Points from the Human Rights Committee Report:
6.Access to a court is an essential backstop for human rights; without legal jeopardy there is impunity for those who might abuse another’s human rights. However, in most cases this should be the last resort not the first. The most effective and efficient way to enforce human rights is to design and implement systems and laws that uphold human rights at the outset. A culture which understands and respects human rights is a necessary pre-condition for this.
One of the crucial arguments for allowing trans people into women's spaces is that if there is a problem women still have the law. This very much is odds with the report which stresses the emphasis that this should be the last resort, and at present the reality is that for many under current circumstances this does not exist. It stresses relance on other safeguarding structures to prevent the need to use the law. It makes the point that if you are going to court, there has already been a failure which should not have happened.
22.The ability to know about and enforce human rights is vital for the rule of law to be a reality. As well as the current review of the impact of legal aid reform in England and Wales, there is a pressing need for a much wider evaluation of the broader landscape of advice, support and means of resolution for legal problems to assess how they can collectively better serve individuals faced with a breach of their human rights. Such a process must also consider the economic viability of the whole system.
Too many institutions are giving out incorrect information with relation to women only spaces and women's right to them under the Equality Act. How can you know whether you have a case, if you are being told by state institutions things that contridict the law? This is not upholding the rule of law.
32.Rights of Women cited this quotation from a woman responding to a survey about legal aid they carried out in 2014/15:
“I earn a low income, yet I’ve been assessed as having too much disposable income [ … ] and when you aren’t eligible you’re expected to pay full solicitors costs - there’s no help anywhere in between. I’ve had to face my violent ex-partner in court twice now, and will have to continue to do so as I simply cannot afford costs “
Women are particularly disadvantaged because of the Sexism Pay Gap and their role in caring for children. They are not getting legal aid in domestic abuse cases. The system is stacked against them from the start.
The reality which is detailed at length is that many have to act for themselves in these situations. Some will be given advice and support from Women's Charities. But with so many of those charities now being hamstrung over their funding would they be able to give advice in cases which might involve issues relating to a situation that involves someone identifying as trans?
57.The removal of private family law from the scope of legal aid has had a very significant impact on children and their families. Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provides that children should have ‘the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting [them], either directly or through a representative’. The UNCRC also states that the best interests of children should be the primary consideration in all decisions affecting them (Article 3 (1)).
Its very arguable that in having an affirmation only approach, the individual is taken out of the equation. Instead the interests of the group and dominant belief / outcome comes first above the individual circumstances of the child.
80.The fall in legal aid supply over the past three decades has led to the phenomenon of so-called ‘legal aid deserts’- geographical areas where legal aid advice is now unavailable in certain areas of law. In her oral evidence, Rachel Logan from Amnesty International UK gave these examples:
“[ … ] Take Devon and Cornwall. There is one small legal aid provider in Plymouth, as far as I understand it, for immigration law. It therefore deals with anyone in the entire region who has problems arising within that sphere, and it is an area of dispersal; it is an area where people are sent specifically who are trying to regularise their status or who have immigration questions. Similarly, in Oxford, as far as I understand it, there is only one firm, providing private family law.”
Which stresses the point about the law being inadequate as a fall back. Certain geographical areas are much more open to problems than others. This isn't equality. Decisions made by people living in say London where there is more availability of these services, have different practical implications for people living in other places.
84.Judicial independence is a central feature of the UK’s constitutional arrangements. The judiciary is one of the three pillars of our constitution, alongside Parliament and the executive. Each has its role and function, and together they complement each other to create the constitutional balance needed to support democracy, rule of law and the stable government necessary for peace and security. It is essential that the judiciary is impartial and independent of all external pressures so that those who appear before it, and the wider public, can have confidence that cases will be decided fairly and in accordance with the law.
There are big questions over the judge who handled the case of Maria MacLachlan's assault and what she was forced to say in court. Maria was the victim. How can victims have confidence if they are not allowed to speak their truth?
101.In written evidence to this inquiry Amnesty International UK gave its assessment:
“Successive UK Governments have failed to defend the rule of law in word as well as deed, both by failing to implement judgements in a timely fashion and by failing to defend an independent judiciary. The Lord Chancellor when appointed vows to uphold the independence of our judicial system and the rule of law. As such, the slow and lukewarm response to media attacks on judges following the Article 50 Brexit decision was worrying and disappointing.”
The rule of law in the press includes the implications of the Equality Act which protect sex as a class. This isn't happening. There is a demonisation of women in many newspapers.
133.Effective enforcement of human rights requires:
<span class="italic">access to legal advice and assistance,</span>
<span class="italic">a robustly independent judiciary,</span>
<span class="italic">a robustly independent legal profession and</span>
<span class="italic">muscular human rights institutions.</span>
134.But as Professor Vernon Bogdanor put it: “In the last resort, the preservation of our rights depends on popular support, not on institutional mechanisms.” This chapter looks at the support for human rights and the extent to which there is a “human rights culture” in the United Kingdom.
135.Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty told us why she felt a human rights culture is integral to the enforcement of human rights:
“[ … ] while rights need not be popular, a sense of legitimacy and democratic buy-in is important. If there is a sense that such rights are in some way illegitimate or not credible, we will run into all kinds of obvious problems around how to enforce them and make sure that within communities the rights of others are respected.”
We are sleepwalking into a situation where women's rights are not viewed as legitimate and people do not value them. The culture is fundamentally stacked against women because of this.
137.A number of our witnesses cited research carried out by the Equality and Diversity Forum in 2012 on public attitudes towards human rights across the UK. This research found that while there are some (26%) who hold ‘strong hostile attitudes’ to human rights and human rights laws, and a similar number (22%) who hold ‘strong positive attitudes’, by far the largest proportion of those polled (over 50%) hold conflicting or neutral attitudes to human rights. This group are unsure whether human rights are relevant to their lives, but when this relevance is made clear their attitudes become more positive. There is also a widespread lack of understanding about how the HRA works; for example, about the fact that the Act does not permit courts to strike down primary legislation.
The majority of people don't get rights or understand them. Nor even care about them. This is exceptionally worrying. People do not understand how they are relevant to them personally. Human Rights are for other people.
138.In Scotland and Northern Ireland there are generally higher levels of support for human rights. In Scotland, a similar study to that described above, commissioned by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, found that 42% of those polled agree with positive statements about human rights and disagree with negative statements, while only 13% agree with negative statements and disagree with positive. In Northern Ireland the Human Rights Act enjoys high levels of support with 84% of the population believing it is good for Northern Ireland.
Here's a real shocker for you. The place which has fewest human rights and most right breechs understands rights most. This is so unsurprising.
141.Analysis of broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, political blogs and parliamentary speeches shows that the dominant media narrative links human rights with “undeserving” groups, such as foreigners, criminals or prisoners. They are frequently portrayed as undermining traditional freedoms and legal protections, rather than empowering and enhancing citizenship. The graphic below shows the frequency of different frames being used to discuss human rights in the media broken down by country.
Rights have a bad name in the press generally. They are framed by who deserves them and who doesn't. See graph.