Engender blog

Women, Scotland & Inclusion: Barriers to disclosure and support in an island setting

This International Women's Day we're overjoyed to share with you four guest blogs from women across Scotland who are making meaningful steps towards women's equality. The theme of IWD this year is #InspireInclusion, & we asked our bloggers to talk about the communities and campaigns happening across the country.

Zelda Bradley is the Service Director, Specialist SV Advocacy and Support Practitioner for Orkney Rape and Sexual Assault Service (ORSAS).

“Orkney is the complete package, boasting a rich heritage, landscapes, beaches, wildlife, thriving food and drink sector, world leading energy innovation and a lifestyle that is second to none!”

The Orkney “brand” is lucrative, it supports jobs, a rural idyll and an aspirational lifestyle. Alongside the positive statistics, there are challenges facing our remote, rural island communities in relation to housing, hidden poverty, gender-based violence, substance misuse and access to services.

All the things that positively bind our community together also create barriers to disclosure and accessing support. People rely on one another’s goodwill. We are at school, studying, working, and socialising together. There is a transparency to island living that can’t be escaped. Everyone has a lineage through their family, where we live, our role and where we fit into the fabric of island life. This is true if we were born here or arrived on the last ferry.

We are great storytellers still. Every tale starts with a genealogy, a placing of people in context in a web of familiarity. Every woman I spoke to in the early days of developing ORSAS had a story about casual misogyny and sexual violence that was normalised; “Surely you won’t be busy” then “I hope you’re not busy” followed by a disclosure.  

We have a community memory that spans back over a hundred years that preserves women & children’s lives, their triumphs and sorrows. If abusers think that their bad behaviour has been forgotten because it was not prosecuted, they are mistaken.

Revealing that one of us harmed another has serious consequences. It makes survivors visible and vulnerable. It challenges the cohesion of the community and the construct that we are all safe here with the people we know. If the community narrative says her experience is unthinkable, survivors are silenced, they fear they won’t be believed. If those that disclose are shamed by the proximity of those that harmed them, does it hinder anyone else coming forward? If the media reports the graphic detail of charge sheets, which boost circulation, does that foster trust in the court process?  

This is why our centre is visible and accessible, grounded in the community. This is why we campaign, educate, and agitate. Because sexual violence is a cause and consequence of inequality.

Our Equality Hub, with a shop front on the main street hosts displays on equality, feminism, and human rights. Looking through our windows you see our staff at their desks. This is a safe, welcoming space, and we are holding hope for everyone coming through our door.

For Betty Corrigall and my aunt Barbara, missing for 80 years, and many like them. For every farm servant girl scared to work in the byre with the men. For every woman that shared her story and those that could not. For everyone who accepted a lift and whose trust was betrayed. All those “peedie birds” are being remembered and celebrated now, their voices echo through the work of Tak_A_Stand.

Guest posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Engender, and all language used is the author's own. Bloggers may have received some editorial support from Engender, and may have received a fee from our commissioning pot. We aim for our blog to reflect a range of feminist viewpoints, and offer a commissioning pot to ensure that women do not have to offer their time or words for free.

Interested in writing for the Engender blog? Find out more here.

Women, Scotland & Inclusion: Half of humanity is waiting for you

This International Women's Day we're overjoyed to share with you four guest blogs from women across Scotland who are making meaningful steps towards women's equality. The theme of IWD this year is #InspireInclusion, & we asked our bloggers to talk about the communities and campaigns happening across the country.

Azita Jabbari is a policy lead working in Scotland and a member of Every Woman Treaty, a coalition of more than 3,000 activists in 147 nations advancing a new Optional Protocol on violence against women and girls connected to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) based on its General Recommendation 35. This article expresses her personal opinion, where it is also supported by Every Woman Treaty.

As an Iranian woman coming to the UK—the "developed" world—a few decades ago, it was fantastic to experience more women's rights. But over time, I became aware of multiple occurrences of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

It compelled me to research the possible roots of VAWG, and I found misogynistic attitudes dating back thousands of years.

An innocent reader might think that VAWG only happens these days in "undeveloped" countries. But I've come to understand that this violence exists across all nations and all religions.

The UK National Police Chiefs' Council reports shocking levels of VAWG: "A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK." Moreover, in the year ending March 2022, sexual offences recorded by the police had risen by 32 per cent, the highest annual figure recorded in England and Wales, including the highest recorded annual numbers of rape.

Out of the 65,251 domestic abuse incidents recorded from 2020 to 2021 by Police Scotland, in four out of five, women were the victims.

These statistics present high negative figures for a developed country like the UK. Europe has similar figures: at least two women are killed every day in the EU by an intimate partner or family member, and two in 10 women have experienced physical or sexual violence.

Across the globe, at least one in three women are raped, beaten, or assaulted, according to the World Health Organization. The situation is dire for migrant women and refugees. In 2021, the UN refugee agency reported that 1 in 5 internally displaced women have been subjected to sexual violence. Women in the UK report high levels of violence before, during and after forced migration.

Based on a report by the UK Government, women who are trafficked for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude report high levels of sexual violence. The Metropolitan police reveal that trafficked women and children are promised better lives but when they arrive in the UK, they can be forced into sexual slavery, forced marriage, and work as servants.

We Can Better Protect Women and Girls 

All of this data has made me wonder what is so "developed" about the West and their respect for human rights? What does it say if vulnerable women come to escape death or persecution and are raped or taken advantage of here? It shows us that regardless of whether a nation is labelled "developed" or "developing," regardless of a nation's belief system, women need to be protected.

On this International Women's Day, I propose a solution that is inclusive of all women. I strongly recommend that the UK support the creation of a treaty in the form of a new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) specific to ending VAWG. This binding legal instrument would prioritize solutions to gender-based violence against women for all women in every nation through legal reform; training and accountability for police, judges, and healthcare workers; violence-prevention programs; and comprehensive services for survivors.

I was shocked to read that when the UK ratified the Istanbul Convention, Europe's regional treaty on gender-based violence, it excluded migrant women.

This year's theme for International Women's Day is "Inspire Inclusion". The UK's support of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW would do that—show its commitment to women's rights for all women, and that it welcomes a global instrument that brings much-needed clarity and cohesion to definitions and standards across the world. 

As a longtime resident of the UK, I ask: Why not prove that we are developed by supporting the creation of a global instrument to eradicate violence against half of the world's population?

Guest posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Engender, and all language used is the author's own. Bloggers may have received some editorial support from Engender, and may have received a fee from our commissioning pot. We aim for our blog to reflect a range of feminist viewpoints, and offer a commissioning pot to ensure that women do not have to offer their time or words for free.

Interested in writing for the Engender blog? Find out more here.

Making women's work visible in Scotland

Much of the work done by women – caring, household management and support – is often undervalued and invisible. We know that this free, unrecognised work props up our society.  

What 'counts' as work?  

The economic calculations of governments and international financial institutions (like the International Monetary Fund, which monitors the 'economic health' of countries) normally only recognise value in paid work. Of course, we know that's not true, and misses out the vast value to society of care work, unpaid labour, volunteering and contributing to our communities. 

• Around one third to a half of all valuable economic activity is not accounted for in traditional measures of economic performance ie GDP 

• Globally, women undertake the majority of unpaid care work – only one third of their total work activity is spent in market based paid work 

• Women devote, on average, more than twice as much time to household work as men. 

Why does it matter? 

Women's equality cannot be realised while women still do so much more childcare, care for older and disabled people, and housework than men. Women's access to paid work, leisure time and power remains heavily constrained by these traditional social roles as carers and mothers. 

During the pandemic, research highlighted how women's unpaid labour increased, resulting in a collective loss of more than £15m a day in Scotland due to a significant displacement of care and childcare from services to households. Doing unpaid work pushes women into poverty, with women four times more likely than men to give up employment because of multiple caring roles. It also stops women studying, doing community work, and even using local services. 

Women also tend to act as managers of household budgets, especially spending on children and non-durable items like food and domestic products that are susceptible to price hikes during periods of inflation. The continuing cost of living crisis has disproportionately exposed women to the strain and anxiety of budgeting, including for energy bills, with clear implications for health and wellbeing. Women are more likely to have fallen behind with bills and to have skipped meals due to rising costs. 

#MakingWorkVisible 

Since 2017, we've been marking International Women's Day by asking women across Scotland to share their day with us as part of our #MakingWorkVisible campaign to highlight women's work – in all its forms. 

Over the past six years, we've commissioned blogs, photos and video diaries and collected thousands of tweets chronicling the low-paid work dominated by women, the unpaid care work happening in houses across the country, household and childrearing chores that are unevenly distributed, and the mental labour that women are perceived to be "just naturally better at". 

Women have shared their experiences of juggling full-time work and parenthood, balancing after-school clubs, shopping lists and running for local office, the logistics and demands of providing unpaid care, working and volunteering in Scotland's third sector, and the importance of those closest to us recognising the importance of women's unpaid labour. We've heard from women from all across Scotland, including rural women, disabled women, BME women and those experiencing multiple forms of marginalisation. 

We're so incredibly thankful to everyone who has taken time out of their busy lives to share these stories, tweets and blogs with us, and you can see them all online here. 

What can you do? 

Our #MakingWorkVisible campaign may be over, but our work to recognise and document women's unpaid labour and work for women's substantive equality continues. 

Globally, different approaches are used to better recognise women's unpaid work so that it may be counted by policymakers. This is so that service design and delivery, as well as employment practices, take account of the unpaid work that props up the economy. 

• Although women’s paid work has substantially increased over the last hundred years, we haven’t seen a balancing increase in men’s unpaid work. There is no reason, except cultural stereotypes, why women should do so much more domestic and reproductive labour. 

• Unpaid work should not be a marginal note in assessments of how well our economy is functioning. We need national institutional commitment to making women’s unpaid work visible.  

• Unpaid domestic and care work needs to be recognised, reduced, and redistributed from the household to the state by an increase of accessible, good quality childcare and social care. Within households, men and women should be enabled to do a 50/50 share of paid work and unpaid work. 

You can help support our work for women's equality by joining Engender or donating here, and you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and X, or sign up to our mailing list here to receive the latest feminist news, events and opportunities across Scotland.  

3 ways to support 16 Days of Activism in Scotland

Engender is proud to work with our sisters in Scotland's violence against women sector, and today we're sharing three ways you can support their essential work during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Violence against women is endemic in Scotland, and to eradicate men's violence against women, we need to tackle women's inequality with men across all areas of life.

Every year, women's groups and organisations across Scotland come together to mark the 16 Days campaign, and we’ve highlighted three ways you can take action to support the ongoing work to eradicate violence against women and girls in Scotland.

1. Write to your MSPs to tell them survivors can’t wait

The support Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland offer can be truly lifesaving. When a survivor reaches out for that support, they need to receive it then. Not weeks or months later. But this is the reality facing too many survivors across Scotland.

This campaign from our sisters at Rape Criss Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to:
• Extend the emergency waiting list funding beyond March 2024 to save 28 jobs
• Commit to long-term sustainable funding for Rape Crisis Centres in Scotland

Write your MSP to ask them to support these calls and tell them survivors can’t wait using the template letter here. You can find out who your MSP is by using writetothem here.

2. Join the #ForThemAll Online Vigil on Friday 8th December

In the last 12 months, at least nine women in Scotland died from domestic abuse. Each woman’s death is a tragedy. Each woman’s death leaves behind trauma and grief. Each woman’s death was preventable.

For the second year, Scottish Women’s Aid will be holding their #ForThemAll online Vigil in memory of all the women and children who have died because of domestic abuse. The idea for the vigil came from Scottish Women’s Aid’s own Survivor Reference Group, which plays a key role in ongoing policy, practice and campaign work.

Take part in this night of remembrance and reflection from 7pm on Friday 8th December, by lighting a candle and sharing your reflections on social media using #ForThemAll.

3. Follow @16days_scotland and check out their resources

A Scotland without violence against women and girls is possible, and tackling VAWG is everyone’s business. By addressing gender inequality and prioritising primary prevention in all areas of public policy, we can have a Scotland where women and men have equal access to rights, resources, decision-making, and safety.

The National Violence Against Women Network have developed a toolkit of resources with information and graphics highlighting the work of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaigns across Scotland.

Access the toolkit and resources online here, and follow @16days_scotland to see and share key statistics and messages throughout the 16 Days of Activism.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that runs from 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, until 10th December, Human Rights Day. Throughout the 16 Days, we’ve been sharing information and updates on our social media from organisations across Scotland, so follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin to see more.