Speaking Out in Belfast

This weekend I attend the Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland Federation conference in Belfast this weekend, and spoke to an audience of over 1000 women keen to improve the world. I spoke about the WAGGGS 'Stop the Violence' campaign, the Girlguiding UK 'Girls in Action' project and how together we can achieve real change.

I think this may have been the biggest audience I've spoken to so far - but a very kind one as it was almost certain what I had to say would be well received. The proceedings were livestreamed and the video is available to view here.

Later this week I'll be attending the UN High Level Panel for the Post-2015 Agenda meeting in London as a youth participant, I hope to bring you an update from the event!

Redefining Violence

This week has seen the start of the Gender Based Violence Online Discussion, part of the civil society consultation for the framework that will emerge to take over from the Millennium Development Goals after 2015. It’s also only a few weeks since the announcement that the definition of domestic violence will be widened in the UK to include psychological abuse and violence against 16 and 17 year olds from next March. Both of these are good signs of the greater recognition being given to the serious issue of gender based violence.

This is particularly poignant for me this week after an incident where a previously abusive ex-partner of mine attempted to gain access to my Facebook profile information by posing as long lost relative. This fake profile attempted to friend my account, as well as sending requests to dozens of my Facebook friends. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and she’s previously used the information she could access through this connection to stalk me online and in person. Back then I was a naïve 19 year old who used all the courage I could gather to get out of that abusive relationship. I endured nearly a year of harassment after the relationship ended, not sure whether what I was subject to was a crime or how I could prove anything. Because that’s the thing about psychological abuse – it’s not even just blaming yourself, it gets to the point that you start questioning what’s happening to you at all. After almost 12 months of things escalating, I felt I had definite evidence - I told her if she didn’t stop I’d take this all to the police. And I didn’t hear from her again…well until this week.

This time I immediately reported the account through Facebook’s built-in reporting feature and 24 hours later the account was removed from the site. I’ve tightened my security settings too (even more than they were already).

And this is why I’m happy that people are discussing and redefining gender based violence. Yes it does happen in same-sex relationships, yes it does happen all over the world, yes it does happen to young people – relationship abuse doesn’t wait for an 18^th birthday! We need to talk about it so that generations to come grow up knowing what constitutes a healthy relationship, and feel empowered to deal with it as soon as it happens.

Obsessed with Image and Missing the Point

Yesterday I attended the Girlguiding UK Big Gig at the Sheffield Arena with a bunch of girls from my old unit in Peterborough. The atmosphere was amazing with 20,000 girls and their leaders enjoying a show that included JLS, Little Mix and Scouting for Girls. Flashing headwear, tonnes of dry ice, and a combined 5 hours of teenage screaming. Some very tired girls were returned home at the end of the day (me included).

I have to say that it’s one of the most enjoyable concerts I’ve been to recently. There‘s no drunken people behind drenching you in beer by throwing their drink at the stage. There’s no smoker catching you with a lit cigarette as they dance. And there’s no idiot kicking you in the head as they try to surf the crowd, which might not end in a head injury if they’re lucky. And that is what guiding is about – giving girls and young women the chance to take part in the activities they want to in a safe, girls-only environment.

Cue the first news articles today and what does the Daily Mail publish? A story about Little Mix’s trousers. It works through the female acts commenting on how they look (nothing about their music), then mentions the boy bands that “also performed”. I think this comment summarises my feelings about the article:

Who cares what she is wearing. She is performing to a group of girls whose values include not judging people by their appearance. All of the acts made the day amazing for the girls. Where is the report about the benefits of guiding and how the Big Gig is a great way for the singers to show their support. JLS returned for another show this year. Pixie Lott was slated in the press for wearing her Brownie uniform last year, but everyone in the crowd loved it and they are who count. Check out #biggig to see the real reviews.- MC, Lincs

Then comes the Mirror, which I have to say manages a bit of gender equality merely by focusing on all of the acts appearances. With the audacity to say:

Because Little Mix were there, looking all grown-up in super sexy little outfits. What would Brown Owl's equivalent at Guides who we can't remember the name of say to this?

I have to answer that I was far too busy wishing I could sing like these beautiful, healthy women to be bothered about what they were wearing. I suppose it’s debatable, but I wouldn’t use the word ‘little’ to describe what they were wearing (contrasted to the Mail who called one garment ‘huge’). I think they were very sensibly dressed for a performance including dancing…

I have to then commend SugarScope on their honesty:
As well as fanny about on the red carpet, the shiny celebs did some singing too. But, er, we weren’t there and nobody’s put any good videos up yet, so you’ll just have to imagine what that was like for now. Ahh, the joys of serious investigative journalism... *waits to be sacked *

It’s not a new complaint that the press is image obsessed and often more so towards women than men. I just hope that the girls who attended who want to find out what their peers thought follow the comments advice and look up #biggig2012 on twitter and don’t obsess about a few pieces of clothing.

Well done Girlguiding UK on another fantastic event!

A Little Bit of Inspiration

Mark Twain is quoted as saying – “I never let my schooling get in the way of my education”. And having dropped out of school at the age of 13, I have to say a great deal of my education has come from guiding and it has certainly given me an appetite to explore the world. Apparently I was a quiet and shy Rainbow. Who’d believe that now?

I remember being a Brownie, playing games with postcards from far off places, and creating miniature uniforms of other guide associations for thinking day. As a guide I went to Bridges and county events, camping alongside girls from India, Australia and the Caribbean. Come age 14 I went with guiding groups to Switzerland and the Netherlands, before having the confidence to travel to Austria and Ghana on my own.

Fast forward to 2010, and the experience at the first Young Women’s World Forum that really did change my life. That’s when I realise just how easy it is to change the world – especially when you do it through guiding.

At university I’d studied the Millennium Development Goals and read countless dry journal articles reporting the impossibility of meeting these targets, talking about people as numbers, as percentages. They seemed like a distant fantasy of a better life for a far off land.

But that all changed.

200 young women from over 90 countries; gathered in one hotel in Oxfordshire. And the stories I heard about genital cutting is Sierra Leone to pay inequalities in New Zealand made the connection that the goals aren’t about numbers, they’re about people. Even if a project makes a difference to just 1 person, 1 girl or young woman, then we have to do it. Guiding meetings every week, in every country, grow that girl’s confidence by a little bit, teaches her that skill that will come back to her in a moment of need in later life, and gives her friends to call upon for support.

At the Young Women’s World Forum, I met a woman who taught me a lot about inspiration too - Leymah Gbowee. She pretty much ended the civil war in Liberia, aided by her skills as a public speaker. One thing she said was that “small steps, create a huge impact, and leave a lifetime legacy. Small Steps, Huge Impact, Lifetime legacy.” Even the smallest step is a journey, and the best way to take somebody on a journey is with a story…

From there I was inspired to find a way to make a bigger impact and leave an even greater legacy. I utilised what I knew about social media and my network of guiding contacts to campaign through social media, and when I found the opportunity to go to the UN with WAGGGS I emailed the International Commissioner asking her to approve my application.
I got a phone call just before Christmas from CHQ, saying they didn’t plan on sending anybody after bad feedback from previous attendees, but they’d find £500 towards my flight if I’d pay the rest and cover all my own expenses in New York. I had a dream to speak at the UN and a mission to make the world better for girls by sharing the stories I’ve heard. I saved up my wages and student loan, and mid-February I was wandering through central park.

I co-chaired a panel discussion with women from Soroptimist International, analysed texts and lobbied government negotiators. I learnt a lot about international politics and the workings of the UN that week and was thirsty for more.

Earlier this year I went back to the Commission on the Status of Women and then to the Rio+20 conference, both as an Event Co-ordinator for WAGGGS – a more senior role within the delegation where I mentored other young women. I achieved my dream of speaking at the UN, and met many inspiring people along the way.

In Rio, together the representatives of children and young people got Non-formal education – the method of guiding and scouting- into a UN outcome document agreed to by heads of state. And I personally pestered the DEFRA minister, Caroline Spelman, enough to get Sexual and reproductive rights mentioned in Nick Clegg’s speech to the UN. These are great successes that benefit people, and guides in particular, all around the world.

But actually, the most dramatic outcome for me, is that this journey has helped me to understand past events in my own life especially around leaving an abusive relationship and has given me the skills to deal with other experiences.

A project is worth doing even if it helps improve the life of just one person, 1 girl or young woman. At the end of this story, I had originally set out to make the world a little fairer for our sisters around the world, and along the way all those women, you women, have helped me to understand myself. Thank you.

Museums, Non-Formal Education and Gender Based Violence

So my blogging has been lacking for a while - mostly because I returned from Rio to face the reality of just over 2 months in which to write my Master's dissertation. But my work in Rio, and at previous UN events for WAGGGS has come in really handy as I have been writing about museums as a form of non-formal education and how they can work on the social justice issue of gender based violence.

I hope to publish the dissertation in it's entirety on this site once it's been marked - so look forward to that - but it has got me thinking about the relationship between formal, non-formal and informal education and why the latter two might be better mediums for tackling the issue of gender based violence.

Within my dissertation I've included a chapter on what non-formal education providers beyond the museum sector are doing on the issue - citing WAGGGS, AVA and UN Women as examples. And, actually, it was easier to find examples of non-formal projects than where it's tackled within the formal curriculum.

Comprehensive sex and relationship education is not compulsory in England beyond the biological facts which form part of the science curriculum. The government itself approached the issue of teenage relationship abuse through non-formal and informal methods rather than using schools to transmit the messages. You can see this powerful campaign at http://thisisabuse.direct.gov.uk
 
I figure it's because the causes of violence are rooted in social values - and these are more directly worked on with the population at large when you use non-formal and informal methods. Formal education only reaches those currently aged under 18, and gender based violence is most prevalent in the 18-24 age group.

Anyway, the main conclusion that I reach is that non-formal education providers, including museums can have a significat impact when working on social justice issues and the imperative is there for them to engage.

A Queer Perspective on Sustainable Development

I’m sitting on the floor following negotiations on health, education and gender equality paragraphs for the Rio+20 outcome document ‘The Future We Want’. What strikes me is how what these suited people, sat round the table, relates (or completely doesn’t relate) to me.

I’m here in Rio with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and back home I’m also a member of the Stonewall Youth Panel – the UKs main Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual rights organisation. And I’m sat here thinking ‘I haven’t seen a single person at this event addressing gender and sexual minorities’. I know that, after many nation states walked out of a meeting addressing these issues at the Human Rights Council earlier this year, there’s unlikely to any direct reference in the formal outcome document. However, I haven’t seen a single NGO side event talking about it or an organisation working on these issues directly represented (if they’re happening please point me in the right direction!).

And, I mean, there’s plenty for them to be talking about here on the small number of topics I’m following alone.

Firstly I should say that I think the idea of ‘developed countries’ is a myth – no country is perfect and all are still developing. Countries are in different places, but this linear notion of development is misguided and any support for sustainable development needs to work for ensuring rights and access to services of populations the world over.

Health

There has been extensive discussion (and challenges) of sexual and reproductive health and rights over the last few days but in a most definitely heterocentric and binary gendered fashion – what else would you expect when the Holy See is vehemently  participating in discussions?!

Being young and queer my experience of sexual health provision in the UK has been lacking, and obviously such services are non-existent in the majority of countries. Refusal to administer certain tests for sexually transmitted infections is common – the misconception being that certain diseases can’t be passed between same-sex partners being concluded for the low rates of transmission. On several occasions I have had to assure a doctor of an opposite sex sexual partner before they’ll take my request for STI testing seriously. Heterosexuality is always presumed, with me having to tell a medical practitioner otherwise – usually with the narrow category options of heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual which simple don’t reflect the diversity of sexual minorities.

Hate crime has also had a serious impact on my health as a young person, mentally and physically, and there is no doubt that levels of economic and social development, as well as historical factors, seriously influence the likelihood and severity of such crimes. Within the UK I have faced verbal and threats of physical violence based upon my sexuality and gender identity on far too many occasions. However I have also experienced the much harsher hate violence prevalent in many other countries during a visit to Ghana. Aged 17, I was picked out based on my clothing and mannerisms amongst other things, and subjected to things that no person should ever face…Everybody has a right to live a life free from violence and this is a right denied to sexual and gender minorities on a daily basis. Violence has a dramatic cost – socially, economically and environmentally – and so any programme of sustainable development should seek to address it.

Education

I was buoyed by this article today showing that a UN agency has recognised the specific education barriers faced by gender and sexual minorities, and it makes many important points. Whilst it’s well-known that girls are forced out of school for reasons based around their gender, sexuality and gender identity forces many others out of education to. In the UK, bullying based on my sexuality and gender identity forced me to drop out of formal education at the age of 13. Sustainable development, in all countries should ensure that children can remain in education regardless of any factor of their identity.

Whilst I am heartened by the news of progress that schools who participate in Stonewall’s Diversity schools programme are making in terms of homophobic bullying – I firmly believe that non-formal education has an incredible role to play it is ability to promote shared values of diversity and equality.

Conclusions

I am incredibly frustrated by my position within a group who still don’t have their rights formally recognised within the UN system – one day I hope that gender and sexual minorities will be given the due space and consideration to productively input into international political processes.

#SaveOurSay in the #FutureWeWant

We are now into part two of the Rio+20 conference process - yesterday the Brazilian government took the text under negotiation and consolidated it. Lots of great things stayed in - like the paragraph on non-formal education that WAGGGS and the major group of children and youth campaigned for - but there were noticeable omissions.

These omissions include language around establishing a high commissioner for future generations and around ensuring the participation of civil society of the Sustainable Development Framework going forward. I am currently sat in negotiations listening to coutries views about this section of the text and there are sympathetic ears out there.

To show the wealth of support for these concepts we are taking to twitter to raise awareness of the importance of these two concepts - inevitably by using a hashtag! If you support children, youth and all members of civil society eing able to inut into this process then please join our campaign by tweeting "#SaveOurSay in the #FutureWeWant" and sharing this blog (and the many others on this topic) through Facebook and email.

Thanks for your support!

Lot's of Talk and Little Substance - We Must Not Regress!

Back-tracking and regression is the theme of these latest days of negotiations and we're working hard to ensure that rights based language - particularly that from previous UN agreements - remains throughout the text.

What we really want to see is mentions of the importance of non-formal education and the need to address violence against women in the text. To raise awareness I am supporting two hashtags on Twitter and I urge you to do the same - #EducationEverywhere along with a message about non-formal education and #SexRightsRio to highlight the need for sexual and reproductive rights to be ensured.

It's an indication of the busy nature of the conference that this is the first entry I have written whilst in Rio - however it is not indicative of the pace of negotiations. Things are going slowly and as of yet it is unclear whether quality text with strong language will make it before the ministers and heads of state next week...

In the Departure Lounge!

I'm sat at Heathrow airport, waiting for my flight to board, ready to head to Rio for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. This is a once in a generation summit and I hope that, along with the rest of the delegation from the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, we can get serious consideration of the issues faced today and in the future by citizens of the world and how those issues differently affect people based on age and gender.

The Guardian have published the text under negotiation as it current stands and I encourage you to look at it and contact your government delegation with any points that you think it is imperative that they consider.

WAGGGS have published an article on actions that you can take for the comfort of your own home - you don't need to be in Brazil to engage with this conference!
I hope to have another update for you after my flight.

“You’re not a Guide – you talk about real issues.”

The title of this entry is the response I received from a water engineer when I spoke on an expert panel at #Yorio on Thursday. This event was a youth pre-event where participants aged 12-21 engaged in discussions around how we can create sustainable water usage before putting these ideas to Caroline Spelman, the environment minister (part of the UK government delegation to Rio).

This response was further reiterated by some of the comments on this article about the same event. Young people are frequently being underestimated in our passion, our knowledge and our capabilities, and frankly it’s just not on anymore. I’m proud to be part of a worldwide movement that engages with politics at every level, but I, and other members, know that we can’t leave all that action up to politicians. One of the other comments on the same article put it well – politicians are thinking to the next election, young people are thinking for the rest of their lifetimes!

That’s why members of Girlguiding UK and of the WAGGGS run their own projects to make a difference to their own communities – in this case around environmental sustainability. In my speech on Thursday I talked about toilets at Hautbois (the Girlguiding activity centre in Norfolk) and how some are flushed by rain water, whilst others use grey water from showers and sinks to move the sewage from ensuites to the septic tank. We launched a ‘Going Green’ challenge for local groups to take their own environmental action and raise money for further sustainable projects.

Back in March 1^st Greenisland Brownies took part in hedge planting and met with members of a local Green Gym. 1^st Marford Guides recycled clothes from friends and neighbours selling them on to raise money for their next guiding adventure and benefitting a local charity. On Thursday we also had a skype call from Miriam – part of the Girl Guides of Kenya. She spoke passionately about how they run projects to teach girls, from the slum areas of Nairobi, how to harvest rain water as a source of clean drinking water. The system at the guiding centre provides water for drinking, bathing and watering a kitchen garden – feeding the girls too! Later this month a transatlantic project (funded by ALCOA) will start, whereby girls from the east of England will partner with girls in Atlanta to think about ways they can make their communities more environmentally sustainable.

You don’t need to be a politician to help create sustainable development in your community, but that doesn’t stop you engaging with politics either. I like to think that in Rio, Caroline Spelman will effectively represent the great ideas she heard from young people this week – and I will do my best to keep her to the promise of a meeting so that she receives youth input right through the conference!  Because I am a guide, and I do talk about real issues.