Conference Report November 22, 2001

CONFERENCE SPEECHES AND EVALUATION

“BREAKING THROUGH”

22 NOVEMBER 2001

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This document is part of the project “Breaking Through”.

The project is funded by the European Commission of the D-G Justice and Home Affair under the Daphne Programme.

PROJOB, The Netherlands

Utrecht, December 2001

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This report is part of the project “Breaking Through” This project is funded by the European Commission under the Daphne Programme of the D-G Justice and Home Affairs.

Conference Report November 22, 2001

“Breaking Through” Speeches & Evaluation. Copyright © 2001 by drs. A.R Vreugd and Projob. All rights reserved, but parts of this document may be used or reproduced in case of quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews or on good authority.

For information, address POB 198, 6700 AD Wageningen, the Netherlands.

Printed in the Netherlands. E-mail:

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This report is part of the project “Breaking Through” This project is funded by the European Commission under the Daphne Programme of the D-G Justice and Home Affairs.

Conference Report November 22, 2001

CONTENTS / Pages
Opening:
Mrs. R. Naloop, project management team “Breaking Through” / 2
The speeches and summaries of the participants at the roundtable:
SHCF, Mr. K. Ahmed
ENIAE, Mrs. L. Jones-Hazlett
Researcher, Mrs. A. Mannen
Ministry of Justice, Mrs. M.Vijgen
TransAct, Mrs. M. Cense
Clara Wichmann, Mrs. M. de Boer
Vrouwenopvang Rotterdam, Mrs. R. van Plaateringen
European Women’s Lobby, Mrs. C. de Troy
BAWSO, Mrs. Nyoni / 3 – 5
6 – 8
8 – 9
10 – 13
13 – 15
15 – 16
16 – 17
18 – 20
20 – 22
Attachments:
  1. Programme
  2. Confirmation Slip
  3. Letter of Invitation
  4. Evaluation Form
  5. Results of Evaluation
  6. Case study Asian women in Birmingham
/ I
II
III
IV
V - VIII
IX - XIV

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This report is part of the project “Breaking Through” This project is funded by the European Commission under the Daphne Programme of the D-G Justice and Home Affairs.

Conference Report November 22, 2001

Foreword Note

The presentation of the facilitators was highlighting the issue of (domestic) violence from different perspectives. Many of the participants asked for these presentation papers. Therefore the project management team decided to emphasise in this reporting document, the presentations as a background information document.

The presentation of Mrs. Ann Mannen is reported here as a brief summary of the manual she co-authored and developed. For a broader insight we refer to the manual ‘Break Through’. The results of the question rounds are not reported. The explanatory question time was effective on the day itself to engage the audience.

The organisers and the project management team thank all the facilitators, the volunteers, the participants and all others involved making this meeting a success.

Utrecht, December 2001.

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This report is part of the project “Breaking Through” This project is funded by the European Commission under the Daphne Programme of the D-G Justice and Home Affairs.

Conference Report November 22, 2001

Opening

Mrs. Rita Naloop, head of the project management team.

After Mrs. Naloop welcomed everyone on behalf of the organisers, she gave a summary of the project “Breaking Through”.

‘Domestic violence is defined as a violation of personal integrity, for which purpose a distinction is made between mental and physical violence the latter includes sexual violence’ (Dijk van, T (1997).

In the Netherlands almost half of the women who seek refuge in shelters for battered women are from black, migrant, ethnic or refugee backgrounds. This is a very serious situation.

The aims of this transnational project are summarised:

  • Raising awareness of violence and prevention of violence against women and children
  • Empowerment of Black, Migrant and Refugee women at the grassroots level
  • Development of self-help mechanisms for (potential) victims of domestic violence.

Mrs. Naloop highlighted that there will be concrete results such as:

a modular training model

a manual

a mobile exhibition

the design of a website and further reports

The issues of Breaking Through the (cultural or religious) taboos and the follow-up activities that are necessary were mentioned such as the pilot “Train the trainers,” the analyses of self help mechanisms and the dissemination of the results. Furthermore the following subjects were addressed:

  • The high cost of combating domestic violence. For example in the Netherlands the costs are an average 150million Euro annually.
  • The impact of domestic violence on Black, Migrant and Refugee women, especially those at the grassroots level.

Finally, the whole context of costs was completed by the link that was made to the themes of the costs of ‘Health Care’ and ‘Human Rights for Women’.

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This report is part of the project “Breaking Through” This project is funded by the European Commission under the Daphne Programme of the D-G Justice and Home Affairs.

Conference Report November 22, 2001

PRESENTATION I

Presentation by: Mr. Kabir Ahmed
The Equalities Division
Small Heath Community Forum (SHCF)

Domestic Violence – Some Key Facts in the Birmingham City Council

The universal truth about domestic violence:

  • There is no typical victim of domestic violence. Domestic violence occurs across all ages, religions, cultures, classes, levels of income, occupations, levels of education, disabilities and sexual identities.
  • There is no typical perpetrator of domestic violence, perpetrators come from a wide range of racial, religious or social groups.
  • Domestic violence is almost always a repeat victimisation crime, most women having experienced more than one attack by the same perpetrator.
  • Domestic violence is largely hidden. It occurs in private and is likely to be concealed or denied by those subjected to the abuse as well as by those who perpetrate the abuse – and so most incidents are unreported largely because of real or perceived fear of consequences.
  • Domestic violence is a major cause of homelessness for women and children
  • Domestic violence is widespread.

Some statistics:

We know from the document ‘Living Without Fear’ (June,1999) that the following facts are:

  • Every week two women are killed by their current or former partners;
  • Every day thousands of children witness cruelty and violence behind closed doors,
  • More than one third of children of domestic violence survivors are aware of what is going on and this rises to half if the woman has suffered repeated violence;
  • 70% of women aged 16 – 29 are at greater risk of experiencing domestic violence;
  • domestic violence often starts or escalates during pregnancy;
  • one in five workers are subject to violent attacks at work;
  • half of women feel unsafe when walking alone at night in their area;
  • reported rape has increased by 165% in the last ten years, the conviction rate has dropped from 24% to 9%

1 in 4 women experience domestic violence at some time in their lives, between 1 in 8 and 1 in 10 has experienced domestic violence in the past year (Source: Macleod, 1987)

It is estimated there are almost one million domestic violence incidents in the UK each year.

In the financial year 1999 – 2000: 1.423 homeless households were accepted as homeless due to domestic violence. This represents 16.7% of all homeless cases and is the third highest reason for homelessness.

In Birmingham in November 1998: 1.442 incidents of domestic violence were reported to West Midlands Police.

Women approach on average 5 – 12 agencies for help before obtaining an appropriate and sympathetic response. The agencies women are most likely to approach are, in order of priority – the police, GP, Solicitor, Housing department (Source: McGibbon, 1989)

The costs:

  • Supporting women survivors and picking up the pieces from violence is already costing millions of pounds.
  • Research in Hackney estimated the costs of domestic violence in Greater London at £278 million per year – this did not include costs of prosecuting offenders or the costs associated with domestic homicide (Source: Living Without Fear, 1999)
  • The estimated total cost in 1996 to the public sector to provide services for women and children experiencing domestic violence in Hackney is approximately £90 per household (Source: E, Stanko and Crime Concern 1998)

Attitudes of boys and young men: The Real truth from within!!

Research published by the Economic and Social Research Council in 2000 revealed that:

-More than 75% of 11 and 12 year old boys believe women deserve to be hit if they make men angry.

-Boys aged 13 to 14 show a worrying tendency to blame the victim of violence.

Research published by the Zero Tolerance Charitable Trust in 1998 revealed that:

-One six young men thought they might force sex on a woman if she were his wife.

-One in eight young men thought they might force a long-term girlfriend to have sex with them.

-1 in 10 young men thought they might force a woman to have sex if they were ‘so turned on’ that they ‘could not stop’.

-Other circumstances in which they thought they might force a woman included if nobody would find out, if they had spent a lot of money on her, or if she had slept with ‘loads of men’.

Case Study of Asian women in Birmingham (see further attachment IV)

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this report was to establish whether there are adequate services for a counselling service for Asian women in Small Heath and surrounding areas. Approximately 48% of the population in the area are Asian women (Local base statistics, 1991). From this we can begin to see the need of a counselling service in the area. With growing domestic problems in the community a method of tackling the problem needs to be addressed.

The Asian community has a cultural background in which women’s education and development are given low priority and marriages are arranged at an early age. It has been noted that a lot of women in this community do not read newspapers or watch the news on the television so a lot of issues of for example health scares go unnoticed. Women in such situations tend to live in sheltered lives oblivious to their surroundings.

Amongst the married young men and women, domestic violence, separation, divorce and depression are on the increase. The major factors contributing to this is the mismatch between partners from the UK and the Indian Sub-continent. People arriving in Britain with misconceived ideas and expectations; often find them selves unable to get out of the house without assistance. On occasions these are the people that are educated and had good jobs in the country they came from.

In a culture where divorced and separated women are looked down upon and rejected by society, women often find it hard to cope, particularly those who have come to join there husbands and have no other relation in the country to turn to.

The trend to have children early in a marriage makes the women’s circumstances even more acute. Teenagers seeing the results of mixed arranged marriages and fearing a forced marriage are now rebelling and this has led to an increase in Asian girls running away from their homes. Against the backdrop of the new arrivals and the low educational achievement of women in the local community, it is understandable why women lack the confidence to speak out against such issues. There is an intensive need to support and guide women in such difficult circumstances.

PROCESS

In order to assess the need of a counselling service in Small Heath, other services that are currently running in the area were assessed. The three principal organisations that were part of this research are The Bangladeshi Women’s Employment Resource Centre, the Social Services and East Birmingham Family Unit, all of which are situated in the Small Heath area.

In order to effectively assess and research these services a qualitative approach employed. Information was gathered and interviews of people in the organisations and Asian women in Small Heath were carried out. This method was decided to be the most suitable giving the aim of the project. Other methods were considered but ruled out. For example using a questionnaire would pose many disadvantages.

Firstly they lack flexibility, which means in the absence of the researcher the respondent cannot be questioned further. This in turn may refrain from the pursue of a particularly interesting answer.

Secondly, on occasions questions may be returned with some questions unanswered or answered in an irrelevant manner to the researcher.

Thirdly, a questionnaire may be completed during the respondent’s activities. Conversely, the questionnaire may be completed in a rush with no sufficient attention given to detail.

This does not give the researcher control over the knowledge of the manner in which the questionnaire was completed.

Fourthly, questionnaires cannot record non-verbal behaviour such as gestures and hesitancy, which proved to be an essential element in this research.

Another method that was rejected in this study was that of participant observation. This was very impractical and seen as time consuming. The method employed as mentioned earlier was that of personal interviews. A schedule with relevant areas of interest to the research was established. From these issues interviews were conducted. In order to effectively get the information required it was important that the respondents felt at ease with the researcher. Attempts were made by conversing generally before interviews took place. This in turn helped the participants to relax and co-operate.

Qualitative analysis is primarily concerned with understanding the research topic from the perspective of the respondent. The respondents were people in relevant occupations to the research and women who were users of the service. This was enhanced by minimal amount of structure that may be imposed on the researcher in a quantitative analysis. The flexibility of qualitative analysis affords the researcher a detailed and flexible interview structure. The respondent is seen as participating in the research process, which in turn gives the researcher an insight on how conclusions are negotiated and shaped.

As with all research methods qualitative analysis also has its disadvantages. Unlike quantitative analysis this research is confined to a small sample (this was practical in what this research aimed to identify). Also the validity of the answers can be questioned as the interviewee may be influenced by the presence of the researcher. After assessing the pros and cons of all the different methods it was felt that best suited to the research was personal interviews, so it was employed. (see further on attachment IV)

PRESENTATION II

Presentation by: Mrs. Luzy Jones-Hazlett
European Network for Intercultural Action and Exchange Ireland (ENIAE)

Domestic Violence in Ireland ‘Breaking Through project’

Origin and Membership:

European Network for Intercultural Action and Exchange Ireland (ENIAE) is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) working locally, nationally and Internationally, promoting the exchange of information on best practices and lessons learned. ENIAE promotes awareness of European and minority cultural identity and encourage its development and practice. This in turn will seek help solutions to problems facing European Society on discrimination against minority, xenophobia, intolerance and environmental protection.

ENIAE Ireland was set up in February 1996. It is a European NGO and a non-profit making organisation. We affiliate with other groups with similar goals and attend meetings locally, nationally and internationally. The organisation consists of members from multi divers nationals, who are mainly professionals involved fully and working together as volunteers in the organisation. The NGO has many associate members, which consists of people with interest and support for ENIAE aims, objectives and its work.

ENIAE aims at:

Highlighting and supporting the diversity of cultures through education, seminars, skills sharing and conferences.

Promoting the learning of different languages and cultures through training and skills sharing.

Elevating and enlarging the diversion of people of multi nationals, giving both nationals and non-nationals the equal right to participate in all spheres of public life. Economic and political decision making

Showing that diversity in the workplace should be a natural process origin irrespective of race and gender, or differences in lingual and culture backgrounds.

Highlighting racial discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance and environmental protections at different levels of society.

Promoting joint action on National, European, and International levels without denying the diversity of gender based on economic and political environments.

Promoting gender equality.

History of Domestic Violence in Ireland

Up until the end of the 19th century the law in Ireland supported the right of men to control wives by force. When the law intervened, it was to restrain violence but not to prevent it.

In 1772, Judge Butler held that assaults on wives were legal provided that husbands used sticks no thicker than his thumb. This subsequently became known as the “Rule of the Thumb”.

In 1840, a judge affirmed the husband’s right to kidnap his wife, beat her and imprison her in the matrimonial home.

In 1878, the Matrimonial Causes Act was passed in the United Kingdom, which gave women and children some measure of protection under the Law. However, the older laws survived in Ireland until 1978. It was recently in 1991 that the crime of rape within marriage was recognised in Ireland. Until then, the law held that rape was something done to a women by a man other than her husband.

With this history and the existing inequality women still face is it surprising that some men claim that they have a right to control the behaviour of their wives and partners, also to use violence as a means of exercising that control over women?

As we all know violence against women and children is a violation of human rights, which can occur across all political, economic, cultural and social divides. It causes physical and psychological damage to women and children. It is a grave social problem that threatens the safety, equality and bodily integrity of every women and children. Violence against women and children at home range from: hitting, spitting, stabbing, blows to the head, being kicked while pregnant, being thrown down the stairs and in some cases can end in death.