The Way Forward
Submission from SERTUC, the TUC region responsible for London
Background
1. SERTUC represents 58 affiliated trade unions with more than 850,000 members living and working in London. Trade union members work in a wide variety of organisations, sectors and occupations and come from a diverse range of backgrounds.
2. Trade union representatives regularly represent women workers who have suffered the impact of abuse or violence, and they work with employers in raising awareness of violence against women and the development of workplace policies and practices to address the issue and its consequences.
3. Contrary to popular and media perceptions women workers are more likely to be trade union members than male workers. Indeed, the social group that has the highest trade union density is female Afro-Caribbean workers.
4. Equalities issues are a priority for trade unions and the TUC. As such trade unions directly perform the greatest representative role on behalf of women of any organisation in Britain, including the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
5. The TUC has campaigned and lobbied on the need for an integrated strategy on violence against women and is a member of the End Violence Against Women Coalition. Policies and programmes that address violence against women narrowly will inevitably have less of an impact than a cohesive approach to gender, which places violence against women in the context of issues such as the labour market, housing, education and poverty that are clearly key determinants of violence against women.
6. SERTUC has responded to the online consultation but we feel that it is necessary to make more detailed comments. We trust that the GLA will recognise the extent and importance of trade unions as a representative group on behalf of women's interests and the legitimacy of these additional comments.
The Context
7. This Strategy should be informed by, work alongside and extend the Government's Draft Strategy published in 2009.
8. Violence against women is prevalent in all societies, but not equally so. There is good practice to assimilate from other countries.
9. There are special factors at work in London, including the fact that it is such a popular destination for migrant workers. There are differences in culture and tradition between communities. And there is the need to ensure that all residents in London are aware of equalities principles, their rights and obligations, the law and access points to advice and support.
10. Research suggests that during a recession violent crime in general might fall but violence against women can be expected to increase.
This Mayoral Strategy
11. This Mayoral Strategy is a re-iteration of previous strategies. It should be ambitious, setting high aspirations, but it should reflect a critical appraisal of the previous iterations, their successes and failures.
12. It is essential that this phase of the Strategy is subjected to monitoring and review and that stakeholders should be involved in this process.
13. This Strategy should be accompanied by an Implementation Plan and Action Plan that converts aspirations into tangible outcomes.
14. It is self-evident that to drive major change this Strategy will need an appropriate budget.
Some Fundamental Factors
15. SERTUC is supportive of the UN definition of violence against women but, additionally, we believe that it is important that any comprehensive strategy addresses the needs of girls as well as those of women, as these needs are not always or necessarily the same.
16. The nature and incidence of violence against women is not homogenous, the GLA's Strategy must understand how it inter-relates with cross cutting factors such as race, disability, class and sexual orientation.
17. Of course it is important that women who are threatened with, or experience, violence are able to access appropriate services, but the first priority of the GLA must be prevention. Key to this is the universal understanding of the principles of respect, equalities and human rights. Information campaigns must build women's awareness of their rights and their confidence to secure them.
18. Violence against women is both a cause and a consequence of women's inequality and is the foundation of social attitudes that legitimise violence against women and girls. Improving women's life chances and opportunities is the foundation of combating violence against women. Cultural assumptions about the value and nature of 'women's work' and pay are closely derived from deeply rooted views about the relationships between men and women. The widespread objectification of women's bodies within the media is a contributory factor to violence against women. The mainstreaming of the sex industry and pornography, the commodification of sex and the increasing sexualisation of young girls is another determinant. To allow discriminatory social relations to endure and then to seek to combat violence against women is irrational. The GLA's violence against women strategy must be integrated with related policy lines on the labour market, education, housing etc.
19. The GLA and other public sector bodies have a Gender Equality Duty that obliges them to promote gender equality. The GLA's Strategy to eliminate violence against women must be embedded in comprehensive action to eliminate all discrimination against women. Consequently, the GLA's Strategy must be informed by its 'Women in London' report, 2009.
20. The GLA Strategy must relate directly and explicitly to relevant Public Service Agreements and National Indicators such as PSA 15: Address the disadvantages that individuals experience because of their gender.... (NI 3 and 140) and PSA 18: Promote better health and well being for all (NI 120, 123 and 136).
The Workplace
21. No strategy to address violence against women will succeed if it fails to address issues in the workplace. Sixty per cent of women are employed; if their experience is discriminatory, abusive or violent it is self-evident that a strategy to eliminate violence against women elsewhere in their lives cannot succeed. Trade unions that represent women workers in a variety of sectors report that experiences of sexist bullying, harassment and assault are endemic to their workplace. This includes office environments, factory floors, hospitals, retail and the health sector. 'Victims' might be abused by colleagues at work or clients. USDAW (shopworkers' union) has campaigned against violence in retail environments for several years. UNISON (predominantly public sector) has documented attacks on female nurses, the GMB (general union) assaults on care workers, UNITE (general union) assaults on health visitors etc. An illustrative example is that of female teachers. Research by the National Union of Teachers in 2006 found that 39 per cent of female teachers had suffered sexist language from pupils or colleagues, 11 per cent reported sexual harassment. A separate report by the NASUWT (also a schoolteachers' union) reported that more than one in six (17%) women teachers had suffered from sexist abuse at school or college over a two year period. The survey also found that 67% of teachers had suffered some form of prejudice-related bullying over the past two years. Of these incidents, 52% had been committed by pupils, 23% by line managers, 16% by colleagues and 2% by a governor. Those surveyed reported that 16% of these related to body image, 13% to sexism, 5% to homophobia, 6% to racism and 2% to disability.
22. Unions' expertise in negotiating equalities structures and processes and in representation of grievances is critical to addressing the incidence of violence against women in the workplace. The workplace must be a key element in the GLA's strategy and unions must be a key partner.
Transport
23. Safe access for women to public transport is key to delivering a strategy to combat violence against women. Women working atypical hours, such as croupiers, are statistically more likely to be assaulted. Female nurses working nights are at risk of attack and there are ongoing issues with access to parking at hospitals. Research by USDAW has shown that women working in remote retail parks and warehouses are at a heightened risk of assault. Low income households are more dependent on public transport and so deficiencies in public transport cause a disproportionate risk to women in low income households.
Coordinating work with London Boroughs
24. It is critical that the GLA strategy is fully aligned with the strategy and service provision of London Boroughs.
25. A review by the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) campaign entitled 'Map of Gaps 2: The postcode lottery of violence against women support services in Britain' demonstrated the immense weaknesses in the level of support to be found in different localities. We recommend the GLA to undertake a thorough and ongoing mapping of information, advice and support services available in London.
26. Sustainable, long term, funding continues to be a big barrier in delivering adequate provision and delivery of support services for women experiencing violence. There is a critical need to reassess the commissioning arrangements for violence against women services. A survey of Rape Crisis England and Wales centres indicated that almost a quarter (24.1%) faced closure this financial year and almost two-thirds (39.3%) face closure in 2009/10 because of a lack of funding.
27. Members of the EVAW coalition have reported on the preference of local authorities to move to a 'one-size fits all' mode of service provision. Long standing women's groups who have built up expertise and trust with the communities they serve and who provide necessary specialist service provision are finding their funding being cut in preference for one provider to supply all services.
28. The GLA has a key role providing, influencing or coordinating services strategically across London Boroughs.
Some Priorities for Action
29. Include unions in delivery partnerships and 'engagement meetings'.
30. Work with employers to raise awareness of their duty of care to their employees and the impact of domestic violence on women, and promote best practice models at work.
31. Develop policies on dealing with violence at work within the GLA family as exemplars for London's businesses.
32. Support women's groups.
33. Explore the potential of utilising indicators from agencies, such as social care, child services, the Health and Safety Executive and the National Minimum Wage Inspectorate, as an early warning of the potential of violence against women.
34. Lobby for comprehensive and safe public transport services, continue the Safe Travel at Night Campaign and lobby for the adequate staffing of ticket offices and stations at night and weekends.
35. Ensure that London has sufficient and state of the art 'rape crisis centres'.
36. Recreate a London Equalities Commission as a broad-based committee of experts and include within their remit the monitoring of progress of the 'Way Forward'.
Contact:
Megan Dobney
SERTUC Regional Secretary
Southern & Eastern Region TUC
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3LS
020 7467 1291
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