Engender blog
All of Engender’s latest news. Reports, reviews, books, articles, and information from across Scotland’s women’s sector.
We would love to hear from other feminists around Scotland. Check out our guidelines for more information on how you can blog for us.
GUEST POST: WHT the ****
During this 16 Days of Activism On Violence Against Women - and with high profile #metoo stories appearing in the courts and the media - we continue to hear stories of harassment and abuse of women and girls. This guest post, from an author who wishes to remain anonymous, explores the issues of power, privilege, and 'wandering hand trouble'.
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Back when I was a young woman, when it
was described as ‘wandering hand trouble’ (WHT) for short, we were
taught that sexual assault and harassment were just what happened.
It would happen more if you were to pluck your eyebrows, wear a choker, or hoik your skirt up above your knees. If you wore American Tan 60 denier tights, you was ‘asking for it’. We didn’t really know what we were supposed to be asking for, especially when we wore knee-length cotton socks on top of the tights.
It was just another of the great mysteries when my mother would say, ‘don’t let your father see you wearing that,’ and which made me feel funny inside because I didn’t know why not.
#GE2019 - what's in it for women?
The snap General Election has seen record numbers of people registering to vote, parties scrambling to select candidate and release manifestos, and wall-to-wall coverage of different Brexit proposals.
As we approach the UK General Election on the 12th of December 2019, Engender is concerned that significant uncertainties with respect to women’s futures remain. Despite the fact that this election has been nicknamed “the Brexit election” we have not heard any proposals or commitments from any party which centre women within their vision for the future. This is highly concerning given that EU-membership has been instrumental in progressing women’s equality in the UK, driving the expansion of gender mainstreaming into UK and Scottish policy, and ensuring minimum legal protections for women’s rights and equality, particularly in the workplace.
So we have identified seven key areas which are vital for women's equality, and which should feature in this election:
Making women safer in Scotland: the case for a standalone misogyny offence
Today Engender has released a report calling for misogyny to be considered as a criminal offence in Scotland in order to challenge the epidemic of harassment and abuse facing women and girls.
The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the law around hate crime in Scotland, and is deciding between introducing a ‘gender hostility’ aggravation - adding gender or sex to the list of characteristics already covered by hate crime legislation- and the creation of a standalone offence. Our report shows that a ‘gender hostility’ aggravation will not solve the problem of misogyny, and may in fact undermine existing policy designed to tackle domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women.
For example, a gender aggravation
might be applied to one incidence of domestic abuse, but not another,
meaning that one would be treated more seriously by the court. This is
inconsistent with feminist analysis, echoed in Equally Safe, Scotland’s violence against women strategy, which says that gender inequality is inextricably linked with violence.
Blood, cramps, and dignity - why we need free period products now
Last Wednesday, Monica Lennon MSP launched her Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill at the Scottish Parliament. Engender's Communications and Engagement Manager, Alys Mumford, was there to show support. Here, she blogs about the importance of having free period products for everyone.
I’ve always supported the idea of free period products instinctively, and being at the launch of Monica Lennon’s Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill really confirmed for me that it’s an issue which is vital for women and girls’ equality in Scotland.
GUEST POST: When childcare isn’t affordable, we all pay for it
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Katie Dickerson is a New Yorker raising two strong little girls in Glasgow. She is passionate about advocating for the rights of working mothers. You can follow her on Twitter @Katie_Popple for jokes about parenting small children and rants about gender equality.
Here she blogs for Engender about why childcare costs are still a major barrier to women's equality.
I’ll admit it - when I decided to have a second child, I didn’t crunch the numbers first.
I thought about how nice it would be for my older daughter to have a sibling, and how complete my family would feel once there were four of us in it. I was so wrapped up in the warm fuzziness of it all that I didn’t consider how expensive this new kid would be.
My oldest had been attending nursery four days a week, so I was used to eye-wateringly high childcare bills. But it was only when I calculated the childcare costs for two children under five that it really hit me - nursery fees could financially ruin my family.
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Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes
From 15 May 2019, new changes will be introduced which will require couples where one partner has reached state pension age and one has not (‘mixed age couples’) to claim universal credit (UC) instead of Pension Credit.
Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism
Engender welcomes this Scottish Parliament Debate on Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism and the opportunity to raise awareness of the ways in which women in Scotland’s inequality contributes to gender-based violence.
Gender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal Credit
A paper calling on the Scottish Government to automatically split payments of Universal Credit between couples, once this power is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Gender Matters Manifesto: Twenty for 2016
This manifesto sets out measures that, with political will, can be taken over the next parliamentary term in pursuit of these goals.
Scottish NGO Briefing for UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
Joint briefing paper for the UN Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.
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