We are currently seeking submissions of
personal testimonies for the Woman vs State (UK) project.
WHAT
IS IT?
Women vs The State (UK) is a compilation
of women’s accounts which seeks to highlight the systemic injustices against
women arising out of the steady privatisation of public services, with a
foreword by Michael Turner QC.
WHY
IS THIS IMPORTANT?
The increasing deployment of the
private sector to fulfill public services – in the criminal justice system,
housing for asylum seekers, and the violence against women sector - not only
fails to protect traumatised women from further harm, but often inflicts
further trauma upon female victims and survivors and their loved ones. A recent
damning report by the think tank the
Institute for Government has drawn attention
to the many problems with the government’s current programme of privatisation. Outsourcing
contracts to organizations that lack the experience, expertise or even
willingness to provide effective services is suggestive of the questionable
direction the welfare system is being taken by successive governments. The unremitting
focus on cutting costs shows a shocking disregard for the many human beings who
are suffering and for whom this welfare is (in many cases, literally) a matter
of life and death.
A recent report by Kazuri entitled “Carers
or Captors?” highlights the UK asylum system’s abysmal failure to protect women.
Many of these women are seeking asylum because of the extreme trauma they have
already suffered: they are thus particularly vulnerable to re-traumatisation. G4S,
one of the largest security companies in the world, won £324m out of a seven
year £620m contract to house asylum seekers, and has made more than £1.5bn over
five years from government contracts in the UK alone. The prospect of huge
profits awaiting private sector organisations suggest that they will continue
to express interest in public sector contracts, but continuous outsourcing
belies any real governmental interest in welfare. The report indicates their apathetic
attitude towards providing a standard of housing fit for human habitation; this
coupled with their policy of intimidation and harassment suggests their motives
are unlikely to be altruistic. When the
government allows known intimidators of vulnerable women to run rape crisis
centers, we believe something must be done. Evidence given by the Stephan Small
to the Home Affairs Select Committee looking into the Compass housing contract
confirms G4S and Serco are running housing for vulnerable people as loss
leaders, with a view to get a foot in the door to provide large social housing
contracts to vulnerable communities. We don’t believe security or outsource
companies have a place in this sector.
On top of this, the entrenched institutional
bias against women strips them of both their agency and their ability to stand
against the structures of power in this country. It silences thousands of women,
often doubly marginalized for their colour, race, ethnicity or social
background.
WE NEED YOU.
We will shatter the silence around the
outsourcing of government contracts, and their sickening effects on the most
vulnerable members of UK society.
We are seeking personal stories of women who
have experienced public services delivered by private companies, including in
the criminal justice system, exile, secure hospitals, domestic violence
shelters and SARCs. We believe the stories of those whose health and wellbeing
has been sold for private profit deserve to be told.
Our current title, reminiscent of a court case, suggests the oppositional relationship between vulnerable women and the powers that be. We hope that projects like ours will be able to draw attention to this unfortunate antagonism, and remind the government that the welfare of its citizens should be their first priority. After all, the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
We are
looking for first person true accounts which showcases experiences with private
sector organizations contracted to fulfill public services – these can be
asylum seekers, refugees, domestic violence survivors, human trafficking
survivors, offenders or ex-offenders, or indeed, any woman who has suffered
injustice at the hands of privatisation. The submissions can be in any form:
prose, poetry, lyric, interview transcripts, case studies etc. These can be
written and sent in via email or post, or we are happy to conduct interviews to
collect stories. All stories will be told anonymously to protect identities
and prevent further distress to those involved.
Submissions should be around 1,000 – 2,000 words, but we are flexible. We are happy to entertain any other thoughts, ideas or possible submissions.
If you are interested in providing a case study for Woman vs State (UK), please contact the editors: Sarah Cheverton Sarah@kazuri.org.uk or Nanki Chawla Nanki@kazuri.org.uk
LAUNCH
Woman vs State (UK) will be launched at
a high profile event at the House of Lords in November 2013, and will provide a
series of case studies to support Kazuri Homes’ campaign calling for a public
inquiry into the procurement, commissioning and monitoring of public services
by large private sector companies.
Language / English
Pages / 120
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