‘Women still failed in many areas of life today’ – report
WOMEN in Wales are still being failed in many areas of life, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned in its largest ever review of women’s rights.
In its new report, Pressing for Progress: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in 2018, which is being presented to the United Nations in Geneva today, the Commission says more action is needed to protect women and girls from violence in Wales and across Britain.
The report sets out a number of concerns and recommendations, including better support for survivors of domestic violence, higher prosecution and conviction rates for violent crimes against women and girls, and a review of hate crime legislation.
The report also emphasises the importance of ensuring that there is no regression in equality and human rights protections as a result of the changes introduced as we leave the EU, and that we do not lag behind
future developments in equality and human rights. It also highlights that funding for women’s services may decrease as a result of Brexit.
Ruth Coombs, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales, said: “In Wales we have the potential to be world leaders in ending all forms of violence against women. The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Act (Wales) 2015 and the Gender Equality Review are timely opportunities to set an agenda for change. It is crucial that we turn this commitment into concerted action, for the benefit of everyone in Wales.
“Our report shows that the number of sexual offences being recorded is increasing. On top of this, estimates show that only 15% of survivors of sexual violence report their experience to the police. This highlights the sheer scale of violence against women and girls in our society.
“Social movements such as #MeToo are shining a powerful spotlight on shocking experiences that women are facing. It is essential that concerted action is now taken so that women and girls are able to feel safe and fulfil their potential.”
The Commission’s report refers to a Home Affairs Committee inquiry into online hate and abuse, which found that women had become particular targets.
Evidence to the inquiry indicated that around two-thirds of female users of Facebook and Twitter had received abuse online, including sexist messages, politically extremist hate, unwanted sexual messages or images, stalking and threats of violence.
The Commission’s report has been submitted to the United Nations as part of the UN’s review into the UK’s women’s rights record. The Commission provided funding to the Women’s Equality Network Wales for it to produce and submit its own report as part of this process.
Catherine Fookes, director of Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales said: “WEN Wales was really pleased to be able to take part in this review into women’s human rights and progress towards equality. What is clear is that in Wales we have positive laws which set an excellent framework for women’s equality.
“However, we need to ensure that those laws are fully implemented and funded so that we get to true equality – especially in the areas of political leadership, employment and violence against women. There is much work to do.”
The report says that refuge spaces for victims of domestic violence are still nowhere near the required levels.
It refers to a Welsh Women’s Aid report on the state of the sector, which revealed that 11,512 women, men, children and young people were provided with refuge and/or community-based support services in 2015-16.
In the same year, 388 survivors of domestic abuse could not be accommodated because there was no space.
Meanwhile, 46% of services received cuts and 92% of service providers stated that funding and service continuation were the main challenges facing their organisations.
Bullying and harassment in schools is also a serious concern. A survey of girls and young women aged 13-21 across the UK found that nearly a fifth had experienced unwanted touching at school or college.
A BBC investigation found reports of 4,000 alleged sexual assaults and more than 600 rapes in UK schools in the period 2012-15, a fifth of which were carried out by other children.
In its report, the Commission recommends that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) asks the Welsh Government how it will address the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee’s concerns about the pace and consistency of implementing the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act.
The Commission also recommends the UN Committee asks the UK and Welsh governments a series of questions:
■ Whether they intend to incorporate CEDAW into domestic law so individuals can effectively challenge rights violations using the domestic legal system and access a domestic remedy for alleged breaches of CEDAW rights;
■ how they will ensure that they are undertaking joined-up, strategic cross-UK and cross-Government action to tackle violence against women and raise awareness of the issue;
■ how they will ensure that women’s services are adequately funded and supported to address all forms of abuse, including the specialist needs of disabled women, black and ethnic minority women, and those with complex needs;
■ if and how they will actively encourage all women, particularly those sharing other protected characteristics, to participate in democracy and politics through outreach initiatives, and continue to investigate ways of reducing barriers to women’s participation;
■ what steps they will take to improve women’s access to secure employment with just and fair conditions, including for groups with comparatively low employment rates such as ethnic minority women and disabled women; and
■ how they will address the problems with the availability and affordability of properly regulated childcare, including by ensuring adequately funded, flexible and high-quality childcare for all children.
The Commission’s review has also highlighted the continued need to tackle discrimination in the workplace and ensure just and fair conditions of work.
The recommendations include prohibiting employers from asking job applicants questions related to pregnancy and maternity, following the Commission research into employers’ outdated employment practices; addressing problems with the availability and affordability of properly regulated childcare; and legislating to extend the right to request flexible working to apply from day one in all jobs.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “This report shines a spotlight on the need to accelerate progress towards the First Minister’s goal of Wales being governed by a feminist government and making Wales the safest country for women in Europe.
“We have already done a lot to improve the public sector’s response to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. This includes appointment of a national adviser; measures to educate children and young people about healthy relationships; and positive engagement of service users to influence policy.
“However, we are not complacent and recognise there is more to do to build on this progress.”
■ The full report and list of recommendations is available on the Commission’s website, www.equalityhumanrights.com
IT is shocking that it should be necessary for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to write a report for the United Nations pointing out a range of concerns about the treatment of women in our society.
We sometimes like to think that we are more civilised than other cultures, where women are treated brutally and girls are deprived of education.
The report going to the UN, however, demonstrates that our record is far from unblemished.
Violence against women remains an appalling scourge in both Wales and the UK as a whole.
It is shocking that domestic abuse remains as high as it does, and that there are insufficient places in refuges. Too many men take the view that using violence against their partner is acceptable, instead of being a red line that should never be crossed.
It is disturbing that sexual violence is also on the increase.
The situation is not helped by the cuts in police funding stemming from the UK Government’s continuing austerity drive.
An appallingly high proportion of women have suffered abuse on social media.
The degree of abuse is variable, but it can be disconcerting even at the lower end of the scale.
What is it that makes a significant minority of men believe it is acceptable to engage in vile, misogynistic behaviour online?
Can we assume that the perpetrators would not take the abuse further by physically attacking a woman? It would be presumptuous to do so, especially given the rise in violence against women in the real world rather than the virtual one.
Social media giants should be made to show greater responsibility in dealing with users who abuse and threaten others. They may see themselves as heroes of free expression, but it is inescapably the fact that the space they provide is being used by people whose primary motivation is to intimidate others.
Sometimes the victims are known personally to the abusers, but in many instances they are not.
Many women politicians have given shocking testimony about what they have been subjected to online. Those responsible for the intimidation should be dealt with harshly. They are contributing to an online environment in which coping with threatening and abusive comments is becoming the norm. If unchecked, this will further fuel violence against women. It needs to be stopped.