As part of our series of blogs about the upcoming vote on WI resolutions for 2015 (for more details, see our earlier blog post), we’re considering the use of antibiotics. We’re writing these posts to kick-start the debate about these issues in advance of our December meeting; they don’t reflect any particular view or an ‘official’ view of the Sotonettes Committee so please read them with that in mind. We want to know what our members think so please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

Today is an interesting day for the discrimination debate as the Labour party vote to decide whether big companies should declare the gender pay gap that exists in the UK (for more information, see this article from The Guardian).

“As we mark 100 years of the WI, we deplore the unacceptable level of gender discrimination that still exists. We call on decision makers to remove barriers prevent today’s women and future generations reaching their full potential.”

Since the formation of the WI in 1915, life for women in this country has changed dramatically. For example, we now have the right to vote; our role in society has changed; education and professions have been opened up to women; and laws are in place against sex and pay discrimination. Free contraception on the NHS (1974); abortion laws (1967); the first UK, and so far only, female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher (1979). The world is a different place.

Has the equality battle really been won?

Women graduates are paid less than men. Only 22% MPs are women (in Sweden this is 43%). Only 6% of engineers are women. Only 16% of dads are stay-at-home dads. Women make up only 2% of all seafarers. There are only 103 male midwives out of 31,000.

Societal ideas about professions such as engineers, seafarers and midwives do not help. Neither does “will he be ok looking after the children whilst you’re away working?” (“Yes, they’re his children as well!”)

There are many sides to the debates about gender equality and the barriers that need to be removed. These barriers exist across society and range from what you expect an engineer or midwife to look like to what toys you expect a boy to play with (and what colour that toy is!).

In asking for gender equality we also need to look very closely slightly closer to home. This is the WOMEN’S INSTITUTE calling for changes in the unacceptable levels of GENDER DISCRIMINATION. The WI could be seen as conforming to gender discrimination by its very nature. The NFWI website states that so far men have not demanded the right to join the WI, and if they did it would require a change in the constitution and “only if the members choose to do so”.

We have not achieved equality and there is a long way to go. To achieve that equality, barriers do need to be removed, not only by employers but also in society more broadly and at a much younger age when ‘norms’ begin to form. This is a campaign for equality of both men and women.

Some interesting reading:

Male Midwives: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11202075/No-job-for-a-man-Meet-the-male-midwives.html
Female Engineers: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jul/20/female-engineers-forget-damsels-in-distress-british-industry
Inspiring Women: http://www.inspiringthefuture.org/inspiring-women/
Women at Sea: http://wista-uk.net/index.php/news/163-where-are-all-the-women-seafarers
Blue for Boys, Pink for Girls (Australian): https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/25664944/blue-vs-pink-gender-war-on-kids-toys/
Stay at home Dads: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/09/stay-at-home-dads-job-parents
Women’s Groups: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/10422520/womens-institute-wi-great-british-bake-off-women-only-no-men-feminism.html

As part of our series of blogs about the upcoming vote on WI resolutions for 2015 (for more details, see our earlier blog post), we’re considering the use of antibiotics. We’re writing these posts to kick-start the debate about these issues in advance of our December meeting; they don’t reflect any particular view or an ‘official’ view of the Sotonettes Committee so please read them with that in mind. We want to know what our members think so please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

“The NFWI urges Her Majesty’s government to start a continuous national broadleaf tree planting programme to replace vital woodlands lost in previous decades. WIs in consultation with their local councils and community groups will be asked to plant trees in celebration of the centenary and to benefit future generations.”

Woodland has been diminishing significantly since the Middle Ages as land for other uses has been sought after. During the period since the Middle Ages, the UK population has grown enormously and land has been needed for our housing, roads & rail for our transport, and increasing large scale and intensive agricultural systems, among many others. Today, just 13% of the UK is woodland.

We are now becoming increasingly aware of the great array of benefits our native woodlands have to offer:

•  Trees are the lungs of the planet and provide a vital function of cleaning the air and producing the oxygen that we breathe! – Our main native trees, of the broadleaf and deciduous varieties (approximately half of UK woodland), are extremely important for biodiversity, supporting a wide range of wildlife.
•  Alongside our agricultural landscapes, our woodlands are a defining feature of the UK and are an important part of the heritage, identity and character of our countryside and the settings of our cities, towns and villages.
• Widely reported studies have shown the value of trees and woodlands to our quality of life, mental health, physical health and wider wellbeing. People who live with views and/or access to green spaces including trees report greater health and wellbeing.
• There are also economic benefits to trees as well! Recent studies have been carried out into the economic value of trees and these studies show that houses with views and/or access to green space and trees have a higher value, and that retail areas with trees report greater visitors and higher takings!

Trees and woodlands, especially broadleaf deciduous trees, take time to mature to a point where the above benefits can come into play. Tree planting is an investment into the environment for future years.

Identifying land for such woodlands is unlikely to be an easy task. Land in the UK, especially in the south east of England is highly sought after for more financially lucrative development opportunities such as retail or housing which pushes up the land values. Also, many of the woodlands in public ownership by the Forestry Commission contain conifers which offer fewer benefits to wildlife.

Despite this not being an easy task at the larger scale, the rewards are many! Through this campaign, the WI can help raise awareness, and, we can make our own local contribution by planting trees to mark the centenary of the WI!

For more information:
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Trees-people-and-the-buit-environment_Gilchrist.pdf
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk
www.forestry.gov.uk
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6692039286587392

As part of our series of blogs about the upcoming vote on WI resolutions for 2015 (for more details, see our earlier blog post), we’re considering the use of antibiotics. We’re writing these posts to kick-start the debate about these issues in advance of our December meeting; they don’t reflect any particular view or an ‘official’ view of the Sotonettes Committee so please read them with that in mind.  We want to know what our members think so please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

“In view of the problem of increased microbial resistance to antibiotics, this meeting urges HM government to work with health professionals and the public to raise awareness of, and encourage the appropriate use of, antibiotics in human and animal healthcare.”

“Medics have called for action to curb the use of antibiotics to prevent resistance to the treatment.”

Antibiotics have often been used by patients as they can treat and prevent a whole host of bacterial infections, but resistance to the medication is increasing and is one of the greatest threats to modern health.

The World Health Organisation has warned us that “a doomsday scenario of a world without antibiotics,” in which antibiotic resistance will turn common infections into incurable diseases and make routine surgeries a high-risk gamble.

More must be done to curb unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics, after finding that its prescription for simple illnesses has increased significantly in recent years. This is despite the fact that the Government issued guidance in 1998 warned GPs not to issue antibiotics for “simple” coughs and colds.

Antibiotics only fight infections caused by bacteria, which can adapt and find ways to survive the effects of antibiotics. This means that they become ‘antibiotic resistant’ so that the antibiotics no longer work and the bacteria can continue to thrive.

The more antibiotics are used, the more resistant bacteria become to it, so it’s important that they are only prescribed when absolutely necessary and with the certainty that it will be of benefit to the patient. Although we often think of antibiotics being used to treat humans, they are also regularly given to many types of livestock, even when no infection is present, to ensure a good yield and financial profit.

We need to make sure that we are using antibiotics in the right way, to slow down the resistance and make sure that these life-saving medicines remain effective for us and future generations. Although the government has a five year strategy in place that focuses on public engagement, the WI could add further pressure and increase publicity for this existing campaign.

For more information see:
Department of Health
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

As part of our series of blogs about the upcoming vote on WI resolutions for 2015 (for more details, see our earlier blog post), we turn our attention to public access to defibrillators. We’re writing these posts to kick-start the debate about these issues in advance of our December meeting; they don’t reflect any particular view or an ‘official’ view of the Sotonettes Committee so please read them with that in mind.  We want to know what our members think so please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

“There is an urgent need to widen public access to defibrillators to significantly increase the survival rate following a cardiac arrest. This meeting urges WI members to work with their communities to install public access defibrillators.”

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of premature death in the UK, but with early intervention many lives could be saved (Resuscitation Council UK, 2013). Not all causes of cardiac arrests can be treated with the use of a defibrillator, but many can and having access to such equipment in public places such as shopping centres, sports centres, places of work and even supermarkets, could increase the chance of survival along with immediate contact with emergency services and the use of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Defibrillators used in public places are known as PADs (public access defibrillators) or AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators). Essentially, these devices do the work for you and have easy to follow, spoken instructions. They are specifically designed to be used by members of the public with little or no training. The device will tell you if the person’s heart rhythm is ‘shockable’ or not and will only shock the individual if in the correct heart rhythm to do so, so they are safe to use too.

Currently in the UK 60,000 people per year suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, but only 1 in 10 people survive (British Heart Foundation, 2014). Early intervention and defibrillation is vital for their survival.

The optimal time for defibrillation is only a few minutes after onset and for every minute CPR and defibrillation is delayed, the chance of the victim’s survival falls by 10% (British Heart Foundation, 2014). After cardiac arrest, if a person only receives CPR, their chance of survival is only 5%. However, with defibrillation, the survival rate increases to 50% (Community Heartbeat).

The British Heart Foundation believe in having more access to defibrillation increases the chance that the process for saving a life is followed and therefore, the better the chance of survival. This initiative can save many more lives.

The invention of public defibrillators has been described as the single most important development in treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (Resuscitation Council UK, 2013), and wider access to these devices in public places could help to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in the UK.

WI members could raise funds to see public access defibrillators installed in their meeting places or other locations where there is large footfall. Alternatively, it has been identified that there is little information available on the location of these defibrillators, so perhaps more information needs to be provided to the general public

For more information see:
British Heart Foundation www.bhf.org.uk
Resuscitation Council UK www.resus.org.uk
Community Heartbeat Trust www.communityheartbeat.org.uk

As part of our series of blogs about the upcoming vote on WI resolutions for 2015 (for more details, see our earlier blog post), we turn our attention to the practice of female genital multilation (FGM). We’re writing these posts to kick-start the debate about these issues in advance of our December meeting; they don’t reflect any particular view or an ‘official’ view of the Sotonettes Committee so please read them with that in mind.  We want to know what our members think so please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

This issue was raised in the shortlist of resolutions for 2014 and as it has not changed significantly, we have copied and edited our previous blog post from last year. The wording of the resolution has changed this year:

“This Annual Meeting welcomes the progress that has been made towards ending Female Genital Mutilation. We call on political leaders and the UK public to maintain momentum behind all efforts to eradicate this abuse of human and child rights.”

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the name given to a set of practices which involve the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It’s recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of women and girls, it was unanimously banned by the UN General Assembly and it’s illegal in the UK, carrying the penalty of up to 14 years in prison. It’s easy to wonder why this is something the WI needs to speak out about, as surely this is something that doesn’t affect the lives of British women. In fact, there are around 66,000 women in the UK living with the severe pain and ongoing health issues which are caused by FGM, and there are an estimated 23,000 girls under the age of 15 at risk of undergoing FGM. Despite these shockingly high numbers nobody in the UK has been prosecuted under the existing law.

Three million girls worldwide are thought to undergo FGM every year, and while internationally the UK campaigns against it, the lack of action on the issue at home is putting British women at risk and undermining our ability to campaign on the issue abroad. Data from London hospitals published by the Evening Standard this year shows that upwards of 2000 London women have sought treatment for the results of FGM in the last three years alone. This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg with many more girls and women prevented from seeking medical care from what is effectively unnecessary major surgery conducted by untrained individuals outside of a hospital environment.

This resolution would continue to draw attention to the issue, which many people don’t realise is faced by women in the UK. It would particularly highlight the shameful lack of enforcement of the existing laws. The WI has a history of campaigning on issues faced by women and girls and has a commitment to campaigning on issues promoting human rights for all women.

However, there are arguments against making this the 2015 WI Resolution. It’s already something which organisations including London WIs are campaigning on. The lack of enforcement of the existing law is something which has been noted at the highest level, with the DPP already working with the Police and Social Services on a policy review. It is also debatable whether prosecutions would be the best way to eradicate FGM, with many groups instead advocating education within communities where FGM is practiced.

While it’s undoubtably an issue that must be stamped out in Britain and worldwide, the question remains as to whether this resolution would really be helpful.

For more information see:
Daughters of Eve www.doeve.org
Forward www.forwarduk.org
Orchid Project orchidproject.org