News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

Child protection and support in urgent need of reform as COVID-19 increases risk of serious harm to young children – Nuffield Foundation

Incidents of serious harm to children under five where abuse or neglect is known or suspected increased during the early months of the pandemic, and many other children at risk may have been missed due to disruption in the usual pathways for referring children to services.

Children’s services are already under pressure as a result of increasing rates of child protection interventions over the last decade, particularly for children living in the poorest areas. In the same period, preventative services to support families have been cut, and many young children who are at risk of abuse or neglect do not come to the attention of services at all.

These findings are highlighted and explored in a new Nuffield Foundation evidence review that draws on over 140 sources to shed light on changing patterns of abuse and neglect in early childhood in England and Wales over the last 20 years. The review, Protecting young children at risk of abuse and neglect, calls for urgent re-evaluation of the current system, with a focus on how public services and agencies can adopt a holistic and collaborative approach to support young children at risk of abuse and neglect, prevent harm, and promote positive outcomes. The time is right for such a re-evaluation, given the current independent review of children’s services, commissioned by the government as ‘a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform systems and services.’

The impact of COVID-19

Incidents involving death or serious harm to children under five where abuse or neglect is known or suspected increased during the early months of the pandemic (April to September 2020). Compared to the same period in 2019, such incidents increased by 31% for children under one (a total of 102 children) and 50% for children aged one to five (a total of 48 children). The average rate of increase for children across all age groups was 27% (a total of 285 children).

In addition, the pandemic has disrupted the usual pathways for referring children to services, meaning children at risk of abuse and neglect may be being missed. These issues appear to be even more acute for infants and for babies born in the pandemic, with many children’s centres closing and health and GP check-ups coming via video link or telephone. For example, in some areas of the country up to 50% of health visitors in England were redeployed during the first 2020 lockdown, with only one in ten parents of children under two seeing a health visitor face-to-face.

This is particularly worrying given that even prior to the pandemic, a considerable number of young children at risk due to their family circumstances are missed by services each year. In 2019, 46% of children who died or were seriously harmed in 2019 were not known to the child welfare system. It is estimated that there are over half a million children under five (17%) living in a household with domestic abuse, parental mental health problems or parental substance misuse.

For full press release and to download the report or the summary https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/child-protection-and-support-in-urgent-need-of-reform

March 31, 2021

Government failing BAME communities and young women on vaccine take-up – Women and Equalities Committee

A letter from the Women and Equalities Committee has criticised the Government for failing BAME communities and young women on vaccine take-up. Committee Chair Caroline Nokes warned that leaving these issues unaddressed could be ‘devastating for both vaccine hesitant groups and wider society.’

Letter to Vaccine Deployment Minister

The letter to Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi argues that the problems facing rollout in BAME communities were ‘predictable’ and risked ‘compounding pre-existing health inequalities’.

The Government’s apparent ‘wait and see approach’ to the potential impact of fertility concerns on vaccine uptake amongst young women was unacceptable, according to the Committee.

The issue of vaccine hesitancy is especially important as the Government looks to open up from lockdown and avoid a ‘third wave’.

On 4 March, the Committee questioned community leaders and medical experts on the reasons behind these differences.

The following week, on 9 March, the Committee questioned Ministers on the Government’s approach to the vaccination of the BAME communities and women.

Key points

In the letter, the Chair, Caroline Nokes, states:

  • “The [vaccination] disparities appear to be most prominent across minority ethnic and religious groups, adults in deprived areas, and young women.”
  • “This is particularly concerning given the evidence we heard on the predictability of low uptake rates in certain groups, which may compound pre-existing health inequalities.”
  • “We are also concerned that there is a lack of data collection around the numbers of those refusing the offer of a vaccine and the reasons for such refusal, particularly given your acceptance that this data skews ‘heavily towards’ certain BAME communities.”
  • “Witnesses highlighted the need to recognise that the BAME community is not a homogenous one.”
  • “Minister Badenoch acknowledged that vaccine concerns around fertility were ‘false but proving to be sadly quite potent’. Despite this, we did not receive sufficient reassurance that the Government is developing a strategy to counter these concerns, and it was suggested that the Government is not overly concerned about the take up of vaccines by young women. This is not acceptable, we cannot adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach.”
  • “The Government is at risk of repeating the same mistakes with other groups displaying early signs of vaccine hesitancy.”

The Committee calls on the Government to:

  • Publish data on the vaccine rollout at local authority level.
  • Gather and publish vaccination data by sex, age, faith and ethnicity.
  • Urgently gather and assess vaccine refusal data.
  • Recognise the need to create mainstream content individualised to different BAME communities.
  • Develop targeted interventions to ensure young women take up the offer of a vaccine when it is their turn.

Part of a longer press release at https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/news/153480/government-failing-bame-communities-and-young-women-on-vaccine-takeup/

March 31, 2021

Abolish time limits to bring charges for offences for acts of domestic violence – Petition UK Government

Since Domestic Violence is not a specific Criminal Offence, suspects will be investigated for related offences. If the reported abuse is categorised as ‘Common Assault’, time limits mean victims can be denied an investigation despite building the strength, courage and willpower to come forward.

There are currently thousands of organisations, charities and support groups for Domestic Violence victims. Yet, as it stands, the law can prevent abusers from being investigated and charged.

As a victim myself, it took over a year from starting counselling to speak up about all my pain and suffering. Only to be told I was too late. Not only is this damaging, it may fail to prevent new victims. We are victims too. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. More need to be done to protect people.

You can sign the petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555276

March 26, 2021

Joint union statement: We demand safety. We demand justice. We demand equality – TUC

As trade unionists, we stand united against the epidemic of male violence. We also stand against the disproportionate threat of male violence faced by women, by Black and migrant communities, by LGBT+ individuals and by disabled people.

Violence against women and girls is rooted in structural inequalities and power imbalances between men and women. Women’s experience of violence is shaped by other factors such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, immigration status and disability. Experiencing intersecting inequalities compounds the threat of violence women face.

Male violence threatens women in all areas of their lives – in our homes, workplaces, and in public and digital spaces. Institutional and systemic failings enable and empower perpetrators and deny women safety and justice.

In the UK:

  • 97 per cent of young women have been sexually harassed
  • One in two women are sexually harassed in the workplace
  • 80 per cent of women of all ages have been sexually harassed in public
  • Women who report rape have a less than 4 per cent chance of it ever being heard in court
  • Three women are killed each week as a result of domestic abuse homicides

Women are not responsible for the actions of men.

We stand with survivors of male violence. With the families of Sarah Everard, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry and countless others who have lost a loved one to violence.

Government must act now to dismantle institutional sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination.

To start that work, we call on Ministers to:

  1. Implement a new mandatory duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment at work and ratify ILO Convention No.190
  2. Include migrant women within the Domestic Abuse Bill provisions and ensure safe reporting routes for women with insecure migration status
  3. Reverse the cuts to public services and ensure all relevant public sector staff receive enhanced training on preventing and responding to violence against women
  4. Provide long-term funding commitments to support the provision of vital, life-saving services for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence that meet the level of need, including specialised by-and-for BME, LBT+ and disabled women’s services
  5. Draw up a cross-departmental action plan to tackle the structural inequalities experienced by women, Black communities, LGBT+ and disabled people in work, health, education, housing and justice

We demand safety. We demand justice. We demand equality.

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/joint-union-statement-we-demand-safety-we-demand-justice-we-demand-equality

 

March 26, 2021

New data highlight fertility inequalities for Black, Asian and minority ethnic patients – BPAS

Responding to the new report from the HFEA, Marta Jansa Perez, Director of Embryology at BPAS, said:

“This new report from the HFEA uncovers the scale of inequalities faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic fertility patients. The disadvantages faced by Black patients in particular are striking: they have the lowest chance of a successful treatment and are also less likely than Asian or White patients to have their treatment funded by the NHS. The report also highlights the struggles that minority ethnic patients face when using donor eggs. Because of the fact that 89% of egg donors are White, in more than half of cycles with an Asian egg recipient, eggs from White donors are used.

“We welcome this important report from the HFEA, and we must work to ensure it is the beginning of a larger process of data collection and research, to promote equal access to fertility services. BPAS Fertility echoes the HFEA’s recommendations and would like to encourage commissioners across the UK to review their funding eligibility criteria, in order to consider whether their policies have an adverse impact on treatment access for particular ethnic groups.”

About BPAS

  • BPAS is a charity that sees almost 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception, at clinics across the UK. It supports and advocates for reproductive choice.
  • BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, which seeks to develop and deliver a research agenda that furthers women’s access to evidence-based reproductive healthcare, driven by an understanding of women’s perspectives and needs. You can find out more here.
  • BPAS intends to launch a not-for-profit fertility service in Autumn 2021, to provide ethical, evidence-based, person-centred care that supports patients. We intend to only charge what it costs to provide a safe, high-quality, and accessible service to patients who may be unable to access NHS-funded care.

https://www.bpas.org/about-our-charity/press-office/press-releases/new-hfea-data-highlight-fertility-inequalities-for-black-asian-and-minority-ethnic-patients/

March 26, 2021