News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

80% of newspaper articles on the economy have male bias – Fawcett

Our report published on 23 November 2015 reveals that 80% of newspaper articles on the economy have a male bias, with men quoted or named in greater numbers than women.  Ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review on 25th November, the Fawcett Society is calling on the media to increase the number of women it references and quotes as part of its economic coverage.

The ‘Where are Women’s Voices on the Economy?’ report presents an analysis of all coverage of the economy over the period of the general election campaign in 2015 in six national newspapers. In each article we counted two things; the number of references to a man or woman and the number of men or women quoted.  The findings of the research were stark. In the 611 articles addressing the economy, which included quotes or references, over 80% were from or to men.

Commenting on the findings, Sam Smethers, Fawcett CEO, said: “Women are being silenced and sidelined on the economy and in 2015 that is just not on.”

“Just as we saw during the period of austerity and more recently with tax credit changes, measures which will be announced in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review will undoubtedly have a significant and potentially disproportionate impact on women’s lives.  So where are women’s voices on the economy?”

“150 years after the Fawcett Society was first founded to advocate for women’s rights, what this research has found is deeply disappointing. Fewer than 1 in 5 articles quote women and men equally or name women more than men. This failure to include female voices means that the debate and agenda continues to be largely shaped by men.

“Today we are challenging journalists to seek out and include more female voices in their economic coverage.  The imminent Comprehensive Spending Review on 25 November is a great opportunity for the media to take a new approach and ensure that women are given a genuine voice in public debate. Editors should make equal inclusion of women’s voices a priority and contact lists need to be reviewed to identify gaps in female experts.”

You can read the full press release here.

Find out more about our ongoing Views Not Shoes campaign.

http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/2015/11/80-of-newspaper-articles-on-the-economy-have-male-bias/

November 25, 2015

1 December 2015 ~ Empowering Women through Education – Hillcroft – Surbiton

Hillcroft College invites you or/and your colleague to a workshop to help signpost opportunities for your client group and show how our special blend of residential learning can help to get women back into education or employment.

At Hillcroft we have something to offer everyone. Since 1920 Hillcroft has been supporting women to change their lives through education. So if your clients are looking for new skills, direction or just want to improve their confidence and re-engage with learning, Hillcroft can help them.

This is a FREE to attend Workshop

Agenda for the day:
9:30am Arrival and Coffee
10:00am Hillcroft College – Introduction
11:30am Short Skills & Confidence courses (e.g. English, Maths, ESOL, ICT)
11:45am Long Courses Access, Pre- Access and GCSE
12:00pm Partnership Working, Student Experience, Q+A
12:15pm College Tour
12:30pm Lunch (FREE)

RSVP bdu@hillcroft.ac.uk

Travel directions to Hillcroft http://hillcroft.ac.uk/focus/contact/
Hillcroft Mission Statement http://hillcroft.ac.uk/charity/

November 24, 2015

Life-Saving Black Women’s Groups In Critical State & Facing Closure – Government Must Respond – New Report – Imkaan

Imkaan: the National Network of BME Women’s Support Organisations

A powerful and authoritative new report on the health of the black and minority ethnic (BME) women’s organisations which support women and girls fleeing or at risk of violence and abuse in the UK, is published today (21 November) as campaigners march from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street to hand in the report and a petition on protecting these services, ahead of the Spending Review on Wednesday (25 November) which is also the International Day for Ending Violence Against Women. 

The report outlines the extremely serious funding crisis now facing these BME women’s services, which include refuges, helplines, outreach services and advice centres. The report warns of the devastating consequences the loss of this unique sector would have for BME women and girls in the UK, which prominent leaders in these organisations now fear could happen.

The report finds that BME women and children in the UK have great and urgent need of specialist BME women’s services, which uniquely understand the situations they face – in the last financial year, in London alone, 733 BME women sought refuge spaces (1) and only 154 were successful (2).  Nationally, in one year alone, 17 BME VAWG organisations supported a total of 21, 713 women (3).

Marai Larasi MBE, Executive Director of Imkaan, said:

“Support services which are set up and run by black and minority ethnic women are unequivocally the best at providing tailored support for women and girls who may be fleeing domestic violence, a threatened forced marriage, sexual abuse and more. The women leading and working in these services understand the particular risks and dynamics of violence in different communities. And they understand how the barriers to approaching mainstream services like the police and health, or even other charities, are greater for some women.

“These organisations are well known in the communities they serve and have the highest numbers of women approaching them directly rather than being referred on by police, social workers or others. Bigger, more generic services are rarely able to achieve this profile or these ‘self-referrals’. If these services are lost, lives will be lost. When this lesson is learnt, it will be hard to start again and rebuild. We urge the Government to show that it understands the needs of BME women facing violence and to commit to a nationally ring-fenced funding solution.”

Case study: Apna Haq – The crisis facing Black women’s services came to national attention this Summer when Rotherham-based Apna Haq was threatened with closure, despite being the only specialist service for BME women and girls in a town which has a national spotlight on it following the child sexual exploitation prosecutions there. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council awarded funding for ‘floating support’ targeted at BME women at risk of domestic violence to a non-BME specialist provider.

Zlakha Ahmed, Executive Director of Apna Haq, said:

“Independent, specialist and dedicated services run by and for the communities we seek to serve are life saving. Our ‘led by and for’ services offer uniquely empowering experiences to women and children as service users are reflected in staffing, management and governance structures. In Rotherham, we are a critical space for Black women to come together and share our experiences, keep each other safe and share our dreams. Demand is increasing every day. We, and many others, simply cannot afford to close. Central Government must take action now.’

More report findings – The 2011 census found that the BME population of the UK increased from 8.8% in 2001 to 14%, and in London stands at 40.2% (4). Yet BME women’s services have experienced a devastating reduction in funding, forcing some to close down and many to reduce capacity. There are currently over 34 dedicated specialist BME VAWG services in the UK, of which half are refuge providers who between them have over 700 years of experience of supporting women from BME communities. But the Imkaan report shows that these services make up only a tiny proportion of violence and abuse services offered in the UK – most local councils fund no support for BME women facing these issues at all. Many areas in the UK have no such service meaning BME women must travel further to receive support. This also demonstrates the need for a national funding solution for these life saving services.

67% of BME VAWG organisations spoke about the huge barriers they experience in accessing local funding because of the unequal playing field created by a funding/commissioning environment and culture, which favours larger, generic service providers. Imkaan’s data suggests a worrying increase in specialist BME VAWG organisations being taken over and managed by generic providers across the UK, where just over half of BME VAWG services currently managed by a large, mainstream organisation (5).

BME VAWG services reported overwhelming uncertainty “In the long term it does not look bright…they have announced the budget from 2015-2018 and I’m not convinced BME services will be considered from 2018-2021.”

Recommendations: To ensure the protection of BME women victims and survivors of violence, Imkaan makes the following recommendations:

  1. National and local recognition of BME violence against women and girls (‘VAWG’) organisations as a unique specialist model of provision, providing local and national benefits across all aspects of health and social care, as well as contributing to the development of better-informed policies, legislation, practice innovation and significantly enhancing UK society.
  2.  A single national ring-fenced budget for specialist BME VAWG ‘led by and for’ organisations including refuge providers and outreach/ advocacy services, similar to the nationally based precedent set through the Rape Support Fund (6)
  3. A mixed package of funding, consisting of national ring-fenced funding and grant-based funding by Local Authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and Health commissioners to BME VAWG organisations. This should be attached to robust local accountability structures including lead VAWG commissioners in local areas, trained on all equalities strands. Any VAWG commissioning approach and setting of priorities should be linked to national and regional hate crime and VAWG strategies.
  4. National accountability through a Violence Against Women and Girls Ombudsperson who will hold to account local commissioning services, highlight good practice in local areas and regions and take complaints.
  5. Central funding for second–tier organisations, which supports services around sustainability including the development and implementation of specialist BME quality assurance frameworks, measuring impact, supporting consistency and strengthening skills and expertise.
  6. For charitable funders, trusts, foundations to develop specific funding streams framed around VAWG and equalities based principles and aims.

Full report and summary available on http://imkaan.org.uk/resources

Statistics on violence against women and girls – With 2 women a week killed in the UK at the hands of current or ex partners (7), 1,267 people seeking support from the forced marriage unit in one year (8), an estimated 137,000 women and girls affected by FGM (9), and approximately 85,000 women raped in England and Wales every year (10), we know that any further cuts to VAWG services will cost lives.

New EU obligations to provide high standard services for victims – By November 2015, all EU member states will need to fulfill requirements set out in the Victims’ Directive 2012/29/EU which sets out a set of minimum standards to ensure rights, protection, support and dignity to all victims of crime, regardless of residency status.

#saveapnahaq #nothingaboutuswithoutus #stateofthesector #blackwomenblackservices
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http://imkaan.org.uk

November 24, 2015

Low cost office space to let to women’s organisations – London

Tindlemanor is a central London serviced women’s building providing affordable, safe, secure and sustainable office space for women’s groups. We currently accommodate eight women’s charities and have further office space available to let.

We are located within a two-minute walk of Old Street Over/ Underground stations, providing an excellent location to connect to services in the City of London and the West End.  Liverpool Street, Moorgate and Barbican stations are all within walking distance.

The light and airy accommodation offers 60.8m2 (655ft2) of net office space available under a short lease.

The space comprises a large office with two entrances and a divider – the space is flexible and can be rearranged to suit.

Amenities include: passenger lift, same floor kitchenette and toilet facilities, access to in-house hireable meeting/training rooms at preferential rates and a secure cycle shelter.

Charge: in the region of £16,500 pa (inc of all utilities, communal area cleaning, office recycling and building management).

If you are interested in the premises and want to find out more please contact Bridget Stark at tindlemanor@cooptel.net or on 020 7608 0929.

November 24, 2015

National partnership launched to sustain domestic abuse services across England – Women’s Aid

Women’s Aid is delighted to announce its new national partnership with Imkaan, ‘Sustaining Dedicated and Specialist Services’.

Funded through the Lloyds Bank Foundation, the partnership aims to improve the sustainability of independent specialist services for women and children affected by domestic abuse. It will help small specialist domestic abuse organisations to navigate, and be successful in, tough commissioning environments, making a lasting difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children.

The partnership also aims to enable funders and local and national government to understand the value of protecting specialist services. Women’s Aid and Imkaan will support smaller organisations to demonstrate their quality, measure their impact, develop strategic partnerships and engage proactively in commissioning processes.

The project will build on this experience to deliver targeted support to other unique specialist services, addressing the needs of disabled and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic abuse It will also ensure that policy at a national level will be informed by the voices of survivors and the knowledge and experience of frontline specialist services providing accurate information on needs, outcomes and commissioning trends.

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

“It is vital that our smaller dedicated and specialist domestic abuse services are protected. This will ensure they can maintain their survivor-led practice – practice that has been saving the lives of women and children for more than four decades. Through this partnership we can support these life-saving services to survive in what is a very difficult funding climate and ensure those who make funding decisions locally understand the long term impact they have in women’s and children’s lives.”

Marai Larasi, CEO of Imkaan said:

“Imkaan values the opportunity to partner with Women’s Aid on the ‘Sustaining Dedicated and Specialist services’ project. This project is timely and critical and will help Imkaan to reach out and offer targeted support to it’s most vulnerable members – dedicated BME specialist services for women and children – many of whom are facing an acute crisis, having to navigate the constant threat of cuts and closure in the current funding/commissioning climate.”

Press Release at http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic-violence-press-information.asp?itemid=3540&itemTitle=National+partnership+launched+to+sustain+domestic+abuse+services+across+England&section=0001000100150001&preview=1

November 24, 2015