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Sex Slave Industry: Is Legalisation The Way To Go?

The reason why I am writing this blog post is because after reading 'Slave Girl' by Sarah Forsyth (Slave Girl: Amazon.co.uk: Sarah Forsyth: 9781844546855: Books) I realised just how naïve I have been regarding the full scale of prostitution and sex work. I had basic understanding of the impacts it had on the sex workers and how it is a form of sexual exploitation but I did not realise just how open it was allowed to go unchecked by criminal justice systems and governments across the world. For example, Sarah explains how during her time working in Holland she was raped by seven police officers and when she had escaped the police officer on the desk also appears to be in connections with the pimps of Holland. This highlights that even though sex work is decriminalised in Holland(supposedly for the protection of the working girls) the police are not a safe contact point for workers who are experiencing abuse or exploitation.

Prostitution in the UK

On average, there is 105,000 people engaged in sex work, but this number only relates to those who have either been identified through police databases or those who openly admit to being to being involved in sex work. Prostitution and sex work is not illegal within itself in the U.K, however associating behaviours such as soliciting in public and pimping with maximum charges being 7 years imprisonment, a fine of £5,000 or both. (Know Your Rights - A Guide for Sex Workers - English Collective of Prostitutes (prostitutescollective.net)) (Sexual Offences Act 2003 (legislation.gov.uk))

Sex work is a profitable business with 2.3 million men (11%) between the ages of 16-74 have paid for sex at some point during their lives. (Adult Sex Industry — Shine Women) However, majority of the women exposed to sex work do not want to be involved in prostitution with 90% wanting to leave and the reason behind this is because they felt like they had no choice but to turn to prostitution. (Prostitution - The Facts - Street Light UK) This may be because they faced homelessness, sexual abuse at a younger age, runaways, living in poverty, low educational achievement and domestic abuse. As Sarah Forsyth pointed out in her book, there was a method known as 'Lover Boys' who would create a romantic relationship with a victim and then force them into prostitution to help pay off 'debts' that the pimp had racked up. This is also a method used in Romania to target young girls in children shelters, one girl was 12 and had a significantly older (52) boyfriend known as her 'Lover Boy'. (The children groomed in Romania for the UK sex trade- BBC News - YouTube)

Between 2005 and 2015, 348 people were fined or charged with human trafficking but convictions were extremely low whereas, 191 sex workers were fined or sentenced for prostitution and the conviction rates were disproportionately higher. The U.K. does regard prostitution as sexual exploitation and that it can be linked to human trafficking with an estimated 1,139 sex workers linked to human trafficking in 2014. (Adult Sex Industry — Shine Women) This has been made worse through the rise of social media and the adult only advertising since there has been no protection granted from the government to tackle online advertising. This online accessibility has also caused more brothels to be established with a rental agreement of 3 weeks to 3 months which means that police operations would have to work extremely quickly to be able to close down and convict those who run and own the brothels. (Prostitution - The Facts - Street Light UK)

What do sex workers experience?

There is often a stigma that surrounds prostitution and they don't tend to be sympathised with by the public when there is discussions regarding the harms posed to sex workers. This can be highlighted by the lack of vocalisation for laws to change to protect these people from being victims of traffickers, sexual perverts or even murderers. There have been 3 high profile cases which saw sex workers being murdered in brutal ways; Jack the Ripper (1888-1891), Peter Sutcliffe (1975-1980) and Steve Wright (2006). Even though there was calls for justice in all 3 cases, there has been no inquiry or public discussion on how to protect the sex workers from these brutal attacks. On average, 152 sex workers were murdered between 1990-2015 which shows that these three cases were not isolated cases. (Adult Sex Industry — Shine Women)

Furthermore, it is not only murder that these sex workers become victims of. 76% of those involved in prostitution experience some form of PTSD, which is a disorder that was diagnosed to Sarah Forsyth and needed to be heavily sedated to help her recover from the ordeal she had experienced in Holland. There are many other mental health conditions that sex workers may develop to help them cope with the trauma they experience:

DID - Dissociation Identity Disorder

Anxiety disorders

Insomnia

OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Self-harm

(Prostitution - The Facts - Street Light UK)

Legal Red Light Districts

This is where my naivety falls into place, I thought sex workers who were involved in legal red light districts such as those in Holland were protected and did not experience the harms faced by those who were sex workers in illegal areas. How wrong I was. Sarah Forsyth's story was a real eye opener in the fact that sex work, no matter legal or illegal is filled with risk and will be exploited by those who only want to gain power and money.

Leeds council have decided to established a 'managed' zone which will supposedly set up a safe location for sex workers to conduct their work. And this has had some evidence to support that it is effectively keeping some women safe - sex workers are more likely to report abuse by 6 times compared to those who are working in undesignated areas. Yet, this seems to be limited since many of the sex workers in the area do not feel any safer and that police presence is minimal. This was further exacerbated by the murder of Daria Pionko who was working as a sex worker and got mugged by Lewis Pierre. She was found by a friend, which further proves that police presence is low in the 'managed' area. (Daria Pionko death: Lewis Pierre jailed for murder - BBC News) However, it isn't only sex workers who have become targets of victimisation. A young woman was raped when leaving work by men who believed she was a sex worker. So not only does this case highlight, that many men who use sex workers view them solely as objects, they also expect any woman in the area to be a sex worker which can hint to the misogynistic culture surrounding sex work. Punters are also aware that there is limited police presence with many saying that this gives them the encouragement that they are allowed to do whatever they want because it is a free country. ('I worry they are trafficked': is the UK's first 'legal' red light zone working? | Global development | The Guardian)

Amsterdam's Famous Red Light District

Amsterdam's red light district - De Wallen - is probably the most famous in the world due to the historic aspect of how long sex work has been legal in the area. It is proposed as a safe haven for sex workers and has been glorified and even romanticised by the media from social media to Hollywood movies. However, stories like Sarah Forsyth and Angelica, this is far from the truth. Many of the sex workers who have or are working the big glass windows surrounding De Wallen, had been trafficked either from Britain or Eastern Europe. Majority of the sex workers who have come forward about their experiences have stated that they felt like objects being sold in shops or as if they were pieces of meat at a meat market. When they have been removed from a safe location known to the victim, they have their passports removed and taken like prisoners. The only thing many of them have said they get is a low grade phone that is only to be used to contact their pimp and black lacy underwear. Everything is removed, their identities stripped away. Dutch politicians and the public are beginning to change perspectives about the legalisation of sex work with the constant stream of human trafficking stories, with one MP stating that it is nothing other than 'commercialised rape'. The sex workers who have been trafficked are told that their families are involved or have been paid off which subdues the victim from trying to contact police or family to save them. Many advocates against the red light district have noted that the legalisation of sex work in the red light district hasn't changed much in reducing the risks and harms linked to sex work.

British and Romanian Connections Involving Sex Work

It has long been common knowledge that many of the sex workers who are in Britain are from Romania or other Eastern European countries are being groomed for the U.K sex industry since certain sex work is legal in the U.K or difficult to track. When police have done raids or have investigated potential trafficking in the U.K many of the sex workers do not help the police and say that they are not being trafficked. This may be because many sex workers from Romania do not trust the police because when cases occur in Romania, the police do not take it seriously. There was a case of a 15 year old girl who managed to contact police about being kidnapped and used for sex work but during the emergency call, handlers can be heard mocking the young girl because she did not know where she was. It took 24 hours for police to enter the house, and by that time the young girl had been murdered. In 2021, 429 victims were sex trafficked in Romania and 50% of these were minors, this statistic only identifies those that are known to agencies, which means the true figure could be much higher.

The reason traffickers choose the U.K as the target destination to carry out their business is because there is much more money that can be made. There is a constant cycle of men and Kevin Hyland who is the anti-slavery commissioner believes that the real number of people living in modern day slavery is 26,000 which is double the estimated figure. Traffickers in Romania tend to target vulnerable children who are in children shelters because they tend to be in care and would not cause much of a stir if they disappeared. And this is part of the stigmatising stereotypes which traps certain groups into increased risk of victimisation. These traffickers are able to use public opinion and public prejudice to commit their crimes in plain sight, who is going to question a drug user going missing? Who is going to fight for those in care? Who is going to care if a destructive teenager goes missing? In many cases, the public victim blame and say that the person deserved what happened to them.

Why Do Victims Stay?

A question which is constantly asked is: 'Why didn't they leave?' and this is not a simple answer to provide since it very much depends on how they have gotten involved in the sex industry. For example, if they have been trafficked, they tend to have a pimp who is constantly monitoring where their workers are. Sarah Forsyth discusses running boys who would be back and forth the windows providing drugs or just checking up on the workers. In some cases, the victim may have a tracker on their phone or are only allowed to go to certain locations. It is very rare that traffickers work alone, it is an organised crime and tends to be a group of people involved. They are also often heavily drugged - mainly opioids - which not only subdues their victim but also creates a dependency relationship.

If victims do step out of line, they are often beaten and sometimes even left for dead. Sarah Forsyth mentions how her original trafficker, had beaten his girlfriend/sex worker because she did not make enough money and this was also something which was said to Sarah when she was sold to her second trafficker. These traffickers believe that these sex workers owe them and need to repay them for the money they spent to buy them - they need to prove their value. Also, sex trafficking is a multinational billion-dollar company which means that for something to grow to that level of wealth there must be powerful people or companies involved. This will mean that in a court of law or even during investigations, that power can influence who is viewed as a victim and who is viewed as a criminal. This was highlighted in the case of Alieen Wurnos.

My View

I think sex work should be decriminalised, but only if those participating fully consent and want to be involved in the industry. But before this can happen the stigmatisation around sex work and sex workers needs to end, society needs to stop with the victim blaming and governments need to acknowledge that tighter restrictions need to be in place. Support hubs with specialised people should be set up in hot spots to support sex workers who have potentially been groomed, abused or victimised. A larger police presence is also needed since many punters believe that without a police presence, the laws no longer matter.

Sex Workers Are Human And Should Be Treated As Such!

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How Domestic Abuse Impacts Women - Physical Abuse

Physical violence/abuse is the most common type of domestic abuse that women experience. Physical abuse includes;

hitting

slapping

kicking

pinching

pushing

burning

punching

beaten repeatedly

using objects e.g. a belt

destruction of poverty

In extreme circumstances the injuries sustained from these abusive episodes could cause long-term damage or even be fatal.

Nicola Frost, who bravely has been open about the abuse she suffered, was forced to get a tattoo which branded her as nothing more than her abuser’s property. (https://uk.style.yahoo.com/abuser-forced-girlfriend-tattoo-his-name-175238623.html)

Josie Higgins suffered extreme physical abuse which included being beaten in the stomach - so she couldn’t have children, beaten her with a hammerand strip searched her at knife point. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9023099/Jealous-thug-31-strip-searched-girlfriend-knifepoint-jailed-eight-years.html)

However, research has found that physical injury is not the only trait of physical abuse/consequence that victims may experience. One woman who was diagnosed with fibromalagia had their condition worsen due to the abuse she suffered.

It should also be noted that physical violence does not start as constant or at extreme levels but instead may be an incident here and there and in some cases it happens after the relationship has ended.

In some of the relationships, the women had been in controlling relationships where their partner would set rules for their victims and if they ‘step out of line’ their abusers would become physically violent which meant they carefully place any injuries to ensure they cannot be seen. If the injuries were visible such as black eyes or strangulation marks - women wouldn’t be able to leave the house or would have to lie about where the marks come from. 

(https://healthtalk.org/womens-experiences-domestic-violence-and-abuse/physical-violence-and-impacts-on-womens-health#:~:text=It%20is%20not%20just%20being,syndrome%20and%20gastro%2Dintestinal%20issues.)

Some abusers threaten to harm family members or friends if they went to the police or other agencies.

Women who live in violent relationships tend to also live in fear because they never know when the next attack will be and end up walking on egg shells.

Some women believe that the physical abuse is a form of love being shown by their partner. This may be because of growing up in an abusive household or their partner has made them believe that it is how they show their affection.

Physical violence can also leave victims with low confidence to the point where they believe their abusers that they were to blame for the violence and that they deserved to be abused and attacked.

Some people say “why don’t these women stand up for themselves?” Well in many cases, this leads to further violence which quickly escalates to severe trauma or even death.

Information obtained by National World from England’s NHS Digital, Public Health Scotland and Public Health Wales reveals that 2,086 patients were admitted to hospitals across the U.K. for sexual, physical or mental abuse between April 2015 and March 2020. However, NHS Digital limits the figures between 1 and 7 to protect the identities of the patients within their care. This means that it is only possible to calculate a minimum to maximum range.

4,486 women and girls have been admitted to hospitals across Britain suffered ‘other maltreatment’ which means injuries which have an external cause which includes sexual or physical abuse, torture or mental cruelty. 47% of these cases were caused by a spouse or partner.

Evie Duarte (IDAS North Yorkshire Regional Manager), “The number of women being hospitalised because of domestic abuse and sexual violence will be much greater than this number, but they will present with a range of conditions including self-harm so will not be counted in the figures.” The reason why these conditions/injuries aren’t included is because they are either self-inflicted or circumstantial. The women could be suffering from anxiety or depression but it could be linked to past trauma (anything before the abuse started) or even family medical history of mental health issues.

(https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/health/nhs-figures-reveal-scale-of-domestic-abuse-injuries-among-women-admitted-to-calderdale-and-huddersfield-hospitals-3203493)

The UN have highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated domestic abuse - especially physical violence. This seems to have mainly affected older women and disabled/ill health women since they were advised to self-isolate across the U.K.. However, it should be noted that not all of these were domestic abuse cases - some were institutional abuse due to carers being the abusers. 

Below are different links which discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced and increased domestic abuse:

https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/new-blog-1/2020/11/10/covid-19-and-surge-in-domestic-abuse-in-uk

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/domesticabuseduringthecoronaviruscovid19pandemicenglandandwales/november2020

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/15/shock-new-figures-fuel-fears-of-more-lockdown-domestic-abuse-killings-in-uk

https://safelives.org.uk/news-views/domestic-abuse-and-covid-19

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56491643

It should also be noted that the stereotypical views of a physical violence is far from the truth and that of an abuser. The Metropolitan police began an investigation in 2017 against a male officer who had physically abused his partner (another police officer) and had raped/sexually assaulted another colleague. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56581835)

However, when people discuss domestic abuse, some victims are left unheard - teenagers. These relationships are often just called toxic or just typical teenage drama - but the truth is, is that these girls are also in abusive relationships. A quarter of 13 to 18 year old girls report being victimised and abused by an intimate partner. 79% of these girls experience physical violence. (https://safelives.org.uk/policy-evidence/about-domestic-abuse/how-widespread-domestic-abuse-and-what-impact)

Savelives also highlights that some of the injuries caused due to a domestic abuse relationship - isn’t always done by the perpetrator. They estimate that 30 women a day try to commit suicide and 3 of those women will be successful a week. A year before leaving their abuser - 1 in 5 of the women reported attending A+E due to injuries. (It is not known if the hospital staff aided in helping these women out of the relationships) 13% of domestic abuse victims also report that they self-harm in numerous ways.

People also need to understand that physical abuse can also deteriorate or cause certain physical conditions:

asthma

bladder and kidney infections

cardiovascular disease

fibromalygia

chronic pain syndrome

central nervous system disorders

migraines/headaches

gastrointestinal disorders

Reproductive issues/consequences can also stem from domestic abuse:

gynaecological disorders

sexually transmitted infections

pre-term difficulties

pregnancy difficulties

(https://safelives.org.uk/policy-evidence/about-domestic-abuse/how-widespread-domestic-abuse-and-what-impact)

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Update on the Domestic Abuse Bill

I am pleased to announce that the Domestic Abuse Bill has finally been passed 29/04/2021. It has taken a few years but I am glad it has been passed. However, I have not yet fully read the legislation so I do not know if it is beneficial to everyone. I know that there was criticism that migrant women who were on certain visa’s were not originally included and that BAME women were still at risk of underfunding and lack of services. Hopefully these have been amended - but with the current government I doubt it. However, this is not the final stage. Domestic abuse is rife across the UK and there are abusers in the justice system who are using their power and influence to avoid justice, society still blames the victim, men are still ridiculed for being victims and as I stated before BAME women are at the highest risk due to lack of services and trust within the system. So please, don’t think we have finally defeated domestic abuse - because we haven’t. We have to ensure that this does not become a de facto law and that it is implemented to the highest degree in all cases.

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How Domestic Abuse Impacts Women - Femicide

Femicide is defined as the murder or killing of women and in some conditions girls by an intimiate partner or family member because of their gender. In recent years it has also been used to describe any gender-based killings in a community;

Sarah Everard

Wenjing Lin

Stacey Knell

Ruth Williams

However, we will be solely focusing on femicide which is linked to domestic abuse.

In the UK, the term was popularised in the last century to describe the killings of women in gender-related cases to recognise the impact of inequality and discrimination experienced by women in society. These factors have been internationally identified as the root cause of violence against women.

In Europe there is limited research into femicide despite it being the global leading cause into the premature death of women.

The Global Study on Homocide (2011) highlighted that homocide was decreasing o a global level but femicide was increasing.

In a 10 year period in the UK, a woman is murdered by her male partner or ex-partner every 4 days according to the Femicide Reports (2009-2018). Patterns showed that in the majority of these cases, it was pre-meditated and followed a pattern of abuse which tormented the victim.

Femicide Census (2017) found that 139 women had been murdered by 126 men in the UK during 2017. However, some cases were not counted due to it happening abroad, unsolved or minors. Also cases in which the court verdict was not clear, still under investigation and information which could not be disclosed are also not included. This means that the number could actually be higher. 

The Report also found;

64 (46%) of the women were murdered by a partner or ex-partner

24 (17.3%) of the women were killed by a man known to them - such as social or business acquiantances, friend or neighbour.

10 (7.2%) of the women were killed by their sons

7 (4.9%) of the women were killed by another male family member

82 (59%) of the women were aged 22 to 55

20 (14%) of the women were aged 66 or over and 5 of these women were murdered by their partner or spouse

32% of the women were killed in the home which was independent from the perpetrator.

Greater Manchester, London Metropolitan and West Midlands police had the greatest numbers of femicide cases.

Of the women killed by an ex-partner or ex-spouse; 12 (55%) were murdered within the first month of separation and 19 (87%) in the first year.

(file:///home/chronos/u-331425090469512e2d0bd01d1d912e035b98e27e/MyFiles/Downloads/Femicide-Census-of-2017.pdf)

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How Domestic Abuse Impacts Women - Poverty/Financial Abuse

I understand that domestic abuse is intersectional and that there are various areas that can impact a woman in becoming a vulerable target, how they are affected during the relationship and how it impacts them once they’ve left the relationship. However, as you can imagine - if I wrote them all together you would be reading for a long period of time. So hopefully doing it in sections will make it easier. 

Eldin Fatimy, Emma Williamsom and Christina Pantazis from Bristol University  in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation conducted a study known as Evidence and Policy: Domestic Violence and Poverty (2016) in which it was found that poverty was one of the leading factors in women becoming victims of abuse. This may be because we view poverty and needing benefits in a worse light than being manipulated and abused in a relationship. 

However, the UK has not done much to tackle these issues which means that the link between poverty and domestic abuse in the UK is poorly understood and not acknolwedged as a serious issue. 

The study’s aim was to highlight the need for anti-poverty policies but also to address the gaps of anti-poverty policies being sensitive to women who are victims of domestic abuse and how socio-economic factors affect domestic abuse. It is important to understand how poverty impacts women and how this makes them a vulnerable target for domestic abuse. The Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey UK (2012) provide supportive evidence and data to support the notion that poverty is associated with heightened vulnerability to domestic abuse. 

“For almost every measure of poverty included within this study, the prevalence of experiencing both physical abuse and controlling behaviour are significantly higher for respondents experiencing poverty than for the non-poor group.” (https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/128551400/JRF_DV_POVERTY_REPORT_FINAL_COPY_.pdf)

These findings also correspond with research from the British Crime Survey and Crime Survey in England and Wales and also similar trends found in North America and Europe.

There are gender assumptions which make women more vulnerable to domestic abuse regarding financial/poverty scenarios such as:

shared access to the household incomes and resources (abuser may be a gambler on in a lot of debt)

women who are financially dependent can put women at risk of poverty if they leave - including any benefits being stopped. This is especially difficult for women who have disability benefits or are retired.

women taking on traditional gendered roles such as cleaning and caring for any children which limits employment opportunities

Benefits received by women typically go towards benefitting other family members

male partners who prevent women from working, claiming benefits or leaving the house.

Even though there hasn’t been much research into the link between poverty and domestic abuse for women, majority of studies agree that there are two sides - effects of financial strain arising from poverty for relationship stress and relationship quality and/or status-based models of interpersonal conflict which arises from perceived role-performance being diminished. Poverty and financial stress can impact any relationship and can cause some relationships to turn volatile and toxic or another reason why the relationship has become toxic and abusive is because the man feels like he is failing at his stereotypical duty of being the biggest earner. Domestic abusers tend to hold a very toxic masculine view of themselves which can then snowball into violent and abusive behaviour when they feel like they are failing. 

However, another factor which needs to be highlighted is the design and delivery of social welfare policies which are implemented by the government. These policies can force women to stay in abusive relationships for numerous reason e.g.

lack of court ordered child support (reduces the income of the woman and puts the children at risk)

lack of affordable childcare (increases reliance on partner’s family)

partner abuse which limits women’s abilities to work or seek other opportunities

The government has tried to reform the welfare policies but these reforms have put women from low-income families at greater risk of welfare sanctionsdue to noncompliance with work requirements. This is because the government has emphasised that they are shifting policies to provide a more personal reponsibility approach and labour market activation which means that that if a woman does not meet the conditions of her welfare - she will lose money. This then means that since the women can no longer depend on the welfare system they will have to depend on violent partners which is creating dangerous dependencies.

Also women who are fleeing domestic abuse may open themselves up to poverty due to becoming single parents with a limited capacity to independently finance themselves and more likely to report both financial difficulties and financial abuse from ex-partners such as withholding child support payments. 

Interventions for domestic abuse occur in a wide range of areas which are; statutory, non statutory and civil society services. And these range from from the judiciary system all the way to specialist support. Also multi-agency partnership needs to be accomplished as well. However, in the UK there are few interventions which have focused on actual practicial financial, employment or educational skills for domestic abuse survivors. This means that they may become dependent on another partner after leaving an abusive partner which could make them vulnerable to abuse again - especially abuse linked to financial control.

The US has a system which could be beneficial to UK victims of domestic abuse since they would be able to successfully separate thier financial arrangements from an abusive partner whilst remaining safe. However, this may not be as straightforward in the UK since domestic abuse practitioners do not seem to fully understand how much financial abuse can actually impact a victim’s decision to stay with their abuser. 

Social policies do need to be reformed - but these reforms need to change the gendered experience of poverty and domestic abuse. This may be through:

ensuring it is easier for women to access well paid work with access to affordable childcare.

Having a benefit payment system that does not reinforce financial dependence on a male partner

ensuring that women do not face sanctions or penalisation for non-contribution due to caring responsibilites

Ensuring that the government focuses on raising awareness to financial abuse and the implications of it.

acknowledging and enforcing that welfare policies are assessed based on differential gender impacts.

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/128551400/JRF_DV_POVERTY_REPORT_FINAL_COPY_.pdf

The McManus and Scott with Sosenko study (2016) found that women living in poverty are more likely to experience extensive violence and abuse (16%) compared to women who are not in poverty (14%). 

(https://weareagenda.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Joining-The-Dots-Report_Final_b_Exec-Summary.pdf)

As previously shown in the University of Bristol study - women can be deemed as living in poverty due to numerous reasons such as lack of employment or low employment, low educational attainment, cultural/religious differences or even due to disability. Women who have a disability are more likely to be victims of financial abuse compared to others due to benefits which the victim is entitled too and may not be able to work to gain any personal wealth.

Thiara and Roy (2012) analysed a survery conducted by specialist Black, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BMER) domestic abuse services which found that some of the women were at extra risk of repeat victimisation due to extra barriers such as accessing public funds. For example on Visa applications one of the conditions is no recourse to public funds which means that if a woman is forced to migrate or seek aslyum in the UK and she is a domestic abuse victim/survivior she is entitled to zero financial help from the British government which then increases the chance of them staying with the abuser, going back to the violent country they have come from or even become homeless which is more likely for these women due to funding for BMER domestic abuse services being massively under-funded to the point where majority have closed and others are just about making ends meet.

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/the-nature-and-impact-of-domestic-abuse/

The Domestic Abuse Report 2019: The Economy of Abuse found:

31.9% of respondents had their finances controlled by their partner or ex-partner

25% stated that they were not allowed funds for essentials - including hygiene products.

a third had to leave thier homes due to abuse and 9 of them were left homeless

43% had fallen into debt due to the abuse - perpetrator may have fraudly used their name or manipulated/threatened to take out a loan in their name.

56.1% who had left their partner stated that they felt like the abuse had impacted their ability to work and over two fifths believed that the abuse had negatively impacted/influenced their long-term employment prospects/earnings.

(https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Economics-of-Abuse-Report-Summary-2019.pdf)

Sophie Walker who is part of the Young Women’s Trust has said - “It is built into and results from an unequal society and an unequal economy and a judicial system that too often blames women for the violence they experience” on how the patriarchal view of female employment and gendered role within society has made them more vulnerable to domestic abuse - especially financial abuse and control. 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/domestic-abuse-violence-death-women-partner-a9333161.html

This post is purely focusing on financial and social class aspects of domestic abuse - we did touch on racial disparity which will be covered in more depth in another post. 

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What do you all think about the new Police Bill?

I have a few issues with it:

Protesting having higher conviction sentences than sexual assault/rape.

Police being provided with extra powers regarding stop and searches which we know is systematically racist towards BAME/POC/Black communities.

No mention on how police corruption is going to be prevented.

And no mention on police funding to help increase the number of police on the streets which has been proven to be a very good tactic.

(I haven’t managed to read the full Bill - this is stuff I noticed/noted when watching the House of Commons debate last night)

Have we become a society where politicians and the system are protecting the actual criminals rather than the victims?

Have we become a society where rewards are larger than the consequences?

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Upcoming Domestic Abuse Bill

When Theresa May was Home Secretary - one of her main focus points was that of Domestic Abuse and numerous times she stated that the system failed victims time and time again. When she became Prime Minister - she vowed to establish a new system to protect victims and to criminalise Domestic Abuse, once and for all. In 2010, David Cameron set out cutting essential services to protect Domestic Abuse victims and unfortunately it was Theresa May who was constantly under attack for thee budget cuts. 

Due to her active pledge to fight against Domestic Abuse and violence against women, the UK is negotiating its first Bill (piece of legislation) which will actually see domestic abuse as a crime rather than perpetrators being sentenced for other crimes such as GBH, theft and attepted murder or manslaughter. When launching the call for the new Bill to be pushed through and seriously considered by the House of Commons and House of Lords, May stated that the purpose of the Bill was to “seek to put an end to this abhorrent crime.” (https://nationallegalservice.co.uk/perpetrators-of-domestic-abuse-could-be-electronically-tagged-under-new-proposals-of-a-draft-bill/)

The Domestic Abuse Bill also provides a legal statutory definition of deomstic abuse which covers more than just physical violence.

(https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/58-01/171/5801171.pdf page 1-2 of the document)

The new Domestic Abuse Bill focuses on strengthening police powers in preventing domestic abuse from escalating to an extreme form before the Judiciary services are able to intervene. This is a very similar model that was implemented in New Zealand in regards to accomodation rights given to the victims of Domestic Abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Bill also calls for the creation of a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing - which is used during hate crime court cases. This means that the previous history of the abuser will also be taken into account to assess higher culpability. 

Amber Rudd (former Home Secretary for Conservative Party) said that the Domestic Abuse Bill, “aims to fundamentally change the way we as a country think about domestic abuse, recognising it as a crime that comes in many forms.” (https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/commercial-awareness/legal-spotlight/criminal-law-tackling-domestic-violence-in-the-uk-) Which is a massive advantage in changing social attitudes regarding domestic abuse and hoping that people such as Raoul Moat are not glorified by the public for ‘their stance against police’. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/10584777 - criminologist David Wilson’s view on Raoul Moat)

Sandra Horley who is the Chief Executive of Refuge charity had some criticism to the Bill however, warning "It is essential that within the Bill there is a duty to provide sustainable funding for life-saving specialist domestic violence services, in particular refuges. Refuges are much more than a roof over a woman and child’s head – they provide emergency support and save lives." (https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/theresa-may-vows-to-tackle-vile-domestic-abuse-as-longdelayed-bill-introduced)

This funding is very important in establishing essential services and safe spaces for victims/survivors of domestic abuse. Statistics show that under Tory government 44% of Domestic Abuse victims are forced to sofa surf whilst waiting to be given safe accomodation. (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/11/conservative-government-domestic-violence-victims-die) In 2010/2011 domestic abuse funding being provided to refuges was - £31.2million whereas in 2016/2017 it was only £23.9million. These budget cuts meant that vital services such as child support workers, specialist support for women from ethnic minorities and substance abuse specialists have had to be cut from refuge services. This means that victims are more at risk of becoming victimised again, children within the family may find unhealthy ways to cope with the trauma either through violence, self harm or substance abuse and those from ethnic backgrounds may feel like an outsider to the western society views of their culture/religion.

Women’s Aid told The Indepedent that in 2016 saw 78 women and 78 children were turned away from refuges in a single day.  (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/women-refuge-budget-cut-quarter-domestic-violence-victims-children-support-a8003066.html) This has put victims in a difficult position because those who were meant to help, were unable to do so and the fault is at the government. 

However, the calls from domestic abuse charities regarding Funding has fallen on deaf ears - on the current written documentation of the Bill (which is currently at the Report Stage:House of Lords which will commence on the 08/03/2021) there is no definite figure or even a statement regarding the amount of funding being pledged to help provide domestic abuse services by the government - but instead is open to interpretation to the Commissioner and the Home Secretary:

“5 Funding 

(1) The Secretary of State may make payments to the Commissioner out of money provided by Parliament for the purpose of enabling the Commissioner to meet expenditure incurred in the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions. (2) Payments are to be made at such times, and subject to any such conditions, as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. 

(3) The Secretary of State may pay, or make provision for paying, to or in respect of the Commissioner— 

(a) remuneration;

(b) allowances; 

(c) sums by way of or in respect of pensions.

6 Staff etc 

(1) The Secretary of State must provide the Commissioner with— 

(a) such staff, and 

(b) such accommodation, equipment and other facilities,  as the Secretary of State considers necessary for the carrying out of the Commissioner’s functions. 

(2) Before providing any staff, the Secretary of State must— 

(a) consult the Commissioner, and 

(b) obtain the Commissioner’s approval as to the persons to be provided as staff. 

(3) The Secretary of State must consult the Commissioner before providing any accommodation, equipment or other facilities”

(https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/58-01/171/5801171.pdf page 3-4)

This means that it is the duty of the Secretary of State to consider what funding is deemed necessary and what services would be considered necessary as well. This causes issues because the Secretary of State may not be aware of the full scale of Domestic Abuse and how to appropriately fund or accomodate those needing and/or providing the service. The only balance for the Commissioner regarding funding is that they must be consulted before providing any services and approval must be obtained before providing staff. 

The Commissioner is also not allowed to borrow money which means that if the Secretary of State does not provide enough funding - budgets will become scarce (such as the current standing) and services will struggle to provide effective support for Domestic Abuse victims. This is already an issue within the Refuge services of Domestic Abuse since in 2019/2020 - 60 refuges in England received no local authority commissioned funding. (https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fragile-funding-landscape-the-extent-of-local-authority-commissioning-in-the-domestic-abuse-refuge-sector-in-England-2020.pdf page 5) 

In Wales, the only statistics I could find regarding funding was 2016/2017 which shows that 58% of services saw their funding cut in 2015/2016 and a further 50% saw further cuts in the following year. (https://www.welshwomensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/State-of-the-sector-report-2016-FINAL.pdf page 19)

The Covid-19 pandemic increased discussions regarding domestic abuse and pushing for extra funding from the government to help with any increase of support needed. As of November 2020 18.5% of bedspaces in refuges were acquired through non-commissioned funding. Without this extra funding spaces would increase from 24.5% shortfall to 42.5% shortfall. (https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fragile-funding-landscape-the-extent-of-local-authority-commissioning-in-the-domestic-abuse-refuge-sector-in-England-2020.pdf page 5)

Women’s Aid published a report showing just how devastating the lack of funding actually is on the services provided for victims of domestic abuse and their children:

48.8% of domestic abuse services had no dedicated funding (2018/2019)

53.5% stated that thier biggest challenge was funding cuts and funding uncertanities

20.3% of victims were declined help due to lack of space and/or capacity.

(https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-Domestic-Abuse-Report-2020-The-Annual-Audit.pdf page 33)

Refuge workers have also warned that the demand versus capacity challenge has also caused; staff to be overloaded with case loads, survivors being turned away and long waiting lists in some CBS services (3-6 months)

(https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-Domestic-Abuse-Report-2020-The-Annual-Audit.pdf page 39)

If this Domestic Abuse Bill is such a landmark and such an amazing change for domestic abuse victims - why is the most crucial and important aspect being made open to interpretation and being covered in red rape? Without funding for crucial services (especially those that focus on helping children and young people) it opens victims up to continue the cycle and some even returning to their abuser because the verbal rhetorics were ‘true’. In many ways, this Bill is a landmark and amazing step forward but when funding is literally at the bare minimum and victims are being turned away - especially during a pandemic - it seems like smoke and mirrors when funding hasn’t been made a focal point in the Bill. 

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History of Domestic Abuse: Social and Judiciary standpoints

Domestic Abuse is a hard topic to discuss in regard to criminality, since legislation in various empires that affected/invaded the UK - made it legal to do so. This was in regards to women (our government didn’t start including male victims until March 2019 - I will discuss this in the men affected by domestic abuse part of this discussion).

The Babylonian Empire (1792-1750 B.C.E)

The Code of Hammurabi was (from what I have managed to find) the first written laws regarding what we would consider domestic abuse. The Code of Hammurabi views women as property which meant that they belonged to their husband and he would be allowed to do with her as he saw fit. Some laws even mandated that violence be used against them. The COde of Hammurabi made it legal to drown a wife if they were caught committing adultery or unable to prove that their husbands were unjustly cruel towards them. Hammurabi’s Code proves that domestic abuse was encouraged in the name of patriarchal dominance since a woman could be beaten for purely speaking against her husband or expressing her view on a topic. “The Hammurabi Law gave husband marital rights to his wife and also protected him when she was at fault in the marriage.” (https://users.manchester.edu/student/rkfreiburger/ProfWebsite/hammurabi%20law-world%20civ.pdf) 

The Roman Empire (753 B.C.E - 1453 A.D)

Roman Law was present across their entire Empire - enforcing their own criminal justice system instead of the native ones. The Roman Empire’s view on women was similar to that of the Babylonian Empire but the wives were given little mercy and were not as protected. Under Roman Law, the husband was viewed as ‘Pater Familias’ which means Father of the Family. This meant that the power they had was supreme and absolute compared to their wives. If the wife was committing adultery or even walking outside without modest clothing, the husband could kill her. The Roman Empire ended in the 5th Century in Britain, however many of their laws still remained and was enforced and enshrined by the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church (312 B.C.E - present)

The reason why I write present is because under legislation, individuals are allowed Religious Freedom and are allowed to practice the full aspects of their religion. In the 15th Century, the Catholic Church published the ‘Rules of Marriage’ which recommended beating a wife as punishment since it was deemed to be beneficial for her soul and spirituality. This remained the case until King Henry VIII started to Reformation Period in Britain, however there wasn’t much differentiating. Even though Henry moved away from the Catholic Church, many of their views still influenced the criminal justice system including those in regard to allowing to abuse your wife. 

(https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/domestic-violence/a-history-of-domestic-violence-how-much-have-things-changed/ - link where I got the information from for all 3 stages of civilisation in the UK)

Modern Concept of Domestic Abuse

Waring vs Waring (1813) is probably the most influencial case which sparked the push against Domestic Abuse being protected in the eyes of the law. IN 1812, Mrs. Waring applied for a court order against her husband due to the extreme abuse she was forced to endure at the hands of her husband. In one incident, her husband forced her to drink an emetic substance to induce a miscarriage (which was successful). However, the court ruled that Mrs. Waring deserved the abuse she was subjected to on the grounds that she occasionally refused to cook dinner for her husband and locked herself in the toilet to escape the abuse. 

However, it wasn’t unil 1866 that the U.K. started to comsider Domestic Abuse legislations which protected the victims rather than the perpatrators. This was because of Suffragette activists such as Millicent Fawcett who marched a petition to the Houses of Parliament. (https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=45a5a7f5-ffbd-4078-b0b7-4bfcccab159d - page 2) However, it would only be considered a punishable offence if the abuse was deemed to be extreme. This would largely disadvantage working class women and those who worked in the SW trade.

In 1878, the Matrimonal Clause Act was implemented which provided help and/or support for women who wish to leave an abusive husband through legal separation and women were also given custody of their children. Yet in some cases, this would have been more harmful since it was difficult for women to work due to lack of education and gender-based discrimination.

In 1891, corporal punishment against a wife was removed from being an acceptable form of punishment.

However, laws were still being made to protect men and even in some cases neighbours rather than the wife such as legislation stating it was illegal to beat your wife between 10pm and 7am due to it disturbing the neighbours. The legal right to separation would ultimately benefit the man over the woman since women were refused work, had little education and it was not a socially acceptable thing to leave your husband. And the Corporal punishment being made illegal would benefit the man since he could not be accused of severely beating his wife, if it was just a ‘light’ beating. Even though on the surface they appear to benefit the victim, it actually protected abusers more than it did the victims. 

It wasn’t until The Domestic Violence and Matrimonal Porceeedings Act (1976) did things begin to change to benefit victims rather than abusers. 

The Domestic Violence and Matrimonal Proceedings Act (1978) allowed women to apply for a court order against an abusive husband without the need for divorce or separation proceedings. This was a positive change since it meant that the victim didn’t have to be tied to her abuser due to marriage and didn’t have to fight the divorce proceedings which could negatively impact any recovery she may have made. This also allowed courts to order men out of the matrimonal home - even if he was the primary tenant/owner, which again wasa positive because gender-based discrimination did not become illegal within the work place until the 1990s, also women were notoriously paid less than men. 

The 1970s was also the decade in which Domestic Abuse charities such as R@pe Crisis and Women’s Aid opened up safe houses and refuges for abused women. This was also when legislation started to focus on closing loopholes which made Domestic Abuse legal. 

A hidden form of Domestic Abuse is the concept of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which included what was known as the Husband Stitch (more popular in the US but some cases in the UK) in which a husband would ask the doctor to add an extra stitch after a woman had given birth, to make the v@gina tight. The practice of FGM was made illegal in 1985 under the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act which was further extended in 2003 for England and Wales and 2005 for Scotland. 

In 1991, a wife won a landmark case of marital r@pe against her husband which triggered legislators and politicians to look into marital r@pe laws and it was explicitedly covered in the Sexual Offences Act (2003). “Nowadays it cannot seriously be maintained that by a wife submits herself irrevocably to sexual intercourse in all circumstances,” (https://www.theweek.co.uk/98330/when-did-marital-rape-become-a-crime)which was quoted by the House of Lordswhen appeals for the conviction were reviewed. 

Recent years have focused on legislation for non-physical Domestic Abuse such as emotional and financial abuse. 

(https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/commercial-awareness/legal-spotlight/criminal-law-tackling-domestic-violence-in-the-uk-)

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Hey guys: I am working on the blog and everything it’s just hard with a newborn 🙈 thank you for staying with me.

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Message:

Hey guys I’m really sorry I haven’t posted today but as some of you may know I have a little boy (1 month old) and the last two days he’s been suffering with really bad reflux and hasn’t been settling at all so I haven’t been able to do proper research for today’s post or even write out basic bullet points for what I wanted to write about. Hopefully after we see the GP tomorrow, he’ll be more settled and I can get back to it.

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Domestic Abuse in Britain

What is Domestic Abuse?

“The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." 

Intimate partner violence refers to behaviour by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours.

Sexual violence is "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body part or object."” (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women)

Since Britain is part of the United Nations which means that theoretically Britain should have legal ruling regarding Domestic Abuse - which luckily we do, it may need reforming and definitely the systems in place are basic but compared to other countries we are lucky. Britain’s legal definition - “Domestic abuse, or domestic violence, is defined across Government as any incident of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of their gender or sexuality.” (https://www.cps.gov.uk/crime-info/domestic-abuse#:~:text=Domestic%20abuse%2C%20or%20domestic%20violence,of%20their%20gender%20or%20sexuality.) The UK, has also passed a Domestic Abuse Bill (2020) which is making landmark changes to Domestic Abuse legislation AND it uses gender-neutral terms to hihglight that ANYONE can be a victim of domestic abuse regardless of gender identity.

Who can be victims of Domestic Abuse?

Domestic Abuse can be experienced by anytone who is in a romantic relationship with an individual regardless of gender, sexuality, age, religion and illness/disability. 

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) recorded between March 2019 to March 2020 that an estimated 2.3 million people were victims of Domestic Abuse who were 16 to 75 years of age. 1.6 million of these identified as female whereas 757,000 were males. (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2020#:~:text=2.,decrease%20from%20the%20previous%20year) However, these statistics cannot be 100% accurate because so many victims do not report domestic abuse, especially male victims. There are numerous reasons why someone may not come forward and report domestic abuse and this will be covered in a separate post. 

A lot of people believe that domestic abuse is only prevelant in hetreosexual relationships - however this is far from the truth. “The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation released in 2013 (US) found that bi women are almost twice as likely to be abused as straight women. This is anti-LGBT abuse.” (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/domestic-violence-and-abuse-resources-lgbt-people) Studies have also found that transgender individuals are 80% more at risk of being abused by a partner or ex-partner and this is mainly through gas-lighting the individual in regards to their gender identity. 

(https://www.ksscrc.co.uk/2020/04/30/research-domestic-abuse-in-lgbt-communities/)

It is even harder to gain accurate statistics involving LGBTQA+ individuals because of numerous factors and I will dedicate a whole post regarding why LGBTQA+ domestic abue victims are under-represented in statistics and overall studies. 

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A little bit of a change:

Hey guys, so I have realised that posting one long ass post properly isn’t going to keep people interested. Even after re-reading it, I got bored... maybe should have seen that coming. Anyway, what I have decided to do is do a topic week each week and will be posting 7 days a week. Each day will be a different aspect of that topic. For this week, I am going to post one long post because I am already in the middle of it and we are currently mid-week and hoping to start either on Sunday or Monday and use that as the start of the week. 

If there are any topics you want me to discuss then please send asks in and I will be happy to research into and provide as much information as possible about it. 

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After Birth

So this isn’t the post I was going to do, but I think it’s one that is necessary. I gave birth on the 18th of December and obviously I knew my body would need time to recover, but nobody made me aware of everything that can happen. I knew bleeding (lochia) would happen but I didn’t realise how out of whack is can get, honestly been so scared I’ve gotten an infection only to find out that there is no full structure to lochia bleeding. As long as there’s no offensive smell and severe pain, then I’ve been told it’s nothing to worry about.

Blood clots can go up to the size of a golf ball - I don’t normally pass clots during my period so it did scare me when mine (that weren’t actually that big) came out. And the fact that in some cases I had to try and pull it out since it would get stuck due to being stringy.

My breasts went really hard (drying up since I’m not breastfeeding) but I noticed a lump in my breast a day after this and turns out it’s normal - always been taught a lump in the breast is not normal - the midwife checked it and she said it feels like milk still left in the breast. And the fact that warm water can increase milk production - never knew this so after having a shower I ended up soaking through my top. (Unfortunately due to the pandemic - there was no classes or anything like that to help teach me, I’ve literally had to learn as it happens.)

The tiredness is on another level, like I used to go and work 12-16 hour shifts on 2 hours sleep and be fine - I can barely cope on 4-5 hours. It’s something that you literally can’t be prepared for.

The odd pains in places you never thought you would get after pains - like my knees and legs have been aching on and off and for the first few days I couldn’t sleep on my sides due to the pain in my hips.

I had to have 3 stitches (just for grazes) and the itchiness and discomfort around my vulva just doesn’t seem to want to go away. I’ve done cold compress, sat in the bath and it just keeps coming back.

And the haemorrhoids - having to clutch onto the radiator just to poop is something I never thought I’d have to do. I didn’t think I’d get haemorrhoids since I didn’t push for very long at all 30-40 minutes and he was my first baby but clearly it doesn’t matter how short you push for - your body will react however it wants too.

I know everyone’s recovery and afterbirth is different but there needs to be more discussion and more awareness of the different ways peoples bodies recover after child birth. I know compared to others - my story isn’t that bad over the last few weeks I have read some heartbreaking stories of after birth but it’s still scary never knowing if it’s normal or not.

I hope this post opens up a discussion about after birth and people’s experiences with it. And hopefully it can help other first time mums to understand what is normal and what can happen after birth and help them ease a little bit.

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Update:

I will be back posting soon guys, I’m in the middle of researching a topic but as some may or may not know. I gave birth Friday night so recovering and spending time with my family and baby. Hopefully be back posting in about 2 weeks. 💙

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Gender

Gender is always a popular discussion and there are always heated debates and false information spread about gender and the apparent ‘sinful’ ways of the rise in awareness regarding Transgender individuals. Those who speak against changing gender terms and providing Transgender rights and accessibility try and use science as a way to denounce the community and those who fight against stereotypical gender norms. So let’s see what science and historical information tells us about gender and gender norms.

What is gender?

According to the World Health Organisation, “Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed.  This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.” (https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1)

Medical News Today provides information on how the terms sex and gender are in fact different and defines both terms:

Sex - “Sex refers to the biological differences between males and females, such as genitalia and genetic differences.”

Gender - “Gender is more difficult to define, but it can refer to the role of a male or female in society, known as gender role, or an individual’s concept of themselves, or gender identity.”

It goes on to state, “These individuals might refer to themselves as transgender, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming.”

(https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363)

Studies on Transgender individuals and if it is a Mental Illness/Disorder

When discussing gender and gender identity - the term Gender Dysphoria is always mentioned since this tends to be the way that medical professionals help those who may feel they may be Transgender. “Gender dysphoria is a term that describes a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.” (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/#:~:text=Gender%20dysphoria%20is%20a%20term,harmful%20impact%20on%20daily%20life.)

The NHS website goes on to mention that Gender Dysphoria in itself is not a mental illness but it can lead to individuals developing mental health problems.

The amount of people with Gender Dysphoria is unknown but according to NHS England, “In 2018/19 around 8,000 people were referred to adult gender dysphoria services in England.” (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/#:~:text=Gender%20dysphoria%20is%20a%20term,harmful%20impact%20on%20daily%20life.)

American Psychiatric Association refers to Gender Dysphoria as, “Psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity.” (https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) separates Gender Dysphoria in children and Gender Dysphoria in adolescents and adults.

According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, Federal and State population studies conducted in 2016 estimated that 1.4 to 1.65 million U.S adults identified as Transgender.

Cedars-Sinai conducted a study on Transgender individuals and Gender Dysphoria. The study included 155 transgender women (MTF) and 55 transgender men (FTM) and the study found that 73% of the transgender women and 78% of the transgender men had first experienced Gender Dysphoria by the age of 7. The study also found that the mean age of transgender women’s earliest general memory was 4.5 years and their first experience of Gender Dysphoria was 6.7 years whereas for transgender men they were 4.7 years and 6.2 years.

(https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/most-gender-dysphoria-established-by-age-7-study-finds/)

The World Health Organisation in 2019, no longer classified Transgender health issues as mental and behavioural disorders. Graeme Reid who is the LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch stated, “Governments should swiftly reform national medical systems and laws that require this now officially outdated diagnosis." (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48448804)

Cultural and Historical proof that Gender is not Binary

Iron-Age Celts still lived in a patriarchal society but Celtic women had many rights and liberties compared to other cultures/civilisations of that time period. 

“Diodorus of Sicily describe Gaulish women as being “nearly as tall as men, whom they rival in courage.”“ (http://www.celtlearn.org/pdfs/women.pdf) 

Ammianus Marcellinus states that the women were stronger in combat compared to their male counterparts, “stronger than he by far.” (http://www.celtlearn.org/pdfs/women.pdf)

However, during the First World War - especially at the beginning - women in Britain (who were mainly part of the Celtic Nations), were not allowed to fight as soldiers since it was deemed as too dangerous. Societal view at the time was also that women were incompetent and too weak to be involved in a war. But as time went on during the war, women were given more roles and responsibilities but none included combat. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqhyb9q/articles/znhvwty#:~:text=Women%20were%20not%20allowed%20to,at%20risk%20from%20enemy%20fire.)

So from 43 A.D to 1914 A.D societal views in Britain had changed from women being warriors and fighters - just like men - to women not being able to fight or too weak to be able to fight. 

Even though pre-dominantly, highest political authority was male, there were exceptions. In Celtic history, Boudicca is one of the more famous female leaders of Celtic tribes in Britain and she was leader of the Inceni. Her husband was the leader up until his death and he had made some sort of Treaty with the invading Romans and even included them in his inheritance. However, Boudicca was to become leader of the tribe and his daughters were to be his heirs. The Romans however, viewed female leadership as a sign of weakness and tried to take advantage of Boudicca’s leadership. They did this by flogging Boudicca in public and repeatedly raping their daughters. These acts were seen as so hideous by the Romans that they caused the final revolt against the Romans (lead by Boudicca) and even united warring tribes. 

(http://www.celtlearn.org/pdfs/women.pdf)

However, to this day many countries and people view women as being too emotional/hormonal to be able to lead a country, “Grammy Award winning rapper T.I. couldn’t vote for a female presidential candidate because he thinks they are too emotional for the position.” (https://variety.com/2015/music/news/t-i-women-president-too-emotional-1201616876/)

Yet, in current Covid-19 climate female led countries seem to be doing better than male-led countries, New Zealand has eradicated Covid-19 twice from their community whereas other countries are still struggling with wave after wave and a rise in death tolls. 

(https://www.axios.com/-9290fb75-dff5-43d2-8f9a-3203813e5a29.html)

Germany has one of the lowest death rates of Covid-19 per 100,000 people within Europe, even though they have one of the largest populations. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111779/coronavirus-death-rate-europe-by-country/)

My personal view on Gender - there is no boxes, there is no one way to be a gender but it is something that is personal to the individual and can vary from person to person. One person’s perception of gender may be completely different to another and it shouldn’t be mocked or discriminated against. If you don’t believe in something, fine that is your opinion but do not try and control a person through legislation or violence to fit your agenda.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post and if there’s anything you want to add go ahead. 

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Hi

Just a blog where I share my thoughts on topics, issues, injustices that are happening around the world. I don’t let political views get in the way, just because you believe politics should be involved with everything doesn’t mean it should. 

I won’t tolerate hate speech or anything like that but always up for discussions as long as reliable, credible information is brought to the discussion, otherwise it just becomes a stalemate. Yes everyone, is entitled to their opinion but if that opinion is made from inaccurate or false information - then it clearly shows you are bigoted.

Hope you enjoy the blog and learn something new.