The government has listened to the hundreds of thousands of people who joined Women's Aid in their SOS: Save Our Services Campaign, calling for planned changes to how refuges are funded. Women’s Aid is delighted that the government has acted: rent in refuges will continue to be funded through housing benefit, which is the very last secure form of income for our national network of services.
My Sister’s Place is recruiting an Administrator/Receptionist (37 hours per week, 12 months with a view to extending subject to funding, SPC18 (£18,870) pro rata) to support their services. Based in central Middlesbrough, My Sister’s Place provides specialist services to increase the safety of women and their children. This is a front line post in a crisis intervention service and you will need excellent personal communication skills to deal with the wide range of people that use the centre. Closing date: Friday, 31st August 2018.
The Home Office has published a report looking at the cost of modern slavery in the UK in order to better understand the impact of this crime, and has also announced an independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The aim of the review is to: understand how the 2015 Act is operating in practice; how effective it is; and whether the legal framework for tackling modern slavery is fit for purpose now and in the future.
The Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry into the enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 – legislation which is designed to “provide a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all”.
The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper on sexual harassment in education. The briefing gives an overview of the relevant policies that schools are expected to have in place and recent policy developments in England. It covers: Keeping children safe in education guidance; advice for schools on sexual violence and harassment; behaviour and bullying policies and relationships and sex education and PHSE.
Agenda and Mind are delighted to announce that they will be launching a £1.3m women’s mental health peer support grants programme later this month. Registrations of interest are now open and the first webinars introducing the programme are taking place this week. The programme responds to the needs of disadvantaged women, particularly those experiencing multiple disadvantage, who are frequently under-represented in services.
Current research from the Universities of Bristol, Cardiff and UWE is casting new light on why sexual abuse and harassment cases require handling with particular care. This blog post by Dr Lis Bates, a researcher in gender-based violence at the School for Policy Studies, and a former clerk of the House of Commons looks at thedirect lessons from their findings for Westminster, as it seeks to respond to sexual harassment, abuse and bullying.
In general, women and girls have greater health and social care requirements in comparison to men across their lifetime, although there are indications that health and social care services are not meeting their specific health needs. The BMA has a key role in ensuring that the health needs of the population are met. The BMA has published a series of papers in their Women's Health series, exploring in detail some of the major unmet needs in women's health, with recommendations for both policy-makers and healthcare practitioners.
The NEWomen's Network aims to strengthen the women's sector by encouraging collaboration between women's groups and by building alliances across other sectors. Read more »
