News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

Judgment entered against police in undercover relationships case – Police Lies Out of Lives

On Friday 15th January 2016, the Metropolitan Police withdrew their defence in a case brought against them over undercover police relationships. In a significant development at the High Court, the police asked for judgment to be entered against them in respect of the claims for deceit, assault/battery, misfeasance in public office and negligence.

The claim had been brought by Kate Wilson, who was deceived into a 2-year relationship with undercover officer Mark Kennedy. The successful claim states that supervising officers had been negligent and had acted improperly in causing or allowing the relationship to happen.

The implication of this judgment is that the actions of Mark Kennedy “were undertaken with the express or tacit knowledge of other police officers employed by [the Metropolitan Police]”. Supervising and managing officers “knew that [Mark Kennedy] was abusing the power that he was given as an undercover police officer”, and their failure to act on this knowledge was “unlawful and in abuse of their own duties as supervisors and managers of [Mark Kennedy’s] undercover activities.”

Another implication of the judgment is that in circumstances where the police chose to use secret operations like these, they have a duty of care to the private individuals affected and are liable for any damage caused by their negligence. This may have important implications for future cases brought against them for their abusive undercover operations.

The judgment goes beyond even the historic apology issued by the Metropolitan Police in November to Kate Wilson’s fellow claimants, where the force acknowledged that undercover officers “had entered into long-term intimate sexual relationships with women which were abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong.”

However, despite this court victory for the women, concerns remain at the police’s lack of disclosure after a four-year court battle, raising further questions about their cooperation with the upcoming Public Inquiry Into Undercover Policing, and the power of that Inquiry to robustly uncover the truth.

Key background links:

  1. The hearing on 15 January was a case management conference to clarify the timetable for disclosure and related matters. The common law claims arise from the deception of women into long-term intimate relationships by police officers who had infiltrated social and environmental justice campaigns.
  2. The case was originally lodged in December 2011; previous hearings have sought to ensure the Met follows normal court procedure, including a battle over a ‘strike-out’ application, and a challenge to the Neither Confirm Nor Deny policy in which the women won a partial victory.
  3. As part of an out-of-court settlement for seven out of the eight claims, the Met police issued a comprehensive apology in November 2015 – their first admission that the relationships had taken place and had caused significant damage. Other civil cases are being brought against the police over relationships by undercover officers and a public inquiry has also been launched into these and other concerns about the operations.
  4. The eight women bringing this legal action are doing so to highlight and prevent the continuation of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers. ‘We come from different backgrounds and have a range of political beliefs and interests, and we are united in believing that every woman, and every person, has a right to participate in the struggle for social and environmental justice, without fear of persecution, objectification, or interference in their lives.’ – from ‘Where we stand’ Statement.

Part of a longer Press Release at https://policespiesoutoflives.org.uk/judgment-agnst-police/

See also http://www.womensgrid.org.uk/groups/?p=3876

January 21, 2016

Child First: Safe Child Contact Saves Lives – Women’s Aid

What are we calling for?

We are calling on the Government, all family courts professionals, and involved agencies to make the family court process safer for women and children survivors of domestic abuse.

Join our the Child First campaign today and help us to ensure that children are always put at the heart of contact decisions made by the family courts.

Sign the petition below and use #ChildFirst to help us spread the word. Together we can put an end to unsafe child contact.

Why now?

We have launched the Child First campaign to stop avoidable child deaths as a result of unsafe child contact with dangerous perpetrators of domestic violence.

Survivors of domestic abuse frequently tell us that they can be re-victimised and traumatised by their abusers, even after separation, through the family court process.

“The family court was an arena for him to continue his abuse on a much more damaging scale. I wasn’t heard or listened too. My children have suffered drastically as a result.” – Survivor

Our campaign report, Nineteen Child Homicides, highlights the tragic stories of 19 children and 2 women in 12 families that were killed by perpetrators of domestic abuse in circumstances related to unsafe child contact within a ten year period. It’s possible that these deaths could have been prevented if the domestic abuse had been considered as an ongoing risk factor.

Further information & support

Whilst the cases featured in Nineteen Child Homicides are truly shocking, it is important to note that these extreme cases are very rare, and that there is advice and support out there for anyone wishing to leave an abusive relationship or anyone who has concerns around child contact.

If you have any concerns about your safety, or that of anyone you know, please contact the police on 999 in an emergency or call the National Domestic Violence Helpline (run in partnership with Refuge): 0808 2000 247

Sign our petition https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/child-first-safe-child-contact-saves-lives

Download the report https://1q7dqy2unor827bqjls0c4rn-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Child-First-Nineteen-Child-Homicides-Report.pdf

Check for other links at https://www.womensaid.org.uk/childfirst/

See press release at https://www.womensaid.org.uk/launch-of-nineteen-child-homicides-report-child-first-campaign/

January 21, 2016

Women at the top: time for quotas? – view Fawcett event online

Some key questions posed to the panel by the audience:

  • Should quotas only be enforced across public institutions?
  • Would reversed quotas help to remove the distinct divide between male and female dominated professions, for example in primary teaching?
  • Would introducing female quotas undermine the achievements of individual women in the workplace? Would quotas create resentment and demotivate male staff?
  • Is there an issue of male engagement in the quotas debate?
  • Should quotas instead be introduced to cap the numbers of men in senior positions in the workplace, to reverse the current onus on woman to have to prove their value over and above their male counterparts?
  • And finally, on a more humorous note: should the ‘informal boardroom’ – the men’s washrooms – be replaced with unisex loos?

You can watch the full live stream of the event over on our YouTube page.

Catch up on what people were talking about on Twitter with #womenatthetop.

With the kind help of Audioboom UK, we also captured some snippets from the speakers, during and after the event, which you can find on our Audioboom page

For a written review and other links go to http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/2016/01/women-at-the-top-time-for-quotas-2/

January 21, 2016

New Year – New Name! – Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services

Much of 2015 was taken up with discussion and consultation about the name of our organisation and in December we formally changed our name to Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services.

The change came about because of ongoing confusion from both prospective service users and referrers. People were often confused whether they could access our services if they had experienced childhood sexual abuse and we know of occasions when women went without a service because of this confusion.

We are passionate about making sure that everyone who needs specialist support receives it, so changing our name became really important to us. It was quite a challenge to make a change that was going to meet the needs of everyone inside and outside of the organisation. In the end, we decided to hang on to ‘Devon Rape Crisis’ as part of the name because it is a nationally known, historic brand and a name that we have built locally with an excellent reputation over the last 5 years. Adding ‘Sexual Abuse Services’ allowed us to reach out to thousands who have been affected by childhood sexual abuse and let them know that we can and will help. It was quite a pragmatic choice and doesn’t scan as well as our old name but crucially it makes who we are and what we do much clearer – and that was always the most important reason for a change.

The good news is that our website and email addresses will not be changing! So please continue to contact us in all the usual ways.

http://www.devonrapecrisis.org.uk/new-year-new-name

 

January 11, 2016