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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Labour party: Our 10-point plan to keep women safe including new laws and longer jail time

56 replies

HeadPain · 18/03/2021 19:25

Sorry if this was already posted. I did try to search and couldn't find it. Knowing me there's probably a huge thread about it :/

Keir Starmer posted this link the other day. I don't know if there is more detail elsewhere. What do you think...?

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/10-point-plan-keep-women-23731333?fbclid=IwAR2mThV8gNro2pxwQPCGGffeZmSoDeI0iZgkEfGHaycLDYAwpKTAAaLvGkc

"Our 10-point plan to keep women safe including new laws and longer jail time
Here is Labour’s ten-point charter - backed by the Mirror - to help keep women safe including extending 'whole life sentences' to anyone found guilty of ‘abduction and sexual assault and murder of a stranger’

ByPippa CrerarDaily Mirror Political Editor
21:01, 15 MAR 2021

Ministers are facing a furious backlash from angry women who are fed up with feeling unsafe on Britain’s streets.

Boris Johnson has said women must feel their complaints about violence are “properly heard” - and that his Government will make sure it does this.

But there is a difference between hearing somebody and really listening to what they have to say - and many are clamouring for immediate change.

The charter has been drawn up by Nick Thomas-Symonds, shadow Home Secretary, and Jess Phillips, shadow minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding.

So here is Labour ’s ten-point charter - backed by the Mirror - to help keep women safe and to end the injustices faced by more than half the population.

  1. Action to bring rapists to justice – rape convictions are at an all-time low with just 1.5% of people charged with rape are getting convicted, yet rape reports are up by 35%. We should fast track rape and serious sexual assault cases through the courts and CPS who have been left to wait years for their case to get to trial.
  1. New laws to stop harassment - as it stands creeps harassing women on the street are not breaking the law. That makes no sense and we need a new law now.
  1. Men who abduct, assault and murder women belong behind bars for life – let’s extend ‘Whole Life’ sentences for anyone found guilty of ‘abduction and sexual assault and murder of a stranger’.
  1. Proper support for victims of attacks – create a survivor support package, including a legal help for victims and better training for professionals to give people the help they need.
  1. Educate our young people – start a proper education campaign to make sure young boys and girls knows it is never acceptable to abuse or disrespect women- as well as the rules around sexual consent.
  1. Longer jail time for rapists and stalkers – some of the sentences handed out for these appalling crimes are a disgrace. Let’s make sure the time fits the crime.
  1. Treat domestic murders seriously – end the injustice that means someone can get a sentence of 10 years less for murdering their partner at home, than for murdering someone on the street.
  1. Make abuse of women count – the abuse of women that drives these crimes is not even counted by the police, that needs to change and misogyny should be recognized as the hateful crime it is.
  1. Fair access to Domestic Abuse services – no victim turned away from services for domestic abuse because of their background. Helping get support to all those who need it and making sure we can do more to catch perpetrators.
  1. It’s not women’s fault – stop the message that women are to blame because of what they wear, when they are out or for not ‘keeping themselves safe’. Time for a proper strategy to catch and punish offenders, challenge behaviour and improve the freedom of all women. "
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Jux · 22/03/2021 10:51

I was going to take this seriously, but the first principle is definition - if the law doesn't know what constitutes "woman" or "female" then nothing they do will keep women safe.

Sorry Jess. I used to like you, too Sad

highame · 19/03/2021 16:38

Same here. It's a big fat No from my family and I have never voted any other way, so like the rest of you, I intend to give them a big fat slap in their smug faces at the elections in May. I know they're not national elections but labour deserves a bloody nose.

NoToast · 19/03/2021 15:56

Nope. Too late, not interested in Labour. Whole family refuse to vote for them now and we were tribal Labour.

Olderstyle1 · 19/03/2021 13:22

Labour is in charge in Wales. The government are Stonewall Diversity Champions. That loyalty appears to trump everything.

MummBraTheEverLeaking · 19/03/2021 13:13

Sounds impressive. But unless they say what a woman is and are prepared to stand up for single sex spaces and policies then those points aren't worth the paper they're written on.

I still have no trust in them to be honest. Come next election I'll still be politically homeless.

StillFemale · 19/03/2021 13:03

As so many others have said none of this matters if you include men in your definition of woman.

Family of former labour voters here, I was brought up to always vote. Large working class family and there’s only one woke nephew who’d vote Labour except he’s too lazy to vote. The rest of us not a chance, for the women this matters greatly, for the men it’s more wtf and Labour have no clue if they believe that

teawamutu · 19/03/2021 13:00

@comfyoldcardi

Jess Phillips was ranting away on QT last night. She didn't mention Labour's policy of placing convicted rapists in women's prisons.
I wish someone had asked. She's strangely silent when it comes up on Twitter. As is Creasy. As is Nandy. As is Starmer... Hmm
CuthbertDibbleandGrubb · 19/03/2021 12:59

Nothing about porn, which does a lot to promote misogyny and give boys and young men an unrealistic notion about consensual sex and relationships.

JustTurtlesAllTheWayDown · 19/03/2021 12:54

They can start by acknowledging that sex is a protected characteristic and explaining why they forgot to include it when summarising the Equality Act.

labour.org.uk/latest/what-is-the-equality-act-of-2010-and-why-does-it-matter/

UppityPuppity · 19/03/2021 12:47

sunlight will shine on their backing two horses in the same race.

Bit like the previous Labour manifesto - ‘supporting’ single sex spaces AND self ID.

Didn’t go to plan...

highame · 19/03/2021 08:57

Just adding my flabbergastedness at LP. Love the way they word these things - smoke and mirrors. Labour have to make a choice at some point because as more discussion is had, sunlight will shine on their backing two horses in the same race.

comfyoldcardi · 19/03/2021 07:16

Jess Phillips was ranting away on QT last night. She didn't mention Labour's policy of placing convicted rapists in women's prisons.

NiceGerbil · 18/03/2021 23:59

They seemed to be in pairs in those days..I agree. Without a female officer it's a nope.

ImpatiensI · 18/03/2021 22:44

After Sarah's case I doubt anyone would trust to get in a police car anyway, unless it was a female officer.

NiceGerbil · 18/03/2021 22:23

There was also a thing that was discussed that if you were on your own and it was late, the bus had to take you and your name address and you'd settle the fare.

Never found out if that was true or not!

Sorry gone down memory lane now.

NiceGerbil · 18/03/2021 22:21

When I was young, police cars would quite often give young inebriated girls a lift home if they saw them on the street. I think that is probably not allowed now/ no time or resource.

Also just remembered, I was at the end of the bus route and loads of times I was the only one on the bus and they'd give me a lift home! On a double decker Grin

Don't think that would happen now either tbh.

ImpatiensI · 18/03/2021 22:20

@UppityPuppity

Keir - if you can’t even be arsed to put out a statement supporting Rosie Duffield, then the rest means absolutely nothing.

And yes - policies to lock up rapists with women isn’t a good look when you pretend to care about women.

Totally. Not one peep of support out of him for Rosie despite harassment and threats to her.

It's tragic that a party with so many working-class women in with direct experience of the issues is still failing women.

comfyoldcardi · 18/03/2021 22:15

Hmm. What words spring to mind? Smug. Hypocrisy. Insincerity.

PotholeHellhole · 18/03/2021 22:09

I rather think uniformed officers out on the streets would be a sight more useful.

NiceGerbil · 18/03/2021 22:04

What needs to happen is

Women and girls encouraged to report
Police investigate properly with no bias
Blockers to reporting removed
CPS guidance changed so they don't only prosecute the dead cert cases

Police database to flag repeated incidents from same person- if there are 6 victims who don't know each other then surely better chance of successful prosecution.

Press reporting improved.

Decent victim support.

Stop with all the light sentences for awful things and accepting crap mitigation (one off, upstanding member of community etc)

Probably more.

The thing about plain clothes in pubs and clubs has really pissed me off as well.

WeRoarSometimes · 18/03/2021 21:59

Labour doesn't recognise the protected characteristic of 'sex' in the Equality Act (2010).
'Sex' has been deliberately omitted in on the Labour Party page explaining the Equality Act.

I've written to the Shadow Minister for Women And Equalities, Labour Women's Network, local Labour association, all the Labour councillors standing in my county for the local government elections.
No has answered my questions as to why Labour doesn't recognise all of the protected characteristics.

Labour isn't interested in protecting women.
Labour can't even record the law properly, and Mr Starmer is a former public prosecutor.

NiceGerbil · 18/03/2021 21:59

I think he had s string of reports to the police about sex crimes against young girls.

No interest/ dots never joined.

That's why DBS checks were brought in.

PotholeHellhole · 18/03/2021 21:53

Makes me think of Ian Huntley, who murdered Holly and Jessica. Previously been charged with sexual assault of a fifteen year old. Found not guilty/case failed? So then he seems to have spent the next few years milking it as the victim of a "false accusation".

I think of him every time someone posts on some forum or other that their friend was the victim of a "false rape accusation".

Melroses · 18/03/2021 21:29

@MrsTerryPratchett

Also, it's not just about length of sentence. It's about the abominably low conviction rates. I think I'd rather have a hundred rapists serving some time and having a permanent record as a rapist than two rapists out of a hundred with a whole life tariff, and the other 98 out in our workplaces and dating apps.

This. And it reinforces the 'proper victim' mentality.

^

This. There is no point singling out occasional rapists for special longer sentencing as an example to all men. It is just institutionalises NAMALT.

NiceGerbil · 18/03/2021 21:21

'start a proper education campaign to make sure young boys and girls knows it is never acceptable to abuse or disrespect women'

I really don't think this will do anything at all. Society needs to change. The external messages are too strong.

The other problem is that societal messages (boys are better than girls, girls are the gateholders to sex, look at this porn!, she's asking for it, it's normal for red blooded men to leer comment etc) plus school saying this which lets face it even if gender neutral the boys will know it's mainly for them... Can = pushing them towards MRA views.

Namalt obv.

Saying schools can do it sounds good but won't help I don't think.