Engender blog

3 Steps to Achieving Primary Prevention in Housing

We’ve published the second in our series of mini-briefings shining a spotlight on how to achieve a primary prevention approach in different areas of public policy with this new briefing highlighting why ensuring women’s access to safe, secure and quality housing is essential for advancing women’s equality and preventing VAWG once and for all.

Women’s access to housing is fundamentally shaped by structural gender inequality and other intersectional forms of marginalisation.

In Scotland, women generally experience less favourable outcomes in the housing system than men. This deepens gender inequality not only in the housing system but also in wider society. These factors can create an enabling environment for VAWG in the home as well as in the public realm, as women participate in it less.

When we talk about primary prevention of VAWG, we’re talking about preventing this violence from happening in the first place. Evidence shows the best way to do this is to tackle the root cause of this violence: gender inequality.  Therefore, ensuring women’s access to safe, secure and quality housing is essential for advancing women’s equality and preventing VAWG once and for all.

Without access to safe, secure and affordable housing, women’s living standards, economic and social opportunities - as well as their health and wellbeing are affected - reinforcing gender inequality, which ultimately enables VAWG. The lack of intersectional gender analysis in housing policy undermines women’s safety due to things like lack of affordable housing options, lack of safe housing options, and a lack of gender-sensitive design and planning in housing.

Our new briefing highlights Three Steps Towards Achieving a Primary Prevention Approach in Housing Policy

1. Women are equally and fairly represented in policy-making roles

• Improve women’s pathways and career progression opportunities, particularly for minoritised women, in the housing sector
• Ensure inclusive working environments in the housing sector by implementing flexible working procedures,
  anti-discrimination and harassment policies and women’s leadership initiatives

2. Policymakers consistently apply intersectional gender analysis in their work

• Collect and publish intersectional gender-sensitive sexdisaggregated data on women’s experiencing housing,
  including for the Scottish Household Survey and Scottish Housing Condition Survey
• Ensure Equality Impact Assessments are conducted at the outset of new housing policies and that these are
  informed by intersectional gender-sensitive data on housing issues

3. Policymakers mainstream primary prevention in all areas of their work

• Increase opportunities for co-designing housing developments with women, especially those with lived experience of VAWG 
• Embed women’s safety considerations into housing planning and design and decisions about the housing system, including on social security, service provision and housing legislation

Find out more in our new briefing here and follow us on social media to get the latest news on other briefings in the series, coming soon!

Why we need better data collection to improve women’s representation

We’ve written to the Minister of State for Women and Equalities, Annelise Dodds MP, calling on the UK Government to enact Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010.

Access to robust, intersectional data on the protected characteristics of our elected representatives is vital in ensuring high-quality democracy. Without this information, it’s very difficult to map the causes – or create solutions to – the chronic underrepresentation of women – especially Black & minoritised women, disabled women LBT women, and young women.

Although the legal framework exists to require parties to track the diversity of their candidates and representatives, very little reliable data is publicly available. What information we do have is inconsistent and poorly documented, making it hard to see progress over time or take steps to improve representation.

Section 106, which has never been put into effect, would require political parties to collect and publish basic equality data. Enacting it would give us much better insight into the demographics of our representatives, and help us take the action needed to improve women’s representation at all levels of politics.

Read the full letter here.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

Amplifying Marginalised Perspectives Through Journalism and Storytelling

Migrant Women Press have launched a powerful new initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the specific and often overlooked challenges faced by migrant and ethnically diverse women victims/survivors of gender-based violence.

We are sponsoring this campaign, held within “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” from the 25th of November to the 10th of December. The project will amplify voices and stories too often left out of mainstream narratives, aiming to foster greater understanding, empathy, and change.

16 stories will be shared—one each day during the 16 Days of Activism—authored by migrant and ethnically diverse women journalists and authors from diverse backgrounds and countries. Each piece will explore how factors like class, race, gender, immigration status, disability, and nationality intersect to increase these women’s vulnerability to violence. Additionally, stories will highlight prevention strategies and propose solutions for combating gender-based violence.

Vital pieces released so far include:

• East and/or Southeast Asian women survivors remain excluded and unsupported in the UK
• From Newsroom to Exile: The Hidden Costs of Being an Indian Woman Journalist 
• The impact of the UK’s housing crisis on black and minoritised survivors of gender-based violence
• Why Won’t The UK News Media Call Femicide A Public Health Crisis?

Follow along with all posts from Migrant Women Press on their website here.

3 Steps to Achieving Primary Prevention in Public Transport

We’ve launched our new series of mini-briefings shining a spotlight on how to achieve a primary prevention approach in different areas of public policy with this new briefing highlighting why safe and accessible public transport is key to gender equality and preventing violence against women.

Public transport isn’t just a matter of convenience; for many women, it’s a lifeline that opens doors to education, employment, and essential services, all of which impact gender equality.

However, Scotland’s public transport system fails to serve women’s distinct travel needs, limiting their access to these opportunities and reinforcing gender inequality. Without changes, these limitations keep women from fully participating in society, impacting everything from their financial independence to safety and personal well-being.

When we talk about primary prevention of VAWG, we’re talking about preventing this violence from happening in the first place. Evidence shows the best way to do this is to tackle the root cause of this violence: gender inequality.  Therefore, creating a safe, sustainable and accessible public transport system for everyone is essential for advancing women’s equality and preventing VAWG once and for all.

Without safe and accessible transport options, women’s access to critical economic and social opportunities is limited, reinforcing gender inequality, which ultimately enables VAWG. Women’s safety on public transport remains a significant concern and barrier to women’s mobility, due to things like lack of regular and reliable services, design of vehicles and transit points, and insufficient staffing levels.

Our new briefing highlights Three Steps Towards Achieving a Primary Prevention Approach in transport Policy

1. Women are equally and fairly represented in policy-making roles

• Improve pathways for women, particularly minoritised women, into the transport sector and career progression opportunities
• Ensure inclusive working environments in the transport sector by implementing flexible working procedures, anti-discrimination and harassment policies and women’s leadership initiatives

2. Policymakers consistently apply intersectional gender analysis in their work

• Collect intersectional gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data on women’s travel patterns, safety and satisfaction
• Conduct Equality Impact Assessments at the outset of transport policy development to ensure this informs policy and planning decisions at all stages

3. Policymakers mainstream primary prevention in all areas of their work

• Increase opportunities for co-designing transport strategies with women, especially those with lived experience of VAWG on public transport
• Embed women’s safety considerations into transport planning, including in decisions on service provision, the design of infrastructure and staffing levels

Find out more in our new briefing here and follow us on social media to get the latest news on other briefings in the series on housing and planning, coming soon!