All posts filed under: Politics

Politics

servicewomen feel military culture stops them from reporting sexual assault

Published by skeptic

An inquiry into the death of a 19-year-old soldier in the British army found that relentless sexual harassment by her line manager was “almost certain” to have been a causal factor in her death. Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck took her own life after receiving more than 4,500 messages and voicemails from her boss over two months. Beck felt unable to report the harassment, as a previous alleged sexual assault she experienced by a different senior colleague had not been handled effectively. She did not want to be labelled a “serial troublemaker”. Our new peer-reviewed study co-authored with Emma Norton, a founder of the Centre for Military Justice, suggests that Beck’s fears of reprisal were well founded. We conducted in-depth interviews with six female veterans in the UK who experienced sexual violence perpetrated by a serviceman while in the armed forces. They told us that how their peers and the chain of command responded caused further harm beyond the assault itself. This created an environment where they were afraid to speak out. As one participant …

Having a single parent doesn’t determine your life chances – the data shows poverty is far more important

Published by skeptic

Numerous research studies have suggested that children from a single-parent family are worse off than those who have two parents at home. These findings chime with decades of stigma that have painted coming from a single-parent home as undesirable. Understandably, you may find this worrying if you are a single parent – or if you’re thinking of embarking on parenthood alone. But it’s worth looking at the detail behind the stats. I reviewed the most up-to-date evidence for my book Why Single Parents Matter, and found that conclusions that suggest significant negative outcomes as a result of coming from a single-parent family are often not supported by strong data. For example, a 1991 meta analysis – a research paper that reviews the findings of numerous scholarly studies – is often cited as evidence of a negative impact. However, the study concludes that the “effects are generally weak, with methodologically sophisticated studies and more recent studies tending to find even smaller differences between groups”. Should I have children? The pieces in this series will help you …

why UK government’s plans could make housing less affordable and less fair

Published by skeptic

The UK government is introducing plans to reform the system of leasehold property in England and Wales to parliament. The leasehold and freehold reform bill aims to empower leaseholders and achieve greater fairness in the housing market. The leasehold market comprises of about 4.7 million dwellings – 23% of the private housing stock in England. Most apartments (81%) are owned as leaseholds. Research I have done with my colleague James Culley suggests that the reform proposed could have unintended negative consequences on leasehold prices, housing affordability and household wealth. A leasehold is a legal contract conferring the owner of a dwelling the exclusive rights to occupy or let it for the duration of their lease. When a leasehold expires, the right reverts to the dwelling’s freeholder. Compared to an identical freehold dwelling, leaseholds lose their value as the lease length shortens, while the value of the freehold interest of the same property rises. The leasehold is thus what is known as a “deteriorating asset”. A lease can contain additional clauses including paying the freeholder (who …

Look to the mainstream to explain the rise of the far right

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Javier Milei in Argentina. Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. These are the two latest “populist shocks” – the tip of the “populist wave” that comes crashing against the weakened defences of liberal democracies. At the same time, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage benefits from the same “funwashing” on I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here! as Pauline Hanson, leader of the most successful extreme right party in Australia in recent years, did when she was invited on Dancing with the Stars just a moment after her political career plummeted. The contradiction in addressing the rise of far-right politics in public discourse could not be starker. And yet, it goes far deeper. It should be obvious to anyone concerned about these politics and the threat they pose to democracy and certain communities, that humanising their leaders through fun reality TV shows or coverage of their hobbies rather than politics only serves to normalise them. What is less obvious and yet just as damaging is the hyped coverage of the threat. Milei and Wilders are not …

There are many reasons disabled people can’t just work from home — threatening to cut their benefits won’t fix the wider problems

Published by skeptic

As part of the UK government’s latest economic plan, disabled people may have to look for jobs they can do from home or face cuts to their benefits. Previously, disabled people with limited ability to work may have received benefits without being required to look for work. Now, Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, has said that disabled people not in work must “do their duty” and work from home. While more disabled people have found work over the past decade (mirroring more general increases in employment), there remains a significant employment gap. In January to March 2023, 53.7% of disabled people were in employment compared with 82.7% of non-disabled people. Getting more disabled people into work just isn’t that simple. A stick-only approach is likely to make things worse for tens of thousands of people, whose incomes, physical and mental health are already affected more by the cost of living crisis. Work is not a tap that can simply be turned on or off. There are many factors already making it difficult for …

how COVID enabled new forms of economic abuse of women

Published by skeptic

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the United Nations (UN) identified what it called a “shadow pandemic” of domestic violence against women. The UN includes in its definition of domestic violence what it refers to as “economic violence”, which it explains as: “making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources, withholding access to money, and/or forbidding attendance at school or employment”. I have been researching economic violence in India, where it surged during periods of social distancing and lockdowns. This not only resulted in the reduction of safe spaces for women and girls, but also trapped them in a space where they were more easily economically exploited. My research suggests that the COVID lockdowns spawned a whole new class of economic abuse of women in India. Economic abuse tends to involve controlling and coercive behaviour by a woman’s partner and sometimes their in-laws or other family members, threatening her economic security and potential for self-sufficiency. While economic abuse can take many forms, there are three main …

UK’s new back to work plan will make life even harder for disabled people

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The UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has unveiled new rules for welfare benefit claimants. Under the government’s back to work plan, £2.5 billion of funding is to be allocated to employment support schemes with the aim of getting over 1 million people with long-term health conditions or disabilities, as well as those who are long-term unemployed, back into work. As part of these plans, the government is planning to implement tougher sanctions for people who are judged to not be taking appropriate steps to secure work. The proposed punitive measures include suspending benefit claims altogether and stopping access to free medical prescriptions and legal aid. Alongside this, the government intends to make significant changes to the work capability assessment, which is used to decide whether or not someone is fit for work. These changes would take effect from 2025 and could result in over 370,000 people receiving less benefit. Additional support to help people find and stay in work should always be welcomed. However, disability charities have expressed significant concerns. James Taylor, director of strategy at …

naval success raises hopes of advantage against Russia this winter

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War in wintertime is especially challenging militarily. Troops have to deal with the risk of frostbite while vehicles can’t always move over muddy or frozen terrain. It’s no wonder then that wars tend to move much more slowly during the colder months. Cold weather can also open up opportunities that either side in a conflict can try to exploit. When the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, temperatures around -40ºC gave the much smaller Finnish force an advantage, forcing significant losses on the Soviets that significantly undermined their military reputation. Being agile, changing tactics, and having the right equipment for the weather are even more vital when the temperature drops. This winter, Russia is expected to open up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as it attempted to do in 2022, writes Lancester University’s professor of international security Basil Germond. Russia may find it more difficult this time around to undermine Ukraine’s energy supply, partly because of Ukraine’s successful attacks on its Black Sea fleet. This has pushed the Russian fleet away from its base …

how election victory in the Netherlands for Party for Freedom fits into a wider picture of European radical-right populism

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The results of the Dutch election, in which Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom emerged as victors, have sent shockwaves through the political establishment. For the first time in Dutch history, a party of the extreme right is the largest in the national parliament. Wilders is an eccentric politician known for his inflammatory rhetoric. He advocates the Netherlands leaving the European Union and has called Islam a “fascist” religion. In a 2016 trial, he was found guilty of inciting discrimination (but received no penalty for the crime). While polling leading up the election had suggested that Party for Freedom could become the largest party, it had appeared to be running practically neck and neck with the parties of the mainstream left and right. But the polls were wide of the mark and Wilders ended up taking the most seats by a comfortable margin, even if he will need to seek coalition partners to form a government. Rightwing newcomers the New Social Contract also did very well. Like Party for Freedom, this party sees immigration as one …

what aid agencies can hope to achieve under the strict limits of the four-day humanitarian pause

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The four-day humanitarian pause in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip will be vital to allow humanitarian agencies into the stricken Palestinian enclave with much-needed supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine. But four days is a very short window to meet the vast humanitarian needs, given the damage wrought by more than a month of bombardment by the Israeli Defense Forces. For the first two weeks of Israel’s assault on Gaza, the strip was placed into a state of siege by Israel and access completely blocked. Since October 21, after calls from around the world for humanitarian pauses or a ceasefire, some aid has been allowed into the strip. But the 1,479 aid trucks that have been allowed in during this period represent only 14% of the monthly volume of commercial goods and humanitarian aid that was being delivered to Gaza prior to the conflict. The situation in Gaza is dire. The World Food Programme reports that fuel shortages have forced bakeries to shut down across the strip, making bread – a basic food …