News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

11 April 2015 10:00 ~ Women, Faith and Feminism – Engender – Glasgow

Until 18:00 @ The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow G1 3N

Engender has been bringing women together this year to talk about faith, identity, gender, and feminism. We would like to invite you to join our final discussion event in central Glasgow on April 11th. This will be a chance to hear evidence from women speaking from a range of perspectives on faith and feminism, and to join the discussion yourself.

The day will be in an open space format, meaning you can shape the agenda and use the event to talk about the issues that are important to you.

Women from all over Scotland are welcome to join us at this free event. The venue is fully accessible and we are able to offer support including crèche facilities, travel bursaries and personal assistants as required (there will be a chance to tell us more about your support needs on the online or offline booking form).

Click here to register online.

If you would prefer to book offline you can download the Engender Event Booking Form and either email or post to Lux Events, 26 Braid Road, Edinburgh, EH10 6AD.  You can also call to book on 0131 466 7199

Check http://www.cvent.com/events/engender-women-faith-feminism/event-summary-2a958ce3e6ef44f58e042c3f10efcf71.aspx

March 27, 2015

Women’s Aid calls for criminalisation of breach of DVPOs

Women’s Aid is calling for breach of Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) to be made a criminal offence to further protect victims, a year on from the March 2014 publication of the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s (HMIC) report Everyone’s Business: Improving the Police Response to Domestic Abuse. The report was published following a six month-long review of the police response to domestic violence in England and Wales and found alarming and unacceptable weaknesses in core policing activity.

Women’s Aid has found that, despite progress being made in many police forces in the year since the HMIC report, women and their children will not be made safer without effective sanctions on perpetrators of domestic violence. DVPOs give victims of domestic violence immediate protection, and reduce victimisation compared to cases where no further action is taken, as they enable the police to remove suspected perpetrators from the family home for up to 28 days without charge.

Since being introduced 2,500 DVPOs are in place in 39 police forces (1). However, the police received 1,010,000 calls for assistance with domestic violence incidents between August 2012 and August 2013 alone (2). The use of DVPOs appears to be limited and any breach of a DVPO does not result in a criminal sanction. Data from the Women’s Aid Annual Survey in 2014 found that of a sample of 510 women who used domestic violence services and reported the domestic violence to the police, DVPOs were issued in just 2.5% of cases (13 in total).

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid said:

“DVPOs are designed to provide protection immediately for victims of domestic violence.  Failure to use and enforce them means failure to protect women and children. It is crucial that they are used appropriately as part of the police process when dealing with domestic violence cases.”

Women’s Aid is calling for more effective sanctioning of perpetrators by using a DVPO where appropriate to ensure the safety of women and children, and by making a breach of a DVPO a criminal offence – a recommendation made in the evaluation of the pilot of DVPOs. It is essential that women are referred to specialist domestic violence services to ensure they are able to get the support and advice they need immediately after the DVPO is put in place.

Sources

Press Release at http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic-violence-press-information.asp?itemid=3427&itemTitle=Women%92s+Aid+calls+for+criminalisation+of+breach+of+DVPOs&section=0001000100150001&preview=1

See also article by Polly Neate Domestic violence: Women must not be considered ‘at risk’. Here’s why at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11496675/Women-must-not-be-considered-at-risk.-Heres-why.html

March 27, 2015

27 March 2015 ~ Sphinx Theatre presents Women Centre Stage: Heroines – London – 28 March 2015

Sphinx Theatre presents Women Centre Stage: Heroines
A two-day festival celebrating women on stage: Fri 27 & Sat 28 March

Workshop day: 27 March, The Actors Centre – click here for the workshop programme.

Performance day: 28 March, National Theatre – click here for the performance programme

BOOK NOW

Only around a third of mainstage theatre roles in the UK feature women.
Join us as we champion leading women in theatre and work to change things for the next generation.

Two days of workshops, seminars, live performances and new plays from some of the country’s leading names and most exciting new talents.

Advance booking strongly advised – cash only on the day http://www.womencentrestage.co.uk/

The Actors Centre (workshop day, 27 March)
1a Tower St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NP.
More information and directions at http://actorscentre.co.uk/contact.

The National Theatre (performance day, 28 March – Temporary Theatre)
Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PX.
More information and directions at http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/travel-to-the-theatres/theatres-at-the-national.

March 26, 2015

Southall Black Sisters urges the government to ratify the Istanbul Convention

We urge the government to ratify the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women

Southall Black Sisters supports #ICchange the national campaign for the UK to ratify the Istanbul Convention (IC) on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

We have been witness to an unprecedented wave of mass protests against violence against women in India, Afghanistan and indeed around the world. The heartening aspect of these events is that women everywhere are invoking their human rights to life and liberty and in the process they are extending and redefining conceptions of rights and justice to make them more progressive and inclusive. Paradoxically at the same time, we are also witness to an unprecedented attack on feminism and women’s rights globally. SBS fully supports the campaign to compel the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention. Our fear is that without ratification, the equality paradigm will be defeated. In the UK, black and minority women in particular, have the most to lose since they not only have to contend with the economic climate of cut backs and general backlash against gender equality but linked to this, the rise and entrenchment of religious power. It is imperative that we force the current government to make good its promise to abide by international law and standards on violence and discrimination against women.

Get involved in the #ICchange Campaign

Join #ICchange Campaign in demanding change

Demanding that women and girls in the UK should get the best protection against violence against women possible.

Sign the petition today Get serious about Ending Violence Against Women and share on social media and via email

Follow the #ICchange Campaign

Twitter: @ICchangeUK
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ICchangeUK
Website: #ICchange Campaign

Press Release at http://www.southallblacksisters.org.uk/sbs-urges-government-ratify-istanbul-convention/

March 26, 2015

ASA upholds Object complaint about Daily Star “win a date with Page 3 babe” promotion

OBJECT welcomes the Advertising Standard Authority’s (ASA) decision to agree with our recommendation that the Daily Star ads ‘Win a date with Daily Star Page 3 babe!’ was sexist,  sexually objectified women and was socially irresponsible. Object complained to the ASA, alongside other members of the public, about the sexist and discriminatory advertising in the Daily Star which is a common practice in the paper.

The ASA finds that the ads “inherently involved the objectification of [women’s] bodies”. The ASA also finds that the women were presented as “interchangeable ”  rather than specific individuals by the Daily Star, and concluded that the  “notion of offering women as a prize to be sexist, offensive and socially irresponsible”.

OBJECT has campaigned against media sexism across all platforms, including the print media, highlighting the extent to which women are objectified and reduced to their body parts in newspapers such as the Daily Star. This is coupled with the trivialisation of violence against women, where often such reports are juxtaposed with topless images and porn ads.

It is important to note that the Daily Star is not age-restricted, and is displayed on newspaper stands rather than on top shelves. We believe this breaches the recommendation of the Bailey Review on the sexualisation of young people.

Beti Baraki, Campaigns and Outreach Officer said:

“We welcome the ASA’s ruling on the Daily Star ads. We find that the ritual and persistent sexual objectification of women and girls is still a common theme in the UK press and that this is a form of discrimination against women as it normalises sexist and harmful attitudes towards us. The press has a responsibility towards its readers and the wider public and constantly peddling sexist and discriminatory imagery runs contrary to public interest and we welcome the fact that the ASA recognises this practice as being nothing more than sexist and socially irresponsible.”

https://www.facebook.com/ObjectUpdate

 

March 26, 2015