Concerns over ‘upskirting' prompt amendment to Stormont bill on school uniform
The School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Bill was formally introduced to the Assembly by Education Minister Paul Givan in February this year, with the bill completing its Second Stage on March 3.
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Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Government urged to act on miscarriage leave after Foley support
Currently, women are entitled to full maternity leave if they have a stillbirth or miscarriage after 24 weeks. However, the Labour party said that many women and men are familiar with the devastation that results from an early miscarriage, adding that women have had to take annual leave to 'recover from the heartache and the physical effects of this experience'. It has brought forward a Reproductive Health Related Leave Bill, which would provide for any woman who suffers an early miscarriage to have paid time off to recover. In March, the UK Government agreed to ensure bereavement leave covers miscarriage, after a 'gap in support' was identified for those who experience pregnancy loss. Asked if she would support paid leave for women who suffer miscarriages, Ms Foley said: 'Absolutely.' However, the minister said it was not within her gift to grant. 'I absolutely would but I respect that a minister has to go to the [Department of Public Expenditure and Reform] in relation to that and that argument has to be brought out. The Fianna Fail minister added: 'We are seeking, from a gender point of view, to give maximum opportunity to all, including women. 'So that's in terms of employment, in terms of their health, that's in terms of supporting them in every opportunity. 'So obviously I would be very supportive of that but it would be a matter for another minister to get that one over the line, but I would be very supportive of it.' Asked about Ms Foley's comments, Labour health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock said: 'The amount of can-kicking when it comes to providing what is ultimately compassionate leave for women in the workplace is unbelievable. 'Labour published a Bill to provide paid time off work to recover physically and emotionally from pregnancy loss. 'Rather than the Department of Children kicking it to the Department of Public Expenditure and so on, why can't Fine Gael and Fianna Fail just make good on their commitment to women to progress Labour's Bill?' She said the previous Fine Gael and Fianna Fail Government commissioned a report in January last year which recommended the introduction of policies to provide time off work following pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Ms Sherlock added: 'How much longer will they make women wait? 'Yes, offering paid miscarriage leave supports gender equity, but crucially, specifying miscarriage leave is an acknowledgment of this enormous loss that so many women experience. 'It will reduce the silence around pregnancy loss and ensure that women have access to leave when it matters most. 'Since the introduction of the Labour Party Bill, I have been inundated with women sharing their experience of loss. 'The majority of these cases are unexpected. It is a profoundly sad and devastating experience and it demands attention from this Government.'
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
'It shouldn't be illegal for men to buy sex' Ash Regan bill won't work
The details of his crimes are harrowing and heartbreaking. The case exposed just how deeply seated the police's systemic bias towards sex workers was. Just how vile and entrenched its institutional racism towards Indigenous people was – many of the missing women were Indigenous. Read more The failures in this case made one thing crystal clear. To the police in Vancouver, sex workers had no value. Pleas from families and the community to trace missing women were ignored over and over again. To say the results were devastating is an understatement. It is for this reason that I do not think sex workers or the people (men) who buy sex should be criminalised. Because the involvement of police with prostitution historically does not bode well for the women involved. It also ignores the agency of women in sex work and ensures the industry remains stigmatised. And marginalises those within it further. This week, Alba MSP Ash Regan introduced her 'Unbuyable Bill'. The Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill would see the buying of sex criminalised and the selling of sexual services decriminalised. It hinges on the principle that prostitution is a form of male violence against women. The Bill would also quash historic convictions and create a statutory right to support for those in and exiting prostitution. Essentially following the Nordic model. Though, will those statutory support services be funded properly? If not, they are redundant. Right now, in Scotland, the sale of sex is not illegal, but it might as well be. Running a brothel and soliciting or loitering in public to sell sex are against the law. In Canada after the Robert Pickton trial concluded, outrage over the way the way the missing women were ignored led to the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. A direct result of the inquiry was a new policing strategy in Vancouver that effectively decriminalised sex work. Alba MSP Ash Regan (Image: free) The result was meaningful change, and sex workers were safer for it. But despite recommendations to replicate the Vancouver approach nationwide, in 2014, Stephen Harper's Conservative Government introduced Bill C-36, which followed the Nordic model. Buying sex became illegal. Advertising someone's sexual services was criminalised. So was accepting money to place those ads and profiting from someone's sexual services. It has been more than ten years since the Nordic Model was introduced in Canada, and sex workers have argued that it still polices sex work, and they still face harassment from the force. They also say that it makes it more difficult to screen clients, which pushes the industry further into the shadows. The other issue is that the model does not recognise the autonomy of sex workers. Not all sex work is survival sex work, and no abolitionist policy will be able to control the fact that consensual sex work does exist. Bill C-36, like the 'Unbuyable Bill', is rooted in radical feminist and abolitionist views. The law claims to address gender inequality and coercion, but it paradoxically limits women's ability to choose sex work, keeps their circumstances criminalised and fails to provide viable alternatives. A paper published in the Melbourne Journal of International Law found that if you separate Bill C-36's rhetorical claims from its actual effects, the law in reality 'is exposed as little more than a moralising condemnation of female sex workers, designed to limit their freedoms and capacity for self-determination, in order to induce their exit from sex work, in a manner which is wholly irreconcilable with the pursuit of 'gender equality'.' Legislating sex work is inherently difficult. It's crucial to make sure that the most vulnerable are protected, but it's contentious to paint everyone with the same brush. In Ireland, where buying sex was criminalised in 2015, sex workers reported that demand actually increased following the introduction of the new legislation. A report on the new law by the Department of Justice published in 2019 found that the law had a 'minimal effect' on demand. Sex workers also reported a heightened fear of crime, and it contributed to a climate where they felt even more marginalised and stigmatised. READ MORE MARISSA MACWHIRTER Scotland has a history of institutionalised abuse of working-class women and girls that is intertwined with its view of the 'social evil' of prostitution. The Glasgow System of the mid-nineteenth century saw the systemic policing of women and girls. Aged from seven to 39, they were plucked off the streets by police officers at will and taken to places like the Magdalene Asylum or the Lock Hospital for brutal and intimate examinations (often carried out by men) and barbaric treatments for venereal disease that often killed them. The Lochburn Magdalene Institution closed in 1960. Not that long ago. The case of Emma Caldwell, a 27-year-old woman murdered in 2005 by serial rapist Iain Packer, highlights how stigma against sex workers remains a serious issue in Scotland, just as it does in Canada. Failures in the police investigation have led to a forthcoming independent public inquiry. It took 19 years for Packer to be brought to justice. Regan's Bill is good in the sense that it has sparked fresh debate about the rights of sex workers. Though the reality of it becoming law before Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 is pretty unlikely. As in Canada, decriminalising sex work does not win as many votes as clamping down on it. And the Nordic model, as far as I am concerned, is still a crackdown. Shifting the burden of criminality does not constitute gender equality. Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Daily Record
New '60-day' rule could be introduced in all UK supermarkets
MPs have urged the Government to pass a new law forcing retailers to tell customers when items have shrunk in size but not on price Retailers might soon have to warn customers about instances of "shrinkflation" under proposed legislation aimed at protecting shoppers from being short changed during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The Liberal Democrats are pushing for an amendment to government legislation that would compel big supermarkets to alert consumers when the contents of pre-packaged products are reduced – effectively making shoppers pay more per unit of measurement for the same item. The proposal, attached to the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, suggests that retailers display the details of changes next to affected products for 60 days. Previous research by Compare the Market in 2024 identified various popular products – including digestive biscuits, butter, crisps and chocolate bars – that had shrunk in size while their unit costs rose. The proposed amendment was expected to come to a vote in the House of Commons on June 4, when the Bill reached its report stage, reports the Manchester Evening News. Lib Dem trade spokesman Clive Jones stated: "The scourge of shrinkflation needs to be exposed. Shoppers have been hammered during a cost-of-living crisis all while massive companies and big supermarket chains are forcing them to pay more for less to protect their bottom lines. "They need to be called out on it and for shoppers to know when they are at risk of being ripped off." When discussing consumer protection policy, the MP for Wokingham added: "The government should accept this Liberal Democrat amendment so that we can help protect shoppers and their already stretched household budgets from another round of shrinkflation." The existing Bill extends regulatory authority to ministers for the advertisement and usage of goods in the UK in the post-Brexit period. Prior changes to the Bill in the House of Lords successfully instated safeguards for the imperial pint measurement, alleviating concerns regarding its potential disuse. Following government approval, the Bill's updated provisions restrict ministerial authority to limit or prohibit the use of pints as a measurement unit for draught beer, cider and milk sold in returnable containers. For legislative clarity, a precise definition of the imperial pint at 0.56826125 cubic decimetres has been incorporated into the amendment. According to a Department for Business and Trade spokesman: "We're committed to protecting consumers from unfair commercial practices and making sure they have all the information they need to make informed decisions on purchases. "That's why we're bringing in strict new laws next year to make sure businesses use clearer labelling for prices on supermarket shelves, and retailers show all unit prices in either kilograms or litres to improve clarity for shoppers."
