27 Jan 2008
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Remember, reflect and react to create a better future.
There have been a number of events throughout the country. For details of these events and to light your own candle in remembrance of the victims and the survivivors visit the Holocaust Memorial Day website.
Pink News reported on how the nation remembered today.
For further details about the persecution of gay men by the Nazis read here.
Link to United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USMMM)
There have been a number of events throughout the country. For details of these events and to light your own candle in remembrance of the victims and the survivivors visit the Holocaust Memorial Day website.
Pink News reported on how the nation remembered today.
For further details about the persecution of gay men by the Nazis read here.
Link to United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USMMM)
I leave you to reflect on the famous poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892–1984) abut the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of group by group of people......
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
In Veglia
I have just moderated a comment on a post last year concerning a student being investigated by police for alleged homophobic abuse that he posted on facebook. The comment led me to the following website In Veglia which I have read with interest and found moving particularly today as I remember many victims of the holocaust, some of who were gay. The plan is that on the 4th April 2008, many Christians will meet in many cities of Italy in vigils of prayer to remember the victims of homophobia and smash the walls of silence and embarassment. The date has been chosen because it is 40 years to the day of the assassination of Martin Luther King and are acting on his belief that any kind of injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Also in April 2007, Matteo a young man from Torrino committed suicide at the age of 16 due to homophobic bullying and discrimination.
14 Jan 2008
Lest We Forget
UNISON recently produced the following article about Black Members Conference which was held 11 - 13 January 2008 in Glasgow.
Until black history is taught in UK schools, there will be no appreciation of the contribution black people have made to making Britain ‘great’, UNISON declared at the weekend. Delegates at the union’s national black members’ conference in Glasgow called for black history – in particular, the history of the transatlantic slave trade and the part played by enslaved people in their own emancipation – to be included in the curriculum and taught at all levels, from primary school through to further education. No matter what our skin colour, it is vital to understand the past if we are to stamp out racism and forge a successful multicultural society based on mutual respect, conference agreed. The transatlantic slave trade and moves to combat its legacy of racism dominated the agenda, and also featured in a panel debate. “It is a legacy that none of us can be proud of,” UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said as he addressed delegates on the opening day of conference. “It is a legacy and a history that taints us today.” Mr Prentis hailed the government’s adoption of 23 August as a national day of remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition as a “great achievement for our union”.UNISON’s call for a national slavery memorial day was a key part of last year’s Breaking the Chains campaign.“We must never let people forget that the same racism that allowed slavery to exist is the same racism that people still face,” Mr Prentis said. He promised the union would not rest until the struggle for equality was won, and that in the run-up to this year’s local government elections, UNISON would once more lead the fight to “kick the BNP and other racists back in the gutter where they belong”. And he urged more black members to put themselves forward to lead and shape the union, “making sure that the union fits you, rather than you fitting the union”. Having more black representatives would help the union reach out to the next generation of black activists and stay relevant, truly giving black members a voice, Mr Prentis said, adding: “It is solidarity that binds us together and it is solidarity that will drive us forward. ”Conference also heard from the National Union of Students’ Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, who explained how, with help from UNISON, the NUS black students’ campaign was tackling racism and injustice on UK campuses, making “a real and powerful difference to the lives of young black people”. Other guest speakers included former political prisoner Khiang Maung Maung from the Burma Campaign and UNISON president Norma Stephenson, who said UNISON was working to put equality at the heart of everything it does.Ms Stephenson said that as chair of the Labour Party’s women race and equality committee, she was able to ensure the union’s agenda featured highly in party policy talks, and she pledged UNISON would throw its weight behind strengthening current laws. “We must continue to campaign to get the provisions of the Race Relations Act extended to the private and voluntary sectors, to protect black workers from appalling rates of pay and unjust disciplinary action, and to get the legislation properly enforced to make the public sector fully compliant,” she said. Issues debated included tackling the causes of gang, gun and knife culture, discrimination against migrant workers, the need to stop scapegoating Muslims, and reform of police ‘stop and search’ procedures.
More on UNISON's Black Members here
Until black history is taught in UK schools, there will be no appreciation of the contribution black people have made to making Britain ‘great’, UNISON declared at the weekend. Delegates at the union’s national black members’ conference in Glasgow called for black history – in particular, the history of the transatlantic slave trade and the part played by enslaved people in their own emancipation – to be included in the curriculum and taught at all levels, from primary school through to further education. No matter what our skin colour, it is vital to understand the past if we are to stamp out racism and forge a successful multicultural society based on mutual respect, conference agreed. The transatlantic slave trade and moves to combat its legacy of racism dominated the agenda, and also featured in a panel debate. “It is a legacy that none of us can be proud of,” UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said as he addressed delegates on the opening day of conference. “It is a legacy and a history that taints us today.” Mr Prentis hailed the government’s adoption of 23 August as a national day of remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition as a “great achievement for our union”.UNISON’s call for a national slavery memorial day was a key part of last year’s Breaking the Chains campaign.“We must never let people forget that the same racism that allowed slavery to exist is the same racism that people still face,” Mr Prentis said. He promised the union would not rest until the struggle for equality was won, and that in the run-up to this year’s local government elections, UNISON would once more lead the fight to “kick the BNP and other racists back in the gutter where they belong”. And he urged more black members to put themselves forward to lead and shape the union, “making sure that the union fits you, rather than you fitting the union”. Having more black representatives would help the union reach out to the next generation of black activists and stay relevant, truly giving black members a voice, Mr Prentis said, adding: “It is solidarity that binds us together and it is solidarity that will drive us forward. ”Conference also heard from the National Union of Students’ Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, who explained how, with help from UNISON, the NUS black students’ campaign was tackling racism and injustice on UK campuses, making “a real and powerful difference to the lives of young black people”. Other guest speakers included former political prisoner Khiang Maung Maung from the Burma Campaign and UNISON president Norma Stephenson, who said UNISON was working to put equality at the heart of everything it does.Ms Stephenson said that as chair of the Labour Party’s women race and equality committee, she was able to ensure the union’s agenda featured highly in party policy talks, and she pledged UNISON would throw its weight behind strengthening current laws. “We must continue to campaign to get the provisions of the Race Relations Act extended to the private and voluntary sectors, to protect black workers from appalling rates of pay and unjust disciplinary action, and to get the legislation properly enforced to make the public sector fully compliant,” she said. Issues debated included tackling the causes of gang, gun and knife culture, discrimination against migrant workers, the need to stop scapegoating Muslims, and reform of police ‘stop and search’ procedures.
More on UNISON's Black Members here
11 Jan 2008
UNISON's 2008 Equal Pay Campaign
UNISON has launched its campaign to close the gender pay gap by lodging a record 33,000 equal pay claims against public sector employers. Two thirds of UNISON members are women, and the battle for equal pay has been ongoing for a number of years. Significant pay increases for thousands of low-paid women workers have been achieved but there is still a lot more to be achieved. "Equal pay is not just the wish of the trade unions," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. "It is the law of the land. Yet, 30 years on, the Equal Pay Act is still seen by many employers as a take-it-or-leave-it bit of legislation. This cannot be allowed to continue. It must be implemented robustly across the UK." Funding particularly in local government, remainscritical to achieving equal and fair pay. This issue was discussed in an article in The Guardian recently and also the issue of no win no fee lawyers which poses a challenge to collective negotiations. "As a direct result of UNISON’s campaigning through the Labour Party, last September the government released £500 million to 46 local authorities to fund equal pay," Dave Prentis said. "But more is needed. In addition, the government must change the law, to cut the time it takes for legal action. At the moment, it takes years, is costly and, in the meantime, women remain underpaid.”
The pay gap between men and women is around 17%, according to official figures. This means that women are losing out on a staggering £4,000 a year, based on an average salary of £23,600.
A major problem
The pay gap between men and women is around 17%, according to official figures. This means that women are losing out on a staggering £4,000 a year, based on an average salary of £23,600.
A major problem
UNISON prepares for pay campaign
UNISON will unite and bring its whole strength to bear over the next few months against what general secretary Dave Prentis called "the most unjust pay policy I've ever seen". That was the message given at the pay summit where members met to discuss the government's attempt to limit public-sector pay over the next three years to just 2%. Inflation has been more than 4% for the past year, making 2% rises a pay cut in real terms. Pay rises in the private sector are running at around 3.5%-4%. Discussions took place on how to build and organise a campaign for the reward and pay rises public-service workers deserve, both across the 1.3-million strong union and across the six-million strong public service workforce, working with other unions in the various public-service sectors. The government says its pay policy, announced in last autumn's comprehensive spending review, is about tackling inflation but incomes experts pointed out that that public-sector pay isn't counted in the inflation index: and public-service pay rises don't increase inflation - repeating a message from leading economists, quoted in a Financial Times report headlined "Inflation driven by potatoes" - inflation is about the cost of what people buy, not what public-service providers earn.
In two weeks time, MPs are to vote on a 2.8% pay rise. Gordon Brown has urged them to accept 1.9% but MPs will get a free vote. The vote is based on recommendations from the Senior Salaries Pay Board. But 2.8% or even 1.9% on an annual salary of £60, 675 is still a big pay increase by my calculations - a lot more substantial than what a lot of our members are earning. This could be the last ime that MPs do get the chanc to vote on their pay increase though as a review is to be carried out to examine the use of objective criteria to establish MPs pay.
In two weeks time, MPs are to vote on a 2.8% pay rise. Gordon Brown has urged them to accept 1.9% but MPs will get a free vote. The vote is based on recommendations from the Senior Salaries Pay Board. But 2.8% or even 1.9% on an annual salary of £60, 675 is still a big pay increase by my calculations - a lot more substantial than what a lot of our members are earning. This could be the last ime that MPs do get the chanc to vote on their pay increase though as a review is to be carried out to examine the use of objective criteria to establish MPs pay.
9 Dec 2007
Some people are Gay - Get Over It!
Some people are gay. Get over it! Earlier this year Stonewall asked 150 secondary school students to help them come up with a simple and dynamic message to tackle homophobia and homophobic bullying. The result was a powerful range of campaign materials: Some people are gay. Get over it! This message of zero-tolerance to homophobic behaviour has been produced as posters, postcards and stickers, and in November was sent to all 5000 secondary schools in England as part of national Anti-Bullying Week. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with hundreds of schools asking for more materials. Star of Doctor Who and Torchwood John Barrowman has lent his support to the campaign, urging people to give their support: "Join me in Stonewall's Education for All campaign and help exterminate homophobia. Be bold. Be brave. Be a buddy not a bully." In fact, requests have come in from across the world, with posters being sighted as far away as Austria, Canada, France, Hungary and the U.S.A!
Sperm donor ordered to pay child maintenance
A man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple is being made to pay maintenance by the Child Support Agency (CSA). Andy Bathie, 37, from Enfield, north London, claims he was assured by the couple he would have no personal or financial involvement for the children. He donated his sperm as a friend rather than go through a fertility clinic. This is a common arrangement due to limted access to assisted reproduction in clinics for lesbians. The couple though claim differently and say that Bathie did have some involvement and in fact behaved as a full time father and therefore should take some financial responsibility.
The CSA said only anonymous donors at licensed centres are exempt from being treated as the legal father of a child born as a result of their donation. Bathie, a firefighter, said he cannot afford to have children with his own wife due to the financial implications. The lesbian couple, who approached the couple five years ago after they married in a civil ceremony, have a boy and a girl. They said that they were put under pressure from the CSA to reveal the identity of the Father otherwise their Income Support would be reduced.
Mr Bathie said he reacted with "shock, anger and despair", when he was contacted by the CSA in November. He said: "I don't have any particular ill will. It's the fact that I still even now don't see why I should have to pay for another couple's children."
A spokesman for Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said: "The law says that men donating sperm through licensed fertility clinics are not the legal father of any child born through that donation. "Men giving out their sperm in any other way - such as via internet arrangements - are legally the father of any children born with all the responsibilities that carries."
A spokeswoman for CSA said: "Unless the child is legally adopted, both biological parents are financially responsible for their child - the Child Support Agency legislation is not gender or partnership based." Ministers have drawn up fertility reforms giving equal parenting rights to same-sex couples who "marry" in a civil partnership. This means they will be recognised as the legal parents of children conceived through sperm donation.
However, this just shows how much pressure the CSA put on women to name the father of a child and the narrow exceptions when the Father cannot be named. This is truly discriminatory to lesbians and gay men who twenty years ago would not have any access to fertility clinics and even now still have limited access. The law still requires that access to assisted reproduction needs to take into account the child's need for a father which deters lesbians from accessing such services or even being refused services. However, it is likely that a same sex partner's resources would be taken into account if the other partner was being assessed to pay child support for chldren from a previous heterosexual relationship which is the irony of the situation.
The changes in the law if they do happen will come too late for Mr Bathie, although he is pushing for the law to be retrospective. However these changes are meeting with attacks from anti-gay peers and there have been amendments submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill to prevent the changes that Mr Bathie is calling for. The amendments are likely to be debated at the next reading of the bill in House of Lords Committee on the 10th December 2007. Following committee stage the bill will proceed to the Commons.
For more on the bill read previous post. Also see analysis in Pink News.
The CSA said only anonymous donors at licensed centres are exempt from being treated as the legal father of a child born as a result of their donation. Bathie, a firefighter, said he cannot afford to have children with his own wife due to the financial implications. The lesbian couple, who approached the couple five years ago after they married in a civil ceremony, have a boy and a girl. They said that they were put under pressure from the CSA to reveal the identity of the Father otherwise their Income Support would be reduced.
Mr Bathie said he reacted with "shock, anger and despair", when he was contacted by the CSA in November. He said: "I don't have any particular ill will. It's the fact that I still even now don't see why I should have to pay for another couple's children."
A spokesman for Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said: "The law says that men donating sperm through licensed fertility clinics are not the legal father of any child born through that donation. "Men giving out their sperm in any other way - such as via internet arrangements - are legally the father of any children born with all the responsibilities that carries."
A spokeswoman for CSA said: "Unless the child is legally adopted, both biological parents are financially responsible for their child - the Child Support Agency legislation is not gender or partnership based." Ministers have drawn up fertility reforms giving equal parenting rights to same-sex couples who "marry" in a civil partnership. This means they will be recognised as the legal parents of children conceived through sperm donation.
However, this just shows how much pressure the CSA put on women to name the father of a child and the narrow exceptions when the Father cannot be named. This is truly discriminatory to lesbians and gay men who twenty years ago would not have any access to fertility clinics and even now still have limited access. The law still requires that access to assisted reproduction needs to take into account the child's need for a father which deters lesbians from accessing such services or even being refused services. However, it is likely that a same sex partner's resources would be taken into account if the other partner was being assessed to pay child support for chldren from a previous heterosexual relationship which is the irony of the situation.
The changes in the law if they do happen will come too late for Mr Bathie, although he is pushing for the law to be retrospective. However these changes are meeting with attacks from anti-gay peers and there have been amendments submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill to prevent the changes that Mr Bathie is calling for. The amendments are likely to be debated at the next reading of the bill in House of Lords Committee on the 10th December 2007. Following committee stage the bill will proceed to the Commons.
For more on the bill read previous post. Also see analysis in Pink News.
2 Dec 2007
Hidden Hate
On the 29th November a committee of MPs approved amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill that will make incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation an offence which is long overdue. None of the Conservative MPs on the committee voted against the proposals. The Bill will now proceed to a report stage and third reading in the Commons before being sent to the Lords. See further details from Pink News.
It was originally thought that the provisions would be extended to cover incitement to hatred against trans people and disabled people but this does not now appear to be the case for definate and is only going to be considered. With the recent murder of Kellie Telesford and the countless murder, torture and brutality of trans people worldwide such as Gisberta, there is overwhelming evidence that the law needs to be extended to cover hatred against Trans people.
Incitement against hatred towards disabled people is also so much needed. Disability organisations and charities report that crimes against disabled people is worryingly common but there is massive under-reporting. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act made it the courts' duty to increase the sentence for "any offence aggravated by hostility based on the victim's disability". The law came into force in 2005, but the CPS only started recording cases as "disability aggravated" in April this year. Since then only 68 cases had been identified, but a BBC Radio 5 Live Report Hidden Hate has new figures showing a third of these were incorrectly recorded.
The CPS says at least 30 cases have been successfully prosecuted and it is "firmly committed to bringing the perpetrators of crimes against disabled people to justice". It points to a new system of 42 area-based disability hate crime coordinators, the inclusion of a new "disability aggravated" category into its monitoring of cases, and a new campaign to raise awareness among staff. The police have also accepted there has been massive under-reporting of the issue. Real levels were estimated to represent a "many 100-fold increase of cases compared to what the police know about" according to Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris in recent evidence to a parliamentary group considering the issue.
Several recent high profile cases have helped bring the issue to prominence including Kevin Davies, who had epilepsy and died after being locked up in a shed for five months and tortured by so-called friends. He was starved, beaten, burnt, branded, cut and neglected until he died. Murder could not be proved because Kevin had epilepsy and it was possible he died from a seizure. The defendants pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault but the case was not investigated as a disability hate crime.
See BBC Article Fears of Disability Hate Crime, CPS Disability Hate Crime Policy, CPS Guidance on prosecuting homophobic hate crime
It was originally thought that the provisions would be extended to cover incitement to hatred against trans people and disabled people but this does not now appear to be the case for definate and is only going to be considered. With the recent murder of Kellie Telesford and the countless murder, torture and brutality of trans people worldwide such as Gisberta, there is overwhelming evidence that the law needs to be extended to cover hatred against Trans people.
Incitement against hatred towards disabled people is also so much needed. Disability organisations and charities report that crimes against disabled people is worryingly common but there is massive under-reporting. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act made it the courts' duty to increase the sentence for "any offence aggravated by hostility based on the victim's disability". The law came into force in 2005, but the CPS only started recording cases as "disability aggravated" in April this year. Since then only 68 cases had been identified, but a BBC Radio 5 Live Report Hidden Hate has new figures showing a third of these were incorrectly recorded.
The CPS says at least 30 cases have been successfully prosecuted and it is "firmly committed to bringing the perpetrators of crimes against disabled people to justice". It points to a new system of 42 area-based disability hate crime coordinators, the inclusion of a new "disability aggravated" category into its monitoring of cases, and a new campaign to raise awareness among staff. The police have also accepted there has been massive under-reporting of the issue. Real levels were estimated to represent a "many 100-fold increase of cases compared to what the police know about" according to Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris in recent evidence to a parliamentary group considering the issue.
Several recent high profile cases have helped bring the issue to prominence including Kevin Davies, who had epilepsy and died after being locked up in a shed for five months and tortured by so-called friends. He was starved, beaten, burnt, branded, cut and neglected until he died. Murder could not be proved because Kevin had epilepsy and it was possible he died from a seizure. The defendants pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault but the case was not investigated as a disability hate crime.
See BBC Article Fears of Disability Hate Crime, CPS Disability Hate Crime Policy, CPS Guidance on prosecuting homophobic hate crime
1 Dec 2007
Dont Dis-my-Ability - UN International Day of Disabled Persons - 3rd December 2007
The United Nations General Assembly announced that 3 December is to be observed every year as the International Day of Disabled Persons. The Day was initially proclaimed to commemorate the anniversary of the General Assembly's adoption of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled people to promote understanding about disability issues and to increase awareness. The UN Programme on Disability is the lead programme on disability within the United Nations System. It is housed in the Division for Social Policy and Development at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat. The programme stems from the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons adopted by the United Nations in 1982 and the Standard Rules on Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted in 1994.
(Dont DIS my ABILITY is the slogan of the New South Wales Government International Day of Disabled Persons)
The major objectives of the Programme are the following:
- To support the full and effective participation of disabled people in social life and development
- To advance the rights and protect the dignity of disabled people
- To promote equal access to employment, education, information, goods and services
The International Year of Disabled Persons, 1981, was a milestone in the long history of the struggle of disabled people against discrimination and segregation, and for equal rights. The World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons recognised disabled persons first and foremost as citizens vested with all the rights and obligations that this implied. For the next 50 years, the United Nations’ commitment to ‘a society for all’ will continue to make a difference in the lives not only of disabled people, but among all people
This year's International Day of Disabled Persons focuses on how to ensure decent work for disabled people and on ways to tap into the abilities of this marginalized talent pool. The recently adopted Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 27 the rights of disabled people to work and employment on an equal basis with others. It stresses the right of disabled people to earn a living from freely chosen work, and to work in an environment that is both accessible and accepting. More details about the Convention and the International Day of Disabled Persons are available on the United Nations Enable website.(Dont DIS my ABILITY is the slogan of the New South Wales Government International Day of Disabled Persons)
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