I'm sure you will have seen the articles in several of the Saturday newspapers about a WI having been established in a women's prison. To my delight this is absolutely true and I am very proud, not only of the members of that WI, but also of the ladies, Jill and Jan especially, whose hard work and understanding have helped to make this WI what it is - newsworthy and, like it says 'on the tin', for all women.
However, I must set the record straight and refute one sentence penned by Daniel Martin of the Daily Mail: "The transition from Jam and Jerusalem to porridge will be seen as part of a desire at the WI to make itself more relevant to society as its centenary approaches in 2015."
Firstly, the WI has been relevant to society for every day of its 97 years. No question! And today 1,000 women a week are joining the WI, either going to long established groups or forming new ones across England and Wales.
Secondly, and more importantly, the idea and desire for there to be a prison WI was born entirely out of our Care not Custody campaign, which the WI has been pursuing since 2008. Our prison WI was established purely with the hope of enriching women's lives in a sometimes frightening and isolating place. This wasn’t about boosting membership numbers!
The Care not Custody campaign focuses on the desirability for offenders with a mental illness, whose crime so often arises because of that illness, to be detained in some place and manner other than in prison. All too often prison is a default option rather than a place of last resort. Statistics show that more than two thirds of all men, women and children in prison have two or more mental health problems and prison isn’t just damaging for these individuals, it places a duty of care on already stretched prison estate staff.
The WI is here for all women, irrespective of status, but its aim is to empower women, to instil confidence, to teach and to share together in a safe space. As the article in the WI's own membership magazine, WI Life, says, “During our meetings, the women forget that they're in prison and instead feel part of something really special, where learning new skills and getting to know new people offers a huge boost of confidence”. I had the privilege of opening this WI and I met the women who felt this was for them. I have also met some of those same women since they have been released from prison – that WI is a force for good in so many ways.
I don't think the members of this WI sing 'Jerusalem' before every meeting the words, “I will not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, till we have built Jerusalem” might conjure up comic connotations, but a determination to build something good is how I see it, and that's for each and every woman, wherever they find themselves.
And as for Jam, well I'm proud too of the jam–making tradition that we uphold. The WI holds an annual Jam Festival at its college, Denman College, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Not only that, but our WI branded goods of raspberry, strawberry and blackcurrant jam, not to mention marmalade and four types of flour, hit the shelves of a certain supermarket this week. It was thrilling to note that during a two hour period, while I enjoyed a cup of tea with a friend, shelves that were full with WI products were being emptied and then refilled!
The launch of the products received a full page in this store's weekly newspaper and I see on another page an article relating to a new Beekeeping centre of excellence, which is to be set up in Pembrokeshire. I mention this because the WI has had a major campaign to save the honey bee, ongoing for the last three years. Out of it, amongst a host of initiatives, have come many more beekeepers, and hives of bees; much more planting in both public places and domestic gardens of bee-friendly plants as well as the WI's own bee hives at Denman College. When in season Denman honey is on sale in the college shop.
There is little in mainstream concerns these days that the WI has not tackled, either in the past and/or is currently working on. One such subject is access to legal aid which was first on the WI’s agenda in 1994. The protection of legal aid has been taken up in earnest over the past year following the government’s proposal to cut spending on legal aid by £350 million. The NFWI along with many other women's organisations remains concerned that the apparent provision given to victims of domestic violence in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will in practice leave vulnerable women without support.
The Ministry of Justice initially failed to include a comprehensive definition of domestic violence in the Bill. I am pleased to say that this is one area that the government has conceded on, with the inclusion of an amendment which is much closer to the widely accepted definition used by the Association of Chief Police Officers as well as the UK Border Agency, the Home Office and others.
While the inclusion of a definition is a welcome improvement, I fear that without widening the evidence criteria that is required to access legal aid, it will have little impact.
Victims of domestic abuse are still being asked to jump through varying hoops in an attempt to secure desperately needed financial support. As it stands, the evidence criteria for accessing legal aid remains too narrow. It does not reflect the fact that domestic violence is a hidden crime, and women do not routinely disclose the violence they experience to the police or to the courts. Should the Bill progress in its current form, just under half of women who have experienced domestic violence would not be able to access legal aid.
For the last few weeks the Bill has been at the Committee stage in the House of Lords. Peers are due to vote in the coming week with domestic violence issues expected to come under scrutiny later today. WI members from across England and Wales have ‘Paired up with a Peer’ in order to lobby peers to back amendments by Baroness Scotland, Baroness Butler Sloss and the Lord Bishop of Leicester that would ensure the evidence gateways would include evidence that reflect women's experiences; as well as removing the restrictive twelve month time frame that applies to some of the evidence criteria.
The NFWI's report, Legal Aid is a Lifeline, gives myriad reasons why legal aid is imperative for women who suffer domestic violence. The harrowing stories of survivors and those going through the court proceedings were shared at focus groups organised by the NFWI in different parts of the country. The insight this research offers into the consequences of reform is an important read.
In a week where people around the world will celebrate the impact that women have played across the globe on International Women’s Day, it is hugely disappointing that the UK’s own Government seems determined to turn its back on some of the most vulnerable women in society and undermine the commitments set out in its own violence against women strategy.
We are calling on members to write to their MPs and urge the government to think again on these proposals or risk leaving vulnerable women and children without support.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Thursday, 23 February 2012
WI Adviser conferences, how to reboot a sustainable community, legal aid proposals and safeguarding the environment
Today is the fourth day of the WI Adviser conferences that are on a WI progress around the country. Monday was Harrogate, Tuesday was Bedford, yesterday was Gatwick, today is Bristol and Friday is Shrewsbury. WI Advisers are WI members who have been trained to open WIs and offer help and support to WIs in every way that you can imagine. Originally, WI Advisers were known as VCOs - Voluntary County Organisers - and they rode around the countryside on bicycles in regulation brown long skirts, jackets and hats; those days are no more!
In those days, corner shops were everywhere, as were Co-op stores where every customer had a number - our family number was 18129 - and 'divy' (dividend) was collected. Now, corner shops become fewer and fewer, but the Co-op goes on, and last week I attended a Co-operative event: How to Reboot A Sustainable Community. Speakers included environmental economist Noreena Hertz, and Oxfam GB CEO Barbara Stocking, who both presented alternative approaches to sustainable business, and examples of Co-operative opportunities already being delivered, including renewable energy with the Co-op already funding community initiatives to the tune of £70 million.
Whilst this spending is positive, I remain hugely disappointed about the proposal to remove funding from another area of the legal arena; the withdrawal of much funding from the legal aid budget for victims of domestic violence. The WI has engaged in lobbying both MPs and Peers in recent months, and that lobby continues. A few days ago I gave 'evidence' on the subject again; this time to Labour's Commission on Women's Safety, and between 5th and 7th March the Lords are expected to vote on the amendments to the Bill. The NFWI is deeply concerned with a range of the proposed reforms: the proposal for more mediation; that self representation in the witness box will deter women from reporting domestic violence; and the narrowing of the gateways of proof. Altogether none of these are acceptable when trying to protect women from violence, which is why lobbying has to gain even more momentum in the remaining days before the vote.
Another area of WI work for many years is the environment, which was reflected by START who recently held a day-long event at the WI's Denman College to share ideas on how individuals can make small changes in their life style to fight to save and safeguard the environment. WI members have been doing just that for years, not least with Eco Teams and the Carbon Challenge, never mind our campaign for less packaging on certain foods, combatting food waste – the list is long and that is just within the last five years! Who knows what we will be working on in the next five years – it’s all up to our members!
In those days, corner shops were everywhere, as were Co-op stores where every customer had a number - our family number was 18129 - and 'divy' (dividend) was collected. Now, corner shops become fewer and fewer, but the Co-op goes on, and last week I attended a Co-operative event: How to Reboot A Sustainable Community. Speakers included environmental economist Noreena Hertz, and Oxfam GB CEO Barbara Stocking, who both presented alternative approaches to sustainable business, and examples of Co-operative opportunities already being delivered, including renewable energy with the Co-op already funding community initiatives to the tune of £70 million.
Whilst this spending is positive, I remain hugely disappointed about the proposal to remove funding from another area of the legal arena; the withdrawal of much funding from the legal aid budget for victims of domestic violence. The WI has engaged in lobbying both MPs and Peers in recent months, and that lobby continues. A few days ago I gave 'evidence' on the subject again; this time to Labour's Commission on Women's Safety, and between 5th and 7th March the Lords are expected to vote on the amendments to the Bill. The NFWI is deeply concerned with a range of the proposed reforms: the proposal for more mediation; that self representation in the witness box will deter women from reporting domestic violence; and the narrowing of the gateways of proof. Altogether none of these are acceptable when trying to protect women from violence, which is why lobbying has to gain even more momentum in the remaining days before the vote.
Another area of WI work for many years is the environment, which was reflected by START who recently held a day-long event at the WI's Denman College to share ideas on how individuals can make small changes in their life style to fight to save and safeguard the environment. WI members have been doing just that for years, not least with Eco Teams and the Carbon Challenge, never mind our campaign for less packaging on certain foods, combatting food waste – the list is long and that is just within the last five years! Who knows what we will be working on in the next five years – it’s all up to our members!
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Mr Ed Vaizey MP visits Denman College, welcoming in the Chinese New Year with the Wei Yin Chinese Women Society and more discussion on the proposed changes to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill
A visit to Denman College is always a delight, but it was particularly special last Friday just before the snow arrived to welcome Ed Vaizey MP, Libraries Minister. Mr Vaizey was visiting to receive the WI’s "Save Our Libraries" postcards and petition. There are over 75,000 signatures on the petition as well as 5,000 postcards, not to mention the online petition of more than 16,000, which surely shows the depth of feeling surrounding the closures of local libraries across the UK, as well as withdrawals in the mobile library services. It is thought that some 50 libraries have already closed their doors, somewhat fewer than the 600 closures predicted in 2011 but, nonetheless, the campaign continues.
The impact of these closures on women users in particular, and members of library staff were stressed to Mr Vaizey and he was asked about the conditions under which the government would intervene in closures. He explained that intervention would come in the absence of a proper strategic review by councils when reviewing the service, and if there was evidence that a significant proportion of the local population would suffer disproportionately with the removal of that local service; surely local closures are eroding the national library service? The main message from the Libraries Minister was that the Government is "doing its best" in a very complex situation. As I said before, we will continue with our campaign.
On Monday I travelled to Manchester at the invitation of the Wei Yin Chinese Women Society. This is the largest Chinese community centre in Britain and it provides community services for the Chinese population in Manchester. When it opened in 1988, one of its main aims was to support and assist Chinese women and their families, and other communities in need. It also aims to encourage mutual support and strengthen unity amongst Chinese and other communities; to assist Chinese and other communities in building up a positive self-image and self-confidence; gain access to information and resources; and share experiences with other like-minded organisations.
I discussed a huge variety of the activities that WI members get up to, and how the organisation’s main aim is to empower women, but that the WI has as many raisons d’être as there are members. My message to them, the same to anyone, is the WI is here to inspire you, the WI is everything you want it to be and the WI is what you make if it. My visit was topped off with an invitation to join in the celebration of the Chinese New Year - The Year of the Dragon. Entertainment was a constant with a visit from the Dragon and also from the god of wealth. It was a truly great visit.
Following this excitement, the week has ended with yet more discussion on the proposed changes to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill and the erosion of means of help for those who suffer from domestic violence. I have spoken of this issue several times before in my blog entries but it is a serious and extremely important issue.
From the focus groups held with women who had been victims of domestic violence, the WI learned that without legal aid, some women would now be dead since this help provided safety and protection. The government is proposing to remove huge areas of law from the scope of legal aid but women need advice in many areas of law such as divorce and child contact as well as housing, welfare benefits and immigration. The proposed evidence gateways simply do not reflect women's experiences, and the twelve months time-frame in which to bring a case is completely unrealistic for so many reasons. A frightening development should the changes comes about is the need for women to represent themselves in court; to try to negotiate with the perpetrator over say child contact, which could often putting both women and children at risk. Mediation is to be offered in the new proposals as an alternative to court, but some women who took part in the focus group felt that such a situation would compromise their safety, and some said that they would rather take no action than be forced to go into mediation. And the telephone helpline to be offered as the single access point for all legal aid is not the simple solution that one might think. There is still a long way to go but WI members have been lobby Lords in whose house the Bill now resides to vote against these changes.
Variety is the spice of life and variety certainly makes the WI!
The impact of these closures on women users in particular, and members of library staff were stressed to Mr Vaizey and he was asked about the conditions under which the government would intervene in closures. He explained that intervention would come in the absence of a proper strategic review by councils when reviewing the service, and if there was evidence that a significant proportion of the local population would suffer disproportionately with the removal of that local service; surely local closures are eroding the national library service? The main message from the Libraries Minister was that the Government is "doing its best" in a very complex situation. As I said before, we will continue with our campaign.
On Monday I travelled to Manchester at the invitation of the Wei Yin Chinese Women Society. This is the largest Chinese community centre in Britain and it provides community services for the Chinese population in Manchester. When it opened in 1988, one of its main aims was to support and assist Chinese women and their families, and other communities in need. It also aims to encourage mutual support and strengthen unity amongst Chinese and other communities; to assist Chinese and other communities in building up a positive self-image and self-confidence; gain access to information and resources; and share experiences with other like-minded organisations.
I discussed a huge variety of the activities that WI members get up to, and how the organisation’s main aim is to empower women, but that the WI has as many raisons d’être as there are members. My message to them, the same to anyone, is the WI is here to inspire you, the WI is everything you want it to be and the WI is what you make if it. My visit was topped off with an invitation to join in the celebration of the Chinese New Year - The Year of the Dragon. Entertainment was a constant with a visit from the Dragon and also from the god of wealth. It was a truly great visit.
Following this excitement, the week has ended with yet more discussion on the proposed changes to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill and the erosion of means of help for those who suffer from domestic violence. I have spoken of this issue several times before in my blog entries but it is a serious and extremely important issue.
From the focus groups held with women who had been victims of domestic violence, the WI learned that without legal aid, some women would now be dead since this help provided safety and protection. The government is proposing to remove huge areas of law from the scope of legal aid but women need advice in many areas of law such as divorce and child contact as well as housing, welfare benefits and immigration. The proposed evidence gateways simply do not reflect women's experiences, and the twelve months time-frame in which to bring a case is completely unrealistic for so many reasons. A frightening development should the changes comes about is the need for women to represent themselves in court; to try to negotiate with the perpetrator over say child contact, which could often putting both women and children at risk. Mediation is to be offered in the new proposals as an alternative to court, but some women who took part in the focus group felt that such a situation would compromise their safety, and some said that they would rather take no action than be forced to go into mediation. And the telephone helpline to be offered as the single access point for all legal aid is not the simple solution that one might think. There is still a long way to go but WI members have been lobby Lords in whose house the Bill now resides to vote against these changes.
Variety is the spice of life and variety certainly makes the WI!
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