- Conference
- 2024 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 10 October 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that violence against women and girls is defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
Conference, violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a fundamental human rights violation, affecting around one in three women and girls around the world.
The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022: (vawg.gss-data.org.uk)
• 9% of women aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse in the last year.
• 3% of women aged 16 and over were victims of sexual assault in the last year.
• 9% of women aged 16 and over were victims of stalking in the last year.
• 8% of women aged 18 to 74 experienced abuse before the age of 16.
• 2,887 cases of HBA related offences were recorded by the police in the last year.
The Covid pandemic has created what the United Nations has called a “shadow pandemic” of surging violence against women. According to Femicide Census (The Femicide Census | Karen Ingala Smith) one woman is murdered on average every three days in the UK and one in every three women aged 16 to 59 will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.
The structural inequality experienced by Black women and Black girls due to both their race and gender mean they often suffer more severe abuse for longer and face more challenges to accessing support than their white counterparts (Siddiqui, 2018). The multiple layers of oppression, including adultification bias as in the case of Child Q and many other Black girls, that they experience at the intersection of race and gender are inextricable from their experiences of gender-based violence: ‘abused Black women and Black girls are often subject to intersectional discrimination when inequality based on gender, race, caste, class and/or poverty overlaps and multiplies’, additionally, immigration-status related discrimination can worsen this’ (Siddiqui, 2018).
Conference we know that a lack of independent income makes it difficult for women to make their own decisions, including impacting their ability to leave abusive partners. According to the TUC, Black women experience systemic, structural inequalities across the labour market that mean they are overrepresented in lower paid, insecure jobs and at higher risk of being underemployed. One in eight Black women are in insecure jobs compared to one in eighteen white men. Three out of five Black women in self-employment are low paid compared to two out of five white men. One in eight Black women are under-employed compared to one in thirteen white men.
The impact of the ‘Hostile Environment’ also makes it more likely that Black women will experience violence and less likely that they will be able to access justice and support.
Conference, these data and the high proportion of Black women in UNISON membership highlight the necessity for our trade union to be at the fore when it comes to tackling violence against women and girls.
Conference calls upon the National Women’s Committee to work with the National Black Members committee to:
a) Seek to ensure the needs of Black women and Black girls are considered when the committee is consulted on matters relating to violence against women.
b) Work with the NEC to take the necessary steps to seek to ensure that Stewards and Branch Officers have access to culturally appropriate, up to date training to enable them to deal appropriately with Black members who are subject to violence.
c) Encourage branches to work with the National Black Members Committee and other UNISON partners to develop and review workplace policies and practices to raise awareness around and provide support to Black women and Black girls who experience violence.