Working to end rape and sexual abuse — nationally and internationally
Our ultimate aim is to end rape and sexual abuse. A key
element in prevention has to be in making sure that women and girls
who are sexually assaulted receive justice from the courts. That is
patently not happening at present.
In England and Wales a system of specially trained prosecutors
is being brought in to improve conviction rates. The Scottish Rape
Crisis Network wants to see specialist rape prosecutors tried here
and will continue to campaign for this and other essential measures.
We are encouraged at the commitment shown by the Scottish
Executive and Scottish Parliament to examining concerns about these
problems but this terribly low conviction rate cannot be tolerated.
Feminist academic Professor Liz Kelly, in a resume of
30 years of her research and activism on violence against women, has
highlighted the fact there is some recognition at the highest levels
of the problems groups like Rape Crisis want to see action on. Yet
in too many cases close examination of the facts shows that very little
is actually being done to tackle them.
In her 2001 inaugural professorial lecture* at
London Metropolitan University, where she heads the Child and Woman
Abuse Studies Unit, she said:
"The paradox of simultaneous recognition and marginalisation is also evident
in government responses - at least in England and Wales. The Crime Reduction
Programme has, for the first time, allocated national money - to the tune of £8
million - to violence against women projects. Certainly reason for celebration
on one level, but also food for thought when placed in the context of more than
ten times this figure being invested in new responses to burglary.
"And despite commitments before the 1997 election
by the Labour party, there is still no national framework for ensuring
that the most fundamental provision - refuges and rape crisis centres
- have a secure funding base - yet over a hundred million pounds was
invested recently in the rough sleepers initiative for 4000 people."
She applauded the successes of feminist campaigning,
but alerted us to the long haul ahead in winning action as well as
arguments:
"Violence against women is an arena where some of the best aspirations of
feminism and feminists have been made real: global coalitions which thrive on
diversity; continuing and challenging connections between research, activism
and public policy; legal reform based on recognition of women’s physical
integrity and sexual autonomy; and the creation of safety and options to women
and girls whose lives have been dominated and controlled. At the same time it
is also the arena where the extent of what remains to be done is most visceral…
"We
are a very long way from the ambition of the women’s liberation
movement - later adopted by the United Nations and Council of Europe
- of ending violence against women. But we, and by we here I mean
women and men across the globe involved in this work at every level,
we have changed the world. Violence against women is now defined
by the UN and many national governments as both a fundamental violation
of women’s human rights and a continuing barrier to achieving
equality between women and men. The themes of domestic violence,
incest, rape, sexual harassment and trafficking appear in popular
media on every continent. The new responses we imagined and created
in the 1970s - refuges, helplines, support groups - are now considered
basic requirements and have, arguably, even in some instances become
institutionalised themselves."
Rape Crisis Scotland is determined to continue
working as feminists and alongside many others to build on achievements
so far and to challenge society to deliver true justice for women.
*From Marginal to Globalised Issue:
Three Decades of Research and Activism on Violence Against Women. Presented
by Liz Kelly at her Inaugural Professorial Lecture, University of North
London, July 2001. Available in full at: http://www.cwasu.org/frommarginal.htm
