Shermunda Lawrence
4/24/09
1:55pm
London mayor Boris Johnson launches new strategy to combat violence but critics accuse him of failing to honour pledge to fund four rape crisis centres in the capital. He vowed to "eradicate" violence against women and promised to take a "united fight to end violence against women in London", including sex trafficking and the growing use of sexual violence as a weapon used by gangs in London.But critics accused the mayor of failing to honour a manifesto pledge to fund four rape crisis centres in the capital.
The number of reported rapes in the capital increased by 14.5% last year, while domestic violence incidents rose by 4.4%. Yet only an estimated 10% of women who have been raped or sexually assaulted report it to the police and only 6% of all rape cases end in a conviction. Johnson accused the government of a "piecemeal approach" to protecting women from violence. He said: "There are a significant number of women in London whose lives are blighted by the violence of men, something which is wholly unacceptable." Basing his calculations on the cost of London's only rape crisis centre in Croydon, Johnson said last year that securing funding for this centre and three others would require ring-fencing of around £744,000 annually. But opposition members of the London assembly insist that he has only budgeted £233,000. Joanne McCartney, a Labour member of the London assembly, said: "The mayor is presenting himself as a defender of women's rights but the reality is he's betraying them by breaking another key promise. To be honest it was pretty cheap to suggest that London's urgent need for more rape crisis provision could be solved by sacking a few press officers. Plans outlined in the strategy include working closely with boroughs to "enhance" frontline service such as rape crisis centres, and working with the Met police to get tough on trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women.
London, England
Hélène Mulholland
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/21/boris-johnson-violence-against-women
3 comments:
It's good to see that London is making moves to combat what is becoming a huge problem in Europe. Hopefully other nations will follow suit.
I agree with Matt, violence against women cannot be tolerated as it IS amoral and a social problem.
I think that its good to see steps being made to help end these attrocities towards women, but it is very devistating to see that rape numbers are actually going up in this country. 14% is a drastic increase, and I can't help but wonder what has been going on socially and politically in that country that it could have risen by that amount.
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