Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

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19.46 19.47 19.48 Recommendations: • Review the Action Plan to include policy and guidance on older women, outlining the roles and responsibilities of service organisations • Make resources available for service providers to meet the needs of older women including staff, accommodation and outreach services Funding for specialist VAWG services The economic cost of VAWG in the UK is estimated to be £37.6bn annually 83 and funding for specialist support and preventive services should be seen as an investment or an offset that would reduce the overall economic costs of this violence. The recently adopted VAWG strategies for England and Wales are not matched by adequate funding strategies that would ensure that every woman who is at risk of or experiencing violence receives proper advice and support. 84 Commitments by the Government to ensure the sustainability of the VAWG sector are not reflected in reality. VAWG services are under threat and it has been reported that the sector has lost 31% of funding and that women are turned away from refuges every day, 85 for example on an average day in 2011 230 women were turned away by Women’s Aid - around 9% of those seeking refuge - because of a lack of space. 86 100% of BME VAWG organisations surveyed in 2011 had also experienced funding cuts within the last three years and were having to consider ways of meeting the shortfall in funding. 87 Budget cuts and commissioning and procurement practices are squeezing out preventative or specialist service providers due to the economies of scale that larger, generic organisations can provide. However, this does not necessarily translate into better outcomes for service users. 88 Central government has indicated that it will consider how to address this problem 89 but research demonstrates a dramatic and uneven reduction in local services to prevent and protect against VAWG and it is feared that this will lead to increases in such violence. 90 (See Article 3 and Appendix: 5 for further information) There is currently a ‘postcode lottery’ of service provision for women experiencing VAWG in Wales – particularly for women in rural Wales. While there have been some developments since 2009, the general under-provision of services, and in particular services for women who have experienced any form of VAWG that is not domestic abuse, remains similar. 91 There are also issues in terms of service provision in Scotland and Northern Ireland. (See Annex 1) 83. Government Equalities Office (2010) The Equality Strategy – Building a Fairer Britain. GEO: London http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ publications/equalities/equality-strategy-publications/equality-strategy/equality-strategy?view=Binary 84. Rights of Women (2010) Measuring up? UK compliance with international commitments on violence against women in England and Wales. ROW: London http://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/pdfs/Measuring_up_A_report_by_Rights_of_Women.pdf 85. Baird, V. QC (2012) Everywoman Safe Everywhere: Labour’s commission on women’s safety – First interim report http://www.labour.org.uk/ uploads/455bf616-f048-b184-e903-c9629a67745a.pdf 86. Towers, J. and Walby, S. (2012) Measuring the impact of cuts in public expenditure on the provision of services to prevent violence against women and girls. Trust for London: London http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/FullVAWGReport.pdf 87. FORWARD and Imkaan (2011) The Road to Sustainability: A review of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee organisations working with women on health and gender based violence in England. A study commissioned by the Women’s Health and Equality Consortium. WHEC: London http://www.whec.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/07/TheRoadtoSustainabilityExecSummary2011.pdf 88. New economics foundation (2007) Unintended Consequences: How the efficiency agenda erodes local public services and a new public benefit model to restore them. nef: London. http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/unintended-consequences 89. Ministry of Justice (2012) Getting It Right for Victims and Witnesses: Government Response https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digitalcommunications/victims-witnesses 90. Towers, J. and Walby, S. (2012) Measuring the impact of cuts in public expenditure on the provision of services to prevent violence against women and girls. Trust for London: London http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/FullVAWGReport.pdf 91. Women’s Equality Network Wales (2012) Submission to the Committee on the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, WEN Wales response. WEN Wales: Burry Port http://wenwales.org/wp-content/uploads/Submission-tothe-Committee-on-CEDAW-formatted-version-final.pdf 182 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013
19.49 19.50 19.51 19.52 Recommendations: • Commissioning guidance should stress the value and legality of women-only services and those targeting minority women. The specialism of smaller groups must not be marginalised within policy and funding frameworks due to a preference for delivering services via more generic providers • Funders need to recognise the cost-effectiveness and value of sustainable funding interventions instead of short-term projects. What is needed are women-only support groups, therapeutic interventions, outreach, advocacy, and resettlement and accommodation-based support • Particular attention needs to be paid to the funding of service provision for particular groups of women who may face additional barriers, such as BMER, disabled, transgender women and women with an insecure immigration status Destitution and violence In their 7th Periodic Report the Government claims to have introduced measures which “support migrant spouses who are victims of domestic violence and do not have access to refuges because of their immigration status.” However, that support is only available to a specific category of migrant. The Government’s VAWG strategy also does not take into account the lack of protection offered to migrant women other than those who are or have been on spousal visas and there is no mention of migrant women’s needs and challenges. There is no equivalent to the Destitution and Domestic Violence Concession (DDV) for women facing DV who are on some other kind of visa. These women face interlocking problems: no access to safe accommodation and support while considering and dealing with their situation. (See Appendix: 8) Even if the only long-term immigration option would be to leave the UK and return home, 92 most women facing DV will have no money of their own, possibly no access to their passports, legal issues concerning custody of children and other challenges faced by migrant women, and will not be able to pack and leave the UK quickly, even if such were appropriate. Also, from April 2013 there will be no legal aid to help these women understand their immigration situation or choose properly between available options. (See Appendix: 28) The availability of legal aid is dependent on provision of specific pieces of evidence, while the substantive entitlement in each of these categories does not depend on this. This means that a woman who fits one or other of these legal requirements may be denied legal aid to advise and represent her in the event of a refusal. Gender-related vulnerabilities put women asylum seekers at risk of destitution if their asylum application is refused. The poor quality of decision making in relation to support applications demonstrates a failure to take adequate account of such vulnerability. 93 Once destitute, women asylum seekers are vulnerable to violence 94 and there is evidence that they may engage in transactional activity including sexual activity to get somewhere to live. 95 (See Article 9) 92. This course of events is envisaged by CEDAW in para 26(l) of CEDAW General Recommendation No. 26 Women Migrant Workers (fortysecond session, 2008) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/GR_26_on_women_migrant_workers_en.pdf Deportation (or removal) may be the eventual outcome, but until that is clear, a safe place, adequate support and legal assistance must be provided. 93. Asylum Support Appeals Project (2011) No credibility: UKBA decision making and Section 4 support. www.asaproject.org/web/images/ PDFs/news/asapreport260411.pdf 94. Refugee Council (2012) The experiences of refugee women in the UK: Briefing. http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/assets/0001/5837/ Briefing_-_experiences_of_refugee_women_in_the_UK.pdf 95. Crawley, Heaven et al. (2011) Coping with destitution, survival and livelihood strategies of refused asylum seekers living in the UK. Oxfam: Oxford http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/coping-with-destitution-survival-and-livelihood-strategies-of-refused-asylumse-121667 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013 183
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Women’s equality in the UK - A he
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Appendices (online only) Appendix 1
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• the continued discrimination ag
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• Develop a common model of analy
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Article 9 - Nationality: One third
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investment in social infrastructure
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and increase the marginalisation of
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have been no prosecutions in Englan
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1 2 3 4 5 Introduction This is a Un
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10 11 12 13 housing crisis, a ‘lo
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1.1 1.2 1.3 Article 1 - Overarching
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1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Women’
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1.17 1.18 1.19 Young women We are a
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2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 consult to “remov
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2.12 2.13 discrimination”. Howeve
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2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 worsen gen
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2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 CEDAW and the l
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3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 would “increase
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3.15 3.16 3.17 and accountable EHRC
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3.22 3.23 3.24 report is was partic
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classes, migrants, and Gypsy, Trave
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the institutional discrimination an
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5.5 5.6 5.7 Case study: 8 Sandra li
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5.12 5.13 5.14 issue. A more approp
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6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Article 6 - Exploit
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6.9 6.10 6.11 to the protection and
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6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 Office’s own
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6.24 6.25 6.26 women and increase t
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6.31 6.32 6.33 6.34 infrequent lap
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7.1 7.2 Article 7 - Political and p
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7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 The House of Lords
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7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 Recommenda
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7.21 7.22 7.23 Political representa
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9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Article
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9.9 9.10 Mainstreaming gender in th
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9.15 9.16 9.17 biased views towards
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9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 women. 47 (See
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9.28 9.29 9.30 9.31 New family migr
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9.35 9.36 UKBA, where men and women
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9.39 9.40 9.41 9.42 • Do not redu
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9.46 Research on immigration case m
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10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 The Educat
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10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 boys and on
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10.22 10.23 allow speakers to promo
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10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 Case study:
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10.37 10.38 10.39 10.40 • Many wo
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10.46 10.47 10.48 applications (fig
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11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Article 11 - Em
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11.8 11.9 are 754,000 women working
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11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 The g
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11.24 11.25 11.26 per week or they
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11.31 11.32 11.33 Introducing more
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11.37 11.38 Case study: 83 Jasmine
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11.42 11.43 11.44 11.45 At the 2012
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12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 of women and en
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12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 Translators
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12.19 12.20 12.21 12.22 Barriers to
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12.25 12.26 12.27 12.28 Gypsy and T
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12.34 12.35 12.36 12.37 Older women
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12.41 12.42 Recommendations: • Th
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12.47 12.48 12.49 12.50 they are at
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12.55 12.56 12.57 Case studies: 128
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12.60 12.61 12.62 12.63 12.64 hospi
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13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Article 13
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Page 195 and 196: Annex 1: The Devolved Administratio
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