Women's Newsletter - April 2006
Contents of this newsletter:
- Women's Group idea of the month!...relaxation sessions over exam time
- New NUS Women's Committee
- Call for estrangement case studies
- Pro-choice and proud of it! campaign news
(a) NUS and Terrence Higgins Trust Sexual Health Lobby of Parliament, 19 April 2006
(b) I'm pro-choice and proud of it because... send us your comments!
(c) NUS Pro-choice key rings - NUS Women's Campaign materials available
- Assertiveness workshops
- Home Office Consent Campaign - send us your comments
- Dignity. Period!
- The Budget 2006
- Student Midwives
- News from external organisations and events for you to publicise to your members
(a) Bristol Crisis Centre for women
(b) Fawcett rape lottery
(c) Why women? campaign
(d) Make some noise on May 4 - Fawcett Society web page
1. Women's Group idea of the month!...relaxation sessions over exam time
With examination time coming up in colleges and universities, why not organise some relaxing women's group sessions as a welcome break from exam pressures? How about arranging some relaxation/pampering sessions, perhaps with massages, aromatherapy, or meditation? Have a word with your welfare officer/local welfare service to see if you can work in collaboration on these. It could also be a good way of attracting students along to the group who have never been before and whilst they are there you can let them know what your women's group and women's campaign is all about.
2. New NUS Women's Committee
Here are the details of your new NUS Women's Committee. Women's Committee members elected at Women's Conference 2006 took up their positions immediately after conference. The National Women's Officer and the Women's Officers for the Special Regions start on 1 July 2006. If you wish to contact a member of Women's Committee, please do so through NUS Women's Unit - tel. 0871 221 8 221, email women@nus.org.uk For the Women's Officers in the Special Regions, please contact the relevant Special Regional office.
NUS National Women's Officer (Chair of Committee): Jo Salmon [Kat Stark - after 1 July 2006]
NUS Scotland Women's Officer: Jenny Duncan
NUS Wales Women’s Officer: Bethan Thomas [Jo Roberts - after 1 July 2006]
NUS-USI Women's Officer : Michelle Crawford
Caucus reps on Women's Committee
Black Women’s Rep: Aliyyah Balson
Bisexual Women’s Rep: Bethan Griffiths
Lesbian Rep: Joanna Dawson
Women with Disabilities Rep: Rosalyn Adams
Women with Caring Responsibilities Rep: Joyce McCafferty
FE Rep: Vicky Forrest
Open Place reps on Women's Committee
Nazia Ali/Sian Errington (job share)
Katie Whitehouse
Samantha Cox
Jen Rickard/Sarah Wayman (job share)
Olivia Bailey
Jenna Kovacs/Helen Gibson (job share)
National Council Rep: Elizabeth Sellers
3. Call for estrangement case studies
The LGBT Campaign and Welfare Unit at NUS are carrying out research into the funding of LGBT students in higher education who have become estranged from their parents. We are looking for LGBT students who have applied for HE funding as 'independent' students to help us with our research. If you think you can help, please email lgbt@nus.org.uk
or look on the website for further information.
The link is here: www.nusonline.co.uk/campaigns/lgb/271980.aspx
4. Pro-choice and proud of it! campaign news
(a) NUS and Terrence Higgins Trust Sexual Health Lobby of Parliament, 19 April 2006
Many thanks to all of you who took part in the NUS and Terrene Higgins Trust Sexual lobby of Parliament on 19 April. This event was supported by NUS Women's Campaign as part of our Pro-choice and proud of it! priority campaign.
The day was a great success with speeches from Nick Partridge, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust; Baroness Gould, Chair of the Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group Pro-choice and Sexual Health; Dr Andrew Murrison MP, Conservative Party Spokesperson for Sexual Health; and Sandra Gidley MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Sexual Health. Lots of student officers and activists also spoke, asking questions and giving their comments to these guest speakers, before meeting their own MPs to ask for their action on important sexual health issues.
The lobby focused on 3 main demands:
- That the Government take urgent action to ensure that Primary Care Trusts meet the target that everyone should be able to get an appointment with a GUM clinic within 48 hours.
- That all Primary Care Trusts should be encouraged to supply free sexual health provision to Students' Unions, thereby ending the postcode lottery that currently characterizes this scheme.
- That MPs support the amendment to the Education Bill to make Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) a compulsory part of the curriculum for 14-19 year olds.
You can still write to your MP on these issues - see the lobby pack for more information.
(b) I'm pro-choice and proud of it because... send us your comments!
"I'm pro-choice and proud of it because abortion is an essential part of an holistic sexual service and is crucial to the sexual health of many women. Access to early abortion must be a priority but women should have a right to a late abortion with the law."
Baroness Joyce Gould, Chair Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV / Chair All Party Pro-choice and Sexual Health Group.
As part of our Pro-choice and proud of it! campaign, we have set up a special pro-choice web page at www.nusonline.co.uk/prochoice. This web page will enable women to voice their support by posting their comments, beginning with the line ‘I’m pro-choice and proud of it because…’
We'd like to hear from female students wanting to add their voice to our campaign. Please send us a comment to be posted on this web page starting with the line "I'm pro-choice and proud of it because...". This can be just one or two sentences long. Please email your comment to women@nus.org.uk
All comments can be given anonymously, although you are welcome to include your name and/or union.
(c) NUS Pro-choice key rings
As part of our Pro-choice and proud of it! campaign, we have produced pro-choice key rings with the slogan:
MY BODY, MY CHOICE
NUS Women's Campaign is pro-choice and proud of it!
Carrying this key ring acts as your personal pledge to the pro-choice campaign - the campaign that champions the belief that women should be the key decision-makers over their own bodies.
Order key rings for women in your union! They are available in English and Welsh/English and are free of charge.
Email
You can also order pro-choice posters, postcards and stickers using the order form
5. NUS Women's Campaign materials available
You can order Women's Campaign materials by filling in and returning the order form
Materials available to order are:
- "The women's campaign is asking for..." pop art posters
- "The women's campaign is asking for..." pop art leaflets
- "A woman's place is in her union" posters
- Pro-choice posters
- Pro-choice postcards
- Pro-choice stickers
- Being a women's officer handbook 2005-6
You can also order pro-choice key rings and equal pay badges, see the information at www.officeronline.co.uk/women
6. Assertiveness workshops
Debbie Hollingsworth, from Ruskin College and formerly a member of NUS Women's Committee, presented an introduction to assertiveness skills at NUS Women's Conference this year. Following on from this, Debbie is happy to come to your union's women's group and run an assertiveness workshop. You can contact Debbie on 02hollde@ruskin.ac.uk. Please note that your union would have to cover Debbie's travel expenses.
If you would like to know more about assertiveness techniques, you might find these external web sites interesting:
www.mind.org.uk - Mind booklet on How to assert yourself
www.businessballs.com - follow the link on the left hand side to assertiveness techniques and self-confidence.
www.bbc.co.uk - Self-esteem article on BBC web site
7. Home Office Consent Campaign - women's officers, send us your comments
In March this year the Home Office launched a poster campaign which aims to reduce incidents of rape by ensuring that men know that they need to gain consent before they have sex (targeting men aged 18-24 in particular). At NUS Women's Unit, while we welcome the spirit of a consent campaign that targets men, we have some strong concerns about the images and slogans chosen for this campaign and are going to feed these concerns back to the Home Office.
We would like to hear from women's officers on your opinions on these posters in order to inform our feedback to the Government. You can view the posters at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/consent-campaign/
Thank you to those women's officers who have already responded.
Please email your thoughts to women@nus.org.uk
by May 3 and let us know if you are happy for us to quote you (giving your name, officer position and students' union) when we write to the Home Office.
8. Dignity. Period!
Delegates at NUS Women's Conference 2006 passed policy in support of the Dignity. Period! campaign. Action for Southern Africa launched the Dignity. Period! campaign in conjunction with Thabitha Khumalo of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions women's committee [who spoke at NUS Women's Conference], with the aim of raising funds to purchase much needed sanitary products for the women of Zimbabwe.
For more information, including how you can get involved, go to www.officeronline.co.uk/campaignsupport/women/272137.aspx
9. The Budget 2006
NUS Women's Campaign has responded to the 2006 Budget through our membership of the Women's Budget Group. The response will urge the Government to commit to following up the recommendations of the Women and Work Commission on closing the gender pay gap and to commit resources to encouraging more women to study "non-traditional" subjects such as mathematics and science.
You can learn more about the Women's Budget Group at www.wbg.org.uk
10. Student Midwives' legal victory is upheld
In January 2005, three student midwives won their case against the NHS to have their bursaries continued despite taking a break from their course due to maternity leave. This decision was upheld in a Court of Appeal last month. The case was supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission.
For more information: www.eoc.org.uk
11. 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) Bristol Crisis Service for Women
Bristol Crisis Service for Women offers support and information for women who self-injure as a way of coping with feelings. There is some information about the women’s helpline at www.users.zetnet.co.uk/bcsw/
This helpline is completely confidential, and women can speak for up to an hour to a helpline volunteer. Women of any age can phone 0117 925 1119, on Friday and Saturday 9pm - 12.30am and on Sunday 6 - 9pm. We also provide information and resources for young people who self-injure, women from black and minority ethnic groups and family, friends and carers of people who self-injure. If you would like more of the poster or the leaflets to distribute or display please contact us at Bristol Crisis Service for Women, on 0117 927 9600, or e-mail bcsw@btconnect.com
(b) Fawcett rape lottery
Take action on the postcode lottery for rape - Fawcett's Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System recently highlighted large regional variations in rape convictions. For instance, the rape conviction rate varies from 13.8% in Northamptonshire to just 1.6% in Suffolk and 0.86% in Gloucestershire. You can support our campaign for a new approach to violence against women simply by adapting a letter to send to your local paper. www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
(c) Why women? campaign
On 23 March, Women's Resource Centre launched its why women? campaign calling for more investment in women's organisations as well as celebrating the achievements of women's activism.
You can add your name (or your organisation's name) to our campaign, to show you support what we are calling for. The campaign is calling for the Government to put gender back on the agenda by:
- Acknowledging the systematic disadvantage women face because of their gender, and
- Publicly recognising the essential services and expertise the women's sector provides to address this.
A list of specific recommendations to the Home Office and other government departments is available on our new campaign website www.whywomen.org.uk or by emailing whywomen@wrc.org.uk
Sign up to the campaign by emailing your details to whywomen@wrc.org.uk or calling 020 7324 3030.
We also have a range of resources to go with the campaign:
- Why Women? research report - based on research with 44 women's organisations
- Why Women? charter - with our recommendations to government
- Why Women? postcards & poster - celebrating the achievements of women's organisations
See www.whywomen.org.uk for more details or email whywomen@wrc.org.uk to request copies.
(d) Make some noise on May 4 - Fawcett Society web page
The Fawcett Society is asking women to "make some noise" in the local elections on May 4.
See the information at www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
Return to this campaign's homepage or view all articles in this campaign.