UK's welfare system is cruel and misogynistic, says UN expert after damning report on poverty

Britain’s welfare system is so sexist it may as well have been compiled by “a group of misogynists in a room,” a UN expert has claimed.

Philip Alston, the UN’s rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, warned that poverty in the UK is a “political choice” and that compassion and concern had been “outsourced” in favour of tax cuts for the rich.

Minister for Women and Equalities announces a fundamental shift in focus for the Government Equalities Office

Minister for Women and Equalities Penny Mordaunt has announced a fundamental shift in focus for the Government Equalities Office (GEO) which will include putting marginalised women at the heart of its work on gender.

Ms Mordaunt said that the GEO has made significant progress in working towards closing the gender pay gap, getting women into work and being a driving force behind getting more women on boards in top companies, but that often low-paid, low-skilled women were left out of the conversation.

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Commons Committee hears evidence on upskirting

On Tuesday 10th July, witnesses including Chair of the Women & Equalities Select Committee Maria Miller MP, Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt of the Metropolitan Police, and Gina Martin, an upskirting survivor who started a petition last year to have the practice recognised as a specific criminal offence in England and Wales, gave evidence to the Voyeurism (Offences) (No. 2) Bill Committee at the House of Commons.

Lifetime NHS mental health care for sexual assault victims

Victims of sexual abuse will receive a lifetime of mental health care to help cope with the trauma, NHS England has announced. The Strategic direction for sexual assault and abuse services - Lifelong care for victims and survivors: 2018 - 2023 outlines how services for victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse, in all settings of the health and care system, need to evolve between now and 2023. It sets out six core priorities that NHS England will focus on to reduce inequalities experienced:

Effects of Income, Gender and Wealth Inequality, and Economic Policies on Macroeconomic Performance.

Rebuilding Economics has funded a new study into the Effects of Income, Gender and Wealth Inequality, and Economic Policies on Macroeconomic Performance.

Time’s up on non-disclosure agreements – Equality and Human Rights Commission

Corrosive working cultures have silenced the voices of victims and normalised sexual harassment, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said as it published a set of recommendations to better protect people at work.

The gender pay gap deadline - what to know

While a third of UK companies have failed to report gender pay data, the big four accountants and many other companies struggle with their pay gap. So far, 78% of firms have reported that they pay men more than women. Read more at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43586574

Changes to domestic violence evidence requirements come into effect

This week, the Ministry of Justice announced that as of the 8th January 2018, victims of domestic violence will get more support in taking abusive former partners to court. Changes to evidence requirements in private family law disputes have come into effect. There will no longer be a time limit on abuse evidence, which previously stood at five years. Additionally, the range of documents accepted as evidence of abuse has been widened to include statements from domestic violence support organisations and housing support officers.

Child sexual abuse prevention toolkit

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has published a free online toolkit to help prevent children and young people from being sexually abused. Eradicating child sexual abuse (ECSA) is designed be used in any part of the world, and enables professionals to: understand child sexual abuse; see solutions that others have used around the world; design a local plan that fits their needs.

North East Women's Network

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