The MOJ should not proceed with their plans to reduce access to justice by depriving citizens of legal aid or the right to representation by the Solicitor of their choice.
The proposals will affect us all, but this has particular relevance to the specialist BME VAWG sector. Plans include the introduction of a residency test which will deny access to legal aid to those who have not been lawfully in the UK for 12 months. This will affect victims of gender-based violence, torture victims and trafficked women and children.
We have 4 days to get 20,000 signatures to force a parliamentary debate.
Please sign and share!
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/48628
LAWA’s new website, boasting increased information and improved accessibility, is now available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
The new format is easier to access, has an improved layout and contains more information on LAWA’s history, activities, the Latin American community and domestic violence. It will also be regularly updated with information about any upcoming workshops and events. LAWA’s social media profiles on Facebook and Twitter are now directly accessible from their website through one simple click.
Visit LAWA at www.lawadv.org.uk
Freedom Without Fear Event: Culture, the Cuts and Violence Against Women and Girls: An Open Meeting -
Who are the perpetrators of violence against women and girls in Britain and who are the victims and survivors?
Why are ‘race’ and ‘culture’ selectively invoked in discussions of violence against women and girls?
Is racial profiling for potential perpetrators taking place?
How do the more general cuts to services and legal aid affect violence against women and girls and what do they tell us about the government’s commitment to combating this kind of violence?
Join us to discuss these questions and look at the reality behind the myth. Click the main link for the Facebook event, click below for the flyer:
27 June 2013, London
Meeting the needs of women who are seeking to secure their position in the UK by making an application under the domestic violence rule is incredibly challenging; in addition to having to provide supporting evidence yourself you have to be up-to-date in one of the most frequently changing areas of law.
This expert led, one-day course delivered in partnership by Rights of Women and Imkaan, will give you the skills and knowledge you need to confidently support a woman who has experienced domestic violence and is seeking ILR under the domestic violence rule. This course has been updated to incorporate recent crucial changes to the Immigration Rules as well as changes to the way women can access financial support in the form of the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession.
Participants will:
Download the booking form here.
For all enquiries and to return your booking form, contact the Training Officer at Rights of Women: training@row.org.uk or 020 7251 6575.
Moving in the Shadows: Violence in the Lives of Minority Women and Children - A review by Purna Sen -
The book, edited by Yasmin Rehman, Liz Kelly and Hannana Siddiqui, was over a year in the making–a project that sought to extend the groups of minority women and the forms of violence addressed. The authors wrote about not just domestic and sexual violence, but also forced marriage, ‘honour-based’ violence, female genital mutilation, ritualised abuse and polygyny. Many chapters raise contentious issues and stretch understandings.
The book was launched at London Metropolitan University in March, creating a space in which some of the issues and debates were aired.
Here, Purna Sen writes about the event with reflection on the political landscape, the women’s movement, the relationship between race and gender and the impact of religiously defined debates around violence against women and girls. She describes the event as a joining of ‘hearts and minds’, and of ‘real sisterhood’.