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Government pushes ahead with rape defendant anonymity
The coalition government has said it will proceed with controversial plans to retain rape defendants' anonymity until they are charged. Rights of Women have issued a statement condemning the proposal, which you can read here
Women will bear the brunt of emergency budget
http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1161
The Chancellor’s emergency budget detailed a wave of cuts so huge and so drastic, the figures almost don’t seem real. But while no one in the UK will escape unscathed, it is women who will be most affected.
Women make up the bulk of public sector employees, so will be disproportionately affected by pay freezes and cuts in this sector.
Women also rely more heavily on state support such as child benefit, so the freeze to this benefit and the abolition of the pregnancy grant will hit women hardest.
The VAT rise is also set to impact on women in a different way from men – as the price of household goods increases, it is women’s budgets that will be most affected: in shared households, women tend to spend a higher proportion of their income on everyday goods.
Fawcett has called on the government to assess the way in which their plans will hurt women, and Ceri has urged that they think again before the autumn spending review.
New UN Gender Entity a Historic Step for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
On Friday, 2 July, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously decided to establish UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The new Gender Equality Entity to be headed by an Under-Secretary General, will consolidate the four existing UN bodies on women, increase operational capacity at the country level and have gain increased funding for work on women’s empowerment and advancement. Particularly notable in the resolution are the paragraphs regarding the importance of civil society participation in the new entity. The body must have increased operational presence at the country level including engagement with women’s groups and other civil society organizations invested in gender equality and the empowerment of women. For more information please go to www.gearcampaign.org<http://www.gearcampaign.org/
EHRC urges action on gender pay gap
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has urged businesses to 'close the gap' when it comes to disparity in men and women's wages.
The EHRC warned ahead of the 40th anniversary of the UK's Equal Pay Act that women were still paid on average 16.4% less than men.
It also said that in some sectors, such as finance, women were paid up to 55% less gross annual salary than male counterparts.
The organisation plans to issue further guidance to employers to ensure companies measure and makes moves to address gaps in pay.
Community Channel now on Freeview
The Community Channel, the UK's only national TV and online platform for communities and charities, is now available 24 hours a day on Freeview. The channel is available on Sky S channel 539, Virgin TV 233 and Freeview 87.
If you're interested in offering the channel programming please contact them on 020 7217 3642 or email ( http://wrcnews.org.uk/4DW-506E-BQKB7-2PYTW-0/c.aspx ) them.
Strengthening the Women's Sector in the North East
The NEWomen's Conference on 23rd March 2010 was a great success. There were 65 delegates, including a diverse range of women's organisations and groups, funding agencies and support agencies. The event was supported by Women's Resource Centre www.wrc.org.uk, the National Equalities Partnership, National Association of Voluntary & Community Action, Community Foundation (Northumberland & Durham) and the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation. We are experiencing some difficulty with our website but the all of the presentations should be on by the end of this week. The report of the event will follow shortly, along with a film which is being made by Michelle Golding and independent film-maker. A massive thank you to all of the participants, speakers, workshop leaders, supporters and the staff at the Marriot Hotel in Durham who made this event a massive success.
omen’s Network and Oxfam
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