Women's Newsletter - December 2005
Contents of this newsletter:- Women's group idea of the month!...guest speakers
- NUS Women's Campaign Materials Order Form
- Reclaim the Night Success
- NUS welcomes civil partnerships
- Amnesty International/ICM 'Sexual Assault Research’ poll
- News from external organisations and events for you to publicise to your members
- Funny Women Stand Up
- Smart Justice for Women Petition
1. Women's group idea of the month!...guest speakers
Why not invite a guest speaker along to address your women's group? Guest speakers are often an ideal way of inspiring your women's group members and establishing important links with the local community and/or national campaigns. It is also a good way of attracting the attention of potential new members and getting them to come along to a women's group meeting - so make sure you advertise your speaker to everyone, not just existing members!
Potential guest speakers include NUS Women's Committee members (elected volunteers who could talk about NUS Women's Campaign, including their own motivations in being part of the national campaign), a representative from your local women's centre, refuge or rape crisis centre, an academic renowned for work on women's studies (perhaps there is a lecturer/researcher in your college or university who would be relevant), a successful local business woman or a local woman who has 'made it in a man's world', or a representative from a national women's organisation.
Contact NUS Women's Unit to request a speaker from NUS Women's Committee (contact details are above, under the contents list). For the contact details of women's organisations, see the information on www.officeronline.co.uk/women - particularly in the Pro-choice and proud of it! toolkit, the A Woman's place... toolkit, and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women page. There are also useful contacts in the updated edition of the 'being a women's officer handbook' - see item 2 of this newsletter to find out how to get your copy.
Remember you can have more than one speaker - perhaps a panel discussion on a theme, for example, reproductive rights, sexual health, stop violence against women, the gender pay gap. Remember to allow time for questions at the end and let your women's group know how they can find out more, for example by giving out a web site address or a reference for a relevant book.
2. NUS Women's Campaign Materials Order Form
There is a new order form for NUS Women's Campaign materials available to download from www.officeronline.co.uk/women shortly and it will be sent to all unions in the New Year. The materials to order include new eye-catching, pop art style posters and leaflets, and an updated version of the 'being a women's officer handbook'.
The 'being a women's officer handbook' will be available to download from www.officeronline.co.uk/women in the New Year or you can order a hard copy through this order form.
We look forward to receiving your orders in the New Year!
3. Reclaim the Night Success
The Reclaim the Night March that took place on Friday 25 November in London was a huge success with 700 marchers calling for an end to violence against women. Jo Salmon, NUS National Women's Officer, was one of the speakers at the rally at the end of the march and many women students took part in both the march and the rally. Reclaim the Night 2005 was organised by the London Feminist Network, and demanded:
- Long term culturally specific counselling for any woman who has experienced sexual violence, no matter how far in the past (1 in 3 women in the UK has experienced sexual violence)
- Support for women's organisations providing specialist rape support (since the closure of London Rape Crisis there is no dedicated rape helpline in London and only 3 voluntary groups supporting women in the Greater London area)
- Comprehensive funding for London refuges (in the past few years several domestic violence refuges have been threatened with closure due to lack of funds)
- Publicising rape convictions and pushing for more use of maximum sentencing (current sentencing for rape is 5,6% of cases)
- An audit of London transport safety to be completed by women's organisations with the support of the Mayor
For more information see: www.ldnfeministnetwork.ik.com
4. NUS welcomes civil partnerships
NUS welcomes new laws that, for the first time ever in the UK, legally recognise same-sex couples and allow them to enjoy the same legal benefits and responsibilities as married couples. These include new tax benefits such as inheritance tax exemption, the ability to succeed to tenancy rights, and next-of-kin visiting rights in hospitals.
The first civil partnership ceremonies take place in Northern Ireland today, Monday 19 December. There will be the first ceremonies in Scotland tomorrow, Tuesday 20 December, and the first ceremonies in England and Wales are taking place on Wednesday 23 December. The first couple to exchange vows in the UK were Shannon Sickless and Grainne Close, at a ceremony at 10am in Belfast City Hall.
For more information about NUS LGBT Campaign, go to: www.officeronline.co.uk/lgbt
5. Amnesty International/ICM 'Sexual Assault Research’ poll
A new ICM opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International shockingly indicates that a third (34%) of people in the UK believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner. The poll also shows widespread ignorance of the extent of rape and the current low conviction rates. Only 4% of respondents thought the number of women raped exceeds 10,000 per year. In fact, it is likely that the number of women raped per year is well in excess of 50,000. The average estimate was of a 26% conviction rate for rape, when in fact only 5.6% of rapes reported to the police currently result in conviction. The poll is entitled ‘Sexual Assault Research’ and was published on 21 November 2005 as part of Amnesty International's 'Stop Violence Against Women' campaign.
Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, commented that:
"In addition to uncovering disturbing attitudes over women being ‘to blame’, this poll also reveals the scale of public ignorance of the unacceptably high numbers of women raped every year in the UK as well as the dreadfully low conviction rates.
The government has an international duty to prevent this gross human rights violation yet it’s clear that the government’s policies on tackling rape are failing and failing badly.
These findings should act as a wake-up call to the government to urgently tackle the triple problem of the high incidence of rape, low conviction rates and a sexist blame culture.”
For more information, go to www.amnesty.org.uk/news/press/16618.shtml
For information about campaigns against sexual assault: www.officeronline.co.uk/svaw and www.nusonline.co.uk/svaw - NUS Women's Campaign's Stop Violence Against Women pages
www.amnesty.org.uk/svaw - Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women Campaign
www.truthaboutrape.co.uk - The Truth About Rape
www.vdayuk.org - V-Day: Until the Violence Stops
www.zerotolerance.org.uk - Zero Tolerance
6. News from external organisations and events for you to publicise to your members
Please note that whilst NUS Women's Campaign has been careful to check the suitability of these organisations as contact points for student officers, it cannot be held responsible for the work or advice of any external organisation.
(a) Funny Women Stand Up
FUNNY WOMEN PREPARE TO STAND UP AGAIN
Funny Women Stand Up - Wednesday 8 March 2006 at Café Royal, Regent Street, London W1
Funny Women Stand Up, the unique all female comedy event which takes place on International Women's Day, is set to take place for the third year running on Wednesday 8 March 2006. The show celebrates all that is great about women with a glittering array of female comedy talent, plus raises funds for V-Day: Until the Violence Stops which campaigns to end violence against women.
After two successful years at the Café de Paris, Funny Women Stand Up is moving to a fantastic new venue, the Café Royal on Regent Street, London W1. The line-up is still to be confirmed but will feature some of the most successful female comics on the circuit today along with the winner of the Funny Women Awards, 2005, Debra Jane Appelby. Previous shows have featured Jo Caulfield, Julia Morris, Gina Yashere, Sandi Toksvig, Lucy Porter, Shazia Mirza and Pam Ann.
If you would like to be on our priority invitation list to be offered a
chance to book your tickets before they are released to the public, please
email your name, postal address and daytime contact number to womensday@funnywomen.com
For more details about other Funny Women events see www.funnywomen.com
(b) Smart Justice for Women Petition
There is a new petition for SmartJustice for Women which calls for the Government to invest in more effective alternatives to custody and crime diversion schemes, instead of imprisoning more women. You can find the petition here: www.petitiononline.com/SJW/petition.html
You can find out more about SmartJustice for Women at: www.smartjustice.org/women/
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