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Lack of access to sanitary products has long-reaching effects on young women’s lives

Women who have experienced period poverty are more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression, struggle to pay their bills and have an unfulfilling love life, according to research.

A study of 1000 women, 500 of whom had suffered from period poverty, revealed that a lack of access to sanitary products can have a long-reaching effect on young women’s lives.

Nearly two thirds admitted they lack confidence because of bullies at school, while 39 per cent now suffer from anxiety or depression.

The same amount said that they don’t have many friends and find it hard to socialise.

The study found women who had a tougher start in life have had twice as many failed relationships as those who didn’t.

Forty one per cent of these women describe themselves as ’unlucky in love’ compared to 36 per cent who haven’t found themselves in period poverty.

Sadly, those who struggled to afford sanitary products are less likely to have completed their GCSEs, or go on to sit A-levels.

But the results found those who did manage to make it through secondary education were then MORE likely to push through to university and achieve a degree, and even a Master’s.

After finishing their education, 44 per cent of women who had been through period poverty struggled to find employment.

This is 20 per cent higher than the figure of women who have never been through the same struggle.

And those who couldn’t afford sanitary protection were more likely to settle for the first job they were offered (31 per cent versus 24 per cent) or one which simply paid the bills (27 per cent versus 23 per cent).

As a consequence, the majority of women who had experienced period poverty now suffer money troubles, with four in 10 admitting they are sometimes unable to keep up with demands for payment.

The majority of women who have not experienced period poverty do not have these same money worries.

Suffering financially at a young age, however, seems to have a positive effect on women’s goals and aspirations.

At school, more women who experienced period poverty had hopes and dreams for the future, than those who didn’t.

And growing into adults, people who grew up in these hardened circumstances are more likely to go on to fulfill their aspirations.

They are also likely to do it at a younger age, with almost three times as many women leaving home at age 16 if they’ve suffered period poverty.

Those who haven’t struggled to afford sanitary protection are more likely to love their jobs, earn more money, and are generally happier with their life at present.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.swnsdigital.com/2018/07/researchers-find-lack-of-access-to-sanitary-products-has-long-reaching-effects-on-young-womens-lives/

August 2, 2018

University staff need coaching to help sex attack survivors – USV React

Frontline workers at universities worldwide need guidance on the best ways to help survivors of rape or sexual violence when they first come forward.

That’s one of a raft of recommendations after a trail-blazing scheme to ensure staff at 21 European universities know what to do when people report sexual violence.

Spearheaded by Brunel University London, USV React – Universities Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence worked with 1,000 university staff. That’s personal tutors, bar, security and halls staff – workers who could be the first person victims tell about attacks.

Reports just out, which evaluate the whole project plus specific work at institutions taking part, call for similar schemes to be rolled out across all universities.

The main report, Training to Respond to Sexual Violence at European Universities, says educating frontline staff can make universities safer places. It says programmes should prioritise staff in counselling, health services and security. They should cover different kinds of sexual violence, sexual harassment, abuse and bullying and highlight the facts that both men and women can be victimised – especially by homophobia and transphobia – and both staff and students can be victims or perpetrators. It also argues senior staff and managers need to stand up for those who speak out and challenge the forces that silence victims, such as institutional cultures that prioritise status and reputation over wellbeing and equality.

The report calls for

  • Training for frontline workers at universities
  • Institutional reforms (care pathways, supportive cultures)
  • Guidance on offering ‘first response’
  • National awareness-raising to challenge myths about sexual violence and the tendency towards victim-blaming.

Universities’ student services face rising demand, the report says. It also forecasts reports of sexual violence will rise with greater awareness. Universities need to forge stronger links with external organisations in their communities, such as sexual health and domestic violence services, the report urges. It adds: “universities need to acknowledge more fully their duty of care to students and responsibilities for preventing – as well as better responding to – sexual harassment and violence.”

Part of a longer press release at https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/18067-university-staff-need-coaching-to-help-sex-attack-survivors

August 2, 2018

University staff need coaching to help sex attack survivors – USV React

Frontline workers at universities worldwide need guidance on the best ways to help survivors of rape or sexual violence when they first come forward.

That’s one of a raft of recommendations after a trail-blazing scheme to ensure staff at 21 European universities know what to do when people report sexual violence.

Spearheaded by Brunel University London, USV React – Universities Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence worked with 1,000 university staff. That’s personal tutors, bar, security and halls staff – workers who could be the first person victims tell about attacks.

Reports just out, which evaluate the whole project plus specific work at institutions taking part, call for similar schemes to be rolled out across all universities.

The main report, Training to Respond to Sexual Violence at European Universities, says educating frontline staff can make universities safer places. It says programmes should prioritise staff in counselling, health services and security. They should cover different kinds of sexual violence, sexual harassment, abuse and bullying and highlight the facts that both men and women can be victimised – especially by homophobia and transphobia – and both staff and students can be victims or perpetrators. It also argues senior staff and managers need to stand up for those who speak out and challenge the forces that silence victims, such as institutional cultures that prioritise status and reputation over wellbeing and equality.

The report calls for

  • Training for frontline workers at universities
  • Institutional reforms (care pathways, supportive cultures)
  • Guidance on offering ‘first response’
  • National awareness-raising to challenge myths about sexual violence and the tendency towards victim-blaming.

Universities’ student services face rising demand, the report says. It also forecasts reports of sexual violence will rise with greater awareness. Universities need to forge stronger links with external organisations in their communities, such as sexual health and domestic violence services, the report urges. It adds: “universities need to acknowledge more fully their duty of care to students and responsibilities for preventing – as well as better responding to – sexual harassment and violence.”

Part of a longer press release at https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/18067-university-staff-need-coaching-to-help-sex-attack-survivors

August 2, 2018

University staff need coaching to help sex attack survivors – USV React

Frontline workers at universities worldwide need guidance on the best ways to help survivors of rape or sexual violence when they first come forward.

That’s one of a raft of recommendations after a trail-blazing scheme to ensure staff at 21 European universities know what to do when people report sexual violence.

Spearheaded by Brunel University London, USV React – Universities Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence worked with 1,000 university staff. That’s personal tutors, bar, security and halls staff – workers who could be the first person victims tell about attacks.

Reports just out, which evaluate the whole project plus specific work at institutions taking part, call for similar schemes to be rolled out across all universities.

The main report, Training to Respond to Sexual Violence at European Universities, says educating frontline staff can make universities safer places. It says programmes should prioritise staff in counselling, health services and security. They should cover different kinds of sexual violence, sexual harassment, abuse and bullying and highlight the facts that both men and women can be victimised – especially by homophobia and transphobia – and both staff and students can be victims or perpetrators. It also argues senior staff and managers need to stand up for those who speak out and challenge the forces that silence victims, such as institutional cultures that prioritise status and reputation over wellbeing and equality.

The report calls for

  • Training for frontline workers at universities
  • Institutional reforms (care pathways, supportive cultures)
  • Guidance on offering ‘first response’
  • National awareness-raising to challenge myths about sexual violence and the tendency towards victim-blaming.

Universities’ student services face rising demand, the report says. It also forecasts reports of sexual violence will rise with greater awareness. Universities need to forge stronger links with external organisations in their communities, such as sexual health and domestic violence services, the report urges. It adds: “universities need to acknowledge more fully their duty of care to students and responsibilities for preventing – as well as better responding to – sexual harassment and violence.”

Part of a longer press release at https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/18067-university-staff-need-coaching-to-help-sex-attack-survivors

August 2, 2018

Horror of sexual exploitation in the aid sector must be confronted – International Development Committee

Empowerment, reporting, accountability, screening: MPs urge a full response with victims at centre.

Key points

  • Sexual exploitation and abuse is endemic across organisations, countries and institutions
  • Collective failure of leadership and engagement from top levels down over many years
  • Self-delusion of aid sector in dealing with and tackling problems
  • Failing to put victims at the heart of solutions could be harmful; certainly renders reforms ineffective

Aid sector

The aid sector has been aware of sexual exploitation and abuse by its own personnel for years, but it has collectively failed to fully confront or address the problem. The reactive, patchy and sluggish response of the sector has created an impression of ‘complacency verging on complicity’ and more concern for reputations than victims says a report from the International Development Committee, published today.

The Committee’s Report, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Aid Sector, sets out how the delivery of aid to people and communities in crisis has been subverted by sexual predators who exploit weakened systems of governance. So much more could have been done to tackle this open secret, says the Report: ‘outrage is appropriate but surprise is not.’

The apparent inability to deal well with allegations, complaints and cases involving the abuse of power extends to the organisations’ own governance and employment practices in the UK and at international levels in the UN. As a result, Part I of the Committee’s report considers sexual exploitation and abuse of the intended beneficiaries of aid. In Part II, the Committee deals with the significant factor of the sexual harassment and abuse of aid workers.

The Committee is roundly critical of the sector’s ability to drive transformational change. Action only seems to come when there is a crisis, says the Report, and even then, it has been superficial. A reactive, cyclical approach, driven by concern for reputation management in the face of media reports has not, and will not, bring about meaningful change.

Recommendations for the future

The Committee sets out how a full response to sexual exploitation and abuse depends on four inter-related areas:

  • Empowerment: the beneficiaries of humanitarian aid should have knowledge and confidence in their rights and how to find help if those rights are threatened or violated.
  • Reporting: reports of sexual exploitation and abuse should be proactively sought and responded to robustly with feedback to victims and survivors. It is incumbent on DFID and other donors to provide the resources for improved victim-centred reporting mechanisms.
  • Accountability: a zero-tolerance culture on sexual exploitation and abuse is the least which victims (either in crisis situations or in the workplace) should expect.
    – Reports of sexual exploitation must be followed by investigation; confirmation must be met with accountability.
    – Aid organisations must demonstrate transparency over reputation. – Donors and the Charity Commission must insist on this with the assistance of an independent aid ombudsman to provide an avenue for victims and survivors if the established channels fail.
  • Screening: it is imperative that known perpetrators of sexual exploitation and abuse, identified through improved reporting and accountability, are prevented from moving into new positions. The Committee calls for:
    – a rapid improvement of methods to screen staff
    – an immediate strengthening of referencing practices in and between organisations
    – a global register of aid workers who will operate according to expected standards. This will act as one barrier to sexual predators seeking to enter the international development profession.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news-parliament-2017/sexual-exploitation-report-publication-17-19/

August 2, 2018