The Rights Of Man

HISTORY OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR EQUAL STATE PENSION AGES

Later this year Parity will effectively be celebrating its 25th anniversary and John Taylor kindly sent over the history of the Campaign for Equal State Pension Ages (CESPA) which latterly became Parity. It is a fascinating read. Please read it here - Download History of CESPA _Parity. 

One of the key lessons is the fact that discriminated men should use equality laws to fight for equality. We saw what happened with British Airways and Eversheds last year when men went to the law.

The campaign by CESPA which supported and gave encouragement to men to ensure they received equality when it came to state pensions age (coming eventually) and a raft of other equality issues linked to retirement (especially bus passes and winter fuel payments). Without these men, this discrimination would still be occurring.

Posted by Skimmington

Editiors note - the story of this brave lad (Chris Whitehead) shows why putting your head above the parapet is important.

MEN'S HOUR BACK ON RADIO 5

Sorry for the lack of posts recently (always happy to publish other people as you know), been busy at the coalface though this is self defeating as I will have been contributing to the gender pay gap no doubt.

Plus, and this will apply to most readers, we have to work and undertake our campaigning for equality in our spare time, while the feminist fundamentalists do it because they paid to in their roles as public 'servants' or in taxpayer-funded charities like the Fawcett Society.

Anyhow, I am glad to see that BBC Radio 5 did not treat their last year series of Men's Hours as a one off. It is now back on.

Posted by Skimmington  

ARTICLES UPDATE

Please find below some recent articles that may be of interest and have not been covered on the site in the past month.

Bestbear.co.uk - Sexual discrimination against male nannies

Daily Mail - Paramedic was unfairly dismissed after false rape claim

Daily Mail - More girls join the Scouts than boys (Steve Doughty)

Daily Mail - Fire service relaxes tests to make it easier for women

Legal Week - Eversheds sex discrimination rejected by tribunal  -A disgraceful attempt by Eversheds to applea against their discrimination against a man. It shows the lengths some go to deny discrimination exists against men.

BBC News - Girls behaviour deteriorating in the classroom

Guardian - MPs warn against false allegations in family courts

Daily Mail - Sexism is dead say British women (Steve Doughty)

Guardian - Quotas and women-only shortlists aren't popular but they work (Suzanne Moore)

Guardian - Glencore Chairman says women prefer bringing up children than being in the boardroom

Posted by Skimmington

IN THE NAME OF EQUALITY - CAN YOU SUPPORT A LAW SUIT AGAINST A LONDON UNIVERSITY?

ACTION ALERT: Gender Studies Law suit in London

 

 

An egalitarian MRA is bringing a damages claim against an elite university's Gender Studies department which he attended as a student, but was forced to withdraw from due to the persistantly sexist anti-male nature of the course. His legal claim is based on Sex Discrimination law, Breach of Contract, Misleading Advertising and Misrepresentation – and he is looking for pro bono support from a lawyer or barrister, or assistance from a 'McKenzie friend' – someone not necessarily legally qualified, but who can nevertheless offer advisory support and strategy in court.

The university's promotional literature did not warn of the one-sided anti-male learning materials that would form the bulk of the curriculum – and the university's prospectus and regulations, forming part of the contract, specifically rule out discriminatory learning materials and practices – so the facts of the case are uniquely strong - on a number of fronts - and a successful litigation here will help bring about real improvements for the future inclusion of men and men's equality issues within gender studies, and all other academic fields.

The complainant will be filing particulars of claim no later than May 10^th 2011. The court case itself will take place in the months to follow. If you, or anyone you know of might be interested in offering any kind of support, including financial, then please email the complainant at the following address:- [email protected]

Thank you.

LABOUR STILL USING SEXIST ALL WOMEN SHORTLISTS AND NOW LIBERAL DEMOCRATS SIGN UP TO STOP MEN FROM BEING MP'S

A big theme of the site has been the political disenfranchisement of men through the political process by stopping them from being able to stand as MP's or other candidates. This is down to the invidious all-women shortlists used by the Labour Party (Labour used it 58 times at last year's General Election) and A-lists/quotas and other discriminatory tactics used by the Conservatives (Four of their MEPs are sitting in Brussels solely because they are women).

Only 22% (143 of 650, an improvement from 128 in 2005) MP's are women but that is down to Labour's defeat (few of those 58 got elected and many others who were previously MP's because of all-women shortlists also lost - ex Home Secretary Jacqui Smith being an obvious example). Of course, this is irrelevant to the big battalions from the Fawcett Society, who see anti-female discrimination everywhere - a form of Feminist McCarthyism.

However, it is apparent that Labour are continuing with the practice in:

Dover

Harlow 

Reading West

Worcester (Labour councillor resigns in protest)

Peterborough (plus this from the local elections Peterborough)

Stevenage

Swindon South

Hastings & Rye

Northampton North

Lincoln

Thurrock

Brighton Kemptown

Burton or Redditch

No man in those seats should vote Labour when men have banned from standing.

Now the Liberal Democrats are getting in on the act. They have announced specialist leadership programmes for women only and also want to fiddle the selection process so it is heavily skewed towards women (Guardian). Basically it is an A-List similar to the one adopted by the Conservatives for its 2010 selection round. This is where there were 100 people on the A-List and only they could apply for the best seats and explicitly over 50% on the A-Lists were women.

Rather than try to find out why do not want to stand and whether they are bothered about it, the parties bring in rules to stop men from seeking office on the sole criteria that they are men. This sexism is probably the most serious of all, because men are being prevented from getting into the legislature. That is what is called British democracy these days. 

 Posted by Skimmington

CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE - MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE DO NOT EXIST

I know the site bangs on sometimes about discrimination by omission being one of the most covert, insidious and invsible forms of discrimination against men, but it is used as a weapon so much.

One of the starkest examples was in the field of domestic abuse when Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Crown Prosecution Service, launched a new domestic violence initiative and set out in his speech entitled - Domestic Violence: the facts, the issues and the future.

All male victims and those men and women who support and know them will weep at its content.

There is not one mention of men in the press release nor in the speech. Nothing at all. There are no facts about them.

It shows clearly that the Crown Prosecution Service - the state prosecutor that supposedly ensures there is justice in Britain and the upholder of equality before the law - has no interest at all in equality when it comes to domestic violence.

As shown by the government figures (via the ManKind Initiative), one in three victims are male yet they get no mention. 

What makes it worse is that in his speech Keir Starmer provides a whole bank of statistics on female victims yet there is no mention of the reciprocal male statistics even though they are from the same research. For example:

• Two women a week are killed by a partner or ex-partner (the figure is one per fortnight for men) - British Crime Survey 
• 1 million women were victims of domestic abuse last year (700,000 men were also) - British Crime Survey
• 19% per cent of women have said they have been stalked since 16 (9% of men also report the same) - British Crime Survey. Read this about Facebook.
 

Part of the reason for the announcement was to ensure that all domestic abuse murders were reviewed as set out by the BBC (it is worth noting that the BBC use the figure for men which means all the lobbying has worked because a year ago they would not have done - congratulations to the BBC).

What the attitude of the Crown Prosecution Service shows (it also has 'previous') is that it thinks domestic abuse only happens to women and never to heterosexual or gay men. If the Director of Public Prosecutions cannot even bring himself to mention male victims of domestic abuse in his speech, press release or list of facts then what hope is there for male victims to ensure justice is served.

What hope is there also that the review into domestic abuse murder cases will be treat with the same diligence a murder of man as opposed to a woman. 

There is no equality of justice if you are a male victim of domstic abuse, the Crown Proscution Service do not recognise they exist.

These are the facts, the issues and the future from male victims, courtesy of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Posted by Skimmington 

 

Editors Note - a few updates on male victims:

BBC News - Esteem in Cornwall

American Psychological Association (British professor) - Male victims can suffer post traumatic stress

Daily Mirror - Saving the lives of men

ManKind Initiative - New videos and Dads on the Air (Chairman interview)

STRENGTHENING WOMEN'S VOICES SO MEN CAN BE SHUT OUT EVEN MORE

In February, the site commented on the fact the government were now producing newsletters for women's groups. This was a sop to those who complained about the closure of the Women's National Commission, a taxpayer funded organisation. The government said they would keep in touch with women's groups and the site complainedthat there was no reciprocal intention for men's groups

The intention is perfectly clear that the hat is tipped towards making cuts in the present climate so that even the sisters are showing they are making an effort. However, this is all illusory as the policy intention does not change and there is a continually move to not just ensure that women's issues remain absolutely central to the equalities policy making process but also that the voices of men (and groups that represent them) are shut out.

To make matters worse, the government has now produced a consultation document called Strengthening Women's Voices in Government. The government wants (see bottom)to know how it can be better effective at engaging with women and on hat particular issues.

It is clear that there is no intention of engaging with men. This is about lessening men's voices in government so that matters such as domestic abuse, health, family law, unemployment and boys education are never spoken about.

Posted by Skimmington

BELIEVERS IN EQUALITY - TELL THE GOVERNMENT TO SCRAP THE EQUALITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

In theory the Equalities and Human Rights Commission should promote equality but as we know they have absolutely no interest in equality if that means equality for men too. It is basically a front organisation for people who want men to continue to be second class citizens, all at the taxpayers expense.

This can be seen time and again when it pursues no policies or campaigns to support equality for men in healthcare, education, domestic abuse, depression, the family courts and employment. All too readily it will take on campaigns for eqaulity in parliament, the gender pay gap and domestic abuse but only when it comes to women. It is part of the network of anti-male organisations that infest the British state.

By purposely ignoring issues relating to ensuring men have equality (the covert discrimination by omission) on key issues where there is clear discrimination and then only promoting issues affecting women - the body has done no favours to men. When did you hear a campaign by the Commission on boys education?  

Rather than promote equality, it only does so if you are a woman. If you are a man it is not interested, therefore it is better that it is scrapped. It is un-reformable because of the people who work there and that it props up the whole anti-male system in this country. It is the mother ship (or sister ship). If it is scrapped, then at least there will be more of a level playing field and there will no longer the level of anti-male propaganda pumped out by this body at our (taxpayers) expense as well as the purposeful ignorance of key issues.

In Janaury the site reported it was likely to be forced to make massive cuts and now the government has launched a consultation.

Please let the Government know why this awful organisation has to be scrapped. True believers in equality from men and women would support this.

Posted by Skimmington

Media coverage - Daily Mail, Daily Mail 2,

WHY WAS ARTICLE TAKEN DOWN HIGHLIGHTING THE FACTS ABOUT THE OLD FIRM DERBY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

A recent post exposing the myths about rises in domestic violence and domestic abuse around the Old Firm derby has been taken down. However, the text of the article is still available via a cached site and has been pasted at the end of this post.

This site covered the post last week and it was picked by a variety of feeds which probably meant it was receiving a lot of attention.

Either the author got cold feet or he/she was told to take the post down by those who do not want the truth to be known. Alternatively it could have been taken down by those who run the site.

The article was numbered 1124 yet 1123 and 1125 are still on the site (published 01 April 2011) - The site is here.

Whatever the reason, if this was taken down against the authors wishes or he/she was put under pressure, it shows how far some people will go to stop the truth from being told and that nothing, absolutely nothing, can get in the way of spreading anti-male propaganda especially when its gets in the way of feminist fundamentalist myths.

Posted by Skimmington

Hattip - JK

Article on Rangers Media website

I recently submitted a Freedom Of Information request to Strathclyde Police asking for some domestic crime statistics. This followed Strathclyde Police's claim that domestic abuse in their region rose by 138.8% if an Old Firm game was played on a Saturday, and 96.6% if the game was played on a Sunday. There was also a claimed 56.8% rise following midweek games.

My request was not fully granted, although I have asked for the remainder of the data. They have, however, supplied data for weekends from the 2nd January 2009 to the 6th March 2011. This period includes seven Old Firm games, so will be sufficient to examine their figures regarding weekend games.

So, what do the figures show? They are available for anyone to view here: Link

I'll start with the Sunday figures, remember we are expecting a 96.6% increase if the police are to be believed. The average number of domestic abuse incidents on a Sunday for that period was 100.0, the average on a Sunday when an Old Firm game was played was 137.0. This 37% rise is not good whatever way you look at it, but it falls a long way short of the 96.6% claimed by the police. There were other dates with similar increases, Old Firm games 'ranked' (for want of a better word) 1st, 3rd, 10th, 12th and 28th from a total of 114 Sundays.

So, to Saturday, where a 138.8% increase is claimed. The average number of incidents on a Saturday was 102.0, this figure includes New Years Day 2011, which was by far the highest figure at 271 incidents. Even removing this figure, the average for Saturdays was 100.5 incidents. There were 2 Old Firm games played on Saturdays in this period, the number of incidents on those dates were 87 and 89. An average of 88 incidents means a decrease of 12% on Saturdays not including New Year, a decrease of 14% if you include New Year. The 'ranking' of Old Firm games in the Saturday list is 83rd and 89th of 114 days.

If Strathclyde Police have figures which back up their claims, I'd love to see them. It certainly seems from this data that the claims were simply made up.

Now, this is where I'm going to depart from statistics and move into conjecture and opinion. My feeling is that domestic violence is perpetrated by scumbags. It doesn't matter if these scumbags support Celtic, Rangers, or anyone else for that matter. People who hit their partners (or families) will hit them.

Why do we see the increase on an Old Firm Sunday? It's my firm belief that alcohol plays a large part in domestic abuse. Increased drinking will lead to an increase in incidents. It is clear that an Old Firm Sunday is seen as an excuse to drink for many, we all know from our own experience that pubs and clubs are busier on an Old Firm Sunday than other Sundays. It would be naive to think there is not also an increase in drinking at home. I'd suggest it is more to do with this increase in drinking than the football itself. I'm sure the same will apply to midweek games, although I'd imagine to a lesser extent.

So why is there a decrease in incidents on a Saturday? Well, we have a smaller set of data regarding Saturday Old Firm games (only 2 games in the period in question). Also, Saturday is a more traditional drinking day anyway. Perhaps the scumbags who hit their families drink on a Saturday whether the football is on or not.

So, in summary, we have this:

Saturday games: Strathclyde Police claim 138.8% rise, reality is a 12% fall;
Sunday games: Strathclyde Police claim 96.6% rise, reality is a 37% rise.

Why the lies? Why has nobody challenged them before? I believe (thanks to rfc52 and Castilian) that Gordon Brewer challenged Ian Gray of the Police Federation on Newsnight, but it wasn't pressed or followed up on. It's disgraceful that people in such positions can make up figures and blatantly lie, and the media lap it up and report it as fact.

 

PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY AND SECTION 159 GUIDANCE NOW AVAILABLE TO HELP MEN FIGHT FOR EQUALITY

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