EQUALITY BULLETIN - ISSUE NINE : SEPTEMBER 2005 News & views from Glasgow’s Equality Forums and Glasgow City Council CONTENTS: + (01) The Deaf Black and Ethnic Minority Community and the Deaf Asian Club + (02) “Use Your Loaf – Scrap The Charges”: The Lobby Against Community Care Charges + (03) Street level Photoworks www.multi-story.org + (04) The West of Scotland LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Forum + (05) Somali Women’s Action Group on Female Genital Mutilation + (06) Voice for All! Advocacy Service for Ethnic Minority Young People With a Learning Disability + (07) Project Ability: The 8th Universal Print Show + (08) Trafficking in Women for Sexual Exploitation + (09) Building the Equalities Voice in Local Planning Structures + (10) Glasgow Women’s Voluntary Sector Network + (11) Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK + (12) Fonesforsafety: Community Safety Mobile Phone Recycling Project + (13) LGBT Youth Scotland + (14) Back page: Glasgow’s Equality Networks; Equality Bulletin Editorial Sub- Committee; Aims And Submission Details; Formats; E-Newsletters; Contact Details; Disclaimer + (01) THE DEAF BLACK AND ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITY AND THE DEAF ASIAN CLUB In October 2004 I started a new job as the Deaf Black and Ethnic Minority community worker with Deaf Connections in Glasgow. I am focusing on ethnic minority issues amongst Deaf people and am also involved in running the Asian Deaf Club. There are a lot of Deaf Asian people in Glasgow. I have already identified 37 Deaf people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Glasgow, and I am sure there are many more. I have met with children and young people who are having problems within their families because their families have little or no information on Deaf issues. Language differences can make things even more difficult, e.g. English is the language used in schools, colleges etc, however many parents of Deaf people from ethnic minority communities do not speak English. This can lead to Deaf people feeling isolated and frustrated, and family relationships can become strained. In addition, many Deaf people share a culture of their own, they belong to the sign language community, which has its own history and values. Ethnic minority families have their own culture and customs which might be quite different. Scotland’s only Deaf Asian Club is run by Deaf Connections and has been running since 1998. The group meets every Saturday at 100 Norfolk Street to socialise and talk to each other in British Sign Language (BSL). Meeting times are 1pm – 4 pm. When I started working with the Deaf Asian Club most of the members had little or no confidence. I have worked with them and encouraged them to gain access to a broad range of information e.g. health, culture and traditions etc. I now plan the programme of events for each Saturday including a wide range of topics to suit the needs of the group. Deaf ethnic minority people have a greater need to meet others like themselves to share experiences and gain confidence to combat social isolation. An Asian parent group is also needed, where parents who have Deaf children can meet each other. This group would meet every three months to talk about their experiences and share their views about how best to meet the needs and wishes of their Deaf children. Families would get information about specialist equipment e.g. minicoms, a flashing light as a bell on a door, alarm clocks that vibrate etc, to help their children be more involved in family life. There is also a strong need to develop sign language classes for families of Deaf people to help them improve communications at home. Introducing sign language is a means of developing better understanding between families and their Deaf children. Sign language is a visual picture on the hands which, following some basic training, can easily be understood by both parents and children. For more information contact: Tasnim Sharif, Community Worker (DBEM), Deaf Connections, 100 Norfolk Street, Glasgow G5 9EJ Telephone: 0141 420 1759 Fax: 0141 429 6860 Videophone: 0141 418 0579 or email tasnim@DeafConnections.co.uk + (02) “USE YOUR LOAF – SCRAP THE CHARGES” THE LOBBY AGAINST COMMUNITY CARE CHARGES On Thursday 14th April Glasgow Disability Alliance, in conjunction with the Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, The Scottish Personal Assistance Employers Network, Lothian Centre for Integrated Living and the NUS Students with Disabilities Campaign, lobbied MSPs at the Scottish Parliament on the issue of Community Care Charges. Background: Disabled People feel that the current situation whereby they are charged for their essential personal care is unfair and discriminatory. Further, as it is currently a local government issue, the Executive holding in reserve its powers to intervene, the charges levied on disabled people depend on what area we live in. This situation makes it almost impossible for disabled people to move from area to area as freely as any non-disabled person. For example, if a disabled person was successful in securing a job in another local authority area, they would find themselves in the position of having to review the charging policy of the new council and hope that the new council would provide the essential support packages they required. If their new local authority had a less favourable charging policy they might have to turn down the job offer. Legislation: Current legislation governing Community Care Charges states only that the money charged should not leave disabled people without enough money to live on, and that it should not be an unreasonable amount. However, whilst the local authority disregard a sum of money to live on (based largely on the Department for Work and Pensions’ allowances), these guidelines in practice leave Local Authorities open to charge people how they see fit. Disabled people feel that these current guidelines are too loose and allow for a great deal of discrepancy from one local council to another. Some Local Councils’ employ Fair Charging Polices i.e. there is no charge, or the charge does not include earnings or income. However, most don’t and for this reason a change in legislation is required in order to tighten the framework within which these guidelines exist. What the Policies Say: Currently many local councils do not disregard earnings, pensions and student loans when levying their charges. This means that they take all earnings and income over and above the amount deemed essential to living, until the care charges are paid in full. This leaves disabled people able to ‘live’ but not to have any decent standard of living and unable to increase this standard. Such a situation creates a huge disincentive for disabled people to enter employment and further and higher education (as student loans are counted as earnings). The earnings allowed leave disabled people on the same income as if they were living on benefit. Not allowing disabled people to keep their earnings puts them at a huge disadvantage to other people and means that because they are disabled, their earnings are capped. Many disabled people are able to work and should be encouraged to do so. This has wide ranging benefits, both for the individual and for society at large. If an individual is able to work then they are developing their own potential, they are leading a full and integrated life and are more included in society. The benefits of work for the individual are many, financially, emotionally and socially and should not be underestimated. On a wider scale, if people are working, they are contributing to society, they are paying taxes, and they are serving others as a citizen and as an employee. These are just a few examples of why it is important to support and encourage disabled people to work wherever possible. A fairly common example of how charging policies can affect the income of disabled people can be seen in the example below: Cost of Care Package = £30,000 per year Money disregarded to live on = £8,430 per year (£702.50 per month) What this means: an individual needs to earn £38,430 to pay for care bill and begin to keep income e.g. if income was £38,431, the individual would retain £8431 (£1 more since the care bill is covered so earnings can then be retained) The level deemed to cover living costs is £8,430 and so not until this person earns £38,430 a year do they get to see their income over and above what they would receive on benefit. Disabled people have a valuable contribution to make to society and want the right to work, to further their education and to keep their income, without being penalised for doing so. The Lobby: “Use your Loaf – Scrap the Charges”: Around 100 disabled people and their supporters joined the lobby. Although it was rather cold, we were thankful for some sunshine and the rain managed to hold off. We managed to secure the services of a piper to lead the march from the dropping off point to the mustering area outside the Parliament building. This along with whistles and some well chosen chants, made sure those in the vicinity knew we had arrived! We were delighted to see some friendly police officers waiting for us, knowing that at least someone had taken us seriously and were expecting us to turn up. Everyone had a loaf of bread with our campaign slogan stamped on it to present to MSP’s to highlight the fact that many disabled people are “Living on the Breadline”. Around half a dozen MSP’s came outside to meet and greet us and spend time discussing the issue and gleaning more information. A debate on “Skills” was taking place later in the day and they said they were appalled that disabled people had not even been mentioned in the pre debate paperwork. They promised to bring the issues of disabled students having their student loans regarded as income and the lack of incentive to seek promotion or higher paid work to this debate. They signed our petition and promised to spread the word among their colleagues. Once inside the Parliament building, we had a chance to speak to more MSP’s including Ministers Andy Kerr and Silvia Jackson. We were very disappointed at their response, as they seemed to think what was needed was a review of the free personal care for older people before they could even consider similar legislation for disabled people. One of the issues we were highlighting is that “free personal care for older people” is a bit misunderstood. Many tasks of daily living such as shopping and housework are not considered to be “personal care” and so are chargeable, leaving many older people shocked at having to pay for assistance with such tasks. It is unfair to ask disabled people to wait until this review takes place. In the meantime disabled people are being denied the basic right to assistance with daily living, meaning for many people they are denied the right to seek and retain employment or education and for people paying charges they are “Living on the Breadline”. The Campaign managed to get some press attention, including a feature on Newsnight Scotland, coverage on the lunchtime news and articles in Local and National Press. See http://www.inclusionscotland.org/Updates#up595 to read an article from the Guardian. There was also a live debate on Radio Scotland that you can listen to on the BBC Radio Scotland website (Thursday 14th April 10to2 programme). For more information about Glasgow Disability Alliance, about the campaign, and to register your support please contact: Glasgow Disability Alliance, 203 Old Rutherglen Road, Gorbals, Glasgow G5 0RE Tel: 0141 429 2535 (NB: part time office) email: info@gda-online.co.uk Web: www.gda-online.co.uk + (03) WWW.MULTI-STORY.ORG There are three photographs in this issue of the Equality Bulletin which were produced as part of the project, multi-story. On the website you will find the results of the multimedia art projects that brought together artists and asylum seekers in creative collaborations. The site contains photographs, personal stories, songs and video which document the new multi-cultural community in North Glasgow. multi-story is an on-going project which will continue to develop as new projects occur and contributions are made through the site. More information from Iseult Timmermans, Street Level Photoworks, 26 King St, Glasgow G1 5QP Tel: 0141 552 2151 email: iseult@btconnect.com + (04) THE WEST OF SCOTLAND LGBT (LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER) FORUM “Working Towards Equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community” The West of Scotland LGBT Forum is an umbrella organisation which brings together organisations and groups representing lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender people and their interests in the West of Scotland. The principal objectives of the Forum are to promote equal rights and equal participation for LGBT people in all walks of life, to provide facilities and opportunities in the interests of improving their quality of life and to promote community development. Most of the work is done by the member organisations, each of which retains its own identity and by the Forum’s partners in the statutory and voluntary sectors. The specific role of the Forum is to bring organisations and groups together in order to provide opportunities for networking, information exchange, cooperation, coordination and in appropriate cases, collective representation and action. We’ve Changed Our Name The Forum, formerly known as The West of Scotland Lesbian and Gay Forum, underwent a name change at its AGM this spring. Member organisations tabled a motion to include ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’ in the title to make it more reflective of today’s LGBT community. The motion was carried unanimously. The LGBT community itself was formerly known as the ‘LGB’ community and has in more recent years incorporated ‘transgender’. The bisexual community has often struggled with acceptance and a lack of visibility both within the LGBT and the wider community but latterly this has been addressed by an increased involvement from bisexual groups and joint working with organisations such as the Forum – leading to a better understanding of bisexual issues. While both the bisexual and the transgender groups have played a large part in the development of the community, the bisexual community in particular have traditionally been on the sidelines of much of community life and the transgender community has been spending most of its time evolving. The transgender community is just beginning to form its own cohesive hub of activism which is crystallising into an exciting surge of energy, evident in a heightened community involvement and activism. The West of Scotland LGBT Forum meets every six weeks and works with relevant statutory and voluntary bodies to exchange information, ensure equality and effect change where necessary. The Forum responds to consultations, informs on LGBT issues and commissions information provision. Membership of the Forum is by invitation to relevant organisations or individual co optees’ chosen by Forum members. Ruth Black, Co convener Contact: West of Scotland Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Forum: Ruth Black at GLGBT Centre, 11 Dixon St, Glasgow G1 4AL Tel. 0141 221 7203 or email ruth.glgbt@btconnect.com or Matt Johnstone, at PHACE Scotland, 49 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 2DL Tel 0141 332 3838 or email mattj@phacescotland.org + (05) FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION The work of the Somali Women’s Action Group : raising awareness and campaigning for better protection for women and girls. Female genital mutilation (fgm) is not a familiar term for most Glaswegians. fgm (sometimes referred to as female circumcision) is an extremely distressing procedure involving the removal or injury of healthy female external genitalia for cultural, traditional or other non-therapeutic purposes. fgm is usually performed on young girls, but depending on the country or area it can be carried out any time from infancy to adolescence, and occasionally on mature women. It is carried out in around 30 countries in the world, but has been unlawful in Scotland since 1985. This year, the Scottish Parliament is going one step further, and has introduced a Bill to outlaw the practice of sending a girl abroad for the purpose of fgm. One of the organisations to respond to the consultation on the Bill was the Somali Women’s Action Group in Glasgow. The group is based in the city and was formally constituted in July 2004. Its membership is drawn from the sizeable asylum seeker and refugee population of Somali women in Glasgow. One of the key objectives of the Somali Women’s Action Group is to raise awareness of fgm issues: · To ensure that Somali women know of the dangers associated with fgm (septicemia, cysts, difficulties with sexual intercourse and childbirth, for example) · To ensure that health, education, social work and other professionals recognise and understand the physical and cultural issues around fgm · To ensure Somali families are aware of and understand the Scottish legislation forbidding fgm. Two members of the group went to Edinburgh to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Equality committee, based on their own personal experience of having had to undergo fgm as children. All the group are passionate about protecting their daughters from having to undergo the same trauma. One of the remaining worries about the Bill is the lack of protection it gives to asylum seeker children. The group is using drama as a means of getting their message across. As the Somali written language has only existed for just over 30 years many women are not familiar or particularly comfortable with written communication. Word of mouth is crucial. Working first with Toonspeak, and then the Scottish Refugee Council, the group has developed a play on the life of a Somali woman. It highlights the lack of power and choice for girls as families insist they remain ‘pure’ before marriage. Of course, as in most societies, there is no similar pressure on young men. It also shows how fgm is linked with the culture of forced marriage, as girls do not always have the option of continuing their education if the family has found a good ‘match’ for them – often an older man. The group is now beginning to work with other agencies to examine how to make the legislation work in practice, for example through the use of child protection procedures, and to take their message out to other women’s groups in the city to promote awareness and solidarity. To contact the Somali Women’s Action Group please call Yasmin Mohamed on 07949 147 125 + (06) VOICE FOR ALL! ADVOCACY SERVICE FOR ETHNIC MINORITY YOUNG PEOPLE 10+ WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY Advocacy: “to speak and act persuasively, on behalf of someone’s rights and interests” This means valuing each person as an individual in their own right. It means listening to their views and concerns, and seeking fairness for them, by helping them voice their opinions Why it was set up This service was set up in response to a need felt within the ethnic minority community that people with a learning disability were not having their voices heard and were facing discrimination on two levels: race and disability. In addition, the “Same as You” review of services for people with learning disabilities, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, highlighted a need for improved service provision and suggested that, “better information, communication and advocacy” were “central to making changes”. The aims of the Advocacy Service Voice for All! is a free and confidential, Glasgow-wide Advocacy Service that aims to use a person-centred approach to identify and support people aged 10+, from an ethnic minority background, who have a Learning disability and/or Autism. It aims to voice their needs, wishes, concerns and complaints, so that they are not ignored, disempowered or socially excluded. The service endeavors to represent the interests of the person at times when they are, or feel, vulnerable. Therefore, Voice for All! provides advocates who are from an ethnic minority background, who understand a range of cultures and beliefs, are multilingual, and can communicate and engage fully and sensitively with individuals and their families. In addition, our aim is to work alongside and to influence, support services to ensure that services received are needs-led and not budget-led and to effect good practice. In reality, we are aware that finance does have an impact on service provision but we aim to aspire to a need’s led service. Another aim of the project is to find out about the prevalence of Autism within the ethnic minority community, which is fairly unknown as yet, and to raise awareness of the condition. Issues We can help with issues related to social work, welfare, education, health, family and access to services. We do this by supporting the person to voice their opinions or by representing the person’s views. This can be either at meetings and reviews or when speaking with families, social workers, teachers, health professionals and important people from the person’s life. First year experiences In the first year of the service we concentrated on reaching people who were most in need of having their voices heard. As there is no database of how many people there are with a Learning Disability and/or Autism from the ethnic minority group, it was difficult to make initial contact. They are the people most likely not to ask for help or referral, and maybe, are particularly afraid of speaking out. To reach people with a learning disability and/or autism we have, in the past year, been contacting different establishments: statutory and voluntary organizations, such as Education, Health, Social Work, Day Care Services etc. We have found that as well as the statutory and voluntary organizations and the wider community, greater awareness is needed within the ethnic minority community itself, regarding Learning Disability and Autism and issues relating to them. Our experiences have shown that this lack of awareness needs to be addressed. The work programme for the second year of service aims to raise awareness of Learning disability and its impact, within the wider and ethnic minority communities. In addition, our aim is to continue to forge better links with educational establishments, statutory and voluntary services. Confidentiality As we work within tightly-knit communities, one of our foremost priorities is to ensure that confidentiality of all client information is maintained and that clients are assured of total confidentiality. By constant reflection on practice we are aiming to ensure that our service meets the highest standards. Contacting Voice for All! For more information or to make a referral or even a self-referral contact: Voice for All!, 11 Forth Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow G41 2SP Tel: 420 6600 Free phone: 0800 917 1723 + (07) THE 8TH UNIVERSAL PRINT SHOW 2nd September –14th October at Project Ability Gallery 1, weekdays 10am - 5pm (except public holidays) This year five art organisations contribute work to the exhibition: Art Trek/Project Ability (Glasgow, Scotland); Studi’03 (Inverness, Scotland); Atelier Herenplaats (Rotterdam, Netherlands); Bifrost (Randers, Denmark) and Volkenskolen Lysbro (Silkeborg, Denmark). There are three images reproduced in this issue of the Equality Bulletin: the artists are Steven Reilly (Art Trek), Thomas Schmidt (Bifrost), and Anina Einsen (Volkenskolen Lysbro) For more information contact: Project Ability, Centre for Developmental Arts, 18 Albion Street, Glasgow G1 1LH t: 0141 552 2822 e: info@project-ability.co.uk www.project-ability.co.uk + (08) TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION Every year, from every secondary school in Lithuania, 2 young women disappear. The authorities there believe that they are trafficked. Perhaps those young women find themselves prostituted in Glasgow. In the summer of 2003, Glasgow City Council established an Inter Agency Working Group to explore the issue of trafficking in women for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. This was in response to growing global trends in the “sex industry”, the heightened awareness of the issue through the GCC’s work on the issue of prostitution, London Metropolitan Police’s warning that Glasgow could mirror their situation, and hard indicators of trafficked women in Glasgow’s sex industry. In 2004 the group placed a successful bid to the Scottish Executive’s Violence Against Women Service Development Fund for a Development Worker to progress the work of the Inter Agency Group. Trafficking The US Dept of State estimates that Trafficking in Persons is the 3rd largest and fastest growing criminal industry, creating an annual turnover of $9.5 billion. They further estimate that annually 600-800 thousand people a year are trafficked across international borders, 80% of whom are women and children. Of the women and children who are trafficked, 80% are trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. The most recent UK research suggests that between 142 and 1420 women are trafficked into the country for prostitution. Only 19% of women in the London sex industry are from the UK. Women are most at risk of being trafficked from countries where there is political instability, few educational opportunities for women and children, high unemployment rates and the continued feminisation of poverty. Women also are survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. Women are “recruited” in a numbers of ways ranging from force where women are kidnapped, coercion where women are “debt bonded” and fraud where women believe that they have a contract for legitimate work abroad. The movement of women across the world has made this a global issue which requires coordinated international, national and local solutions. Countries of origin need to implement prevention strategies. Countries of transit (where women pass through) need to look at methods of identifying women and providing them with assistance. Countries of destination need to understand why they have created such a demand and to focus on addressing societal attitudes that allows such an exploitative and harmful “industry” to exist. We all need to work together to ensure that slavery no longer exists in our global community. Glasgow Locally, in Glasgow, we are working to gather evidence of trafficked women in order to formulate our local solution. Currently we have anecdotal evidence of trafficked women here. We are raising awareness of the issue with agencies who may come into contact with women, offering training on how to identify and support women. We are working closely with other organisations to ensure that we can · share information about women, their circumstances and their traffickers so that we can understand our local situation better · provide support and assistance to women · influence national strategies · begin to address the demand for women to fuel the sex industry We have negotiated with Strathclyde Police a method of 3rd party reporting to enable frontline workers to confidently pass on anonymous information to the police, assisting with their criminal investigations. We are currently working very closely with Strathclyde Police, Immigration, Social Work Services, the Sandyford Initiative, Base 75, the Intervention Team and Breakthrough for Women to develop a planned service response for women who may require immediate support. We hope to be able to provide · safety · accommodation · healthcare · legal advice · psychological support As members of organisations who may come into contact with women it is important that we promote an awareness of this issue with colleagues and become more aware of the possibility that women we support may have been trafficked. As individuals we need to tell family and friends about modern day slavery and as a society we need to acknowledge that the sex industry is harmful to those involved. We in the UK have created the demand for increasing numbers of young women, without caring about where they come from or how they came to be sexually exploited, to supply the growing industry. We need to take our share of the responsibility. In order to combat this growing phenomenon we need to communicate, to work closely and appropriately together. If you have any information that you think may be useful, are working with a woman (over 18 years) who you suspect has been trafficked or you wish to find out more about trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation then please contact Bronagh Andrew, Community Services, 11th Floor, Nye Bevan House 2, 20 India Street, Glasgow. Tel 0141 2878307. bronagh.andrew@drs.glasgow.gov.uk. Online resources: Glasgow City Council Report on Trafficking: www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/PolicyPlanning_Strategy/Corporate/Equali ties/Women/Prostitution.htm U.S. Department of State Trafficking In Persons Report, 2005 http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/ + (09) BUILDING THE EQUALITIES VOICE IN LOCAL PLANNING STRUCTURES The partnership landscape in Glasgow is changing..... The 2003 Local Government Act gave local authorities the responsibility for facilitating community planning in their area and this will include regeneration activities currently undertaken by the SIPs. The NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 provides for the development of community health partnerships as part of the agenda for change in the NHS. In Glasgow we are moving towards the creation of 10 local community planning partnerships across the city and five community health and social care partnerships. These will be local structures providing the opportunities for local people to become involved in the planning and delivery of public services in their area. New structures provide new opportunities to ensure the equalities agenda is integral to the work of these new bodies and that there is a strong voice from the range of equalities groupings in the city. The question is how best to make this happen? Within the local structures, the main focus is on communities defined by geography. They will concentrate on the needs of particular geographical areas of the city. Central to these developments is the idea of community engagement/ involvement. Local community planning partnerships and community health and social care partnerships must have mechanisms for building community involvement into their work. Glasgow Community Planning Partnership will be consulting on its proposed community engagement structures in the next couple of months and GCVS is currently working on a draft framework for community involvement in CHSCPs. The challenge is how to build a strong voice for equalities groups within these structures. There is an acknowledgement ,by those who spend their time working on the detail of how they will work in practice, of the need to do this, but it is fair to say it has been a struggle to keep this on their agenda. What we need to think about is what will work for equalities groups and to feed this into the current discussions. We need processes that allow individuals and organisations to share their thinking on what are the key issues. Also about what structures will best allow them to voice their concerns, views and ensure their issues reach the agenda. Will structures based on geography work for groups that have traditionally organised on a citywide basis and often felt exclude from community based structures? Are there local groups and networks ready to take their place in the various fora that will be established? Or do we need to create different structures that will work for equalities groups in the city? Currently in both the proposals for community planning and community health and social care partnerships, there is provision for a citywide structure to cover thematic interests- an amalgamation of individuals and organisations that wish to organise on the basis of shared identity or interest. Is citywide the way to go – at least initially - or should we concentrate effort at the local level? Would a citywide structure provide the basis for developing a strong equalities voice and if so how do we ensure that it has mechanisms to ensure that it can influence the agenda of local geographical structures. Whatever way we go – it is recognised that there will be support needs. What will individuals, organisations and networks need to ensure they can develop their ideas and make their voices heard? And is there anything important about where this support comes from? There are no simple answers to these issues, but what is crucial is that the debate is had and that ideas and solutions come from those individuals and organisations who are working with the day to day challenges of building links between the equalities agenda, social justice and public service delivery. If anyone has ideas on how to take this forward, or indeed has already done thinking in this area we would be interested to hear about it. Contact Sue Rawcliffe, Head of Policy and Strategy at GCVS Tel. 0141 332 2444 or email sue.rawcliffe@gcvs.org.uk + (10) GLASGOW WOMEN’S VOLUNTARY SECTOR NETWORK Background The Glasgow Women’s Voluntary Sector Network was set up in 1996 to ensure that projects working with women in Glasgow had a method of responding to and influencing Glasgow City Council’s Equality Agenda through their nominated members attending the Equality Networks Forum. The aims of the Network are to bring together women who work in the voluntary sector, whether paid or unpaid, to provide a forum for the sharing of information and mutual support, to raise awareness of and advocate for the alleviation of social exclusion and discrimination faced by women in Glasgow. The Standing Group on Violence Against Women is a sub group of the Network and whilst it was originally set up to look at funding for Violence Against Women organisations, continues to meet and work to date. Representatives from The Standing Group sit on the Board for the Glasgow Violence Against Women Partnership Women’s Voluntary Sector Network Objectives · Provide a mechanism for identifying gaps in information and services to women in Glasgow. · Seek to influence the policy and practice of Glasgow City Council and other appropriate bodies delivering services to women in Glasgow. · Monitor the Council’s and other appropriate bodies’ progress on women’s issues. · Consult on relevant issues and act as a point of contact for external consultations. · Promote anti-discriminatory practice and advocate for such practice to be the norm by challenging racism, homophobia and disablism by proactively working to end violence and discrimination towards black women, lesbians and disabled women and by drawing connections between different types of discrimination (e.g. sexism, racism, homophobia, disablism and classism). · Act as a united voice for women’s organisations and organisations that provide a service to women. · Monitor and evaluate the funding and resource allocation to women’s organisations that provide a service to women in Glasgow. Our current work We hold our meetings every 6 weeks, alternating business and information sessions. Our business meetings coincide with the Equality Networks Forum quarterly meetings. These recent changes to our meeting schedule is working well as we can now discuss the Equality Networks Forum agenda and contribute as necessary. Our business meetings link together our relationships with the Equality Network and the Standing Group as well as acting as a useful link-up point connecting the wide variety of work happening throughout the City. Our business meetings also provide an opportunity to establish our priorities and plan development and capacity of the Network. Our recently established information sessions have been successful in attracting new women as well as organisations who haven’t been able to attend in recent months. Through consultation with all our members we identified the following issues as topics to be the basis of our information sessions this year: Women Seeking Asylum; Women and Addiction; Child Sexual Abuse; Women and Mental Health issues; Presentations from new and existing projects. The information sessions prove to be a useful way of involving women and engaging with organisations at a different level. The Network has also recently participated in establishing and strengthening links with members from the other three Networks (Disability, Black and Minority Ethnic and LGBT). In doing this, all four Networks hope to share information with each other and strengthen relationships to increase our capacity in taking forward equality issues in Glasgow. Our hopes for the future As we go towards our 10-year anniversary next year, we hope that the Women’s Voluntary Sector Network will continue to progress and build on the important work enabled by the commitment of past and current members. The Network acknowledge the limitations placed on many projects around staffing and resources but would welcome any level of contribution women were able to offer. Members old and new are welcome to join the Network at any time. Our meetings prove to be a useful way to meet with other workers in similar fields and share knowledge and information in a confidential and safe setting. Why not come along and see what the Network could offer you? Forthcoming Meetings: 3rd November: Information Session: Women and Addictions 1st December: Business Meeting All meetings: 10.30am - 12.30pm at Glasgow City Chambers. Fully accessible. Travel and childcare expenses are available. If you would like to become part of the Women’s Voluntary Sector Network or would like more information, please contact Ruth Black on 0141 221 7203 or Harriette Campbell on 0141 942 4849. + (11) PROFITABLE EXPLOITS: LAP DANCING IN THE UK A series of informal briefings were held in December 2004 with Julie Bindel, author of the recent report Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK. There was some lively discussion during which the quality of life of residents and employees within areas with sex industry activity was raised, the links with prostitution, the general impact on city life and reputation and the need for further powers for local authorities to control and limit the proliferation of these venues. The Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK report comprises a review of available literature and media reports, records the development and growth of clubs and the impact on attitudes, and is a study of four clubs in Glasgow and two in London. Julie summarised the findings as well as recounting the personalised and vicious backlash from proponents of the sex industry which she has experienced since undertaking the report for Glasgow City Council. The study concludes the following: Lap dancing clubs, contrary to the opinion of club owners interviewed for the purposes of this study, are part of the sex industry, are becoming increasingly normalised and can be seen as detrimental to gender equality The buying and selling of sexual services does occur in some lap dance clubs Current licensing conditions are inadequate and fail to enable local authorities to control the proliferation of such establishments within their locale Working conditions and terms of employment of lap dancers are inadequate and problematic Dancers can suffer humiliation and sexual harassment on a regular basis, from customers and staff/management There is a strong public lobby opposing lap dance clubs in the UK and elsewhere Many dancers begin working in lap dance clubs through lack of real choice The requirement for dancers to ‘glamour model’ to advertise the club, and the evidence that some customers take covert photographs of the dancers whilst naked, links lap dancing clubs to pornography Julie’s recommendations include: Local authorities should be given more power regarding licensing of these activities License the clubs under the same conditions as sex shops Providing the power to control the numbers of licences granted Apply licensing conditions to advertising the clubs and related activities Make issues of employment practice and working conditions for the dancers a condition of the license Regularise licensing regulation and codes of conduct for dancers and club rules/conditions Subject clubs to regular, obligatory checks by undercover police officers and licensing/ enforcement staff Abolish VIP suites and curtained areas. Introduce CCTV coverage throughout the premises excluding toilets and staff changing room Central governments to fund research on the social consequences of commercial sexual exploitation, which should include lap dancing Central governments to fund public awareness campaigns on sexual exploitation This study was the first of its kind in the UK. It is based largely on observations within the six clubs, and interviews with those with some involvement and/or interest in the ‘lap dance industry’. Based on testimony from some of those involved in the lap dance club industry, it concludes that lap dancing clubs and related activities can be viewed as demeaning to women, and potentially detrimental to gender equality. The Council has always argued for the need to address the full spectrum of violence against women which perpetuates women’s inequality. Glasgow has called for these venues to be licensed in the same way as sex shops which would enable a local authority to set the number appropriate for their area, including nil provision, and ensure that citizens, businesses, and relevant organisations would have the right to object to the granting of licences. The report is available on Glasgow City Council’s website: www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/PolicyPlanning_Strategy/ Corporate/Equalities/Women/Prostitution.htm Contact: Ann Hamilton, Corporate Violence Against Women Section, Community Services, 11th Floor, Nye Bevan House 2, 20 India Street, G2 1DU Tel 0141 287 6710 email: ann.hamilton@glasgow.gov.uk + (12) FONESFORSAFETY: EMERGENCY MOBILE PHONE PROJECT GLASGOW PILOT Every year over eighteen million mobile phones are made redundant in the UK as consumers replace them with newer models. Fonesforsafety is a project which reconfigures donated mobile phones into personal mobile phone alarms which dial 999 by pressing any key from 1-9. The phones are then distributed free of charge to women who are considered at risk from domestic abuse. As well as providing emergency assistance the alarms also offer reassurance thus enabling the women to feel safe and more confident when going about their daily lives. The scheme was initially established and piloted in 2003 in Elephant and Castle by the London Borough of Southwark and CRISP (Community Recycling in Southwark Project), a division of the not for profit company Elephant Jobs Limited. Victim Support Southwark and Southwark Metropolitan Police were consulted and brought onboard as core partners. The main aim of the project is to bring together social and environmental responsibility in a single initiative. After receiving interest from other regions across the UK, Fonesforsafety has partnered with the Body Shop and Women’s Aid in a larger campaign to pilot the scheme in other areas. The Body Shop is supporting the project as part of its Stop Violence in the Home campaign and will be the collecting point for old phones. The project co-ordinators identified Glasgow as the preferred Scottish region in which to establish a year long pilot. As in other pilot areas, Fonesforsafety has assisted in establishing a local partnership initially comprising Strathclyde Police, Glasgow Women’s Aid and Glasgow City Council to facilitate delivery of the scheme. More recently, Women’s Aid Groups in Drumchapel and Greater Easterhouse as well as Hemat Gryffe have come onboard. Since March a total of 100 phones have been delivered to Glasgow and these are held by Strathclyde Police and the four Women’s Aid groups. There are also plans to involve the newly established Response project which supports women experiencing domestic abuse who are at risk of homelessness. Other organisations may refer women through the Strathclyde Police Domestic Abuse Units. A client monitoring form is completed for each phone issued and these are held by Strathclyde Police. It is anticipated that women will require the phone for a maximum of 6 months although this can be extended depending on the circumstances. Phones no longer required should be returned to the Police or Women’s Aid. The Scottish Executive has agreed to contribute 25% of the cost. There will be no costs involved for any of the partners during the pilot and assistance will be provided by Fonesforsafety to identify funding steams to ensure the project’s sustainability beyond the first year. There will be regular contact with, and support provided by, Fones4safety during the pilot. Further information on the scheme can be obtained from Jean Murphy, Community Services, Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council, tel 0141 287 8240 or Detective Sergeant Fil Capaldi, Family Protection Policy Unit, Strathclyde Police, 173 Pitt Street. Tel: 532 2328. + (13) LGBT YOUTH SCOTLAND LGBT Youth Scotland is a national organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people. Our vision is that every LGBT young person will be included in the life of Scotland, enjoy a safe and supportive upbringing, grow up happy and healthy and reach their full potential. We provide a range of services and opportunities for young people, families and professionals which aim to increase awareness and confidence and reduce isolation and discrimination LGBT Youth Scotland’s main offices are based in Edinburgh but we now have a West Coast presence in our new offices, recently opened by Patrick Harvie MSP, at the LGBT Centre in Glasgow. At the moment this houses the Policy and Intelligence Team who work on research, training and policy development but we hope that, over time, we will begin to work more closely with LGBT young people in the Glasgow area alongside existing LGBT youth groups Vivid Youth and LIPS. Focus on Education: One focus for the Policy and Intelligence team in Glasgow is work in education. The LGBT Youth Charter of Rights was developed by Phoenix LGBT Youth in Dumfries following consultation with other LGBT young people across Scotland. Based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the Charter sets out the rights which all young people should have but which are often denied due to homophobia, heterosexism and a general lack of awareness. Those relevant to education include: ‘You have the right to education’ and ‘You have the right to be kept safe from harm’. These rights are not always afforded to LGBT young people in education. Homophobic attitudes and homophobic bullying in schools are a barrier to participation in education for many LGBT young people. Research shows a clear connection between homophobic bullying and low levels of educational attainment, absenteeism and early school leaving as well as a range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, self harm, attempted suicide and suicide. These issues are all more prevalent in LGBT young people than in the general youth population. Even in situations where homophobic bullying is not taking place, LGBT young people can feel isolated and unsupported in school. Homophobic bullying affects all young people, LGBT or not: a school which allows homophobic bullying to go unchallenged is a school in which young people feel unsafe. Often a barrier to tackling homophobia in schools is lack of teacher confidence in dealing with LGBT issues. Recognising this, LGBT Youth Scotland works with teaching professionals wherever possible to raise awareness and confidence. Topics covered include tackling homophobia, mainstreaming equalities, legal issues and inclusive sexual health and relationships education. In addition, an exciting development for LGBT Youth Scotland is Scottish Executive commissioned research into homophobic incidents in Scottish schools. We will investigate the nature and extent of homophobia and homophobic bullying in schools and work with school staff and young people in order to understand the situation and the current barriers to change. Our work in schools will result in recommendations for ways in which to tackle the problem across Scotland. Another priority in the coming months will be the Scottish launch of the Education For All campaign, dedicated to tackling homophobia in education. The campaign in Scotland will be coordinated by LGBT Youth Scotland, Stonewall Scotland and FFLAG. We are really looking forward to working in Glasgow - please don’t hesitate to get in touch! LGBT Youth Scotland, 11 Dixon Street, Glasgow, G1 4AL Tel 0141 2215970 email: fergus@lgbtyouth.org.uk, sara@lgbtyouth.org.uk, suzanne@lgbtyouth.org.uk www.lgbtyouth.org.uk + (14) BACK PAGE GLASGOW’S EQUALITY NETWORKS: Glasgow Black and Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Network and Glasgow Women’s Voluntary Sector Network Contact: Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector 0141 332 2444 information@gcvs.org.uk Glasgow Disability Alliance Contact: Marianne Scobie, Glasgow Disability Alliance, 203 Old Rutherglen Rd, Gorbals G5 0RE 0141 429 2535 info@gda-online.co.uk West of Scotland Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Forum Contact: Ruth Black at Glasgow LGBT Centre, 11 Dixon St, Glasgow G1 4AL Tel 0141 221 7203 or Matt Johnstone, at PHACE Scotland, 49 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 2DL 0141 332 3838 ruth.glgbt@btconnect.com or mattj@phacescotland.org EQUALITY BULLETIN EDITORIAL SUB-COMMITTEE: One representative each from: Glasgow Black and Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Network, Glasgow Disability Alliance, Glasgow Women’s Voluntary Sector Network, West of Scotland Lesbian and Gay Forum and Glasgow City Council Plus: one representative from Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector and the Communications and Resource Worker: Equality Bulletin AIMS AND SUBMISSION DETAILS: The Equality Bulletin is produced on behalf of Glasgow’s Equality Network Forum. The Forum is made up of representatives from Glasgow’s four Equality Networks and from Glasgow City Council. The aim of the Bulletin is to raise awareness of Equality issues in Glasgow, and to support information-sharing and joint working between Glasgow’s Equality Networks and between the Equality Networks and Glasgow City Council. Each Equality Network will be responsible for agreeing its own input to the Bulletin. If you are interested in writing an article or having a particular issue covered in the Bulletin please take your suggestions along to your own Network meeting for their agreement. If you have any comments or ideas, or additional items, reports, news etc. that you feel the Bulletin should be publicising please contact us at the address below. FORMATS: The Equality Bulletin can be provided in large print, braille, on tape, and on computer disc. It can be emailed to you as a text or PDF document. Please contact us at the address below for copies. E-NEWSLETTERS: EQUALITY UPDATES, FUNDING EXTRA and JOBS EXTRA e-newsletters - Keep up-to-date by subscribing to these free weekly e-newsletters, simply email kate.henderson@gcvs.org.uk CONTACT DETAILS: Equality Bulletin GCVS, 11 Queens Crescent, Glasgow G4 9AS Tel: 0141 332 2444 Fax: 0141 332 0175 Email: kate.henderson@gcvs.org.uk DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Glasgow City Council or the Equality Network Forum The Equality Bulletin: funded by Glasgow City Council, produced by Equality Network Forum, printed by Printing Works