WUNRN
UK - UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN MISSION - REFERENCE TO UK "SEXIST CULTURE"
The
Rashida Manjoo is on a visit to the
She said sexism was worse in the
The government said it wanted to end
violence against women, and had ring-fenced £40m for support services.
Ms Manjoo made her comments as she
presented her preliminary findings, before she is due to report back to the UN
Human Rights Council.
The part-time professor in public law at
the
She said sexism in the
She said the British media was
responsible for "negative and over-sexualised portrayals of women",
with some websites and TV channels dealing in the "marketisation of their
bodies".
Ms Manjoo said it was clear "there
is a boys' club, sexist culture that exists, and it does lead to perceptions
about women and girls in this country".
She said public spending cuts were
having a "disproportionate impact" on women, and raised concerns
about reductions in legal aid for domestic violence victims.
"Access to trauma services,
financial support and housing are crucial, yet current reforms to the funding
and benefits system continue to adversely impact women's ability to address
safety and other relevant issues," she said.
She said the cuts "not only
[affected] the specific provision of 'violence against women' services",
but also had a more general impact as poverty and unemployment were known
contributory factors.
The inspector also said she had wanted
to visit Yarl's Wood Immigration Centre in Bedfordshire, which houses hundreds
of women, to "objectively seek information on violations being
experienced".
But she said she believed an order to
stop her gaining access to the facility had come from the highest levels at the
Home Office.
She had been due to visit the site with
the help of the Prisons Inspectorate, she told journalists, but was told by the
centre's director that she would not be allowed access.
A Home Office spokeswoman said:
"Violence against women and girls in any form is unacceptable and the
government has shown its commitment to ending it.
"We have ring-fenced nearly £40m
for specialist support services and national helplines."
On the subject of Ms Manjoo's itinerary,
the spokeswoman said: "A comprehensive programme was drawn up for the
special rapporteur's visit, including meetings with the home secretary, the
minister for crime prevention, and the chief inspector of prisons.
"Several other options, including a
trip to a women's refuge, were turned down by the special rapporteur.
"A tour of Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre was never agreed as part of this fact-finding mission."
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