Austerity is killing LGBTQ+ people; Broken Rainbow facing closure

Saturday, February 6, 2016

1 in 4 LGB and 4 out of 5 trans people are estimated to have experienced domestic violence, yet Broken Rainbow is the UK’s only LGBTQ+ specific DV service. In a society where 73% of trans people have experienced at least one form of emotionally abusive behaviour from a partner or ex partner (1), these services are a crucial lifeline for queer people, with Broken Rainbow having already helped 10,000 people this financial year alone.

Moreover, more generalised services for survivors of domestic violence are ill equipped to deal with the specificities of the effects of domestic violence for many sectors of the LGBTQ community. For instance the Equality Act 2010 specifically exempts women-only domestic violence services from legislation around trans inclusion, which has led to a general perception that these services are unavailable to trans people, especially where this intersects with other specific needs such as those of migrants. For lesbian or bi women experiencing partner violence, women-only spaces also come with complications – the narrative around domestic violence in queer women’s partnerships is silenced and made invisible. Non-specialist services will also not be able to resonate with the experiences of those with less visible LGBTQ+ identities, or those for whom the LGBTQ+ label doesn’t define their experiences — for example, some Sisters whose gender identities and sexualities intersect with their faith and cultural identities. It’s crucial that LGBTQ+ people have spaces that specifically understand the nuance of their experiences, and this is what we fight for.

This lack of provision is the fault of an oppressive government ideology of austerity that is preferentially funding more streamlined services to the detriment of specialised services, such as Broken Rainbow and Apna Haq. Despite a statement from the government that they are aiming to protect “anyone facing the threat of domestic violence and abuse”(2), Broken Rainbow has just seven weeks to secure its next year of funding. This precarity of funds is a yearly cycle in the case of many specialist domestic violence services; staff are forced to worry constantly about fundraising, rather than be able to focus on service users.

As Sisters Uncut, we find this homophobic and transphobic disavowal of the needs of queer people to be completely unacceptable. We stand in solidarity with our queer Sisters and siblings and the staff at Broken Rainbow. We demand the government commit to a ring-fenced, long term fund for specialist domestic violence services so that they can continue to provide these crucial, life-saving services.

For a more detailed look at some of the issues around domestic violence in the LGBT community see our previous blog: Domestic violence is a LGBT issue

1) Transgender People’s Experiences of Domestic Abuse (Scottish Transgender Alliance & LGBT Domestic Abuse Project, 2010)
2) www.gov.uk/government/news/32-million-f…

Tory Smear Campaign: ‘Playing dirty’ Tricks with Women’s Lives

Friday, February 5, 2016

Leaked email reveals Portsmouth Tory Cllr has been ‘compiling some stuff’ about Sisters Uncut and other local activists to launch a smear campaign.  

Domestic violence services save women’s lives. Without them women are forced to make the choice between staying with abusive partners, which may end in fatal violence, or becoming homeless.

The £180,000 of cuts Portsmouth City Council have proposed to local domestic violence services will lead to the loss of 8 out of 15 specialist support worker roles – so fewer women will receive the support they need and more women will be forced to remain in abusive relationships.

These cuts are not just numbers and figures: they have severe implications for the lives of women in Portsmouth. This is why we have supported our Sisters and other campaigners in Portsmouth to fight the cuts proposed by Portsmouth City Council, led by Conservative politician Donna Jones.

It has been revealed to us that Conservative Councillor Scott Harris has been conspiring to orchestrate a smear campaign against Sisters Uncut and other campaigners calling for full funding of domestic violence services. In an email recently brought to our attention he says that he thinks it might be a good idea to ‘play dirty’ and is ‘compiling some stuff’ on Sisters Uncut and a local sector worker with the intention of smearing us.

Women are being killed by their partners in Portsmouth, but Councillor Harris clearly does not care. It is disappointing that his priorities lie with political game play and manoeuvring, rather than providing support for women fleeing violence. Instead of discussing with his fellow councillors how to create fully funded, thriving domestic violence services that protect women, he concentrates his energies on planning ways to delegitimise our campaign.

Nobody likes to be told that they are wrong, but when people are telling you that your decisions are going to put women in danger of abuse and violence, you’d think that Scott Harris, Donna Jones and fellow councillors would stop and listen. Instead, they are doing their best to divert attention from the real issue: heartbreaking rates of domestic violence in Portsmouth, combined with a lack of support for women who want to flee.

We have zero concerns about Scott Harris, his smear campaign or the dirty politics of Portsmouth City council. Our only concern is that women’s lives will be put at risk from their brutal cuts. Domestic violence services save women’s lives and £180,000 worth of cuts will increase the risk that women already face. It is dangerous and revealing that Conservative councillors in Portsmouth don’t recognise the harm that their cuts will cause. Their priorities lie with political point scoring, smear campaigns and careerism, not women’s lives and safety.

Sexual violence services are being cut. #ItsNotOk

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Specialist services

Specialist services are vital for women and non binary people who have experienced sexual assault or violence. Supporting those who have been through violating experiencing is a highly specialised task, not something that can be done by a well meaning generic worker – in fact, social care and NHS professionals have often been found to get it very wrong.

Specialist organisations include Rape Crisis centres, which offer immediate support to victims of sexual violence as well as ongoing support, advocacy and counselling; therapeutic or supportive services for adults who experienced sexual abuse as a child; helplines who may offer the first safe avenue for a survivor to begin to disclose their experiences; and services who support particularly vulnerable victims of sexual violence and abuse such as people with learning difficulties.

These services are vital, but they have never been consistently and properly funded by the government, instead relying on occasional grants and charitable donations. They are now at huge risk of not being able to provide the services that victims so desperately need.

The cuts

Government and Landlords Side With Perpetrators Against Migrant Women

Friday, January 15, 2016

Emily Munemo was a Zimbabwean woman murdered by her estranged husband on the 30th January 2015: the day he was due to be sentenced for assault.

The government are introducing measures which will make it even harder for migrant survivors of domestic violence to escape perpetrators. Migrant survivors of domestic violence already face huge barriers to fleeing, such as linguistic barriers, cultural differences, the threat of deportation and the rapid closure of specialist domestic violence support services.

From 1st February, the government will roll out a racist policy so devastating it’s hard to believe. We already know that migrant women who are not entitled to state benefits can’t access social housing or refuges, but now they can’t even rent privately.

Our racist, sexist government are legally mandating landlords and lettings agents to carry out immigration checks. Before letting a home to someone, they have to request original ‘right to rent’ documents from prospective tenants which show their entitlement to be in the country.

Any landlord or agent who fails to carry out document checks could face huge penalties, so they are pressured to follow the new rules. If a landlord is in any way unsure about anyone’s racially-defined ‘right to rent’, they can notify the Home Office, who are SO KINDLY offering a ‘free Landlords Checking Service’ to carry out the ‘necessary checks’ on tenants. This is the real reason behind the legislation: so landlords can report undocumented migrants to the Home Office. And we know what happens with the Home Office: migrants get sent to institutions like Yarl’s Wood, and threatened with deportation.

Many vulnerable migrant DV survivors who want to flee violence do not have access to refuges or social housing, because they don’t have access to welfare benefits (which pay for refuge space and housing). Therefore, they have no choice but to rent privately. If they cannot rent privately, they may face homelessness or deportation (which can also mean separation from their children).

These new measures may also trap migrant women who have every ‘right to rent’ but have fled violence without their documents, so cannot prove their immigration status. Perpetrators often steal and hide survivors’ passports to prevent them escaping and in the face of extreme violence and death, migrant women often flee without their documents.

When fleeing domestic violence, there is no time for bureaucratic immigration checks. Survivors are at highest risk at the moment of separation, so fast access to a secure home is vital. Even if survivors are to pass the checks and have the ‘right to rent’, the process will have slowed down their access to a safe home and their perpetrators may well have caught up with them by then.

These measures make it even harder for already incredibly vulnerable women to flee violence and live in safety. Many specialist migrant women’s support services have been forced to close due to funding cuts, which means they are left to navigate their escape alone. If they do try and rent privately now, they will be at the mercy of rogue landlords who operate at the bottom of the rental market, letting out unsafe, awful properties to vulnerable people who have no choice because they either take it or end up rough sleeping. These abusive landlords now also have the power to refer them to the Home Office.

This measure also systemically introduces racial profiling in the lettings sector (as if that doesn’t happen enough already). You only get put through the Home Office checks if landlords and agents think you might be undocumented. And everyone hates paperwork. This may well end up with letting agents and landlords just not even bothering to rent to non-white British people. And where does that leave migrant women like Emily Munemo, pictured, who need to urgently flee violence? It leaves them homeless, or facing death at the hands of violent perpetrators.

Can you imagine: all that stands between migrant women and their lives is a piece of paper. A piece of paper.

Sisters Uncut Action Toolkit – Portsmouth City Council Action

Sunday, January 10, 2016

In Portsmouth 9 sisters, alongside local activists, closed down a chamber meeting with one banner. The state wants us to feel powerless and unable to resist austerity but united we are strong. Taking direct action forces politicians to come face to face with public opposition to their sexist, racist, ableist, anti-working class austerity measures. It helps us to make the public aware of the devastating effect of austerity.

We have put together this document to share how Portsmouth happened. We outline the tasks, roles and considerations needed to take action for domestic violence services in a short time frame. We hope it might be useful to other activists wanting to take direct action in local areas with limited resources and time.

This piece is intended only as a guide and should be adapted to fit different situations and local contexts.

Click here to view the Sisters Uncut Action Tool Kit – Portsmouth City Council Action

5 ways male allies can support Sisters Uncut

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Our actions and meetings are safe spaces and we ask men not to attend. If you are a man and want to support your Sisters in our fight against brutal cuts to domestic violence services, here are 5 ways to help:

1. Financially. We rely on donations to continue our campaign. Every penny goes towards future organising and direct actions. Donate via our Paypal here.

2. In the media. Journalists: pitch articles about domestic violence to your editors. Editors: commission more articles about domestic violence. We believe that people care deeply about violence against women and we need to keep up a public dialogue that is impossible for the government to ignore.
3. Recruitment. Tell your sisters about us! Our meetings and actions are open to all women (trans, intersex and cis) non-binary people and all those who experience oppression as a woman.
4. By sharing our messages. Social media is a vital tool in the fight against the government’s dangerous propaganda machine. Don’t let George Osbourne’s nonsensical rhetoric win out. Austerity is killing women, and we outline how in these articles:
   • http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lucy-strange/sisters-uncut-protest-cuts_b_8664744.html
   • http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2015/11/spending-review-2015-economy-should-be-next-big-feminist-issue
   • http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/28590/1/marching-for-those-murdered-by-male-violence
5. By talking to other men. Talk to men about violence against women. Take feminist conversations into male spaces. Use your privilege to change social norms and the acceptability of violence against women.

Your Sisters thank you for your solidarity and support.

PRESS RELEASE: Feminists dye fountains red in anti-austerity protest

Saturday, November 28, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 28 NOVEMBER 2015

Feminists dye London fountains red in anti-austerity protest

• Sisters Uncut are a feminist direct action group protesting against cuts to domestic violence services
• The group’s first action since their storming of the ‘Suffragette’ film premiere
• Over 500 women attended the visually stunning central London protest.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @SistersUncut / #TheyCutWeBleed

Today (28th November 2015), feminist direct action group Sisters Uncut dyed the Trafalgar Square fountains red in protest against spending cuts to domestic violence services. This act of civil disobedience is the most dramatic action that the newly-formed group has taken so far to visually depict their “they cut, we bleed” mantra. No arrests were made.

Sisters Uncut held a funeral-themed protest in Soho Square at 12.00pm, to mourn domestic violence services that have had to close as a result of Osborne’s austerity measures. Members of the group wore funeral attire and black veils as they read out the names of all the women who have been killed as a result of domestic violence.

The protest was called in response to the government’s spending review, delivered this Wednesday. Further cuts to local council budgets were announced, which are set to prompt further closures of local domestic violence support services. In a statement released this week, the group describe Osborne’s “tampon tax” proposals as a “sticking plaster on a haemorrhage”.

After bringing traffic to a standstill on Charing Cross road, the march ended with a rally by the Trafalgar Square fountains, where hundreds of onlookers watched as the group shouted “They cut, we bleed” and listed their demands, including: no further cuts to domestic violence support services, and guaranteed funding for specialist support services that help black and minority ethnic (BME) women.

Since Osborne’s austerity measures in 2010, over 30 domestic violence support services have been forced to close. (1) The group are concerned that, as more services shut down, more women risk death at the hands of violent partners or ex-partners.

The event was attended by over 500 women, many of whom are domestic violence survivors and support workers. Their chants included “two women a week murdered” and “they cut, we bleed”. The march was timed in response to the government’s spending review on Wednesday 25th November, which coincided with the UN-sponsored International Day to End Violence Against Women.

Domestic violence support services are a lifeline for women fleeing domestic violence. Specialist services bear the brunt of these cuts, especially those that help black and minority ethnic (BME) women, LGBTQ+ people and disabled women. Disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic violence. (2)

Quotes:
Ama Roberts from Sisters Uncut said: “Many people don’t realise that cuts to local councils equate to cuts to domestic violence support services. They are a lifeline. If more services shut down, more women will die.’”

Zara Khan, a domestic violence support worker, said: “Every day I fight for women’s lives, and now I am fighting for my ability to do that. The government should be making it easier, not more difficult, for women to flee life-threatening violence”

(1) www.womensaid.org.uk/page.asp?section=0…

(2) www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic-violence-…

We are a feminist direct action group taking action for domestic violence services.

Get involved! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The strange case of the disappearance of the specialist women’s sector

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Guest blog from a former Eaves worker.

On 30 October 2015 Eaves, a feminist, secular and human rights based charity working on all forms of violence against women and girls with specific expertise on sexual violence, closed its doors.

As well as frontline work, Eaves undertook research, policy, campaigning and advocacy and was well known for being outspoken and critical of Governments of all hues. Eaves’ inspirational chief executive, Denise Marshall, handed her O.B.E. back to David Cameron saying that she had been awarded it for providing quality, specialist services to women and that the political and economic choices of his Government meant that she could no longer fulfil this role adequately.

Eaves handed back its refuges and they were taken over by a generic housing association as is happening across the sector. They duped staff and then rapidly reviewed and amended terms and conditions. These women were not on huge salaries but even so this resulted in a drastic cut in wages of women who had devoted years of their lives to supporting women. Many of them were survivors themselves. They had built up experience, skills and professionalism in this sector. They also often were single mothers scraping a living in London.

The very day that the new “provider” started up operation, they phoned Eaves. “Well, we have a service user who needs you to go with her to the housing department to advocate for her for move on and housing”. This is precisely why we realised we couldn’t deliver the tender to the appropriate quality and standard for the money and we were not prepared to lie and say that we could and nor could we subsidise this work from our own money as our reserves are minimal. We know that women do not need only a roof over their head. They need a range of support – often counselling, often time consuming and resource intensive advice and advocacy on a range of matters – including housing, benefits, immigration, child contact and custody, health access, support through legal processes etc etc.

We see this pattern repeated over and over again – large generic, non-specialist organisations with no track record or expertise on violence against women or on specific issues put in tenders that look glossy and cheap. Quite often they have managed to accumulate vast reserves which limits risk for commissioners and which they could deploy to subsidise poorly funded tenders – letting government off the hook.  Commissioners are delighted to have a non- politicised, non-specialist, undemanding, non-challenging and lowest unit cost provider to tick the boxes  – if not to actually deliver a quality service.

What is lost is not only the quality of service that women want, need and are entitled to, not only respect and remuneration for quality, professional, specialist women’s wages but also the independence of voice, purpose and action of the ngo sector as highlighted by the Baring report.

This is not purely cuts this is a direct and concerted attack on the rights of the most marginalised and on our ability to hold the ever-shrinking state to account. By the same token it is impunity for perpetrators and in some cases the death-knell for women victims of male violence.

What has become of the services at Eaves?

Despite having only a very small timeframe in which to try to transfer and safeguard services, Eaves has managed to do so to some extent.

• The ISVA was absorbed by the Gaia centre – a project run by Refuge in the Lambeth area.

• The Beth centre reverted to Women in Prison and is still there though looking for new premises.

• The Alice project, helping women rebuild their lives after violence, sadly was not found a home.

• The Poppy project is striving to continue in its own right as an independent organisation – there is likely to be a gap in service for a while but the team are still there and still fighting. We will be happy to update in future publications but Poppy is determined to keep going.

Take action:

1. The UK government has still not ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (known as Istanbul Convention). This convention requires gender specific, specialist, proportionate and resources services – join the campaign, write to you MP – urge ratification without delay!
2. Find out and Donate to specialist women’s services in your area and see if you can support them – fundraise for them, fight for them, help them in a way that works for them!

Austerity puts disabled women at greater risk of domestic violence

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Guest blog by Sisters of Frida

Disabled women are 2-3 times more likely to experience domestic violence, but have greater barriers to accessing services. Often they are not believed, or their experiences as disabled women are not understood. Perpetrators exploit disabled women by financially abusing them, isolating them from friends and family, withholding vital care or medication, and using their impairments to apply the form of abuse

Austerity has robbed disabled women of independent living in a number of ways. These include: the closure of the independent living fund, the introduction of ESA and the inappropriate work capability assessment, the change to PIP and Motability (for adapted vehicles) as there is an arbitrary change to mobility eligibility.

This is a systematic erosion of disabled people’s rights. An erosion so grave the UN is investigating.

Women are told they have to use nappies despite not being incontinent. Never mind the indignity. Never mind the health risk from sores, a risk that is not needed. Children are removed from disabled mothers as social services deem them not to be capable of parenthood. Disabled women wait in fear of the arbitrary sanctions from job centre and DWP letters informing them they no longer meet criteria for benefits.

This all feeds into vulnerability, isolation and dependency on possibly abusive partners.

The decimation of disabled people’s rights and independence, through the systematic removal of social security has had one particularly significant effect: disabled women are left at greater risk of domestic violence

When it comes to state support for disabled women, social security is no “benefit”. In a world which denies disabled people access to education, employment, family life and public spaces, this money is a small recognition of the barriers faced.

Disabled women experience a compound oppression. As at the same time their risk of violence increases, funding to domestic violence aid services is falling. This is despite an evidence need for MORE funding to ensure they are accessible and responsive to all disabled women. We need more specialist services and accessible helplines and information.

Without this support and funding, disabled women lose their independent living, their social circles, civil rights, choice and control. Isolation, dependence and vulnerability are exacerbated by austerity. Austerity sets up the conditions where disabled women are more than 2-3 times likely to experience domestic violence.

CSR 2015: a sticking plaster for a haemorrhage

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

As in the July budget, Osborne is still failing to deliver a long term solution for women seeking safety from violence. What’s more, he seems proud of his short term solutions, which act as little more than a sticking plaster over a haemorrhage – a haemorrhage caused by his own austerity measures. We would apologise for the use of such violent imagery, but economic violence against women must be seen for what it is.

Remember: when they cut, we bleed.