Anti Abortion Groups

Conference is deeply disappointed that members of the anti-abortion group Abort67 have been found not guilty at Brighton Magistrates Court of public order offences for displaying material that is ‘threatening abusive or insulting’ outside the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Wistons clinic in Brighton. South East Regional women’s group disagree with this ruling. If a […]

68 is too late

Conference notes with concern that the Government wants to increase the state pension age to 68. This will mean that the United Kingdom will have the highest retirement age in Europe. The proposed changes to the state pension age are disproportionately impacting on the lives of women. The accelerated state pension age rise for women […]

PRIVATISATION AND HOMECARE SERVICE

Conference condemns the ongoing political drive to increase the proportion of domiciliary care jobs, which are done by women, being outsourced to the private sector. All the evidence shows that the privatisation of domiciliary care services results in reduced service provision to the most vulnerable and the reduction in the terms and conditions of our […]

Our tradition is equality and human rights – not oppression

Conference notes with concern that in September 2012 the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted a resolution from Russia which linked human rights to ‘traditional values’ by a vote of 25 in favour and 15 against, with 7 states abstaining. This resolution was an unmistakable attempt to try to block the progress of women’s […]

Campaigning against the cuts in women’s services – Supporting women’s voluntary and community sector organisations

Women are being doubly hit by the economic down turn and essential services are at risk of closure as a result of this government’s policies. Women’s organisations in the third sector are large employers of women and their closure leads to a loss of specialist knowledge and expertise as well as jobs and services for […]

Lack of equality in Women’s Sport

Conference, 80% of women and girls in the UK are not playing enough sport or doing enough exercise to benefit their health. The success of Team GB’s women athletes at London 2012 was inspirational. With the exception of Jess Ennis or Victoria Pendleton how many others are household names? From participation in grassroots sport to […]

Universal Credit and its effect on Child Poverty

Conference is aware of the growing issue of child poverty. There are 3.6 million children in poverty in the UK today, that’s more than 1 in 4 of our children. Although the issue of child poverty affects working families, 90% of single parent families are women and are therefore more likely to be welfare dependant. […]

OVARIAN CANCER – THE SILENT KILLER

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK, affecting around 6,800 women. It is the highest gynaecological killer of women in the UK and the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in women, with two out of every three cases of ovarian cancer being diagnosed when the disease […]

GENDER SPECIFIC HEALTH PROBLEMS/ISSUES

In a number of work places gender specific illnesses/conditions are dealt with outside the absence/sickness policies. This type of forward thinking for conditions ie IVF, hysterectomy, gynaecological problems, to name but a few. These conditions mainly affect women and are in the one-off illnesses from which most women recover completely. It would therefore save time […]

Equal Rights for both Intended Parents in Surrogacy

Conference notes that despite surrogacy being legal in the United Kingdom the intended parents have few legal rights unless they happen to be male. An intended father can gain shared parental responsibility as soon as the child is born by the child being registered in his name, with him named on the birth certificate as […]

Support rape victims not rape deniers

Conference notes that the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is wanted in Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Conference further notes that a UK Court approved the extradition of Assange to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault, but that he has now been granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in […]

Proportionality

Conference notes UNISON’s proud record on working towards equality both in its internal structures and in its bargaining and campaigning agenda. Conference notes that one of the key strategies for UNISON to achieve equality of representation and engagement within UNISON has been proportionality. Proportionality is defined as “the representation of women and men in fair […]

Minister for Women

This conference is aghast at the negative and relentless attacks on women perpetrated by this Tory led coalition government. Women face attacks on their employment, their terms and conditions, increasingly unaffordable costs of childcare, cuts to working families tax credits, housing, welfare provision, and sure start to name but a few. In addition, the National […]

Protecting Women

This Conference notes: The strategy by the Con Dem coalition to reduce the deficit is having a detrimental effect on the whole of society; however, the main impact of these cuts affects women. The proposed changes to Welfare Reform will see family slide further into poverty, women will find themselves in the predicament of either […]

Forced Marriages

This Conference notes: Domestic Abuse takes many forms. However, the issue of Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence places women, children and vulnerable adults at risk of rape, physical and mental harm and can end in murder. There is a huge difference between Arranged Marriages and Forced Marriages and we must be able to ensure […]