2010 Update 2
Members Update - April 2010
Equality Counting
You may already be aware that at the end of last year the Equality and Human Rights Commission awarded us some funding for an exciting new project to enable women disadvantaged by a public service provision to come together in ‘communities-of-interest’ groups around specific issues of concern. Together in their interest groups, the women will develop and implement strategies to hold public service providers to account using participatory action research and equality legislation as tools. The project is the brain-child of our Director Niki and one of our first tasks was to recruit a Participatory Researcher, Iyaah Warren who will work with us as one of our Engender Associates.
Women with children with additional support needs/disabilities
We began working with a group of mothers of children with severe additional support needs who attend Oaklands School in Edinburgh. The parents were organising around the issue of proposed education cuts across all Edinburgh schools. It transpired that the proposal was that special schools were to face the same cuts as mainstream schools. The parents were concerned about the disproportionate effect that budgetary cuts would have on Oaklands and did not feel that due consideration had been given to this.
We encouraged the women to ‘ask the question’ in relation to equality impact assessment and to keep asking the question (to which they did not actually get a definitive answer). Ultimately the only cut to the Special Schools Budget was the reduction of absence cover so the crisis was averted – on this occasion.
The parents have mountains to climb on a daily basis in their dealings with all sorts of services in relation to their children’s additional support needs. They have limited time and energy for engaging with projects such as ours which aims to put policy into practice and to ground equalities legislation and practice in people’s lived experiences.
Engender will continue to work with the mothers (and grandmothers) using participatory research methods to help keep them in dialogue with the local authority on these issues. Undoubtedly, the question of cuts will inevitably raise its head again at some point in the, perhaps, not too distant future. The women will explore ways in which to paint a picture of life with a child with severe additional support needs and how to promote greater understanding of the issues and the impacts that the decisions taken have on the lives of whole families. They will also gain knowledge on the legislative tools and levers for change which we already have in Scotland and to which our public bodies must be accountable.
Women thinking trans issues
Over the last couple of years, we have been working with the Scottish Transgender Alliance to improve trans-inclusion in feminist equality work. Therefore, we were keen to use Equality Counting to help support women who are disadvantaged by transphobia within public service provision.
The training on participatory action research approaches has been running throughout March here in Edinburgh. To date nine women, each identifying as a woman and supporting trans equality, have been involved in the training which has just completed its fifth session. Feedback has been very positive and there has been a good deal of excitement about and recognition of the potentially ground-breaking importance of the research findings that will come from the women’s work.
Our aim is that the lifespan of each of the groups will depend on their issue(s), some may formalise, whilst others may be issue-specific and then disband. Either way everyone involved will gain transferable skills in how to organise around an issue, research it, analyse it and articulate it in ways that use the opportunities, for changing and challenging policies and provision offered by equality legislation, and enable dialogue with the public service provider or policy makers to effect change. Engender will support all the ‘communities of interest’ throughout the process, but the emphasis will be on enabling rather than campaigning or doing on behalf of women.
What next?
We are hoping to be able to work with a group of women with diverse communication needs organising around the issue of access to public services.
If you have an ideas or are interested in hearing more about Equality Counting please contact our Projects Director, Carol on 0131 558 9596 or email Carol.Flack@engender.org.uk
There’s more about all our projects on our website under ‘Our Work’
Politics in your Pocket
Do you remember the ‘What Women Want from Politicians’ snapfax Engender produced for the 2007 Scottish Elections? There was a lot of information on that colourful little rectangle and we got really positive feedback about them. We’re about to launch our new ‘Politics in your Pocket’ manifesto for the general election which is a revamp of this format and focuses on the questions women may want to ask candidates on the gender pay gap, VAW, power and participation and the recession. We'll send one of these out to you soon and please get in touch if you want a supply of them for work or friends - we want to distribute them as widely as possible and your help to do this is, as always, very much appreciated!
What about women campaign
Speaking of the coming election, we’ve teamed up with over 40 organisations to work with the Fawcett Society on their What About Women? campaign. Fawcett are co-ordinating the campaign which is asking the parties what they plan to do for women on a range of issues including the Economy, Crime and Justice, Work and Family and Culture and Media. There are briefings on each subject and a list of questions which the parties were asked to respond to in March. Read the briefings on our website here or see the campaign website What About Women?
Object launch pre-election charter
In the run up to the election, Object have produced a charter on Women and the Media and they are calling on the public to urge their MPs to sign it. The charter asks that MPs:
• Recognise the need for a socially responsible media with reference tot the objectification of women
• Support a mechanism to review the current media portrayal of women and recommend process for change
• Ensure Lad’s Mags and the Sport are covered, placed on the top shelf with contents either appropriately regulated or age restricted
• End the advertising of sexual services in mainstream media such as newspapers and sex industry ads in Job Centre Plus
Read the full charter and find out if your MP has signed at object http://www.object.org.uk/index.php/charter-violence-against-women
Engender at Beijing +15
Engender submitted a report and sent delegates to the UN meeting in New York which reviewed the progress of women worldwide since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995. Our not altogether positive assessment of the events of the first week can be seen here. While compromise and political expediency won out over dialog and debate, Niki, Emma and Marsha found it really inspiring to be part of such a huge gathering of women. Rachel Mayanja, the UN Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement on Women sent this message to those who attended which perhaps overlooks the problems encountered:
"Greetings from United Nations Headquarters! Spring has begun to leave its mark with lots of rain and higher temperatures. Just over two weeks ago you began your journey to New York City to attend the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women - filled with anticipation about contributing to the process of assessing what has been achieved since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 15 years ago.
You came in great numbers – over 3,400 individuals from some 460 organizations in 138 countries, showing that you attributed great importance to the occasion. Despite experiencing a difficult registration process and strained facilities with limited seating, you attended over 90 parallel events hosted by Permanent Missions and UN Entities as well as hundreds more organized by NGOs in the Church Center. You added an important dimension to the high level round tables, inter-active panels and general discussion of the session, bringing diversity and wisdom and turning many lifetimes of rich experience into recommendations to improve women’s lives. You seized the opportunity to meet others who share your passion for gender equality and exchanged expertise and swapped success stories on how to tackle injustice and discrimination against women and accelerate progress in all areas of the Beijing Platform for Action.
I recognize the important role of the vibrahttp://www.youtube.com/saynotoviolencent women’s movement that you represent and credit you with concrete achievements and measurable progress. Once again you have done us proud. – I hope that you took away with you a sense of renewed purpose and strength for your future work as a result of being a part of the session.
I wish to encourage you to let the message of Beijing + 15 resonate in your home countries – that equal rights and equal opportunities mean progress for all - and I look forward to continuing our partnership.
Best regards,
Rachel Mayanja
Assistant Secretary-General
Special Adviser on Gender Issues
Advancement of Women"
There was a flurry of media interest when the report into the sexualisation of children was published last month. Commissioned by the Home Office as part of the Governments strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, the review was headed by Dr Linda Papadopoulos, and looked at how sexualised images and messages may be affecting the development of children and young people and influencing cultural norms. Inquiry into sexualisation of children report published
Key recommendations include:
• the government to launch an online 'one-stop-shop' to allow the public to voice their concerns regarding irresponsible marketing which sexualises children, with an onus on regulatory authorities to take action.
• the government should support the Advertising Standards Authority to take steps to extend the existing regulatory standards to include commercial websites
• broadcasters are required to ensure that music videos featuring sexual posing or sexually suggestive lyrics are broadcast only after the 'watershed'
• the government to support the NSPCC in its work with manufacturers and retailers to encourage corporate responsibility with regard to sexualised merchandise. Guidelines should be issued for retailers following consultation with major clothing retailers and parents’ groups
• games consoles should be sold with parental controls already switched on. Purchasers can choose to 'unlock' the console if they wish to allow access to adult and online content.
We’re getting the feeling that there is a groundswell of people raising the ‘hypersexualised culture’ issue now and this report has crystallised a lot of concerns. Our ‘Eye of the Beholder’ project which starts later this year will bring together groups of young people and parents to discuss if and how this issue is affecting them and we hope it will add to the debate.
Read the full report here http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/Sexualisation-young-people.pdf?Ref=enews&dm_i=4DW,3T9A,KLAFS,BUJD,1
EHRC announce new Commissioner for Scotland
Kaliani Lyle has been appointed the new Scotland Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, replacing Morag Alexander who had been in the role since the new body was set up in 2007. Mrs Lyle has been Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice Scotland since 1998 and she was also Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council from 1995 to 1998. In 2007 she received the Alastair Hetherington award for humanitarian service by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland.
Kaliani Lyle has been appointed the new Scotland Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, replacing Morag Alexander who had been in the role since the new body was set up in 2007. Mrs Lyle has been Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice Scotland since 1998 and she was also Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council from 1995 to 1998. In 2007 she received the Alastair Hetherington award for humanitarian service by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland.
Kaliani Lyle has been appointed the new Scotland Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, replacing Morag Alexander who had been in the role since the new body was set up in 2007. Mrs Lyle has been Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice Scotland since 1998 and she was also Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council from 1995 to 1998. In 2007 she received the Alastair Hetherington award for humanitarian service by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland.
The Scottish Government have been ahead of their Westminster counterparts when it comes to recognising the role of gender inequality in violence against women and this has been reiterated in a new paper they have produced for Multi-Agency Partnerships and Training Consortia. The paper explains the links between VAW and equality between women and men. It’s the same message as our Chicken and Egg material – VAW is a cause and consequence or women’s inequality and women’s inequality is a consequence of VAW. A very welcome gendered analysis of VAW – by the Scottish Govt
Read the paper here http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1032/0097230.pdf
UNiTE videos on You Tube
The UN campaign UNiTE – Say Not to Violence Against Women have a YouTube channel where you can see messages from Nicole Kidman. As a UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador, she visits countries to hear from women who have been affected by Violence and raises awareness of the issue. UNiTE also posts a new video every Monday. The short films give an insight into the campaigning work that’s being done in communities all over the world. Have a look at the channel here http://www.youtube.com/saynotoviolence Billie Lister is conducting a study into the experiences of women working in the lap dancing industry in Scotland. The research is for her Ph.d which has gained approval from the Department of Applied Social Science at the University of Stirling. Billie wants to talk to women who are dancing at the moment, or have left the occupation in the last year. If you or anyone you know is able and willing to take part please contact Billie at billie.lister@stir.ac.uk . Find out more about the study at www.lapdancingstudy.co.uk News from the EHRC WNC Spring Newsletter
Ph.d student researching experiences of lap dancing in Scotland
From our network...
WNC UN News
Equality and Diversity Forum
Femm Newsletter (EU Committee on women’s rights) Womens Resource Centre
EPACVAW (European policy action center on violence against women)
