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7 March 2020 12:45 ~ Africa Talks: the global legacy of African women writers – LSE Festival: Shape the World – London

Until 2:00pm @ Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London WC2

Speakers

  • Margaret Busby
  • Sarah Ladipo Manyika
  • Angela Wachuka

Chair

  • Professor Karin Barber

African literature is increasingly esteemed around the world, but the true extent of its global historic influence remains largely overlooked. Negotiating the common obstacles of race, class and gender, African women writers have long-confronted crucial matters of independence, freedom and oppression.

Margaret Busby, the editor of New Daughters of Africa—a major international collection showcasing the work of more than 200 women writers of African descent—is joined by the highly acclaimed writer Sarah Ladipo  Manyika, and Angela Wachuka – leading publisher of some of Africa’s leading voices, to reflect on the impact of women writers on shaping the ways we understand today’s social and political upheavals. Addressing African literature’s rich cultural history across centuries and continents, the event will explore sisterhood, feminist movements, political and academic thought and the ways African women have taken ownership of these spaces through memory and storytelling.

By putting writers in conversation with social scientists, the event will demonstrate the importance of fiction and non-fiction alike in understanding the African female experience, and the enduring legacy of African women’s thought.

Margaret Busby OBE, Hon. FRSL is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, and writer. She was Britain’s youngest and first black woman book publisher when in the 1960s she co-founded the publishing house Allison and Busby.

To pre-order a copy of New Daughters of Africa, which can be collected from independent bookshop Pages of Hackney at the event, please go to New Daughters of Africa.

Sarah Ladipo Manyika is a writer, academic and overall lover of stories. She was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, Zimbabwe and England. Sarah is a novelist, short story writer and essayist. Her debut novel, In Dependence, is an international bestseller while her second novel, Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, has been translated into a number of languages. Sarah was Founding Books Editor of Ozy Books and a long-time lecturer at San Francisco State University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the women’s writers residency, Hedgebrook.

To pre-order a copy of In Dependence, which can be collected from independent bookshop Pages of Hackney at the event, please go to In Dependence.

To pre-order a copy of Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, which can be collected from independent bookshop Pages of Hackney at the event, please go to Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun.

Angela Wachuka is co-founder of Book Bunk, a firm driving restoration and programming for some of Nairobi’s iconic public libraries. She has published some of Africa’s leading voices in the past decade and her main interests lie in the intersection between media, popular culture & the creative industries. She is a founding member of the Creative Economy Working Group, a critical intervention for Kenya’s creative economy’s policy formulation. She holds a BA in Anthropology & Law from the London School of Economics (LSE) and was previously an Arts Management Fellow at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. Wachuka is a 2019-2020 Africa Leader at the Obama Foundation and is Publisher at Bunk Books, the Nairobi-based content development arm of Book Bunk.

Karin Barber is an Africanist anthropologist whose work has focused on the anthropology of texts, oral performance, popular culture and religion. Her core regional specialism is Yoruba (Western Nigeria).

The Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa (FLCA) strengthens LSE’s long-term commitment to placing Africa at the heart of understandings and debates on global issues.

Twitter hashtags for this event: #LSEFestival #ShapetheWorld

This event is part of the LSE Festival: Shape the World running from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 March 2020, with a series of events exploring how social science can make the world a better place.

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

This event is free and open to all, but a ticket is required. Online booking for all LSE Festival events is now open, book your ticket here.

For any queries see LSE Events FAQ or contact us at events@lse.ac.uk or 0207 955 6043.

http://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/LSE-Festival/Shape-The-World/Events/20200307/africa-talks

February 28, 2020

10 March 2020 18:30 ~ Women In Law – 2020 – Scottish Young Lawyers’ – Edinburgh Association

  • Tickets £5.98 (*)
  • Until 22:30 @ InterContinental Edinburgh The George, 21 George Street, #19, Edinburgh EH2 2PB

The Scottish Young Lawyers’ Association is delighted to invite you to this year’s Women in Law seminar. Our annual event brings together a number of high profile and inspiring women from the Scottish and English legal community to share their personal experiences and address our members on issues such as women’s rights in the UK and international context, women in the judiciary and boardroom, and whether the glass ceiling remains an issue for female lawyers in the 21st Century.

This year’s event will be chaired by Emma Boffey (Associate at CMS/Junior Solicitor of the Year 2019/Past President of SYLA 2014-2016).

This year’s panel includes:

  • Rachel Barrett – Barrister – Cloisters.
  • Susanne Tanner QC FCIArb – Ampersand Advocates (Scotland) & Crown Officers Chambers (E&W) – First-Tier Tribunal judge (chair) Housing and Property Chamber, Health and Education Chamber.
  • Lisa Henderson QC – FCIArb – Ampersand Advocates (Scotland) & Crown Officers Chambers (E&W).

The event is kindly sponsored by Fraser Irvine Sheriff Officers (www.fraserirvine.co.uk) again this year.

The event will take place on Tuesday 10 March 2020 at The Intercontinental Edinburgh The George, 19-21 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PB. Registration is from 6.30pm with speakers commencing at 7pm until 8.30pm. There will be a panel Q&A followed by a drinks reception and canapés .

£5 from every ticket price will be donated directly to Rape Crisis Scotland, which provides free confidential support and information for survivors of sexual violence and others affected by the issue by telephone, email and mail.

*REMINDER: As this is one of the highlights of our calendar, demand is extremely high for this event. If you sign up and cannot make it on the night please let us know, so that your place can be reissued.

(*) Book online at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-law-2020-tickets-96660741881

February 28, 2020

Women released from prison nearly three times less likely to be in employment on release than men – Prison Reform Trust

A new briefing, Working It Out, published by the Prison Reform Trust and Working Chance, reveals that fewer than one in 20 women (4%) were in employment six weeks after release from prison, compared with over one in 10 men (11%).

The briefing found that despite government recognition that employment for those who have been in trouble with the law is critical for reducing reoffending, too many women with a criminal conviction experience barriers to employment and do not receive adequate support. Enabling women to achieve financial independence is especially important for those whose offending is driven by abusive and coercive relationships.

Nearly three in five women (58%) leaving prison are reconvicted within a year of release, rising to nearly three-quarters (73%) of women serving sentences of less than 12 months.

The majority (73%) of prison sentences given to women are for six months or less, reflecting that a higher proportion of women commit less serious, non-violent offences than men. These sentences have the highest reoffending rates and leave little time to engage in education, training or work opportunities.

Women given community sentences are much less likely to reoffend than those who are sent to prison, yet the number of women in England and Wales receiving community sentences has decreased by over a third between 2008 and 2018.

The briefing highlights the disproportionate impact on women of the current rules for disclosing convictions and cautions. The most common sectors for women in the general population to work in are health and social work (21%), wholesale and retail trade (14%) and education (12%). Many of these roles are subject to an ‘enhanced check’—meaning that even convictions which have long been ‘spent’ must be disclosed.

Whilst checks on a person’s past are necessary in certain circumstances, it’s vital that these are proportionate and that the disclosure system recognises and supports people who have moved on to contribute positively to society, rather than keeping them trapped in the justice system.

In addition, the legal requirement under the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act to declare unspent (and sometimes spent) convictions if asked by employers can make it extremely difficult for people with a criminal conviction to find a job on release.

Other barriers affecting women’s opportunities are lack of childcare support, poor access to education and training opportunities, and low pay.

As well as identifying the barriers to employment, the briefing highlights initiatives such as the Ministry of Justice’s New Futures Network which has introduced work coaches in all women’s prisons, and profiles projects and schemes providing vital support to women, many delivered through women’s centres.

The briefing makes a number of recommendations to government and to employers to support more women with convictions into work, including:

  • Making the necessary changes to the disclosure and barring system to comply with the Supreme Court ruling made a year ago.
  • A comprehensive review of the proportionality of the wider criminal record disclosure system, including its impact on women.
  • Encouraging greater use of release on temporary licence (ROTL) to enable women to reconnect with the communities they will be released to, including training and employment opportunities.
  • Investment in community-based women’s centres to provide access to training, education and education support in a women-only environment, as many women in the justice system have been victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse.
  • Increasing the availability and quality of unpaid work placements for women which also take childcaring responsibilities into account.

Jenny Earle, Director of the Prison Reform Trust’s Programme to reduce women’s imprisonment said:

“It is widely acknowledged that most of the solutions to women’s offending lie in the community. Addressing the economic marginalisation that can drive women into crime, and the lasting impact of a criminal conviction, is therefore critical. Tapping into the skills and talents of women who deserve a second chance makes sense for families, the economy and society as well as women themselves. The government knows the solutions, and has already committed to many of them, but as our briefing reveals, a significant gap remains between aspiration and reality.”

Natasha Finlayson, Chief Executive of Working Chance, said:

“Women with criminal convictions face social exclusion, prejudice and multiple obstacles to employment, as this report shows. Most have survived very difficult childhoods as well as struggles with poverty, poor mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence. For the women we work with, a job is more than an income—it means a future where she can flourish and contribute to society. Supporting these women into employment creates social and economic value and makes society safer by reducing reoffending.”

http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/803

February 28, 2020

Inquiry finds Westminster failed significantly in responses to child sexual abuse – IICSA

The IICSA Inquiry has published its Westminster report, which finds political institutions have significantly failed in their responses to allegations of child sexual abuse for decades.

This includes failing to recognise abuse, turning a blind eye to it, covering up allegations and actively protecting high-profile offenders, including politicians.

During three weeks of public hearings last year, the Inquiry heard from survivors, whistleblowers, cabinet ministers, MPs and police officers among others.

There has clearly been a significant problem with deference towards people of public prominence, from the Whips’ offices to the police and prosecutors, although the investigation found no evidence of an organised paedophile network at the heart of government.

For example, in the 1970s and 1980s, MPs including Sir Cyril Smith and Sir Peter Morrison were known to be active in their sexual interest in children, but were protected from prosecution.

Giving evidence, former Liberal Party leader Lord Steel said that because allegations against Smith had arisen before he joined the party, he saw “no reason, or no locus to go back to [it]”. This failure to recognise the risks was an abdication of responsibility, and the fact the offences were non-recent was irrelevant.

Meanwhile, senior officials within the Conservative party knew about allegations concerning Morrison for years but did not pass them on to police. Instead, he became Margaret Thatcher’s Parliamentary Private Secretary in 1990 and was knighted a year later.

Victor Montagu, the former MP for South Dorset and 10th Earl of Sandwich, was let off with a caution after a 10-year-old boy alleged he had indecently assaulted him. Montagu’s son Robert, who he also sexually abused for over five years, said the decision not to prosecute was “entirely wrong and very indicative of the attitude towards people in public positions”.

The report concludes that these are examples of a political culture which values its reputation far higher than the fate of the children involved.

As recently as 2017, Green Party election candidate Aimee Challenor was able to appoint her father as election agent, despite the fact that he had been charged with sexually assaulting a child and was later convicted.

The Inquiry also investigated the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), which campaigned in the 1970s to lower the age of consent, as well as public acceptance of paedophilia.

A number of its members sexually abused children, including Sir Peter Hayman, a former High Commissioner to Canada. The report concludes that PIE was given foolish and misguided support for several years by organisations who should have known better, such as the National Council for Civil Liberties and the Albany Trust.

The report makes five recommendations, including ensuring all political parties have comprehensive safeguarding policies and procedures. It also calls on the Cabinet Office to re-examine its policy on the posthumous forfeiture of honours.

Chair of the Inquiry, Professor Alexis Jay OBE, said:

“It is clear to see that Westminster institutions have repeatedly failed to deal with allegations of child sexual abuse, from turning a blind eye to actively shielding abusers.

“A consistent pattern emerged of failures to put the welfare of children above political status although we found no evidence of an organised network of paedophiles within government. 

“We hope this report and its recommendations will lead political institutions to prioritise the needs and safety of vulnerable children.”

Press Release at https://www.iicsa.org.uk/news/inquiry-finds-westminster-failed-significantly-responses-child-sexual-abuse

February 28, 2020

Everyone with endometriosis is urged to respond to a call for evidence as MPs launch an inquiry into endometriosis

MPs launch inquiry to investigate challenges faced by 1.5 million with endometriosis

Everyone with endometriosis is urged to respond to a call for evidence after MPs have launched an inquiry into endometriosis. The inquiry will see patients and healthcare practitioners share their first-hand experiences and advise the Government on what steps need to be taken to ensure people with endometriosis are getting the right care at the right time.

The news follows a study conducted by the BBC which highlighted the potentially devastating impact endometriosis can have – including on education, career, and mental health, with around half stating they have experienced suicidal thoughts.[1]

The new inquiry, led by the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on Endometriosis with support from Endometriosis UK, will investigate the many challenges facing those with endometriosis, and what steps the Government needs to take to turn this around.

Sir David Amess MP, Chair of the APPG on Endometriosis said: “The APPG is delighted to give women with endometriosis and healthcare experts the opportunity to share their first-hand experiences of endometriosis so we can produce a set of recommendations to the Government. The APPG is committed to raising awareness of the condition and representing the views of those affected and we urge as many people to come forward as possible to respond to the inquiry”.

Endometriosis not only takes a shocking average of 7.5 years to diagnose, but it also costs the UK £8.2bn a year in treatment, loss of work, and healthcare costs[2], and can have a significant impact on an individual’s physical and mental health.

Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK said: “This inquiry is a welcome opportunity for the Government and NHS to get real about the impact of endometriosis on individuals and society, and to take it seriously. The Inquiry provides the Government with the opportunity to deliver recommendations for much needed improvements for the diagnosis, treatment and support of 1.5 million women living with the disease – and reduce the suffering of future generations.

We urge all people with endometriosis to take part in the survey. This is a huge opportunity to push for real change for people affected by endometriosis and shape the way care is delivered in the future”.

To respond to the call for evidence, visit https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/APPGEndometriosis

[1]  BBC research in October 2019 found that of over 13,500 respondents: Nearly all said it had badly affected their career, sex life and mental health, most said it had impacted on their education, most said they rely on prescription painkillers every month including potentially addictive opioids, and around half said they had experienced suicidal thoughts: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/news/bbc-research-announced-today-wake-call-provide-better-care-15-million-endometriosis-37606#.Xihxbcj7SUk

[2] Simoens S, Dunselman G, Dirksen C, et al. The burden of endometriosis: costs and quality of life of women with endometriosis and treated in referral centres. Hum Reprod 2012;27(5):1292-9.

https://endometriosis-uk.org/news/mps-launch-inquiry-investigate-challenges-faced-15-million-endometriosis-37618#.XlBLgfTgokI

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APPG endometriosis experience survey

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Endometriosis is holding an inquiry into endometriosis experiences in the UK, and will make recommendations on how care and support can be improved to better meet the needs of those with endometriosis in the future. At the heart of the inquiry will be the experiences of those with the disease. Your participation in this survey will help provide a better understanding of the impact endometriosis can have; thank you for taking the time to contribute.The survey is anonymous and should take around 15-20 minutes to complete. There are no right or wrong answers, we are looking to capture your personal experiences. Endometriosis is not a straightforward disease, and asking questions about it is not straightforward either due to the multiple possible symptoms and treatment pathways that may have been followed. We have included comments boxes so you can tell us all you would like about your experiences if you feel the questions do not capture everything. And you can miss out questions if you feel they are not relevant to you, the rest of your responses will be included in the results. Thank you for contributing and helping the APPG undertake this important work. The results of the survey plus evidence gathered from hearings in March will be analysed and published along with recommendations in a report in July. If you have any questions about this survey or the APPG, please contact: APPG@endometriosis-uk.org

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/APPGEndometriosis

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/190731/endometriosis.htm

February 28, 2020