[WiLT] Fw: CRISIS IN THE BAMER SECTOR

[WiL Admin]

From: "Imkaan" <policy at imkaan.org.uk>
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 4:17 PM
Subject: CRISIS IN THE BAMER SECTOR


Dear Colleagues,

Please find attached Imkaan's briefing paper which follows on from the
public meeting held at Westminster in January 2008 to highlight the
government's funding and commissioning policies that are having a
detrimental impact on the BAMER refuge sector that help BAMER women
and
children exit violence

Thankfully since the meeting, the need for specialist services for
BAMER
women and children and the Governments over emphasis on criminal
justice
interventions was acknowledged as part of the Home Affairs Committee
Report
to Government to which Imkaan submitted evidence earlier this year and
Southall Black Sisters won their case against Ealing Council which has
meant
that Ealing will need to review their decision to cut funding to SBS,
review
their commissioning strategy and equalities impact assessment.
However,
without a change in the approach to local commissioning,  and a
withdrawal
of the cohesion policy we are continuing to lose grassroots services
to
large, mainstream generic organisations with little understanding or
experience of delivering services for women and children- we now only
have
50% of specialist independent BAMER women's led organisations across
the UK
that existed five years ago and few resources still exist to fund
crucial
services such as outreach, advocacy, legal advice, work with children.

Independent BAMER womens' groups are crucial in helping women to
access
appropriate support, exit violence as well as having a significant
impact on
their health, well-being and life opportunities and research from WRC
has
shown that over 90% of women support the right to choose access to
women
only services and professionals when they report domestic and sexual
abuse
yet it is the frontline womens services that continue to struggle in
the
current environment.

Please support the sector and Imkaan members providing vital services
by
signing the on-line petition, in which we are petitioning the Prime
Minister
to urge the Department for Communities and Local Government to clarify
it's
position on 'community cohesion' and Supporting People (now within
Local
Area Agreements) which is leading to the funding of generic violence
against
women services and the loss of targeted culturally specific support
services
that provide crucial pathways of support to vulnerable women from
BAMER
communities experiencing violence.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bamerwomensrefuges

Please sign the petition and read the attached booklet and pass on to
all
those you feel relevant.

Should you have any further questions or queries please contact the
Imkaan
office.

Imkaan
Tindlemanor
52-54 Featherstone Street
London
EC1Y 8RT
(T) 020 7250 3933
(F) 020 7608 2525
http://www.imkaan.org.uk


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