One of the strongest weapons for men who are seeking equality is to rely on the equality rules which while are aimed at being used by women to drive more special treatment can also be used to benefit men. Equality legislation covers both genders but often its application does not.
The classic case where PARITY fought for equal treatment with regard to state retirement ages and then sponsored cases such as John Taylor's fight for equal eligibility of Winter Fuel Payments (the wikipedia site tells the story with some great links) shows how to turn equality laws upon those who think equality should not include equality for men.
Back in 2007 we commented on the gender equality duty and the opportunity it gave men to ensure statutory agencies investigated their needs, ensured they supplied services for them and also that they were non discriminatory. As we know, the government, councils, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission have ignored this when it comes to men. However, the power is there and it is up to men to use it.
The same is now in the case of the Public Sector Equality Duty and the infamous Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010. Helpfully the government and the Equalities Commission provide guidance on how to use them.
The Public Sector Equality Duty came into force on 5th April 2011. It is a souped up version of the Gender Equality Duty and means that as well as gender, statutory agencies have to ensure that everyone (race, gender, sexuality, disability etc) are treated the same. The key thing is that the agency (lets say a council) has to research the needs of the groups (known as protected groups) and then ensure it can meet their needs on a proportionate basis.
For example, a council has to investigate the numbers and the needs of both female and male victims of domestic abuse and then supply proportianate and relevant services to support them. As statistics state one in three victims are male, then one in three refuge/safe house spaces should be for men (it could be less if refuges are not so relevent for men but there has to be some spaces for them!). They must also ensure campaigns are aimed at female and male victims.
Guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty is on the Equalities and Human Right Commission website and should be read by all MRA's in the UK.
The Equality Act 2010 has come into force which combines all previous equalities legislation into one piece of legislation. Guidance is also available on the Equalities and Human Rights Commission website.
The most insidious part of the Act is Section 159 (discussion can be found here, here, here, here and here which allows employers to take positive action to promote people or employ them over and above equally qualified candidates. Guidance is published in a quick guide for employees and one for employers.
Both the Public Sector Equality Duty and Section 159 of the Equality Act are designed to ensure that men remain second class citizens. But they are available to ensure that equality means equality for men too. It is not just about 'keep your friends closer and your enemies closer' it is about knowing how you can use these to support men and your cause against the anti-male state we live under.
Posted by Skimmington
Editors note - an example of a feminist fundamentalist victory in this field can be seen here
Finally men are getting their balls back and standing up to the hypocrisy of feminism: http://manhood101.com
Posted by: Xavier | Monday, 11 April 2011 at 01:27
As shown in the piece about DV Freedom of Information requests are important in getting evidence. This is especially important as the positive action initiatives that already exist are bAsed on sweeping generalisation. For instance many public organisations employ higher proportions of ethnic minorities than in their local populations and use national data which is heavily influenced by Lonon. Similarly local government education and health are female in composition with high proportions of women managers yet still action is justified by generalisations from the whole economy. Use FOI to get local data .
Posted by: Groan | Monday, 11 April 2011 at 08:35
Just to clarify the record as stated in Wikipedia, re PARITY www.parity-uk.org & self. It states :
"Key people David Yarwood (Hon Secretary), John Mays (Chair), John Taylor"...
The facts are: Parity was formed in 1986 as "Campaign for Equal State Pension Ages" (CESPA)...The inaugral meeting was held on 29th August, 1986, in Committee Room 1 of Manchester Town Hall.
The ten founder members were: G.W. Alderton, D. Higgins, D.J.D Yarwood, J.H. Bennett, E.L Anderson,J. Greenwood, M.D. Davidson, J. Graham, D.G. Lindsay and J. Bradfield.
The meeting elected David Lindsay, Chairman; Geoff Alderton, Vice-Chairman, David Yarwood, Secretary, John Bennett, Treasurer. Committee members: John Graham, Dennis Higgins and Michael Davidson...
They were the key people. Without their endeavours, I would not have been the litigant for Winter Fuel Payments...
Posted by: JOHN TAYLOR | Thursday, 14 April 2011 at 13:10