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2 December 2020 14:00 ~ Women’s Agency in War and Peace: Bridging the gap on female (ex-)combatants in the UNSCR 1325 agenda – LSE Centre for Women, Peace & Security – Online

Until 4:00pm  – Free but please register(*)

Hosted by the Centre for Women, Peace and Security and Berghof Foundation

Please note the event time stated is 14:00 – 16:00 (GMT) 15:00 – 17:00 (CET)

Twenty years after the UN Security Council launched the landmark Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, substantive progress has been made in acknowledging and supporting women’s leadership in peace(building) processes. However, there remains a persistent gap in understanding the distinct roles and aspirations of women associated with armed groups, and facilitating their meaningful participation in conflict resolution and post-war transition. As a result, donors and implementation agencies fail to consider those women as a target group of 1325 National Action Plans, or when they do, they tend to adopt restrictive and stereotypical approaches to the topic. A more nuanced understanding of the various ways in which women join and participate in conflicts is necessary to seize opportunities to translate their war-time agency into constructive contributions to conflict transformation, and ultimately to prevent recurring conflict and enable sustainable peace.

This event will give the floor to these protagonists by inviting female representatives from (former) resistance and liberation movements to share their experiences, aspirations and lessons learnt for effective war-to-peace transitions, and by reflecting with UN1325 experts on the challenges and opportunities of supporting those women’s agency in negotiations and peacebuilding processes.

Introduction by Stina M. Lundström, Berghof Foundation.

Panel 1: Discussion with women in (former) political and armed opposition groups sharing their own aspirations and experiences on women’s inclusion during peace negotiation and implementation processes.

  • Wilma Madato. Wilma Madato was the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Head of the Training and Education Department for the MILF Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB). Currently she is the focal person of the UN-MILF action plan and the Executive Director of the League of Moro Women Organisation (LMWOI).
  • Shadia Marhaban. Shadia Marhaban’s expertise is on the political transition of Resistance Liberation Movements, disarmament and reintegration of female former combatants. During the peace talks between The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Government Ms Marhaban served on the GAM negotiation panel. Currently she works as a consultant for the Berghof Foundation and for Mediators Beyond Borders.
  • Naw Hser Hser. Naw Hser Hser has worked for the Karen Women Organization (KWO) since 2008. She has also served as a Creating Peace Coordinator since 2013. Following that she has worked as part of the advocacy team with Women’s League of Burma (WLB). From 2015 to 2017 she joined the Karen National Union (KNU) peace process as a Technical Support Team member. She was elected as Joint General Secretary of Women’s League of Burma in 2017- 2018. She was also selected as a KNU women delegate to join the Myanmar Union Peace Conference in 2019.
  • Victoria Sandino.Victoria Sandino is a Senator of the Republic of Colombia for the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force party (FARC). In 2013 she joined the FARC delegation during the peace talks in Havana, Cuba, which concluded in 2016. She stood out in her struggle to bring the issue of gender equality into the peace agreement, leading the peace negotiation Sub-Commission on Gender. As a member of the National Directorate and of the FARC party, she has tirelessly worked on the topic of gender equality. Victoria tweets as @SandinoVictoria.
  • introduction by Stina M. Lundström. Stina M. Lundström is a project manager at the Berghof Foundation working with women from Resistance and Liberation Movements on capacity-building and support for peace negotiations and post-war political and social transitions. Previously, she was engaged as a co-researcher and co-coordinator on various projects on inclusivity and participation in peace processes and in post-war states and societies
  • moderated by Dr Véronique Dudouet. Dr Véronique Dudouet is Senior Advisor for Conflict Transformation Research at Berghof Foundation, where she coordinates and supports various projects on resistance and liberation movements, negotiation and third-party intervention in asymmetric conflicts, and inclusive political/security transitions. She also conducts regular policy advice and consultancy research on inclusive peacebuilding for international agencies. You can follow the Berghof Foundation @BerghofFnd.

Panel 2: Inputs and debate by 1325 experts on challenges and opportunities to promote female (ex-)combatants as negotiators and political/community leaders in National Action Plans and policy agendas on peace process support, DDR programming and peacebuilding assistance;

  • Sarah Douglas. Sarah Douglas is the Deputy Chief of the Peace and Security Section in UN Women’s New York Headquarters. She previously served as Gender Adviser at the UN Peacebuilding Support Office, and as a Policy Specialist in the Peace and Security team, leading the section’s work on gender-responsive peacebuilding. She led UN Women’s work in integrating gender and women’s issues into SSR, DDR, Community Security and Arms control, and other stability processes. She also worked with UNIFEM Peace and Security section, and for UNDP and the UN Mission in Sudan on gender inclusion in DDR and Community Security and Arms Control. Sarah tweets @saridug.
  • Dr Alexis Henshaw. Dr Alexis Henshaw is an assistant professor at Troy University. She is the author of Why Women Rebel: Understanding Women’s Participation in Armed Rebel Groups (Routledge, 2017) and co-author of Insurgent Women: Female Combatants in Civil Wars (Georgetown University Press, 2019). Her work on gender and conflict has appeared in numerous outlets including International Feminist Journal of Politics, Journal of Global Security Studies, and Small Wars & Insurgencies. Alexis tweets @Prof_Henshaw.
  • Elisabeth Lothe. Elisabeth Lothe is a Senior Advisor in the Section for Peace and Reconciliation, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she leads the 1325 team. Her portfolio also includes Asia and the Sahel. From 2017-2020 she was posted to Athens, as Deputy Head of Mission to Greece and Cyprus. Previously she worked with the UN in New York, Timor Leste and South Sudan on Justice and Security Sector Reform and women’s inclusion related to security institutions and post-conflict reform. She also worked as Mediation Advisor for the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue on peace processes in Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines.
  • Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE is Director of the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security and founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN). Sanam tweets @sanambna.
  • moderated by Dr Evelyn Pauls. Dr Evelyn Pauls is the Impact Manager of the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub, based at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Previously, she was a researcher at the Berghof Foundation, where she led a participatory action research project on the long-term reintegration of female ex-combatants using documentary filmmaking in Burundi, Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines. Evelyn tweets @EvelynPauls.

The event will take place in English, with simultaneous interpreting in Spanish, Burmese and Kurmanji.

This event is hosted by the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security in partnership with the Berghof Foundation. See also the short film and booklet “I Have to Speak”, which collects the stories of female ex-combatants.

(*) This event is free and open to all. This event will be held online via zoom, pre-registration is required here.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/women-peace-security/events/Current-Events/Women’s-Agency-in-War-and-Peace-Bridging-the-gap-on-female-ex-combatants-in-the-UNSCR-1325-agenda

November 25, 2020

Stories of Injustice – women serving prison sentences under joint enterprise legal principles – new research published

A new report written by academics at Manchester Metropolitan University reveals fresh evidence about the number and experiences of women in prison under laws of complicity known as joint enterprise.

The report, Stories of Injustice is an examination of the process of criminalisation for women convicted under joint enterprise laws. The use of this law in England and Wales remains hidden, but this research reveals for the first time that at least 109 women have been sentenced to long prison terms for joint enterprise convictions. Seeking to understand how and why this occurs, the report details harrowing examples of the experiences of these women.

The youngest girl in the research was charged at 13 years old, while the oldest woman serving a joint enterprise sentence is 68 years old. Many (34%) were young adults (18 to 25) when charged, while there were six who were children under 16 at charge. The majority have convictions for serious violent offences, with over three quarters convicted for murder or manslaughter offences. This is despite the fact that in no cases did the woman or girl use a deadly weapon, in 90% of cases they engaged in no violence at all, and in half of the cases they were not even present at the scene.

Yet most of the women are serving long or indeterminate prison sentences at an average of 15 years, with almost half (47%) serving life sentences of up to 30 years. Despite a 2016 Supreme Court ruling which found the law had “taken a wrong turn” when it comes to joint enterprise, this research reveals that secondary parties (as they are known in the law) continue to be convicted as if they committed the offence, with 16 of these women convicted since the 2016 ruling. The convictions date back to 2004 and the women are from towns and cities across England and Wales. Campaigners from JENGbA, the family led national campaign, believe there are likely more women’s experiences to be uncovered.

Joint enterprise is a set of legal principles grounded in common law and originating from Victorian times. Its use has re-emerged in the past 30 years, allowing many individuals to be convicted for one offence even where the roles of secondary parties are marginal, or evidence of their foresight is uncertain. Stories of Injustice offers an academic analysis of how and why women are convicted in joint enterprise trials.

According to the analysis across the country prosecutors rely on myths, gendered, class based and racist stereotypes and stigmas to convict women. For example, the report says, in one case the judge commented on a female defendant as “a feckless mother of unfortunate children” for whom “the state picks up the pieces of your fecklessness”. The judge made no remark on the parenting by the men in the dock despite two of the three male co-defendants being fathers, one to a child of the female defendant.

The report finds that this characterisation of women is central to their convictions. Established by prosecution teams, echoed by the media and in some cases the Judge, girls and women are presented as feckless mothers, manipulative love rivals, jilted lovers, or ‘honey traps’. For women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds these are layered with racist narratives, including tropes about gangs and ‘alternative’ lifestyles.

Like many other women in prison, the accounts of those convicted under joint enterprise captured significant experiences of marginalisation and trauma. In almost one half of the cases there had been a repeated failure by the police and other agencies to protect them from violence as children and adults, or for many women, to respond to their health or care needs. Often this important context was minimised or ignored during trials, or worse used to damn women for their silence, fear or inaction.

In one such case the female co-defendant had experienced years of sexual exploitation, but the prosecution argued that she ‘manipulated men for sex’.

“My abuse was used by the prosecution to paint a bad picture of me. I think also when used by the defence it didn’t help. I just don’t think they believed me.” (Jenna)

“I think I was judged more harshly because I was a woman. Intelligence was equated with ability to deceive and manipulate… and I was judged on my lifestyle and my addiction.” (Willow)

The report calls for urgent action to prevent this continuing injustice, including:

  • A moratorium on the use with women of joint enterprise and secondary liability.
  • Increased transparency and accountability in the decisions to use secondary liability by the Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in cases involving female defendants in multi-offender cases.
  • The evidence on the use of joint enterprise with women defendants to be scrutinised by a Parliamentary Committee with appropriate jurisdiction, alongside a ‘People’s Panel’ of relevant experts and interested parties.
  • The removal of existing barriers to legal appeals for those women currently in prison where there is a very real possibility of a miscarriage of justice – including the incoherent ‘substantial injustice test’ and the barriers to accessing transcripts of trials to support out of time appeals.

The research concludes that the current criminal justice system is inadequate in ensuring justice and accountability, addressing harm and preventing further violence.

Press Release https://barrowcadbury.org.uk/news/stories-of-injustice-women-in-prison-under-joint-enterprise/

 

November 25, 2020

Caring without sharing: Single parents’ journeys through the Covid-19 Crisis – Interim Report – Gingerbread

Interim findings from Gingerbread’s Caring Without Sharing research report reveals the unique challenges for working single parents created by the COVID-19 Crisis that the government needs to address.

Summary

New research published by Gingerbread and the Institute for Employment Studies highlights unique challenges faced by working single parents, including for those who will lose their jobs as a result of the Covid-19 Crisis. As the country experiences a second lockdown, with growing unemployment and continued childcare restrictions, it is vital that the government provides better support to single parents.

The research examines the impact of the COVID-19 Crisis, including an analysis of the Labour Force Survey, and interviews with forty single parents. In the New Year, further analysis – including follow up interviews – will take place to examine the journeys of single parents through the crisis.

Key statistical findings:

  • In early 2020, single parents were less financially secure and on lower incomes than other family types. Mothers in coupled households earned almost twice as much per week than single mothers.
  • Nearly half (46%) of single parents worked in routine occupations compared to coupled parents (26%). Routine occupations in retail, hotels and restaurants have been particularly impacted by cuts to hours and job losses as a result of the crisis.
  • While the first lockdown saw an increase in those who could work from home, this shift was less pronounced for single parents (21%) than coupled parents (38%).
  • Single parents are more likely to have been furloughed (30%) compared to couple parents (21%), reflecting both single parents’ caring responsibilities and the fact that they are more likely to work in sectors that will experience further job losses as a result of the pandemic.
  • Single parents were twice as likely to have poor mental health compared to other family types, immediately before and in the early stages of the crisis. Overall, 51% of single parents reported having depression, bad nerves or anxiety – compared with 27% of coupled parents.

Key findings from our interviews with single parents:

The single parents we interviewed were combining working with caring for their children – often with reduced or no support. Throughout the first lockdown, this was commonly experienced as an ‘impossible balancing act’, with single parents making constant trade-offs between their work and caring responsibilities.

As restrictions eased in July, single parents perceived an uncertain future, experiencing widespread concern about job security and their ability to secure new work. Ongoing uncertainty around work and childcare availability made planning for the future impossible. It was widely felt by single parents that the unique challenges facing them had not been sufficiently accounted for in policy and guidelines developed in response to the crisis.

As the country progresses through a second lockdown, many of the challenges faced by single parents remain. The Government needs to act fast to support single parents to stay in work, find new work or retrain.

Report recommendations:

Support single parents to stay in work

  • Extension of the furlough scheme is welcome. However, it is currently up to employers to decide whether a staff member can be part of the scheme. This needs to change so that single parents can access the scheme, including where they need to do so for their caring responsibilities when their child or children are required to isolate.
  • In the meantime, the Test and Trace Isolation Grant must be made available to parents on low incomes who cannot work when their children are sent home from childcare or school to self-isolate.

Support single parents to get back to work

  • Targeted support must be provided for single parents who lost their job during the COVID-19 crisis, including making them a priority group in the new JETS back to work programme. Jobcentre Plus should use the expansion of its work coach capacity to reintroduce specialist single parent advisers.

Support to retrain

  • There should be a greater emphasis on the back-to-work offer for single parents to improve their skills. The new Lifetime Skills Guarantee is welcome but must reflect the needs of single parents, including access to courses with free childcare through Universal Credit.

Download the full report (572.8KB pdf)

https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/policy-campaigns/publications-index/caring-without-sharing-interim/

November 25, 2020

Statue for Mary Wollstonecraft – fundraiser for new project

This project will only be funded if at least £154,000 is pledged by 7th January 2021 at 10:33pm

  • We wish to honour a woman who gave so much to the women who came after her.
  • Our team consists of determined women who want to bring a beautiful statue of Mary Wollstonecraft to life. 

We became aware of the stunning design by artist Martin Jennings online and decided that it was too lovely a tribute to a great woman to miss the opportunity of having in England.

We are in the process of reaching out to councils and places in areas that meant something to Mary to find the right place for this statue to call home.

In the meantime we have spoken to the wonderful Martin Jennings* and he is still willing to make this exceptional piece, so now we need to raise the necessary funds.

We need £144,000 for the statue itself (Including VAT)

The additional £10,000 is to cover potential landscaping fees for the area the statue is placed in. Should any pounds or pennies of that money be left over, it will be donated to Women At The Well.

They are a women’s charity operating less than ten minutes from St.Pancras gardens where Mary’s grave can be found.

They say that they are “supporting women with complex needs that include street-based prostitution, offending and anti-social behaviour, problematic substance abuse, rough sleeping and trafficking“

They help these women in various ways, and make sure they have some of the ‘bread and roses’ we all need in order to survive. Whether it is by providing basic needs such as hot food, showers, laundry facilities and toiletries. Or access to services, support finding accommodation, debt management and benefits, legal advisors, domestic violence services. Or with arts and crafts, gardening, reading and writing, numeracy, computer skills. Or providing for their health and well-being such as with hair cuts, counselling, tai chi.

* Martin Jennings is a renowned sculptor and the recipient of two Marsh Awards. He is perhaps most famous for his statues of John Betjeman at St Pancras Railway Station, Mary Seacole at St Thomas Hospital and Philip Larkin at Hull Paragon Interchange Station.

If you think you can help in any way with this project, such as with a place for Mary, then do please feel free to contact us at womenformary@gmail.com

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/statue-for-mary-wollstonecraft

November 25, 2020

Mothers needlessly separated from babies in hospitals – Letter to Matt Hancock

On 13th November 2020, The Hospital Infant Feeding Network, the GP Infant Feeding Network and Breastfeeding for Doctors published the following letter to the Health Secretaries of the four UK nations on the separation of mothers and children in hospitals, which was signed by 21 organisations, 342 doctors and 1179 other professionals and parents (as of 1130 15/11/2020). If you would like to sign the letter please click here.

Dear Matt Hancock, Vaughan Gething, Jeane Freeman, Robin Swann and Stephen Donelly Eire,

The Covid-19 pandemic has had huge impacts on families and children, with particular impact during pregnancy and new parenthood, as emphasised by the #ButNotMaternity campaign. We welcome the recent commitment by the Government to provide rapid Covid-19 testing to maternity and paediatric patients as a priority.

However, as restrictions tighten again, increasing numbers of mothers are still being separated from their babies where one or both are hospitalised, including cases where separation actively increases the risks of severe or prolonged illness because of its impact on lactation.

Bliss – the charity for families with babies cared for in neonatal units – has highlighted the critical importance of parental access in hospital settings, reinforcing that parents are not visitors. We amplify this call, and also emphasise that when the baby is breastfed, this constitutes not only essential nutrition but also protects infant development in both the short- and long-term. Furthermore, separation due to hospitalisation increases the risk of maternal complications caused by the abrupt cessation of breastfeeding, such as mastitis, and decreases the likelihood of breastfeeding being established.

We call upon all hospitals caring for families to review their practices urgently, aiming:

  • To keep mothers and children together as much as possible, acknowledging that neither is a ‘visitor’ when the other is hospitalised
  • To work in accordance with evidence-based guidelines already published
  • To ensure provision of breast pumps and feeding support if separation is necessary
  • To value and prioritise the breastfeeding relationship when a breastfeeding mother or child are hospitalised
  • To support parents and children with compassion

Moreover, we call for the urgent convening of a working group to draw up national policies that specifically address the needs of families during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding to ensure hospital care minimises any negative impact on mental health, bonding and infant feeding in these challenging times. The likelihood of long-term adjustments due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic means it is not acceptable for ad hoc arrangements to be made leading to inequity across hospital settings and across the country. There is an urgent need for the implementation of clear and universal guidelines and standards to protect the lives and long-term health of UK families.

For full text and signatories go to https://www.hifn.org/separation

November 25, 2020