Call for submissions Women vs The State (UK)

We are currently seeking submissions of personal testimonies for the Woman vs State (UK) project.

WHAT IS IT?

Women vs The State (UK) is a compilation of women’s accounts which seeks to highlight the systemic injustices against women arising out of the steady privatisation of public services, with a foreword by Michael Turner QC. 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

The increasing deployment of the private sector to fulfill public services – in the criminal justice system, housing for asylum seekers, and the violence against women sector - not only fails to protect traumatised women from further harm, but often inflicts further trauma upon female victims and survivors and their loved ones. A recent damning report by the think tank the Institute for Government has drawn attention to the many problems with the government’s current programme of privatisation. Outsourcing contracts to organizations that lack the experience, expertise or even willingness to provide effective services is suggestive of the questionable direction the welfare system is being taken by successive governments. The unremitting focus on cutting costs shows a shocking disregard for the many human beings who are suffering and for whom this welfare is (in many cases, literally) a matter of life and death.

A recent report by Kazuri entitled “Carers or Captors?” highlights the UK asylum system’s abysmal failure to protect women. Many of these women are seeking asylum because of the extreme trauma they have already suffered: they are thus particularly vulnerable to re-traumatisation. G4S, one of the largest security companies in the world, won £324m out of a seven year £620m contract to house asylum seekers, and has made more than £1.5bn over five years from government contracts in the UK alone. The prospect of huge profits awaiting private sector organisations suggest that they will continue to express interest in public sector contracts, but continuous outsourcing belies any real governmental interest in welfare. The report indicates their apathetic attitude towards providing a standard of housing fit for human habitation; this coupled with their policy of intimidation and harassment suggests their motives are unlikely to be altruistic. When the government allows known intimidators of vulnerable women to run rape crisis centers, we believe something must be done. Evidence given by the Stephan Small to the Home Affairs Select Committee looking into the Compass housing contract confirms G4S and Serco are running housing for vulnerable people as loss leaders, with a view to get a foot in the door to provide large social housing contracts to vulnerable communities. We don’t believe security or outsource companies have a place in this sector.

On top of this, the entrenched institutional bias against women strips them of both their agency and their ability to stand against the structures of power in this country. It silences thousands of women, often doubly marginalized for their colour, race, ethnicity or social background.

WE NEED YOU.

We will shatter the silence around the outsourcing of government contracts, and their sickening effects on the most vulnerable members of UK society.

We are seeking personal stories of women who have experienced public services delivered by private companies, including in the criminal justice system, exile, secure hospitals, domestic violence shelters and SARCs. We believe the stories of those whose health and wellbeing has been sold for private profit deserve to be told.

Our current title, reminiscent of a court case, suggests the oppositional relationship between vulnerable women and the powers that be. We hope that projects like ours will be able to draw attention to this unfortunate antagonism, and remind the government that the welfare of its citizens should be their first priority. After all, the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

We are looking for first person true accounts which showcases experiences with private sector organizations contracted to fulfill public services – these can be asylum seekers, refugees, domestic violence survivors, human trafficking survivors, offenders or ex-offenders, or indeed, any woman who has suffered injustice at the hands of privatisation. The submissions can be in any form: prose, poetry, lyric, interview transcripts, case studies etc. These can be written and sent in via email or post, or we are happy to conduct interviews to collect stories. All stories will be told anonymously to protect identities and prevent further distress to those involved.

Submissions should be around 1,000 – 2,000 words, but we are flexible. We are happy to entertain any other thoughts, ideas or possible submissions.

If you are interested in providing a case study for Woman vs State (UK), please contact the editors: Sarah Cheverton Sarah@kazuri.org.uk or Nanki Chawla Nanki@kazuri.org.uk

LAUNCH

Woman vs State (UK) will be launched at a high profile event at the House of Lords in November 2013, and will provide a series of case studies to support Kazuri Homes’ campaign calling for a public inquiry into the procurement, commissioning and monitoring of public services by large private sector companies.

Editors – Sarah Cheverton and Nanki Chawla

Creative Director – Farah Damji, Kazuri

Language / English

Pages / 120