Women's Views on News |
- Anonymity, belief important in abuse cases
- Yes, men need support for domestic abuse
- E-learning raises forced marriage awareness
| Anonymity, belief important in abuse cases Posted: 14 Nov 2016 02:43 PM PST
A review has been carried out by Sir Richard Henriques, a former High Court Judge, in which he examined eight investigations, including cases from Operation Yewtree; Operation Midland and Operation Vincente, and has been published by the Metropolitan Police Service. Operation Yewtree was the investigation into abuse first by Jimmy Savile and then by others; Operation Midland investigated claims of a murderous Westminster paedophile ring, and Operation Vincente an inquiry into a separate allegation that Conservative politician Lord Brittan raped a 19 year-old woman. Henriques’ report contains 25 recommendations that are relevant to law makers and policing nationally, and it highlighted a number of what he calls 'significant failings' in Operation Midland. The 25 recommendations include saying that those who make complaints should be referred to as “complainants” and not as “victims” throughout the investigative and judicial process and that the instruction to officers to “believe a ‘victim’s’ account” should cease. Responding to this, the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), a leading coalition of women's organisations, said it was alarmed at many of the report's recommendations regarding the way the criminal justice system responds to sexual violence. Sarah Green, the End Violence Against Women Coalition's co-director, said: "We are concerned about multiple recommendations in the Henriques report, including those on anonymity for sexual offences suspects and police 'belief' of victims. “It is a misrepresentation to imply that current police practice involves police officers unconditionally believing those who report a sexual assault. “After years of extremely bad treatment of rape victims, what we're supposed to have now is police procedure where the complainant is simply treated respectfully, where police engagement with them takes their account seriously, and where the investigation is full and not subject to rape myths – basically prejudices about who "real victims" and "real perpetrators" are and how they behave. “And in reality, there can still be major problems with reaching this standard of conduct, due to inadequate training, inadequate resources and the worrying speed with which some cases are dismissed. “This style of police practice, which is comparable to the way the police would treat victims reporting other kinds of crime, is absolutely not the blanket belief which this report might imply. “The focus on victim credibility and "false allegations" in this report is harmful and unfair,” she continued. “And this at a time when an enormous social change is under way in relation to sexual violence, with never before known numbers coming forward to seek justice and more often to seek advice and counselling. “Support services like Rape Crisis have had an enormous rise in the numbers of women contacting them about assaults they have never disclosed before. “Our society has for years looked the other way and failed to support survivors or to act to prevent assaults in the first place. “As we start to turn the tide it is exactly the wrong time to fuel prejudices about the rate and likelihood of a false allegation being made. “Research shows this is absolutely not the case, and in fact rape is an extremely under reported crime related partly to the fear victims can have of being judged by those they report to.” “Finally, some of the broader police, political and social debate around rape and the justice system has become toxic. “It is sad to see some police commentary become politicised. “At a time when more survivors than ever before are seeking support, we need to be mindful of how myths are perpetuated, whose voices are being heard, and what survivors say they need. “If media reporting on rape cases were less sensationalised, and if more were done to uphold the presumption of innocence,” she pointed out, “we would be in a better place."  |
| Yes, men need support for domestic abuse Posted: 14 Nov 2016 02:31 PM PST
Women's Aid’s chief executive Polly Neate on why we can't treat men and women the same when it comes to domestic abuse: We need to encourage all victims of domestic abuse to come forward, writes Michael Malone for the Telegraph. Yes, indeed. Until we are a society in which seeking help is normal, and abuse of any kind no longer tolerated, we tacitly allow those in situations of power to exploit it. This is to the detriment – or even destruction – of those who have less power. Superficially, Michael and I agree. But the key to where we differ is in that word "power". And let me say right now, I am not pretending to support the arguments his article makes. Where we differ is where there is any notion that supporting all victims of abuse means treating them all the same. Because doing that means ignoring the causes of so much of the most deeply ingrained abuse, both in our society in the UK and across the world: unequal power, and the sense of entitlement, the tools to abuse and the protection from censure that this inequality brings. It ignores the huge part of the iceberg that is underwater – yet is the most dangerous. The centuries-old oppressions that may be concealed by good manners (sometimes) but whose pull is still irresistible today: the racism and sexism that led mostly white people and men to elect a racist and sexist President of the United States. This is a furious, overwhelming, disproportionate backlash against even the gentlest notion that their assumed superiority might be in doubt. That's why, at the tip of that iceberg, nearly half of women killed in the UK are killed by an intimate partner or former partner, compared to 6 per cent of men killed (and not all of those killed by a woman). That's why 89 per cent of victims of four or more incidents of abuse, and the overwhelming majority of victims of repeated patterns of coercion and control, are women. That's why women need to be able to flee for their lives to a refuge. But men fleeing abuse are almost never hunted down as women are – and women are often hunted with the collusion of others, and harshly punished. And that is why an average of two women a week in England and Wales are killed by a partner or ex-partner. That's why, when we talk about violence against women, the response, "but all violence is wrong" simply misses the point. Just as the response, "but all lives matter"', when made to Black Lives Matter protesters is itself racist, the riposte "treat all victims the same" is sexist. But those responses have power. I wrote about the damaging effects of so-called gender neutrality on services for women survivors of domestic abuse some time ago. The statistical arguments I made then, that show how we routinely misrepresent the true levels of violence against women in the UK, are still valid. The most recent Women's Aid survey of local domestic abuse services showed unequivocally that resources are being removed from services for women in order to create services for men. This is a twisted version of equality which ignores the realities of power, who wields it, and who is harmed by it. The survey also showed that there are more local services for male victims of domestic abuse than ever before, with at least 146 local specialist services providing specific support for them around the country. And yes, contrary to belief in some quarters, I think that's a very good thing. To listen to some men's rights activists, you would think there is no help available for men. I can only imagine this propaganda is designed to fuel a sense of victimhood. And when those who in reality have power start to feel victimised, and therefore justified in demanding change, frankly they become dangerous – as recent political developments have shown. Victimhood is not a competition. There should be help for all who need it. But by cutting services for women, lives are put at risk. Of course men need support to recover from domestic abuse. But to deny that iceberg exists, to deny the roots of the still-rising tide of violence against women in misogyny and inequality, is to turn our backs on prevention. If we don't acknowledge the cause of domestic abuse, we can never stop it. So no, don't treat men and women the same. Treat them according to their needs. A version of this article appeared on the Women’s Aid website on 11 November 2016.  |
| E-learning raises forced marriage awareness Posted: 14 Nov 2016 02:27 PM PST
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. It is an appalling and indefensible practice and is recognised in the UK as a form of violence against women and men, domestic/child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights. The pressure put on people to marry against their will can be physical – including threats, actual physical violence and sexual violence – or emotional and psychological – for example, when someone is made to feel like they're bringing shame on their family. Financial abuse – taking your wages or not giving you any money – can also be a factor. Forced marriage was made a criminal offence in 2014 and over 1,000 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made to prevent people from being forced into marriage and to assist in repatriating victims. Forcing someone to marry can result in a sentence of up to 7 years in prison. Disobeying a Forced Marriage Protection Order can result in a sentence of up to 5 years in prison. To support professionals dealing with forced marriage in the course of their work and quickly improve general awareness, the UK government commissioned online learning specialist, Virtual College, to produce a new, free e-learning package. Since its launch in August last year, over 10,000 people have already accessed the free course and resource pack, helping to raise awareness rapidly and widely across a wide range of organisations and individuals. Virtual College worked closely with the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office unit, to create the course which challenges perceptions and provides advice on the correct actions to take. A free resource pack is also available to help organisations promote this important course and spread awareness. Of the individuals who have now completed the online learning, two-thirds said they had limited understanding before taking the course. Following completion, 98 per cent said they were now confident or very confident in dealing with forced marriage and 97 per cent would recommend the course to a colleague or friend. Half of the respondents said it had changed the way they now worked, while the remainder already had effective procedures in place. The Forced Marriage Unit also launched a summer campaign, #Righttochoose, with a range of events and resources which encouraged additional awareness generation. The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office unit was which set up in January 2005 to lead on the Government's forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It operates both inside the UK, where support is provided to any individual, and overseas, where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals. The FMU operates a public helpline to provide advice and support to victims of forced marriage as well as to professionals dealing with cases. It can be reached at +44 (0) 20 7008 0151; by email or on facebook or Twitter via @FMUnit Call 999 in an emergency. The assistance the FMU provides ranges from simple safety advice, through to aiding a victim to prevent their unwanted spouse moving to the UK ('reluctant sponsor' cases), and, in extreme circumstances, to rescues of victims held against their will overseas. The forced marriage course is one in a series of free Vocational Online Open Courses (VOOC®s) produced by Virtual College. Chaz Akoshile, the Joint Head of the Forced Marriage Unit, said: “(This is a) wonderful eLearning tool [that] complements the other documents in existence.” To access the free forced marriage course and resources online, click here. To help spread awareness of forced marriage, please share this post – or the links. Thanks.  |
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