Government Equalities Office
The first issue of the GEO newsletter
Extracts of the newsletter follow
Engaging and Listening to Women
The Women’s National Commission quango closed on 31 December 2010. The UK Government is committed to continue and enhance its engagement with women across the UK and we are considering how best to ensure direct Ministerial engagement with women and women’s organisations.
GEO has had informal consultations and discussions with partners on how we can best make this happen and we would like to thank everyone who participated and shared their views. We have also developed a dedicated webpage so we can listen to women’s views, while a new way of reaching out to women and listening to their views is being developed:
UN Commission on the Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is held annually at United Nations headquarters in New York in late February – early March. The objective of the Commission is to promote implementation of the principle that men and women shall have equal rights. The 55th session of the CSW will be held from 22 February - 4 March 2011. The thematic focuses of CSW 55 will be:
Main theme: “Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work”; and,
Review theme: “The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child”.
Our Ministers are committed to continuing the strong and productive relationship with UK non-Governmental organizations (NGOs). The upcoming 55th session in New York provides a timely opportunity to set in motion our plans which also includes revitalising communications on international matters. To engage UK NGOs on the themes of the session and outline the provisional arrangements, GEO organised and chaired a pre-CSW briefing meeting in January. We were joined on the panel by policy experts from across Government Departments with policy responsibility for the priority and review themes.
UK NGOs can keep abreast of UN developments and the UK's participation at CSW via regular GEO Women’s Engagement e-bulletins and online shortly. More information on CSW, is available on the UN Women website. Information on NGO participation at the 55th session of the CSW is available here.
UN Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
The Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a United Nations Human Rights convention which the UK signed up to in 1981 and ratified in April 1986. By signing up and ratifying CEDAW, States agree to implement the measures set out within it by legislative and other means. States submit “periodic” reports every four years to the CEDAW Committee, the expert body that monitors implementation of CEDAW.
The GEO is on course to submit the UK’s 7th periodic report to the UN in May 2011, with the examination expected in 2012. These reports provide progress information on the situation of women in all the areas of discrimination detailed within the Convention, as well as the UN CEDAW Committee’s previous recommendations.
UK NGOs are very active in monitoring progress against the Convention and the implementation of the Committee's recommendations and therefore direct engagement with NGOs is crucial to the process. So in November 2010, the Ministers for Women & Equality hosted a large consultation event to discuss priorities for the UK both domestically and internationally. To ensure engagement is UK-wide, GEO has also supported similar events in partnership with the Devolved Nations (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales). For more information on CEDAW click the following links:
http://www.equalities.gov.uk/international/united_nations.aspx
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
Funding for rape crisis centres
The Ministry of Justice has announced the Rape Support Fund. As part of the Government's commitment to improve funding to existing rape crisis centres and to establish new centres where there are gaps in provision, the Rape Support Fund will provide up to £3.5 million in funding annually to existing rape crisis centres. Each funded centre will receive a three-year funding agreement, giving them the financial certainty they need to develop a sustainable presence and to prepare for the move to local commissioning.
The Rape Support Fund is part of a wider package of grant funding of up to £9.8 million per year, for three years, for voluntary-sector groups providing support to many of the most serious, most vulnerable and persistently targeted victims and witnesses of crime. Further information may be found on the Ministry of Justice website An announcement on new rape crisis centres will be made later in the year.
Public consultation – Breaking the Cycle Green Paper
On 7 December, Ken Clark, the Justice Secretary, announced the publication of a Green Paper, Breaking the Cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders.
This Ministry of Justice Green Paper sets out proposals to break the destructive cycle of crime and protect the public, by more effectively punishing and rehabilitating offenders and reforming the sentencing framework. Included in the paper are proposals in relation to women offenders with a specific question about what needs to be different for women. The Green Paper can be found on the Ministry of Justice website accompanied by an impact assessment, an equality impact screen, and an evidence report.
The Green Paper is open to public consultation until 4 March 2011 and the Ministry of Justice welcomes contributions from individuals and organisations with an interest in this important area of policy. Responses can be submitted by email to breakingthecycle@justice.gsi.gov.uk; via the website; or by post to Breaking the Cycle, Ministry of Justice, 10.08, 10th Floor, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ.