- Conference
- 2016 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 15 October 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference believes that it is a human right for everyone to have access to a safe, secure and affordable home.
Conference also believes that this Tory Government live in some alternative idyllic world where all young people live with their parents until they move onto university, before getting a job and moving into their own home, whilst always having the security of their family home in times of crisis.
Conference knows that this Tory utopia couldn’t be further from the truth form many of our young women who’s lives can be challenging and chaotic. This is why conference condemns the Tory Governments budget decision to abolish housing benefit for young people between the ages of 18 and 21 as it will put vulnerable women at further risk whilst making more young women vulnerable.
Conference notes that the Government are using the austerity agenda to drive ideological cuts to the welfare bill and public services, alongside the unnecessary housing crisis to punish young women. The reduction in the supply of housing alongside rising costs of rent and stagnant wages will force young women into homelessness.
Young women may be escaping abuse at home, be thrown out of their family home, be care leavers or migrants. Many families are now unable to maintain a spare room for use in a crisis since the implementation of the infamous Bedroom Tax. This is a far cry for the Tory vision of young people’s lives.
Conference notes that homelessness is dangerous for all people but believes it impacts disproportionately on young women as women are more likely to be at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, fleeing one abusive relationship into another. Young women forced into mixed sex, shared accommodation, not just shared communal areas but in some cases, shared rooms. There has also been evidence of men advertising for “desperate young girls” in need of accommodation, offering them a bed in return for sex.
Conference is concerned that the removal of this vital safety net for 18 to 21 year olds will push more and more young women into homelessness and into the arms of abusers at the same time as the public services meant to protect and support these young women are being decimated by this Tory Government.
Conference, therefore calls on the National Women’s Committee to:
• Condemn this vile Tory policy as an attack on the safety and independence of our young women
• Work with UNISON’s Labour Link and Young Members to enable young women’s voices be heard when campaigning and lobbying against this policy
• Support and promote the work of UNISON’s There for You and the role of the Branch Welfare Officer in supporting members through these difficult times
• Work with UNISON’s Young Members to look at putting campaigning materials together
