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Baroness Buscombe: I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Gould, for initiating this excellent, albeit brief, debate. There have been some amazing speeches, which have raised considerable questions and touched on heartfelt issues. The noble Baroness, Lady Prosser, asked why, why, why so many issues retain the status quo. In a very moving speech, the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, referred to trafficking. The noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, raised the question of health. The noble Baroness, Lady Massey, spoke about education at a global level, the continuing question—I am sure it is a difficult question for the Minister—in regard to resources and the need for gender parity in education.
The noble Baroness, Lady Gale, celebrated women in Wales. I should like to respond to that, as I have said before in a similar debate, by proposing that we should celebrate women in your Lordships' House.
Baroness Buscombe: I believe that, collectively, we are in an enormously powerful position. I often feel frustrated by these debates. We are on a political stage and representing our parties and, ultimately, we should make an enormous difference. Whichever party wins the next election, we should think about that issue quite seriously because, coupled with our privilege here, we have an enormous responsibility to put pressure on whoever can make a difference at the next stage.
At the 1995 World Conference in Beijing, as the Committee will already have heard, delegates from 189 countries were asked primarily to assess how women's lives and their role in society had changed over the course of the preceding decade. Five years on from Beijing, in order to review the progress made and the obstacles remaining to the implementation of the Beijing declaration and the platform for action, the UN General Assembly convened a special session entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century".
At that session it was widely accepted that there had been a loss of momentum to progress made. Indeed, a number of member states challenged the basic premise
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that women's rights should be included as human rights. The responsibility of member states to protect the human rights of women was also challenged, with the unfortunate result that all references to human rights treaties were removed from the session document.
Five years later, a decade on from Beijing, in February of this year, the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women convened to consider worldwide developments in the international treatment of women and women's human rights.
It is clear that much progress has been made in the 10 years since substantive promises were made by the UK Government to address the issues highlighted under the Beijing platform for action. However, astounding inequalities between men and women still exist and, despite commitments made at the 1995 conference, the extent of violence and discrimination against women condoned by governments still remains staggering.
Of the 12 areas originally highlighted for action during the course of the Beijing conference—the Government's progress on those areas being reported under the UK Government's questionnaire—at least three are still of significant and persistent concern today, 10 years on. Indeed, today's debate has highlighted others. There is still much room for improvement.
I turn, first, to the grave issue of domestic violence against women, which was referred to so eloquently by the noble Baroness, Lady Gould. The Government stated in their questionnaire that they were making,
In attempting to fulfil this objective a working group was established in 2001 to co-ordinate policies. Following that, the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act found its way onto the statute books in November 2004, and we all welcome that.
Prior to these initiatives, in 1995, on behalf of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence, the Home Office sought to encourage inter-agency co-ordination as a principle plank of its campaign against domestic violence. A study of inter-agency responses to domestic violence followed, highlighting frailties inherent within the system. Among those inherent failures two weaknesses were exposed: first, poor awareness and, secondly, lack of resources.
As to the former, the study found that women and children experiencing domestic violence rarely knew about or were involved in inter-agency initiatives. I ask the Minister what has been done since the study—or, indeed, generally—to follow-up and promote better awareness for children and mothers of inter-agency initiatives?
As to the latter, a lack of resources was identified as the single biggest obstacle to multi-agency co-ordination. Again, what have the Government done to provide better funding or the means of obtaining better facilities to assist with better and more efficient multi-agency co-operation?
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In general, as we have heard already, the stark facts are that domestic violence accounts for 150 deaths in the United Kingdom every year. One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute and one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime. Incidents of rape are also on the increase in this country. In 2003, there was an 8 per cent increase over 2002, to a recorded 14,000 rapes. There is a further worrying trend in the rate of domestic violence among our teenage population. We have to look to the roots of why this is happening. Why is this on the increase? Are we becoming a more aggressive society in general? I fear so. Does aggression accompany a development in confidence? If that is the case, it is lamentable.
These statistics are shocking and represent an intolerable and serious situation. The Government must ensure that the campaign against domestic violence is given the highest priority and that recommendations are acted upon within a reasonable time.
I turn briefly to the less serious, but equally important, issues of women's economic rights and the preservation of independence and equal access to economic resources, in particular the well publicised yet still sadly prevalent issue of unequal pay between the sexes. In their questionnaire response, the Government contended that the UK has introduced a range of family-friendly employment policies and that general equality is delivered through legislation and further initiatives. These measures are to be commended. However, it is a sad fact that today, in 2005, in all sectors and at all levels, women earn less than men. There is a 20 per cent hourly pay gap between men and women working full time.
In a recently publicised case—one of a number of recent similar cases—Arianna Mezzotero won her discrimination case against the banking group BNP Paribas, which had cut her bonus to one-ninth of that of her male colleagues when she told them she was pregnant. Our problem, as women, is that we continue always to feel grateful for what we have and what we receive. We have to stop feeling grateful. I have a notion that the next generation will not be like us, which is good.
The case against BNP Paribas is just one of the many examples of women in our business sector fighting the inequalities that should never exist in a well developed economy in this day and age. It is exactly this type of discrimination that the Beijing conference was originally established to eradicate and yet, as we have seen, 10 years on, these cases of discrimination continue to surface.
My third point relates to the Government's position on teenage pregnancy. While it is reported that this is a well publicised problem in retreat, it is important that we do not yield to improving statistics and continue to educate and train teenagers—of both sexes—to focus on better prevention and support. I welcome the progress that has been made by the noble Baronesses, Lady Gould and Lady Morgan, on the problems of Chlamydia and breast cancer.
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In conclusion, great strides have been made in the United Kingdom since 1995 with the implementation of legislation and initiatives which work towards a better level of gender equality. In respect of equal practices in education, women are outperforming men and rates of teenage pregnancy have fallen. However, many important issues debated at Beijing in 1995, and then again in 2000 and this year, remain in the political backwater or have failed to be acted upon by the Government.
As I have mentioned, much more needs to be done to fight the causes and the perpetrators of domestic violence. Gender inequality in the workplace should be consigned to the past, along with racial inequality. In 2005, discrimination on the grounds of sex is simply unacceptable. I ask the Government to co-operate fully with the ethos and the fundamental obligations that being a member of the 1995 Beijing conference entails in effecting timely solutions to concerns highlighted under the platform for action.
6.24 p.m.
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