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Recommendations on disabled women for the UK Govt from CEDAW committee

reposted –

Read the recommendations at:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2FCEDAW%2FCOC%2FGBR%2F14761&Lang=en

(to follow in its entirety read the CEDAW page.)

Below are all the recommendations that mention disabled women….

20. The Committee is concerned that the austerity measures introduced by the State party have resulted in serious cuts in funding for organisations providing social services to women, including those providing for women only. The Committee is concerned that these cuts have had a negative impact on women with disabilities and older women. ….

21. The Committee urges the State party to mitigate the impact of austerity measures on women and services provided to women, particularly women with disabilities and older women. ….

42. While noting the increase in the representation of women in the public sector, the Committee is concerned that women continue to be significantly underrepresented in certain fields, including in parliament, in the judiciary and on public sector boards. The Committee is particularly concerned at the low representation of black and minority ethnic women and women with disabilities in political life.

43. The Committee calls upon the State party:
(a) Continue to take concrete targeted measures to improve the representation of women in Parliament and the judiciary, particularly black and ethnic minority women and women with disabilities; and….

46. The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations of 2008 (A/63/38, paras. 286 and 287) and appreciates the State party’s efforts to provide flexible working arrangements for women and men, and to introduce shared parental leave envisaging new legislation in 2015. The Committee is concerned at reports of persistent discrimination of pregnant women in employment and their access to justice. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at existing occupational segregation and persisting gender pay gap, and the high unemployment rates of women with disabilities. ……

47. The Committee recommends that the State party should:
(c) Create more opportunities for women with disabilities to access employment; ….
52. The Committee is concerned at reports that women with disabilities, older women, asylum seeking women and Traveller women face obstacles in accessing medical healthcare. The Committee is particularly concerned that women with disabilities face limited accessibility to pre-natal care and reproductive health services.

53. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Strengthen the implementation of programmes and policies aimed at providing effective access for women to health-care, particularly to women with disabilities, older women, asylum-seeking and Traveller women;
(b) Pay special attention to the health needs of women with disabilities, ensuring their access to prenatal care and all reproductive health services; and …

54. The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations (A/63/38, paras. 266 and 267) and notes the measures taken to address the recommendations in the Corston report on women in the administration of criminal justice. ….
The Committee is also concerned at women’s limited access to mental health care in prisons, and at the over-representation of black and ethnic minority women in prison.

55. Recalling its previous recommendation, the Committee urges the State party to:
…(c) Improve the provision of mental health care in all prisons;

62. The Committee notes the reforms to the welfare benefit system in order to consolidate benefits and tax credits into a single payment under the Universal Credit system. However, it is concerned that, under the Universal Credit system, benefits and tax credits will be paid into a bank account of one member of the family, which poses risks of financial abuse for women due to power imbalances in the family, particularly if payment is made to an abusive male spouse…

63. The Committee urges the State party to adopt preventive measures against potential exploitation of the Universal Credit system by an abusive male spouse…..(something that we also raised for disabled women)

 

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