Blog posts

2020 General Election: gender equality and representation

We have barely emerged from the chaos of the 2020 general election ballot count and, while the media is full of discussion of the transformations at foot, I am struck by some of the facts about gender equality and representation. In this election cycle, a record high number of women were nominated – 162 of the 531 candidates and there was a female candidate running in every constituency (a first). However, at the end of the day only 36 women in comparison to 124 men had been elected. This was up from 35 women elected in 2016.

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There is no doubt an opportunity for change with the success of some left wing parties, but when you look at the profile of those elected, the lack of diversity is undeniable. Gender representation is one thing, I could make the same point in relation to class, ethnicity, race, dis/ability, sexuality, but gender stands out because, simply put, more than half the population is female, and our political world should reflect that. I am not making a blanket statement that all women who are elected are exemplary politicians or have the aim of equality and greater redistribution at the heart of their political projects. But representation matters.

In my past PhD research I wanted to understand gendered health inequalities, and ended up looking at the ‘invisible inequalities’ that shape so much of women’s lives. One such example is the way gender inequality systematically constrains the ability of women to exercise their political voice. This isn’t necessarily a set of deliberate choices people make, but the culmination of many everyday choices and results in an economic, political and social world in which perspectives and needs of women aren’t seen or addressed.

I think everyone would accept that the interests of diverse groups of people such as women, minorities, people of colour are better served when decision makers and those in power are informed of the lived experience of those individuals. But it’s better yet if people from these groups are in positions of power – this helps to ensure policies and decisions around the provision of services or changes to laws are made for and by those impacted most by them, and truly serve those they impact most.

For certain policy agenda to actually be on the table – such as issues around childcare, eldercare, reproductive health, domestic violence, labour market access and flexibility, immigration, homelessness, cycling – we need representatives in the political sphere who experience these issues and know how important they are. Make every TD cycle to work and I would bet that we would soon have better cycle paths in Dublin.  

– Amy

Note: Endless thanks to Leo for the spreadsheets underpinning the graphs.

Austerity & Welfare Reform in UK Reading List

This is a reading list for those interested in welfare reform and austerity in the UK. If you would like to add something to the list, or want advice on how to access something, drop me a line (https://twitter.com/amygmurphy).

My PhD is part of the project Local Health Inequalities in an Age of Austerity: The Stockton-on-Tees study (https://www.dur.ac.uk/health.inequalities/).

Here is a list of publications from the study thus far:

Women and austerity/welfare reform:

From Women’s Budget Group (http://wbg.org.uk/):

From Scottish Women’s Budget Group:

Geographies of recession and austerity

Welfare sanctions and welfare conditionality

Child poverty

Lived experience of welfare reform

‘Truth about aggressive city centre begging revealed’: an open letter to Newcastle council with Stephen Crossley

We were interested to read your recent Cabinet update story ‘revealing’ the ‘truth about aggressive city centre begging’ (Cabinet update November 2015). The story included quotes that suggested begging on the streets or being homeless was a potentially lucrative ‘lifestyle choice’ that people had rationally and deliberately chosen. For example, Cllr. Nick Kemp stated that:

‘We don’t have a homelessness problem in Newcastle. The council and voluntary sector have hundreds of beds which means there’s really no need to be on the street’.

Superintendent Bruce Storey went on to say:

People assume that the person who is begging is using the money for hot food, a drink and a roof over their heads – this just isn’t the case. People who we’ve identified as problem beggars in the city, and it tends to be the same few, have home addresses and are coming into the city to make easy cash. Those that genuinely do need help and support are being given it by the city council and other agencies and we want those people to know that there is no need to beg and that the help is there for them

We would like to take this opportunity to share a story which will hopefully counteract this perspective, and help to illuminate the wider context.

Amy had an encounter with a pregnant woman sitting on Northumberland Street a few weeks ago. Her name is Sarah, and, at 24 weeks pregnant we are sure that sitting on a cold street in winter isn’t a choice she is willingly making. But the paths our lives take us on are often difficult, we don’t always do things that are in our best interests, and it’s sometimes hard to justify the choices we make.

Sarah told Amy that the only housing option the council could provide her with was temporary hostel accommodation, which was, in her words, full of drug users. There could be any number of reasons why she doesn’t want to stay in that environment, and we doubt those on the council would choose that living arrangement either, we know we wouldn’t. We could choose to believe she is lying of course, but that isn’t helpful or practical.

Unfortunately, there was no room for nuance or perspective in your story, or the coverage it received on the front pages of the Evening Chronicle (http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/more-96-per-cent-beggars-10482765). The stigmatising depiction of vulnerable and disadvantaged people as being criminal, manipulative and deviant is extremely disappointing.

Newcastle City Council has been very quick to highlight the detrimental impact of government cuts on the services it provides. It is unfortunate that the same council does not recognise that austerity measures can affect individuals, many of whom will rely on those services that have been cut. It is one thing to see Conservative politicians portraying poor people as ‘scroungers’ and ‘fraudsters’ to justify cuts and ‘reforms’ to the welfare state. It is quite another thing to hear Labour politicians echoing and even extending this rhetoric to an even more marginalised group.

The argument that beds are readily available and support available for those that need it belies the difficult reality of accessing appropriate services. A single conversation with a young pregnant mother showed a very different perspective, from someone who wanted to access services, but couldn’t. Or perhaps her story, and indeed her ‘pregnancy’ were just part of an elaborate organised crime scam?

If the city council really wanted to ‘inform’ residents ‘about what is really going on’, as Cllr. Kemp suggested, they could instead have highlighted the complex and often difficult choices people must make, often against their own better judgement. In our own experiences, we have never been led to believe that people we see begging, living rough or in temporary accommodation were there as a result of their ‘lifestyle choices’.

We believe that individual lives and choices are embedded within a broader cultural and structural framework. The council would be better served to highlight the impact of austerity cuts on individuals as well as on local council budgets, social housing, disability and job seeker payments, and community support services, than emphasise ‘individualised’ lifestyle ‘choices’ which only further stigmatise people living in difficult circumstances. We believe your ‘No Need to Beg’ campaign is misguided, misinformed, and a huge shame.

***The above is an open letter to Newcastle City Council from myself and a colleague, Stephen Crossley. We were both surprised by the stance adopted by the city council in a recent update to residents. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be a localised response  as other councils are also adopting similar approaches, with Leeds proposing a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ campaign, Manchester having banned homeless people from using the toilets in their library and Newport proposing banning rough sleepers altogether.***

It’s important to share

I’ve realised something lately. People are essentially good, and people essentially want to help. I sent out a simple email requesting santitary items for women without, and received enough to fill two car boots. People are really very, very kind, if you just give us a chance.

During the course of my fieldwork in Stockton-on-Tees, I became aware of a need within the community through one of the organisations providing crucial support in Stockton:

‘Catalyst, SSNP and SRCGA accepting donations for Asylum Seekers in Stockton. This morning we had a meeting in which we discovered that Asylum Seekers in Stockton and Middlesbrough are in desperate need of sanitary products. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, nappies and, perhaps most disturbing of all, women are using newspaper for sanitary towels as they cannot afford to buy them on their own.

In light of this, we are seeking donations to better the lives of Asylum Seekers and their families over the coming winter months.’

Not wanting to be simply a ‘detached researcher’, I sent out an email to the postgraduate mailing list of the geography department at Durham. Within the hour I started receiving emails with promises of goods, and before long my desk and the space around my desk was covered with bags. The messages were circulated to other departments, staff and students, and I was beyond impressed with the sheer quantity of female hygiene products, baby products and cosmetics that were donated.

Myself and Kate (also working on the Health Inequalities project) drove out to Stockton last week to drop off the donation along with some gratefully received cash donations. Already, I have several more promises of donations, as well as the area around my desk filled up with bags. The generosity of so many people has really impressed upon me the desire people have to help, and the importance of creating opportunities like this.

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Just look at all these bags, carefully purchased and given by so many caring people!

‘There’s no such thing as class in Ireland’

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/amid-the-usual-teen-court-dramas-a-case-that-will-shock-the-nation-34260969.html

The author of this article doesn’t do much in the way of condemning the rape of a then-15 year old by five young men. Instead, she describes the court setting; the young men were well dressed, they were certainly not from bad homes. Will the young men be tried in the District or Circuit Court? Whichever will provide the shortest sentence, probably. Either way, they will be remanded on bail until next year. The fifth accused was excused from yesterday’s hearing. So far, so descriptive. We’ve seen it all before.

The main problem isn’t the troublingly descriptive nature with which the serial rape of an under-age woman is drawn into the piece. Although this is, of course, a problem. The real issue is the judgemental and classist tone when describing the ‘kinds of people’ who usually frequent courts. In Ireland, we have this hypocritical attitude to so many things. When it comes to class, we are utterly exceptionalist. We act as if class doesn’t exist, because we don’t have the same overt class gradient as exists in other countries, we are a more homogeneous population generally, and in many ways our identities are drawn along different boundaries than ‘class’. But that doesn’t mean class doesn’t exist, and ignoring it does us all a disservice.

Why does this journalist dedicate so much space to juxtaposing the crimes of 5 men from an ‘upmarket South Dublin suburb’, to the type of young people that we are supposed to be believe belong within the criminal justice system? Why the need to mention the tracksuits, the absent parents, time spent in care? If this were an article about the UK there would be any number of tropes with which to depict these young men, chavs being the most prominent. But we lack the vocabulary with which to critically engage with what class means in Irish society.

To cite another example, I read an article a few months ago that made me feel uncomfortable on many levels [http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/a-spice-bag-and-a-sneaky-naggin-say-hello-to-the-dublin-hun-1.2376230]. It justified piss-taking as our ‘national pass time’, failing to acknowledge that the piss-taking in this example is at the expense of some Dublin women’s working class culture. The project the article is based on is defensible, apparently, because the illustrator in question comes originally from Coolock.

In Ireland, in academia, the media, in political and social life, we claim that class doesn’t exist. We’re all equal. Ireland, Land of the Flat Hierarchy. Where the Taoiseach went to your old school and you vote for your neighbour in the elections because he’s gas craic. We’re only taking the piss, and nothing you say when you’re taking the piss is meant literally. As a nation, we would prefer to put our fingers in our ears and go ‘na na na, doesn’t count’. But I’m sorry, it does count, and it’s making hypocrites of us all.

*Do you have any thoughts on the above? Please post a comment or Tweet @amygmurphy!*

Reality Bites

Earlier on I chatted to a young woman sat outside Pret in Newcastle. 24 weeks pregnant, the only housing the council can provide is temporary hostel accommodation which she said is full of drug users. I don’t know where we went wrong in the calculation of what constitutes being a wealthy nation but I don’t think leaving vulnerable women homeless is a part of this. We should have a long hard look at ourselves and who our states really benefit. It makes me beyond sad and angry.

 I posted the above on Facebook earlier. Here name is Sarah, and I bought her a sandwich, a coffee and a chocolate bar and then talked to hear with tears in my eyes. I felt like a total phoney. What right did I have,  with my stupid smartphone resting casually in my hand and all the great things in my life, to ask her how she was feeling?

How could I even look her in the eye, tell her how sorry I was, that I’m so sorry it worked out this way and that I hope things end up ok for her and that her baby is ok? What kind of a place do we live in where Sarah has to sit on the cold concrete in one of the wealthiest countries in the world when all around her people talk on their iPhones, commit tax evasion, drink £5 coffees and say that poverty doesn’t really exist here, not in the same way that it does in…somewhere else.

On my way home I went into Waitrose, as I like to do with I am in Newcastle. I browsed for a long time looking for deals and I purchased some white vinegar to clean the plug, a bag of coffee and some hypoallergenic non-scented laundry detergent. Why do I get to make these choices?

What could I say to a woman who is in so many ways similar to me, but has none of the really astounding opportunities that I do, at least not right now when it matters, for her and her baby?  I didn’t know what to say, so I asked her about herself, we talked some shit about the police, and then I said goodbye. There is nothing I could say to her, because we live in a society that doesn’t care about her, will maybe take her child into care, and convince her that she’s a bad mother for smoking because it’s harmful for the baby’s health.

There was nothing I could say. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be really angry about it.

NE Consultation on Right to Food: 17th November 2015 Durham.

Myself and some of the women from an organisation in Stockton I do fieldwork with attended an event on the right to food on Tuesday 17th November.

This event was held as part of 4 events around UK, working towards building a ‘food justice’ movement.

Inspired by the UN convention on social, economic and cultural rights which says that the government has a legal obligation to provide food. UK government signed up to this agreement.

There are 2 million malnourished people in the UK, further 3 million at risk.

Does increase in use of Trussell Trust food banks this year indicate impacts of welfare reform increasing need for food bank use? As the ‘crisis period’ lasts even longer, a 3 day food parcel is no longer enough.

‘Household food poverty’ is an important definition used in the Fabian report on food poverty, as it is more than simply filling your belly today, but hints at long-term insecurities and uncertainties, a risk which doesn’t quite go away.

Fabian Commission on food and poverty:http://foodandpoverty.org.uk/

Open access resource to transforming food networks: http://www.foodsystemsacademy.org.uk/

Beyond the foodbank, report on London boroughs:http://www.sustainweb.org…/london_food_poverty_profile_20…/

Where does the ‘right to food’ and ‘right to income’ overlap in terms of austerity and welfare reform?

Thoughts from the day will go towards compiling a campaign around a food justice network in the UK.

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PhD Project: call for participants

Motherhood, wellbeing and austerity in Stockton-on-Tees

Information Sheet

This research project is being carried out by a PhD student at Durham University between 2015 and 2016. The aim is to understand the experience of mothers and their families, how they have been impacted by welfare cuts, and their health and wellbeing. The project is interested in the experiences of mothers from all around the borough.

Key themes for discussion:

  • Everyday life
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Recession, austerity and cuts
  • Motherhood and family life
  • The benefits system and the job market
  • Housing, childcare, and transport in the community

Interviews will be carried out with mothers from Stockton-on-Tees who are willing to share their experiences. 

  • The interview will last approximately 1 hour, is friendly and informal, and it can take place in a location that is convenient to you.
  • Over the year 2015-2016, respondents will be contacted for interview at least once more.
  • Everything you say is treated with complete confidence. Your information will be anonymous ‐ after the taped interview is typed up, all identifying details are removed, and the recording is destroyed.
  • The anonymised version of your interview then goes into secure storage, and no one will ever be able to tell it was you.
  • Your participation in this project is entirely voluntary and you can decide to opt out at any time.
  • Before agreeing to take part, your rights will be explained and you will be asked to sign a consent form. This asks your permission to record the interview and include the information you give in a report and other publications.

“Local Health Inequalities in an Age of Austerity: The Stockton-on-Tees Study” is a research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust, run by the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing at Durham University (https://www.dur.ac.uk/health.inequalities/).

If you would like any further information, please get in touch with me – my contact details: Amy Greer Murphy Email: a.a.greer-murphy@durham.ac.uk

Tomorrow, Dublin: The 4th March for Choice (Repeal the 8th Amendment of the Constitution)

Tomorrow is the 4th annual march for choice in Dublin. I’m beyond gutted I can’t be there.

If an Irish woman travels to the UK for a termination, at a Marie Stopes clinic she will have to pay anywhere from €420-€1550 for something which should be safely and freely provided as the basic medical service it is. If she is a migrant from a non-EU state, she cannot legally obtain a visa to go to the UK, or Netherlands, to obtain this service.

I am a believer in strong health care provision. I believe even stronger still in the absolute necessity of a woman’s reproductive sovereignty.

It is particularly in recent living memory, in this Catholic and conservative Republic we now exist within, that a woman’s right to choose is not afforded to her. This is a huge challenge to women’s economic and bodily sovereignty, to gender equality in the state, and to the democratic values the Republic claims to stand for.

In light of recent positive changes to marriage equality legislation, I hope the same positive change is coming for the women of Ireland very soon. In the meantime, services like the Abortion Support Network are doing outstanding work in reaching women who need this service and support.

Beidh amárach a bheith níos fearr ná sin