Ingrid McClements Memorial Award

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Award or Nominisation, Feminism, Obituary Tribute, Scotland, Violence Against Women, Women's Group

Ingrid McClements was a lifelong feminist and socialist activist, and a leading figure in voluntary sector development.

Ingrid was never a person only interested in big scale demonstrations or grand causes. On the contrary she worked tirelessly at community level, applying her political convictions with passion and enthusiasm. Ingrid made things happen, taking on the jobs that others didn’t want to touch. She was totally reliable and totally organised and made a major contribution in many areas, including anti-racist work, disability equality and rights, lesbian feminism and challenging male violence. On top of political activism in both professional and personal time, Ingrid had many interests and loved to promote and enjoy social networking and friendships, particularly through reading, singing and gardening.

The Women’s Support Project, in conjunction with Rape Crisis Scotland and WISE Women, has established an Ingrid McClements Memorial Award. An Award fund will be used to organise activities in celebration of Ingrid’s life and to commemorate her work.

An Organising Committee has been established with representatives from the three founding organisations. The Committee will be responsible for planning and delivering activities, and will undertake joint work with other ‘Violence Against Women’ and Equality Rights organisations as required.

The Memorial fund will be used in the following ways:

Awards shall be made at the discretion of the Organising Committee, who shall develop an annual plan for direct work based on issues and priorities identified through the work of the three founding organisations. This could include, for example; a personal safety course for Disabled women, a workshop on legal rights and protection for asylum seeking women, a networking day for women whose children have been sexually abused. The Committee may also fund activities for women that promote independence, education, fun, creativity or networking through social activities, such as reading, singing or gardening.

Direct work shall be undertaken mainly within the City of Glasgow. The Organising Committee also has the option of funding international activity from time to time, providing that a link to work in Glasgow can be evidenced.

If you would like to make a donation to the Memorial Award, please send a cheque to ‘Women’s Support Project IMMA’ at the address below. Please consider asking us for a Gift Aid form – if you are a British taxpayer and you complete a gift aid form then we can increase your donation by claiming back the tax at no additional cost to yourself. Information on the Memorial Award will be available on Rape Crisis Scotland and Women’s Support Project websites in due course. In the meantime for further information please email us at mailto:ingridsaward@yahoo.com

Women’s Support Project

Rape Crisis Scotland

Wise Women

You can download a pdf version of this announcement from http://tiny.cc/pPz9e

Southall Black Sisters Boycott GLA Meeting on Violence Against Women due to the Presence of the BNP

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under BME, Consultation, London, Meeting, Racism, Violence Against Women

On 23 June, Southall Black Sisters was due to give evidence to the Mayor’s Strategy on violence against women by attending the Greater London Assembly’s Health and Public Services Committee. We were delighted to be asked to contribute to the strategy, however SBS is compelled to boycott the meeting due to the presence of the British National Party Representative -Richard Barnbrook (GLA member for Barking and Dagenham). We cannot see how we can have a serious and informed debate in the presence of a member of a fascist, racist, sexist and homophobic party.

Southall Black Sisters was born in the midst of anti racist struggles in the 1970s. We have fresh in our minds the memories of fascist and racist activity by the National Front in Southall and the ensuing racist police response to a community that sought to defend itself, culminating in the death of Blair Peach in 1979. Such memories and ongoing experiences of institutional and street racism continue to shape our struggles for equality. Contrary to popular belief, racism in the UK has not diminished. The recent horrific treatment of Romanian families by racists in Belfast shows why we must continue to oppose fascists and racists. We cannot afford to tolerate those who use violence, intimidation or even democratic means, to subvert the very principles of equality, human rights and justice.

How can a committee that includes a member whose political stance is to encourage hatred and segregation, address the call of black and minority women for justice in the face of domestic violence exacerbated by a draconian and punitive immigration system? The BNP’s agenda – to ‘preserve Britain’ for the ‘indigenous’ people of the UK – cannot mask its inflammatory anti-immigration and anti-progressive position. Its intention is to dehumanise and exclude all who fail to conform to its authoritarian, patriarchal and exclusionary notions of British identity. Such a stance is not conducive to shaping progressive public policies in any area, let alone on health or violence against women.

These are just some of the reasons why we urge all organisations who are due to give evidence to the committee to join SBS and the Eaves project in our boycott. Together, we can challenge and defeat racism, fascism and indeed all anti-democratic movements that seek to deny our common humanity and the rights that go with such recognition.

For more information contact:
Southall Black Sisters
info@southallblacksisters.co.uk

Jewish school admissions unlawful

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Education, Faith, Legal Police, London

Jewish schools may have to change admissions rules after the Appeal Court held that ethnic tests of Jewishness amount to racial discrimination.

A London school, the JFS, rejected a boy whose mother’s conversion to Judaism it did not recognise.

Faith schools may discriminate on religious grounds but the Court of Appeal held that this involved a test of ethnicity – which is unlawful.

The United Synagogue says this will have “a very serious effect”.

In future schools would need to adopt a test of religious practice and guidance would be issued on this – pending a successful appeal or change in the law.

The state-funded JFS, formerly the Jews’ Free School, is heavily over-subscribed.

It gives preference to applicants whose “Jewish status” is confirmed by the United Synagogue – which requires that the mother be Jewish.

It has pupils from a wide range of religious and cultural backgrounds including from atheist, Catholic or Muslim families – but whose mothers are, in its terms, Jewish.

The boy – named in court only as M – has a Jewish father. His mother converted to the Jewish faith before he was born but had been a Roman Catholic.

But the conversion was not recognised because it was conducted in a Progressive not an Orthodox synagogue.

The three judges – Lords Justice Sedley and Rimer, and Lady Justice Smith – said it was clear that Jews constituted a racial group defined principally by ethnic origin and additionally by conversion.

To discriminate against a person on the ground that they were or were not Jewish was therefore to discriminate on racial grounds.

“The motive for the discrimination, whether benign or malign, theological or supremacist, makes it no less and no more unlawful.”

They said: “The refusal of JFS to admit M was accordingly, in our judgment, less favourable treatment of him on racial grounds.

“This does not mean … that no Jewish faith school can ever give preference to Jewish children. It means that, as one would expect, eligibility must depend on faith, however defined, and not on ethnicity.”

The United Synagogue said the decision affected any branch of Judaism that defines who is a Jew on the basis of descent (whether matrilineal or patrilineal).

It said Jewish schools of any sort – Reform, Liberal, Masorti, Charedi, Orthodox, Federation and so on – would be prohibited from giving priority to applicants who were a member of the Jewish faith.

It added: “In future, all Jewish schools (whether state or independent) will need to adopt a religious practice test, until such time as the Court of Appeal’s ruling is successfully overturned or a legislative amendment is made.”

“Unless the Court of Appeal decision is overturned on appeal it will have a very serious effect on all Jewish schools and on many of our communal organisations.”

So it strongly supported the decision of the governors of JFS to seek leave to appeal and was consulting its own advisers on what else might be done.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8118828.stm

See other postings relating to religions beliefs

Think tank concludes that Sharia courts should not be recognised in Britain

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under England, Faith, Legal Police, Opinion Comment, Publication, Reseach

Sharia courts should not be recognised under Britain’s 1996 Arbitration Act, according to a new report from independent think-tank Civitas.

According to Denis MacEoin, author of Sharia Law or ‘One Law For All’?, sharia courts operating in Britain may be handing down rulings that are inappropriate to this country because they are linked to elements in Islamic law that are seriously out of step with trends in Western legislation that derive from the values of the Enlightenment and are inherent in modern codes of human rights. Sharia rulings contain great potential for controversy and may involve acts contrary to UK legal norms and human rights legislation, the report says.

Sharia law is a distillation of rulings that purport to represent the divine diktat in all worldly affairs. It provides injunctions for the conduct of criminal, public and even international law. Marriage and divorce, the custody of children, alimony, sexual impropriety and much else come within its remit. Sharia courts claim authority over the private lives of individuals in a way that is contrary to the British tradition where, as David Green points out in his introduction, ‘in our legal system no punishments can be applied to individuals who fail to live up to religious requirements’.

The fact that so many sharia rulings in Britain relate to cases concerning divorce and custody of children is of particular concern, as women are not equal in sharia law, and sharia contains no specific commitment to the best interests of the child that is fundamental to family law in the UK. Under sharia, a male child belongs to the father after the age of seven, regardless of circumstances. Thus, in October 2008 the House of Lords ruled that sharia was incompatible with human rights when a Lebanese woman sought asylum in the UK because, if she had been sent back to Lebanon, she would have been ordered to hand over her son to a violently abusive husband.

Most reports on sharia courts cite five, working in London, Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham and Nuneaton. However, in his research for this report, Denis MacEoin has uncovered at least 85, operating largely out of mosques. It is extremely difficult to find out what goes on in these courts, so MacEoin reproduces a range of fatwas issued by popular online fatwa sites, run out of or accessed through mosques in the UK, and in some cases, as was revealed in the earlier Civitas report Music, Chess and Other Sins , even from UK Muslim schools. These online fatwas can give a good indication of the rulings of sharia courts in Britain.

“Among the rulings … we find some that advise illegal actions and others that transgress human rights standards as they are applied by British courts. Here are some examples: a Muslim woman may not under any circumstances marry a non-Muslim man unless he converts to Islam; such a woman’s children will be separated from her until she marries a Muslim man; polygamous marriage (i.e. two to four wives) is considered legal… a husband has conjugal rights over his wife, and she should normally answer his summons to have sex (but she cannot summon him for the same reason); a woman may not stay with her husband if he leaves Islam; non-Muslims may be deprived of their share in an inheritance… a wife has no property rights in the event of divorce… sharia law must override the judgements of British courts; rights of child custody may differ from those in UK law… taking out insurance is prohibited, even if required by law; there is no requirement to register a marriage according to the law of the country… a Muslim lawyer has to act contrary to UK law where it contradicts sharia … women are restricted in leaving their homes and driving cars… sharia law of legitimacy contradicts the Legitimacy Act 1976; a woman may not leave her home without her husband’s consent (which may constitute false imprisonment); legal adoption is forbidden… a woman may not retain custody of her child after seven (for a boy) or nine (for a girl)… fighting the Americans and British is a religious duty; recommendation of severe punishments for homosexuals… a woman cannot marry without the presence (and permission) of a male guardian… an illegitimate child may not inherit from his/her father.”

As the Christian barrister, Neil Addison, explains in his foreword to the Civitas report, those who argue that sharia rulings should be incorporated into the British legal system often confuse mediation with arbitration.

Mediation leads to an agreement rather than a judgement. It does not rely upon the application of legal rules but aims to find common ground between parties. A mediator cannot impose a mediation decision.

Arbitration is a trial before a judge with the power to enforce a ruling through the civil courts.

The revelation that sharia rulings or fatwas are being enforced through state courts by the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) has alarmed many, especially as the Arbitration Act, under which this takes place, specifically excludes divorce and childcare cases. These are the very areas in which sharia rulings cause most concern, since, as David Green says, “there is a good deal of intimidation of women in Muslim communities and the genuine consent of women could not be accepted as a reality”. David Green calls for the exclusion of sharia courts from recognition under the Arbitration Act of 1996.

As David Green says in his introduction, equality under the law, regardless of race, gender or religion, is the bedrock of Western civilisation: take it away and you disrupt the whole edifice.

“Under most interpretations of Islam a person who leaves the faith is an apostate who can be put to death. While this threat remains, it cannot be accepted that sharia councils are nothing more than independent arbitrators guided by faith. The reality is that for many Muslims, sharia courts are in practice part of an institutionalised atmosphere of intimidation, backed by the ultimate sanction of a death threat. The underlying problem is that sharia law reflects male-dominated Asian and Arabic cultures. It cannot therefore be accepted as a legally valid basis even for settling private disagreements in a country like ours, where our law embodies the equal legal status of everyone, regardless of race, gender or religion. Our system is based on moral and legal equality or it is nothing. Moreover, further encouragement of sharia law, far from helping integration, will undermine the efforts of British Muslims struggling to evolve a version of Islam consistent with a tolerant and pluralistic society.”

As Denis MacEoin says in his conclusion: “The introduction of sharia law into this country is a recipe for a dichotomous legal system that holds Muslims and non-Muslims to different standards. This is not a matter of eating halal meat or seeking God’s blessing on one’s marriage. It is a challenge to what we believe to be the rights and freedoms of the individual, to our concept of a legal system based on what parliament enacts, and to the right of all of us to live in a society as free as possible from ethnic-religious division or communal claims to superiority and a special status that puts them in some respects above the law to which we are all bound.”

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “We are pleased that Civitas has come to this conclusion – it is one that we have been promoting for some time through our association with the One Law for All campaign. It seems self-evident that women cannot receive justice through sharia law when they start out at such a disadvantage. Our legal system has evolved through a democratic, reasoned process and it is infinitely superior to sharia. We should not permit it to be compromised by the demands of theocrats who wish to entrench discrimination into our legal system.”

http://www.secularism.org.uk/111583.html

See earlier postings: http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk/?s=%22Sharia+court%22

The invisible ‘Gran-carer’ generation: Under 55, poor and balancing work and caring

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Children Parenting, England, Poverty, Publication, Reseach

New generation of grandparent carers locked in dangerous cycle of poverty, warns new report

A new invisible generation of ‘gran- carers’ is caught in a cycle of deprivation and facing financial hardship, according to a new report from charity Grandparents Plus launched today.

Young and surviving on a low income, this group finds itself providing regular childcare to their grandchildren as well as looking after their own parents – as the population ages and 4 and even 5 generation families become increasingly common.

Funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the report, ‘The Poor Relation? Grandparental care: where older people’s poverty and child poverty meet’ reveals that:
* 1 in 3 (33%) grandparents aged under 55 say they are finding it very difficult to cope financially
* The number of single grandparents has doubled in the last decade (from 8% to 15%)
* There are now a third more grandparents on low incomes, with grandchildren under 16 – 26% in 2007 up from 18% in 1998

The Poor Relation? identifies ‘gran-carers’ who are facing financial hardship under the pressure of balancing work and care – often supporting families who are themselves at greater risk of poverty. The research finds that these grandparents are more likely to have given up work or reduced their hours in order to provide childcare. As a result the report warns of a ‘cycle of deprivation’ that sees poverty passed from one generation to another.

Grandparents Plus is calling for working grandparents looking after children to have access to flexible working in the same way parents do and for grandparents who provide childcare to be eligible for payments through the tax credit system.

Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of Grandparents Plus said: “This report challenges the cosy image we have of the retired grandparent with time to spare. For many, particularly the ‘Gran-carers’ who are of working age, on low incomes and who provide most of the childcare, it’s a real struggle. Although overall the grandparent generation is getting older, it is younger, working-class grandparents who are more likely to suffer financial hardship. We want this reality to be recognised by paying grandparents through the tax credit system for the childcare they provide. And they get no help with the challenge of combining work and care. As a result we see them taking low paid part-time work or dropping out of the labour market altogether. Extending the right to request flexible working would be a very welcome step.”

New evidence cited in the report from the 1998-2007 British Social Attitudes Survey also says that:
* 1.5 million grandparents are under the age of 50
* 7 million are aged under 65
* Lone grandmothers are 3 times more likely to be managing on a very low income than grandparents with a partner
* Working class women are four times more likely to become grandparents before their 50th birthday than middle class women
* Working class grandparents are more likely than middle class grandparents to belong to four-generation families
* Adult working class women are twice as likely to be grandmothers than middle class women

Grandparents Plus is calling for:
* Grandparents to have access to flexible working
* Grandparent to be eligible for payment for childcare through tax credits if they enable parents to return to work
* Working grandparents able to take two weeks ‘granny leave’ in a baby’s first year – which would work in the same way paternity leave does now

Notes:

1. Key stats: grandparental childcare
* 1 in 3 families rely on grandparents for childcare (ONS Social Trends, Apr 2009)
* Half of single parents depend on grandparents for childcare (Dex, S and Ward K. Parental Care and Employment in Early Childhood. Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) Sweeps 1 and 2. EOC 2007)
* The Grandparental childcare contribution has been valued at £3.9 Billion (The Economy and Older People, Age Concern 2004)
* 4 out of 10 parents that Grandparents Plus surveyed in February 2009 said they were more likely to turn to grandparents for extra help with childcare during the recession (Grandparents Plus/YouGov Feb 2009)

2. Grandparents Plus

Grandparents Plus is the national charity (England and Wales) which champions the vital role of grandparents and the wider family in caring for children.

It has been funded by the EHRC to carry out a study of how older people’s poverty and child poverty intersect around grandparental care for children. The Poor Relation? Grandparental care: where older people’s poverty and child poverty meet is an interim report with a final report due in September 09.

The final report will focus on groups particularly at risk of poverty: single parent families, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean families, families with disabled children and/or disabled parents, families where a grandparents or other family member cares for a child/children in the absence of parents and those on low incomes.

3. Methodology

A major survey of grandparenting activity in Britain was included in the 1998 British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey. We have explored this data further in this study by looking at the links between grandparenting and the respondent’s economic condition which were not examined in the original analysis. BSA surveys since 1998 have not included questions on grandparents’ behaviour. But they have collected information about their demographic and economic characteristics which we have analysed up to 2007.

4. In addition to the measures called for here the charity also wants to see:
* The informal care that grandparents and others provide during their working lives to ‘count’ towards the cost of care they may need themselves later in life. The charity wants this to be considered as part of the ongoing debate about social care reform.
* Children’s Centres proactively target grandparents and other informal childcare providers to ensure that the children they care for can benefit from services in their area.
* Grandparents and other family members who provide full-time care for children who cannot live with their parents to be entitled to a national allowance, regardless of where they live. At the moment any support depends on the local authority’s policy and practice. Many grandparents get nothing.
* Greater access to relationship support for families who experience parental separation or divorce.
* A review of the requirement that grandparents have to apply for leave for a residence order or a contact order.
* Grandparents to be notified of any care or adoption proceedings unless it can be demonstrated that this would not be in the interests of the child or the welfare of the parent with care

5. Rethinking Family Life: exploring the role of grandparents and the wider family

In March 2009 Grandparents Plus published Rethinking Family Life: exploring the role of grandparents and the wider family in which the charity called for grandparents to be paid for childcare through the tax credit system.

The report also called for the introduction of the Grandparent National Insurance Credit to tackle the pensions penalty for working age grandparents who provide substantial periods of childcare. In April 2009 the Chancellor announced the introduction of the Grandparent NI Credit in his Budget speech.

6. Copies of both of these reports together with copies of the February 2009 YouGov Survey findings are available at http://www.grandparentsplus.org.uk.

The Poor Relations Report

Age
Grandparents are getting older. But there are two very different experiences of grandparenting in Britain today. This is determined by socio-economic and income status.

Class
Working class women are four times more likely to become a grandparent before their 50th birthday (21.5% compared to 5.3%) and more than twice as likely before their 60th birthday (56% compared to 26.4%) than middle class women.

Income
Overall grandparents are getting poorer. The proportion of all grandparents with grandchildren aged under 16 who are living on low incomes increased by a third between 1998 and 2007 (from 18% to 26%).

Four generation families
Working class grandparents are more likely than middle class grandparents to belong to four-generation families. These families are also amongst the poorest with higher levels of great-grandchild poverty.

Single grandparents
The proportion of single grandparents has doubled from 8% to 15% between 1998 and 2007. 36% of single grandmothers are aged under 55.

Financial hardship
Single parenthood is intensifying for some families. A growing proportion of single grandparents have children who are single parents themselves (31% in 1998 rising to 38% in 2007). These families are particularly at risk of financial hardship.

Employment
There is a direct correlation between a mother’s employment and whether her own mother is alive. This is evident even without knowing what kind of support the grandparent may be providing.

Childcare
Working age grandmothers on low incomes are most likely to be providing the childcare. They are also more likely to report that they have given up or reduced work in order to do so and are under the greatest pressure to combine work and care. Additionally, although they are not the poorest grandparents (the poorest are those who are dependent on pension income), they are also the group most likely to report that they are finding it difficult to cope financially, suggesting that it may be the struggle of combining work and care which is significant here.

Download the full report from http://www.grandparentsplus.org.uk/jdd/public/documents/the-poor-relation-report.pdf

See also news story: A report says working-class women tend to become grandparents earlier than middle-class ones, forcing them out of work earlier and reducing pension contributions

Scotland’s National Sex Crimes Unit is the first of its kind in Europe

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Legal Police, Rape and Sexual Assault, Scotland

The chief of an elite new sex crime unit has warned Scotland’s perverts there is nowhere to hide. Top QC Derek Ogg said beasts will be hunted down by his team of specialists. And the National Sex Crimes Unit will see a dramatic shift towards supporting victims of sexual crimes in Scotland.

Ogg said: “It has been children and victims of sexual abuse that, every day, in their hundreds in Scotland, feel frightened and scared. It is time the abusers felt frightened and scared. It is time they realised that we are on their case. An accused is entitled to justice but so is the complainer.”

In his first interview since the unit was launched in March, Ogg said sexual offences would now be treated with the same seriousness as murder.

He said: “We are not the new puritans, we are not the thought police or there to judge people. We are there to take seriously what is happening all the time in this country, sexual abuse of children and sexual abuse of adults. It is time we started to take this seriously.”

The unit is the only one of its kind in Europe and will be involved from the first complaint of a sex crime all the way through to prosecution.

Six of Scotland’s most experienced lawyers, including Ogg, will form a top team of prosecutors who will take on the most serious of cases.

The unit mirrors a similar model at the District Attorney’s office in New York. It has been running since 1974 and has seen an increase in the conviction rate of sex offenders.

The prosecutors from Scotland will travel to New York for intensive training at the DA’s office over the coming months.

They include four women and two men – Ogg, Joanna Cherry, David Young, Gillian Wade, Kath Harper and Jennifer Bain.

Through the unit, cases that previously would have been considered too tough to prosecute will be pursued.

Complaints of abuse from kids with learning difficulties or prostitutes who allege rape now have a greater chance of reaching court.

Ogg said: “We will not let difficult cases go. We will investigate until we are sure it is right to give up. We will treat a rape the way we would approach a murder, looking at the whole picture. Does that picture present a story of consent or lack of consent?”

Speech therapists and psychologists will be on standby for children with learning difficulties or impairments. And the unit will try to smash any preconceptions the defence may be keen to nurture in a jury.

Ogg said many juries might struggle to convict where a woman who alleges rape has been drunk. But he said new approaches would be taken in court.

He said: “Let’s switch the tables. If you are a rapist picking on a woman, are you going to pick a woman who is alert or will you hang around a nightclub and spot the woman is stumbling about, who is drunk? It’s not just putting that suggestion in the jury speech but also looking at CCTV evidence, tracing the the taxi driver who picked up an accused and complainant, finding the barman and asking how much she drank. What weight is she? What height? What impact will alcohol have on her?”

Research shows the vast majority of children don’t disclose abuse until three years after it has stopped.

Yet a common line of defence is that a child would tell immediately if they were being abused. Ogg said: “The unit will call on a bank of the best experts who can say otherwise.”

Scotland has the lowest conviction rate for reported rapes in Europe but Ogg claims the statistics paint a skewed picture.

Many cases never get to court. Scotland also has a restrictive definition of rape compared with other jurisdictions, coupled with the requirement for corroboration – both of which present major challenges for the prosecution service.

But a third of indicted cases result in a conviction for rape or another sexual offence.

A staggering 26 per cent of indicted cases return a not proven verdict and Ogg insists the unit must tackle this issue.

He added: “What the jury are saying is, not that the rape never happened, but that they cannot be sure meet to the very high standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.”

He said the unit, which has already successfully prosecuted two child abuse cases, would ensure every case is as robust as possible before it goes to a jury.

It will involve the training of hundreds of procurators fiscal, social workers, experts and police.

Cases will be investigated with a more thorough approach, right down to the examination of mobile phones.

Texts and calls could corroborate the tones of meetings between a complainer and an accused.

Edinburgh University graduate Ogg – who has prosecuted a number of significant cases in recent years – said: “It’s a hell of a position to decide if someone is a rapist or abuser. People rightly feel nervous about such a big decision but we want to take those nerves away and put them in the best position possible to come back with a verdict they have confidence in. There are not going to be loose threads we didn’t bother to track down or areas we don’t bother to investigate. We want to get rid of the weaknesses in cases.”

That will involve prosecutors having more direct contact with victims.

Ogg explained: “Some felt a fear we might become contaminated by emotional involvement, by believing too much in the case and losing professional objectivity. But I have never found that a problem in 30 years prosecuting and defending. It is important to find the humanity in the person who is making the complaint and acknowledge what has happened to them. Let them feel that somebody is on the case.”

The unit was established on the recommendation of the Principal Advocate Depute, Dorothy Bain QC, who has expertise in the prosecution of sexual offences.

She visited the US on fact-finding missions before the body was set up. It also has the backing of Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini and defence QCs such as Paul McBride, who said: “This is an idea that is innovative and meets the needs of fighting modern-day serious sexual crimes. It has the full support of the defence bar as well as most right-thinking people in the country. Derek Ogg will be an outstanding leader of this unit.”

Angiolini said: “This dedicated unit builds on the improvements which we have delivered following the review of sexual offences. I am delighted it will benefit from Derek Ogg’s expertise. He is one of our most able prosecutors and has the skill and experience required to ensure sexual crime cases are professionally prepared.” She added: “Ms Bain has already created a solid foundation for our new unit. I am confident that involving specialist Crown counsel atan early stage will enhance our approach to some of the most challenging cases we face.”

Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “We are supportive of this unit. Rape is a crime which can have a harrowing and long-term effect.”

The unit has already successfully prosecuted two child abuse cases. And Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini will announce today that 50 recommendations she made to tackle sex offences have now been met and within the three-year time frame she specified. She will make the announcement at an annual seminar for those involved in tackling sex crime. The seminar was one of the recommendations.

The Crown Office And Procurator Fiscal Service were ordered to meet all 50 recommendations contained in the review. Andrew McIntyre, of the Crown Office, said: “Hundreds of prosecutors and investigators have completed our training programme, which includes contributions from medical experts, police officers and Rape Crisis Scotland.

“Changing cultural attitudes to rape has also been tackled.”

Part of a longer article at http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/06/25/new-sex-crime-chief-s-warning-for-perverts-we-re-after-you-86908-21469620/

Fife Council has launched its Opening Doors strategy to tackle gender-based violence

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Domestic Violence, Government, Meeting, Scotland

Over 150 people from voluntary and statutory services met at the Rothes Hall in Glenrothes to look at ways to tackle the problem in Fife and the impact it has on the lives of women, children and young people.

Councillor George Kay said in a statement: “This is an area of work that Fife Council rightly sees as hugely important. Far too many women and children’s lives are blighted by abuse, many of whom fear for their safety on a daily basis. To tackle this issue we need this sort of joined up approach amongst partners in Fife and with the Scottish Government.”

Fife’s strategy and action plan looks to address the four areas of prevention, provision, protection and participation.

Figures for Fife during 2008-2009 show that the family protection unit recorded 3,984 incidences of domestic abuse.

The Women’s Aid had requests from 339 women seeking refuge, 490 survivors of rape or sexual assault including childhood sexual abuse were supported by specialist voluntary sector agencies and Fife Constabulary recorded 457 sexual crimes including 69 rapes.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/105296-fife-launches-opening-doors-strategy-against-violence/

11,000 domestic abuse incidents in North Wales last year

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Domestic Violence, Wales

Shocking figures have revealed the scale of the domestic violence problem in North Wales, with more than 11,000 incidents reported to police last year.

Statistics released by North Wales Police show there have been more than 30,000 domestic violence attacks or threats in three years – one for every 25 people living in the region.

Alarmingly the last year has seen the number of domestic threats and attacks reported to police rise by nearly 1,200.

Domestic violence help group Women’s Aid say for every adult affected there are often children abused or witnessing abuse as well.

They now want every school pupil to receive compulsory lessons on the issue of domestic violence to help tackle the issue in the future.

A Wales Domestic Abuse Helpline spokeswoman said: “These figures are very worrying, especially because domestic violence is acknowledged as one of the most chronically under reported crimes in society.

“On average a woman will be assaulted by her partner 35 times before contacting the police.”

Chris Hayes, from Women’s Aid in North Wales, said: “I hope these figures will shock people when they see the scale of the problem. It does not shock us as we work with this every day. But this will shock other people as this is a hidden problem.

“I also hope these figures show women who are abused that they are not alone, others are going through the same thing. We have seen many sad cases. I remember one lady coming in who was so badly beaten up I could not even recognise her from the last time I had seen her.

“Other women are so emotionally damaged they won’t even lift their eyes off the floor because they have been beaten down for so long.”

The statistics include incidents of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between adults aged over 18 who are or have been intimate partners or family members.

Women’s Aid runs 10 refuges across North Wales for women fleeing violence. Ms Hayes added: “Domestic violence is about one person exerting their power and control over another.”

Detective Superintendent Wayne Jones said: “North Wales Police, along with our partners, continue to work together to combat domestic violence. We always take positive action against offenders, while carefully considering victims’ needs and providing support.”

The free, bilingual Wales Domestic Abuse Helpline is available 24 hours a day on 0800 80 10 800. The service is completely confidential.(*)

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/06/26/11-000-domestic-abuse-incidents-in-north-wales-last-year-55578-23986899/

(* for other helplines numbers please see the links in the first column on the right)

Psychologists Examine Role Of Control In Domestic Violence

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Domestic Violence, Health, North West, Reseach

Male and female perpetrators of domestic violence exhibit similar levels of controlling behaviour. This is one of the findings of a study presented at the British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology annual conference on 23 June 2009 at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.

Dr Nicola Graham-Kevan from the University of Lancaster compared the controlling behaviours of men and women perpetrators and victims of domestic violence from new data from the UK, the USA and Mozambique.

Dr Graham-Kevan said: “We wanted to find out whether men’s use of controlling behaviour within a relationship is different to women’s. This is important as the current treatment approach in the UK is based upon the premise that men use control as a means of enforcing male supremacy over women. If women are using controlling behaviours in similar ways to men then this undermines such an approach.”

Male and female domestic violence perpetrator reports of controlling behaviour across samples from the UK (36 men and 50 women), and the USA (231 men and 184 women) were compared. The results found that the controlling behaviour of men and women were very similar.

“Men and women perpetrators of domestic violence were found to have very similar levels of financial control, sexual control and intimidation in relationships. This leads us to believe that we can’t only attribute controlling behaviour to men.”

In a further sample of 1,442 female victims of domestic violence in Mozambique it was found that 10 per cent of the female victims had hit out first during the violent episode. These women were found to be high in levels of a variety of controlling behaviours including intimidation and financial control as well aggression towards their male partners. These more controlling and aggressive women were also on the receiving end of worse levels of violence.

“It seems that once a punch is thrown, whether it is from the man or the woman, then all acceptable behaviour goes out of the window,” continued Dr Graham-Kevan.

“The results of this study tell us that we need to challenge some of the assumptions around domestic violence if we are to really tackle the issue and develop programmes that prevent continued violence, one such assumption is that controlling behaviour in relationships is unique to men.”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155185.php

Hip Hop and Spoken Word – Poetic Pilgrimage – Please note correct date – Sat 4 July

Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Arts Event, BME, London, Media

Hip Hop and Spoken Word – Poetic Pilgrimage – is on Sat 4 July NOT the 11th as originally posted.

Sorry for any confusion this has caused.

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