.

For information about the other 13 groups who supported this response to the consultation, click here.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

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