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Allow women and girls to speak on sex, gender and gender identity without intimidation or fear – UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences

  • Threats and intimidation against women expressing their opinions on sex and sexual orientation is deeply concerning, said Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls in a statement released on 22 May 2023.
  • In the context of disagreements between some women’s rights activists and transgender in a number of countries in the Global North. Alsalem warned that violence against women and intimidation against people for expressing differing views.

“Discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation is prohibited in international and regional human rights law.

I am concerned by the shrinking space in several countries in the Global North for women and feminist organisations and their allies to gather and/or express themselves peacefully in demanding respect for their needs based on their sex and/or sexual orientation.

Law enforcement has a crucial role in protecting lawful gatherings of women and ensuring women’s safety and rights to freedom of assembly and speech without intimidation, coercion, or being effectively silenced. It is clear that where law enforcement has failed to provide the necessary safeguards, we have witnessed incidents of verbal and physical abuse, harassment, and intimidation, with the purpose of sabotaging and derailing such events as well as silencing the women who wish to speak at them.

I am disturbed by the frequent tactic of smear campaigns against women, girls and their allies on the basis of their beliefs on non-discrimination based on sex and same-sex relations. Branding them as “Nazis,” “genocidaires” or “extremists” is a means of attack and intimidation with the purpose of deterring women from speaking and expressing their views. Such actions are deeply troubling, as they are intended to instill fear in themshame them into silence, and incite violence and hatred against them. Such acts severely affect the dignified participation of women and girls in society.

I am also concerned by the way in which provisions that criminalise hate speech based on a number of grounds, including gender expression or gender identity, have been interpreted in some countries. Women and girls have a right to discuss any subject free of intimidation and threats of violence. This includes issues that are important to them, particularly if they relate to parts of their innate identity, and on which discrimination is prohibited. Holding and expressing views about the scope of rights in society based on sex and gender identity should not be delegitimised, trivialised, or dismissed.

According to international human rights law, any restriction on freedom of expression should be carried out strictly in accordance with the human rights standards of legality, necessity, proportionality and to serve a legitimate aim. Those disagreeing with the views of women and girls expressing concerns related to gender identity and sex also have a right to express their opinion. However, in doing so they must not threaten the safety and integrity of those they are protesting against and disagreeing with.Sweeping restrictions on the ability of women and men to raise concerns regarding the scope of rights based on gender identity and sex are in violation of the fundamentals of freedom of thought and freedom of belief and expression and amounts to unjustified or blanket censorship.

Of particular concern are the various forms of reprisals against women, including censorship, legal harassment, employment loss, loss of income, removal from social media platforms, speaking engagements, and the refusal to publish research conclusions and articles. In some cases, women politicians are sanctioned by their political parties, including through the threat of dismissal or actual dismissal.”

Notes:

  • Reem Alsalem is the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences;
  • The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/05/allow-women-and-girls-speak-sex-gender-and-gender-identity-without

 

May 23, 2023

Pioneering research exposing scale and danger of forced marriages calls for urgent reform to protect victims – University of Bristol

A study has revealed for the first time that the crime of forced marriage remains rife in England and Wales.

The research on Forced Marriage Protection Orders, a civil injunction designed to prevent forced marriages, uncovers the scale of the problem and proposes new measures urgently needed to better protect victims.

Forced marriage, where one or both people do not or cannot consent to a marriage, is classified as a form of domestic violence and often leads to further crimes, including rape. The study, jointly led by the University of Lincoln and University of Bristol, highlights the pressure forced marriage puts on police forces and local authorities nationwide.

Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs) are now being granted by family courts daily in a bid to curb the issue. Over the past decade, around 250 – which amounts to approximately five per week – have been approved each year.

Co-lead author Aisha K. Gill, Professor of Criminology at the University of Bristol, said: “This research shows us for the first time how Forced Marriage Protection Orders are a double-edged sword. Although they can prevent forced marriage and protect victims, these orders can also increase the risk of honour-based violence, including abduction, physical assaults, and rape.”

Other key findings from the research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, included:

  • The most common age of women and men subject to forced marriages was 16-21, but girls (and boys) as young as 11 were also victims.
  • People with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, Trans, queer+ (LGBTQ+) were especially vulnerable to forced marriage.
  • While it is commonly believed that forced marriages occur in South Asian or Middle Eastern diaspora communities, they were also found to occur in Irish, Nigerian and Somali communities, among others.
  • In extreme cases, efforts to prevent arrange marriage have resulted in perpetrators fleeing the country, kidnapping victims, issuing threats of violence, and committing torture and rape.

Since the minimum age of marriage in England and Wales was raised to 18 earlier this year, any conduct undertaken to cause a child to marry is forced marriage, even if coercion is not used.

Project lead Sundari Anitha, Professor of Gender, Violence, and Work, at the University of Lincoln, said: “This recent change adds to the steps that have been taken to prevent forced marriage but we need to ensure that existing provisions deliver safety for victims. Although the injunctive remedy offered by Forced Marriage Protection Orders has great promise, more work must be done to fully realise the potential.”

The research used data from nearly 600 case files from police forces nationwide. Around 40 FMPO reported judgements were analysed and the study also comprised more than 50 interviews with practitioners as well as victims/survivors of forced marriage. This provided an in-depth overview of the gaps in protection and possible ways to address them.

The main recommendations were to:

  • Gain an understanding of more subtle forms of coercion, such as emotional pressure, and new types, for example institutional imprisonment in another country.
  • Implement better and more co-ordinated safeguarding between different agencies which also continues after the FMPO has been obtained.
  • Systems to flag up and follow up when FMPOs expire, as this is often when the pressure to marry resumes.

Professor Anitha said: “These orders are different from other injunctions for domestic violence, where the victim has left the abusive relationship and the injunction prevents the perpetrator from contacting the victim. Most people who seek them continue to live in their family home or remain in touch with the perpetrators, their parents.

“These young people are trying to balance their need to protect themselves from a forced marriage while avoiding a complete family estrangement. When services continue to work together after an order is granted, they can create a protective shield for continued safety. If orders are treated as an end in themselves, it can expose victims to further serious harm.”

Professor Gill added: “Factors such as a lack of knowledge about the complicated coercive pressures on the victims/survivors, fissures between the agencies, missteps in multi-agency working and the gatekeeping of services due to financial constraints often impeded the provision of effective support.

“Where agencies worked together and practitioners understood these lived realities, the risks associated with Forced Marriage Protection Orders were minimised.”

Part of a longer press release at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2023/may/forced-marriage-research.html

May 23, 2023

End to intrusive fishing expeditions of rape victims’ therapy notes – Ministry of Justice

Victims and Prisoners Bill will stop unnecessary and invasive access to personal materials such as therapy notes.

  • move to empower victims to access therapy without fear of infringements on their privacy
  • robust new guidance for police on how and when to request access to personal records

Victims of rape will no longer face unnecessary and invasive requests to access their therapy notes or other personal records during the investigation stage thanks to new legislation announced on 15 May 2023.

For the first time ever, an amendment to the government’s Victims and Prisoners Bill will set out clearly in law that police should only request material that is absolutely necessary and proportionate to ensure that vulnerable victims aren’t put off seeking vital support.

This will end expansive fishing expeditions for information that can be irrelevant to the investigation and used to undermine the credibility of the victim.

This change gives greater clarity to victims and the police about when information can be requested and provides survivors of the most heinous crimes with the confidence to access therapy earlier without fear notes could be used against them in court.

The changes follow a Home Office consultation in 2022 which showed almost 90% of respondents were in favour of introducing a statutory duty on police forces to only make necessary and proportionate requests for the disclosure of third-party information. To ensure police are abiding by the new law, the government will also publish a new robust code of conduct – with forces who fail to abide by the new rules to face consequences including possible legal action.

The new legislation forms part of the Victims and Prisoners Bill which will transform victims’ experience by putting the principles underpinning the Victims’ Code on a statutory footing – sending a clear signal about what they can and should expect from the criminal justice system.

The bill will also overhaul the parole system by allowing ministers to block the release of the most dangerous offenders including murderers, rapists, and terrorists – putting public protection back as the overriding focus of the parole process.

Notes

  • The Victims and Prisoners Bill was introduced into Parliament on 29 March 2023. Victims placed at heart of justice system under radical shakeup – GOV.UK
  • Similar restrictions for accessing phone information have already been introduced via the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022). Any request has to be necessary and proportionate and where victims do agree to share that information, the majority of forces now have the technology to be able to return their phone to them within 24 hours.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/end-to-intrusive-fishing-expeditions-of-rape-victims-therapy-notes

May 23, 2023

Legal challenge to Destitute Domestic Violence concession for domestic abuse survivors with pre-settled status – Central England Law Centre

Central England Law Centre has been instructed by an individual, GN, to challenge by way of judicial review the lawfulness of the current Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC) rules and the rules on indefinite leave to remain as a victim of domestic violence in the Immigration Rules (DVILR).

GN was subjected to severe domestic violence at the hands of her husband resulting in the break down of the relationship. Because GN holds pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme she is unable to make an application for limited leave to remain with recourse to public funds under the DDVC rules and/or indefinite leave to remain as a victim of domestic violence. These applications are, with some limited exceptions, only available to victims of domestic violence who holds limited leave to remain as a partner under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

The DDVC would have granted GN leave to remain for three months and the ability to access essential services such as welfare benefits and housing assistance. Instead, GN was forced to rely on support from the local authority, leaving her destitute and living in hotels for several months.

Central England Law Centre is arguing that GN is being treated less favourably than those who are able to apply under the DDVC and DVILR rules and that this difference in treatment amounts to discrimination contrary to Article 14 European Convention of Human Rights (Protection from Discrimination). An application for permission to apply for judicial review has been submitted to the Administrative Court.

In response to GN’s application the Home Office has stated that the Secretary of State is currently reviewing her position regarding the DDVC and DVILR rules. The Secretary of State is due to confirm her position shortly by 16 May 2023.

https://www.centralenglandlc.org.uk/news/legal-challenge-ddv-concession

See also: https://www.ein.org.uk/news/central-england-law-centre-begins-legal-challenge-against-domestic-violence-concessions

May 23, 2023

15 June 2023 23:59 ~ Consultation on resolving families’ disputes earlier through family mediation – Ministry of Justice – Consultation – Closing Date

This consultation is open to all. We would be particularly interested to hear from organisations representing separating families, family justice professionals, mediation service providers, other dispute resolution service providers and individuals who have lived experience of the family courts or mediation.

See also:

Plans to protect children under new mediation reforms – Government to fund mandatory mediation for separating couples

      • move aims to protect children from the damaging impact of bitter courtroom battles
      • millions in further financial support to families as voucher scheme extended

Thousands of children could be protected from witnessing their parents thrash out family disputes through the courts, following plans to mandate mediation for separating families announced on 23 March 2023.

In a major shake-up to the family justice system, proposals will see mediation become mandatory in all suitable low-level family court cases excluding those which include allegations or a history of domestic violence. This will mean separating couples have to attempt to agree their child custody and financial arrangements through a qualified mediator with court action being a last resort.

It is expected the move could help up to 19,000 separating families resolve their issues away from the courtroom, while also reducing backlogs, easing pressures on the family courts and ensuring the justice system can focus on the families it most needs to protect.

Making mediation compulsory will allow the family courts to better prioritise and provide protection for the most serious cases with safeguarding concerns where it is not an option, such as domestic abuse and child safety. It is estimated that 36,000 vulnerable families each year will benefit from faster hearings and quicker resolutions as a result.

The overhaul could also introduce a new power for judges to order parents to make a reasonable attempt to mediate with possible financial penalties if they act unreasonably and harm a child’s wellbeing by prolonging court proceedings.

Estimates suggest 1 in 4 families who have child arrangements settled by judges have been to court before in the past 3 years. Increased use of mediation should lead to more agreeable resolutions for families, saving taxpayer money in the long term.

In turn, mediation provides a cheaper and more cost-effective solution for families, sparing them from expensive legal bills.

The proposals will be subject to a government consultation which will run for 12 weeks closing on 15 June 2023.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-to-protect-children-under-new-mediation-reforms

 

May 16, 2023