Category Archives: Children

Threats to withdraw the Maternity Leave Directive: Measures to protect women’s rights are not red tape – European Women’s Lobby

The European Women’s Lobby cries scandal as the rhetoric on women’s rights and gender equality takes a blow

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL), has learned with dismay about the European Commission’s proposal to withdraw the proposed Maternity Leave Directive, as a gesture of ‘legislative management’ before the new Commission is installed. “This is a classic example of the backlash against women’s rights and gender equality in Europe. It sends a very bad signal to women and men in Europe about how much the EU can do to support real people’s rights and lives.” says Joanna Maycock, EWL Secretary General.

The proposed Maternity Leave Directive was adopted democratically by a large majority of the European Parliament in its first reading on 20 October 2010. It has nonetheless been blocked by Member State governments (Council) for over three years. The proposal provides a number of forward-looking measures including 20 weeks fully paid maternity leave, strengthened measures to protect women from dismissal on return and two weeks fully paid paternity leave also available to same sex couples (see note to editors).

“The threat to remove the Maternity Leave Directive from the legislative process is serious and undermines the democratic process of the European Parliament’s adopted position. This negates Europe’s rhetoric on its commitment to gender equality and effective work-life balance for women and men in Europe”, states Joanna Maycock.

Women continue to earn 16% on average less than men and it is often at the moment of childbirth that the gender pay gap kicks in, with life- long often irreversible consequences, including the fact that women recieve on average 40% less pension than men. Despite existing laws that protect pregnant workers, we know that more and more women today are experiencing discrimination in the work place as a direct result of pregnancy and/or birth. This is why it is urgent to strengthen the rights and protection of women during pregnancy and on return to work. “It is unacceptable that measures to protect women’s rights are part of a trade-off to cut red tape: women’s rights are NOT red tape.” states Ms Maycock.

In an Open Letter to the newly designated President of the European Commission, the EWL calls on Mr Juncker to reject this proposal to withdraw the Maternity Leave Directive, immediately reinstate the proposal and to give his full commitment to reaching a decision with the Council. We expect the newly elected European Parliament will react strongly against this proposal and will work with the Italian Presidency towards achieving a favourable conclusion.

ENDS —————–

Notes to Editors:

For Media Enquiries – contact Elvira Buijink – buijink@womenlobby.org, +32 2/210 04 40

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL)

The EWL is the largest umbrella organisation of women’s associations in the European Union working to promote women’s rights and equality between women and men. EWL membership extends to organisations in all 28 EU member states and three candidate countries, as well as to 21 European-wide bodies, representing a total of more than 2000 organisations. www.womenlobby.org

The Maternity leave Directive:

The proposed Maternity Leave Directive, adopted democratically by a large majority of the European Parliament in first reading on 20 October 2010, has been blocked by Member State governments (Council) for over three years despite ongoing attempts to find a negotiated position and subsequent decision which never materialised.

The proposed Maternity Leave Directive is an all-encompassing set of proposals to strengthen the rights of pregnant workers and women returning to work following childbirth and/or who are breastfeeding. These include, up to 20 weeks fully paid leave, a mandatory six-week rest period before or after birth whenever they choose, extension of the same rights to domestic workers and adoptive mothers, specific measures for multiple births and disabilities, protection from dismissal for six months, protection from imposed night shifts and overtime and flexibility for breastfeeding mothers.

In addition, a two-week fully paid paternity leave provision is included in the European Parliament’s adopted position, which bridges the gap in relation to paternity leave (also available to same sex couples) as there is no European Directive on this form of leave. It should also be noted that a passerelle clause is included for countries where a strong parental leave framework is in place, which means that the reality of the situation in different countries is taken into account and that women who are pregnant, have given birth and/or who are breastfeeding have the same rights throughout the European Union.

See EWL Maternity Leave Campaign

Press Release at http://www.womenlobby.org/news/ewl-news/article/threats-to-withdraw-the-maternity?lang=en

July 7, 2014

MWNUK Welcomes New Forced Marriage Laws

The Muslim Women’s Network UK (MWNUK) welcomes new laws criminalising Forced Marriage which will came into effect on 16 June 2014.

MWNUK and its’ members have decades of experience of dealing with forced marriage cases. While there has been a steady shift in accepting its practice as wrong, many victims often realise this too late. Through working in schools, MWNUK has found that many young people confuse the difference between an arranged marriage (where both bride and groom have the free will to say no to the suggested marriage) and a forced marriage (where there is no freedom of choice). The situation is conflated by pressure from family members which when taken in good faith are understood as ‘my duty as a daughter/son’, and not emotional blackmail.

One victim said:

“Being in a situation where you have those you trust manipulating you to do something against your wishes is awful. You don’t want to upset them, and they try lots of emotional ways to get you to agree. It’s so hard to even see what’s happening when you’re in the middle of it. Their decisions ruined my life for a long while.”

Some victims are further threatened with saying no to the marriage akin to disobeying religious teachings. However, a Forced marriage can never be justified on religious grounds.

We have also seen cases where this lack of awareness has meant that some victims taken abroad under the guise of a ‘holiday’ find themselves back in Britain married to an individual they may have just met and are now responsible for bringing to the UK. Even at this stage, they do not realise it is not too late and that support is available to them. In 2013 alone the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1302 cases.

Faeeza Vaid, Executive Director of Muslim Women’s Network UK comments:

“The impact of being forced into marriage can be devastating for its victims. In agreement with Universal Human Rights, I believe that Forced marriages are unacceptable and illegal in Islam. And so the introduction of these criminal laws is not about scapegoating parents, individuals or communities, they are about standing firm for justice.

We need to continue raising awareness of this issue; to communities, to public service frontline workers, to policy influencers etc. These laws will only be effective if we put resources behind facilitating raising awareness and working together in a culturally appropriate and common sense manner. And we need to encourage victims not to suffer in silence. It is my personal hope that this law will act as a deterrent to those who think this abhorrent crime is acceptable.”

In response to the enquires MWNUK has received, MWNUK have previously raised concerns about this abuse and provided recommendations to Government consultations, we have run training workshops and events, and produced information factsheets [1] to raise awareness of this issue.

Thereby we believe that the new laws provide another option of protection for victims who can already go through a civil remedy of obtaining a Forced Marriage Protection Order through the family courts. The criminal laws may be found in the ‘Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill’ which criminalises forcing someone to marry, and provides a maximum penalty of seven years for committing a forced marriage offence. The ‘Breaching a Forced Marriage Protection Order’ provides a maximum penalty of five years for breach of a forced marriage protection order.

There are many organisations available to support those at risk of entering a forced marriage, or those already in a forced marriage. [2] The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is the main body between the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) who provide advice and support on forced marriage cases. Their website (www.fco.gov.uk/forced-marriage )has useful information and resources. They may be contacted on 0207 0080151. MWNUK can also be contacted on 0121 236 9000 / 07415 206936. In an emergency dial 999.

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Notes:

    [1] MWNUK Forced Marriage Factsheet – http://mwnuk.co.uk/Forced_Marriage_7_factsheets.php

    [2] Some support organisations:

      Honour Network – This is a project run by Karma Nirvana. It supports both male and female victims of forced marriage and honour based violence.
      Website: www.karmanirvana.org.uk/honour-network
      Helpline: 0800 5999 247

      Forced Marriage.Net – This is a one stop website providing practical information and sources of advice.
      Website: www.forcedmarriage.net

      Forward – This is service is dedicated to advancing and safeguarding the health and rights of African girls and woman, in particular female genital mutilation and child marriage.
      Website: www.forwarduk.org.uk
      Telephone: 0208 860 4000

      Jan Trust- Offers a free and confidential helpline (0800 141 2994) to support victims who are in fear of going into a forced marriage or are already in one. Helpline staff provide culturally sensitive advice in Urdu, Punjabi and English.
      Websites: www.jantrust.org / www.againstforcedmarriage.org

      Amina – Muslim Women’s Helpline – Based in Scotland.
      Website: www.mwrc.org.uk
      Telephone: 0808 801 0301 (Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm)

      Practical Solutions – Ministry of Justice approved specialist forced marriage advisors and practitioners based in the north West, working with victims/potential victims, communities and service providers. Practical Solutions work nationally and internationally.
      Website: www.practical-solutions.info
      Telephone: 0844 879 3129 / 07791 90497

      NSPCC Child Protection Helpline. – This is a free 24 hour helpline provides
      information, advice, and counseling to anyone concerned about a child at risk of abuse.
      Website: www.nspcc.org.uk
      Telephone: 0808 800 5000

    About MWNUK

    The Muslim Women’s Network UK is the only national Muslim women’s organisation in Britain. It is an independent network of women across the UK that shares knowledge, connects the voices, and promotes the needs of diverse Muslim women. Further information on the network can be found at: www.mwnuk.co.uk

Press Release at http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=14513de99dac8d5f78b2163ec&id=5664a27c0e

June 20, 2014

Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation welcomes new law making forced marriage a criminal offence

On Monday, 16 June 2014, forced marriage becomes a self-standing criminal offence in England and Wales and in Scotland punishable by up to 7 years in prison. At the same time, in England and Wales it also becomes a criminal offence to breach a Forced Marriage Protection Order, in line with Scotland where this is already the case.

The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO), which represents women and girls from Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan communities, has been at the forefront of the campaign to criminalise Forced Marriage across the UK over the last decade, is celebrating this crucial step forward in the movement to end forced marriage.

Diana Nammi, founder and Executive Director of IKWRO says;

We have campaigned long and hard for the criminalisation of forced marriage, which equates to slavery, for a number of years because this is what the women that we represent tell us they want. Criminalisation makes it absolutely clear to everyone that forced marriage is not tolerated in the UK. The absence of a specific criminal offence thus far has undermined the movement to end forced marriage. Criminalisation is a crucial deterrent; many of our clients have told us that if forced marriage had been criminalised when they were facing it, their families may not have gone ahead with it because they would have abided by the law.

The women and girls that we work with say that they want to know that the law is clearly on their side and that forced marriage is explicitly illegal. Those who have experienced forced marriage tell us that if they had been confident that the law was on their side when they were facing forced marriage, they would have felt empowered to seek help.

Some say that criminalisation will force the issue underground. But it is already a hidden issue and we must continue to work hard to change this. IKWRO are doing this, by working in schools and colleges. We are training all staff through inset says, influencing students who may be potential victims, perpetrators or have influence to prevent forced marriage of others, and we are reaching parents through school coffee mornings. But to ensure that everyone can be reached we need the government to get on board by making whole school education on this issue compulsory. We must see commitment from the Department of Education to ensure that the statutory guidelines on forced marriage and ‘honour’ based violence are embedded into safeguarding strategies, structures and procedures for all schools and colleges and for effective ongoing monitoring by Ofsted.

Our colleagues in Denmark at a charity called LOKK, tell us that since 2008 when forced marriage became a criminal offence there, the numbers of young people and professionals seeking help around the issue of forced marriage have soared. The same is already happening here in the UK; since the intention to criminalise forced marriage was announced by David Cameron on 8th June 2012, reporting has almost doubled. The same arguments were raised against criminalising marital rape but far from going underground, reporting has increased four-fold’.

With the new specific offence the law will be much clearer. It will be easier to for those at risk and also for people who have influence to prevent a forced marriage to tell perpetrators about. Criminalisation will also make it crystal clear to front-line professionals, such as teachers and social workers, that forced marriage is a serious safeguarding issue and that they must take action to ensure anyone at risk is safe. So now those at risk will be able have confidence that they will be taken seriously.

Some people have said that criminalising forced marriage will intensify negativity towards minority communities. IKWRO has repeatedly heard this argument made about all of our work raising awareness on all forms of ‘honour’ based violence. We have been told to be quiet about all negative issues within our communities. But we strongly disagree. We both represent and are largely made up of minority women and we must at the same time expose human rights abuses and fight racism; the two are not mutually exclusive. We believe that staying silent about human rights abuses faced by women and girls from minority communities is racist. By turning our back and allowing harmful practices such as forced marriage to continue unchallenged, we actually leave the community to face stigmatisation and discrimination. We must prioritise the safety of minority women and girls, we must protect their universal human rights and fight for equality.

Not only does criminalisation send a clear message within the UK, it also sends a clear message internationally, which is important because forced marriage is a global human rights issue.

Changing the law is a crucial step in the movement, but this alone will not end forced marriage. I call upon the government to implement a national strategy plan to address forced marriage. The plan must ensure:

    a) Effective training for all professionals working with the public, including the police, judges, health professionals and social services.

    b) Whole school education for students and all staff.

    c) Monitoring of prolonged absences by students and students not returning from holidays.

    d) That affected communities, including both potential perpetrators and potential victims are made aware of the changes in the law.

    e) A victim/survivor focussed approach to ensure they are fully protected and supported.

    f) Access to public funds for victims/ survivors.

    g) Provision within immigration law and procedures to permanently protect victims/survivors.

    h) Access to justice through legal aid for victims/survivors.

    i) Sustainable funding for specialist support organisations like IKWRO and for refuges.

Press Release at http://ikwro.org.uk/2014/06/welcomes-marriage-criminal/#more-2119

June 17, 2014

12 July 2014 13:00 ~ Mothers Against Violence 6th Making Children and Young People Matter – Manchester

Until 19:00 at Piccadilly Gardens, Piccadilly, M1 1RG

ECM: MAKE A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION!

Mothers Against Violence 6th annual event Making Children and Young People Matter returns to Piccadilly Gardens this July 2014. Those who attended last year saw the event theme based on “Achieving Economic Well-being” and young people performed and displayed positive talents. We were blessed with great weather, an amazing turnout and fabulous local artists. This year promises to be bigger and even better!

The theme for this year’s event is Make a Positive Contribution in your local community, country and nation. We are so excited to be returning to Piccadilly Gardens and have an amazing line-up this year and have been working really hard to pull this together, we will continue to do so over the next few months: THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

We are looking for schools, community groups and individuals to Make a Positive Contribution and come along!

Please regularly check out our website, Twitter and Facebook pages for updates on the event!

MAKING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE MATTER 2014!!
Piccadilly Gardens
12th July 2014
1pm – 7pm

NO VIOLENCE JUST PEACE

Check for updates at https://www.facebook.com/events/259917584177740/

Mothers Against Violence are asking for volunteers to help out – see their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MAVUK

June 13, 2014