“Not at all rumbold..heh. its because you write such fascinating stuff for PP it makes one curious to think what you might be writing/saying on your own blog if you had one.”

Very kind of you to say so. I have no desire to leave the comfort zone of Pickled Politics though.

“A lot of women/men affected by domestic violence have been ‘imported’ and aren’t going to school, they’re very vulnerable because they have little concept of welfare states (coming from the indian subcontinent!) and will not have a clue that the govt. is even willing to help you. these people of course are the hardest to reach. places like GPs, libraries etc. i think already distribute leaflets, but i really do think this is soemthing where you have to ensure the local cafe/kebab shop/cornershop/grocer has a pile. A lot of people who are isolated don’t make it out to public libraries or health services even.”

Excellent points. Leaflets in GPs’ surgeries are a really good idea, providing it is not the GP themselves who hands over the leaflet (as it could provoke someone to stop going to see the doctor).

but of course if PP is up for having your holiday snaps as a post, that’s great too..

schools are a good one yes. but a lot of different avenues should be tried. a lot of women/men affected by domestic violence have been ‘imported’ and aren’t going to school, they’re very vulnerable because they have little concept of welfare states (coming from the indian subcontinent!) and will not have a clue that the govt. is even willing to help you. these people of course are the hardest to reach. places like GPs, libraries etc. i think already distribute leaflets, but i really do think this is soemthing where you have to ensure the local cafe/kebab shop/cornershop/grocer has a pile. A lot of people who are isolated don’t make it out to public libraries or health services even. the public health project i’m working on right now across 20 most deprived spots in london, shows very clearly that there is a very low uptake of existing health services, and access to info is very critical and needs to be thought through carefully.

“heh, rumbold, i’m sure you’ll be fine. you should have your own blog anyway.”

Is that a polite way of telling me to go away? Heh. Excellent point about how services are being affected by the Olympic black hole- I guess that subsidising elite athletes is more important then providing refuges for those relying domestic violence.

Parvinder:

Thanks for all the useful links.

“But we have to go further than just relying on leaflets and posters. The committees heading these places should be made to sign up to guidelines and procedures. Units should be set up in them, ie. a place where abused women can go to for help. I have noticed the large amount of women going to Sikh temples during the quiet weekday periods, having their own kirten classes etc. and I’m sure voluntary groups and the authorities can tap into these.”

The problme with that though is that some of those abusing women will go to the same place of religious worship, so the woman may be caught looking through information about domestic violence. That is probably a risk worth taking however.

“Do we know if this select committee are looking into getting leaflets and posters in the relevant languages into the mosques and temples. Can we make representation to this effect?”

This particular select committee will not convene a hearing on domestic violence for some time (to give them a chance to study new information and evidence). At the hearing, the committee noted that they lacked examples of the posters. There wasn’t really any discussion about information in religious buildings- I think that they thought the challenge of getting it disseminated in schools was difficult enough.

0808 2000 247
Free phone 24-hour National Domestic Violence Help line (run in partnership between Women’s Aid and Refuge)

http://www.womensaid.org.uk

Do we know if this select committee are looking into getting leaflets and posters in the relevant languages into the mosques and temples. Can we make representation to this effect? We would need to ensure the material is not simply sent to religious places through the post but physically put up and followed on by awareness meetings.

I wonder if the mosques would be happy to provide sanctuary for women.

just a point worth knowing about – the biggest lottery funds distributor is BIG, groups have to apply individually to them for funding, under specific funding streams, which is publicised on their website.

useful general /detailed info on where lottery funding goes ( from the DCMS website) – of course, the olympics are getting a bit of that chunk now so..

Schools are a very good starting point in the case of Forced Marriages, and that Asian councillor should be named and shamed.
I agree with Sofia that the mosques and temples should be targeted, especially in the case of domestic violence.

But we have to go further than just relying on leaflets and posters. The committees heading these places should be made to sign up to guidelines and procedures. Units should be set up in them, ie. a place where abused women can go to for help. I have noticed the large amount of women going to Sikh temples during the quiet weekday periods, having their own kirten classes etc. and I’m sure voluntary groups and the authorities can tap into these.

I also believe that this should not be viewed as a anti-man thing. Of every, or most case of abuse, there’s another women nearby, the mother-in-law, sister-in-law or aunt who is at best silence, or worse, encouraging it.

Therefore, I’m for a more drastic approach to this, I mean, is there a 24-hour fully funded multi-lingual help line ? If not, the government should put it’s money where its mouth is, and put some lottery money in good use.

Who knows what terrible acts are being committed behind those closed net curtains we pass everyday.

Incidentally- perhaps a travel blog post would not be a good idea:

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/rafael_behr/2008/02/backpackers_bullies_and_intern.html

“When appearing before them, several councillors ridiculed her for trying to force this issue on schools. A later question established that the offending councillors were British Asian.”

very revealing that. that’s how people have been ‘kept in their places’ all these years – you try and get out, speak about it if you do manage to, boom! the ‘elders’ and ‘keepers of role’ come down on you like a ton of bricks. I was talking to a friend of mine from Delhi last december, we were discussing the difficulties of ‘escaping’ your socially determined roles – you can try, and you’ll have significant resistance. for centuries, the caste system and other oppressive ‘keep you in your place’ social systems -have used manipulative social tactics to ensure if anyone does manage to get “out” of their ’societally determined place” – there is a serious social backlash and stigma, against them. The sole purpose of which are to try and ensure such ‘escapes’ don’t become the norm – ‘oh look at that bad woman, what is she saying about us? she is insulting our culture! she is insulting all our sacrifices! have WE not been through this and withstood the pressure? Where is her womanly patience? Where is her loyalty to her family?” so on and so forth. Like trying to get out of quicksand with many other people pulling you back in, denying the reality of your situation, and that others too, exist in it. Of course these dynamics are really what need studying. They go a long way to explain why women and men stay in abusive situations, and perpetuate similar abuse to people further down the line, and why its so damn difficult to ‘get out’ and stay out.

Recognising the role that deeply held views -such as gender constructs and responsibilities to one’s family – play in abusive familial & domestic contexts – is very important. And again, this does not apply only to ‘women’. Also important is to realise how older generation of women effectively do a lot of ‘jailkeeping’ of younger women – and often encourage their sons to reproduce negative behaviour they themselves were subject to. And finally – extremely crucial – the culture of silence – which is connnected very much to “Shame” – the inability – to broadcast what is the problem for fear of bringing shame and dishonour on one’s family. This is so deeply ingrained that is an incredible barrier. No one wants to tell anyone what they are going through – even when there is some abuse in practically every extended family. To illustrate how ridiculous this is – people think you shouldn’t even tell your OWN HUSBAND – if you have ’shameful secrets’ in YOUR own family – why because he might spread them around and everyone ( i.e. in-laws, who are in ‘competition’) will know! Absolutely ludicrous, but there you go. There is very strong resistance to change, and kowtowing to obsolete and oppressive traditions is a very big part of this.