Tag Archive | Human Rights

Nothing is Beyond Your Reach

Jul5

This feature is part of the Women’s Collective Ireland- Donegal, “Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series. Written by Siobhan Cullen LLb Msc Solicitor Mediator. This story recounts Siobhan’s life from childhood, her passion for justice and equality and the journey that led to her being appointed as one of the Equality Commissioners for Northern Ireland.

I have always had a strong interest in equality and anti-discrimination policies, possibly due to my upbringing by Irish emigrant parents in North London. My dad was from Dublin and mum is from Donegal and they moved to London in 1960 where they lived for 40 years before returning to Donegal. We lived in a very diverse and multi-ethnic community on a council estate which was a brilliant experience in terms of developing social skills, resilience and acted as a grounding for my interest in equality.

I recall incidents during the 1970’s and 1980’s involving discriminatory behaviour by the authorities. One thing I recall is the regular police questioning of my next-door neighbours, who were from the West Indies, about their whereabouts when a crime had been committed locally. There was also some anti-Irish sentiment during the 1980’s and I vividly remember anti-Irish graffiti being sprayed locally during the troubles.

I felt very much part of the Irish community in London and social justice was often on my mind so, at the age of 14, I decided that I wanted to become a criminal defence solicitor. As the first person in my family to go to college, I attended Middlesex University in Hendon aged 18. I initially felt slightly challenged and lacking in confidence as a student. I’ve always empathised with students who feel this way as I remember it well, especially on the first day when I was tempted to leave the lecture hall amid many vocal and confident peers. It was the empathy and inclusive attitude of certain lecturers that engaged me, something I later aspired to become in my own teaching career.

I obtained a first-class law degree and qualified as a solicitor three years later, aged 24, specialising in criminal defence and family law. I worked for eight years in a legal aid firm in Tottenham, North London during which time I probably learnt more than during any other time in my life.

This experience shaped me and made me who I am today, without a doubt. It was fulfilling work but also challenging as many clients had suffered trauma and abuse as well as having addiction and mental health issues. I spent much of my time in police stations and court and represented clients in every type of case imaginable, some very traumatic.

I really enjoyed the family law work, representing many women in domestic violence applications and child-care proceedings. I found representing clients in court, especially juvenile cases, so incredibly interesting and fulfilling. It was also challenging as legal aid work was hugely under-funded, something which has unfortunately disimproved even more in recent years. In my view, legal aid is a crucial aspect of access to justice which was my entire purpose back then and this remains so today. I also volunteered for FLAC during this time and set up a legal advice clinic in the local psychiatric hospital.

In 1999 I moved to Ireland, always my “spiritual home”, and undertook a Masters in Equality Studies at UCD and then begun an academic career with Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) where I remained for twenty-two years. I loved working with students and delivered modules in Family & Child Law, Legal Systems, Restorative Justice, Tort, Law in Action, Mediation and Street Law, the latter of which is my all-time favourite aspect of legal education.

Street Law is a form of public legal education whereby law students are trained to deliver law programmes in schools and community settings, developing their skills through experiential learning but also really enhancing the legal knowledge of the participants. It helps to remove the mystique and elitism often associated with law and build legal literacy skills within communities which really enables people to embrace the law, use it to their advantage and not view it as something to be feared.

I developed the Street Law programme at LYIT with a brilliant colleague who has a similar interest in experiential learning, and we worked with many fantastic students, many of whom I am still in contact with as they embark upon and continue their professional careers. This is one advantage of social media as it makes networking and keeping in touch with alumni so much easier, which is mutually beneficial. I was Head of Department of Law, Public Service and Education for 5 years and then took a career break last year to embrace some new and exciting challenges.

I joined the Open University as a law lecturer, and I cannot speak highly enough of the OU’s policies and practices in relation to accessibility, inclusivity, and student-centred ethos. It really does walk the walk. The flexibility of online distance learning is so appealing, the student body is diverse with many students having full-time jobs and family commitments, caring responsibilities and some residing in secure accommodation. Colleagues are incredibly supportive of each other as well as students and the social justice ethos prevails at every level. The fairness and equality which underpins every aspect of the OU, from student-facing policies to staff policies, is authentic and an exemplar of what EDI means in practice. An example would be that every assessment is reviewed by several critical readers to ensure compliance with policies and accessibility to all students with alternative versions provided for students with additional needs or accessibility issues.

My recent appointment as an Equality Commissioner for Northern Ireland (ECNI) has really been extremely fulfilling. I am privileged to work with such a brilliant organisation, supporting and maintaining equality by monitoring compliance with statutory duties, providing legal assistance in legal actions and raising awareness. The work undertaken by the commission is crucial and some of the recently successful cases are testament to this. This is a particularly challenging time in Northern Ireland with post-Brexit issues and I am honoured to work with fantastic colleagues, both commissioners and the legal officers/ full-time staff to support the community through these challenging times.

I am also a Tribunal member with the Mental Health Commission as I have always had a strong interest in mental health, and I strongly believe that the Tribunals play a vital role in upholding human rights and rights of persons detained.

I have recently been appointed as a Tribunal member with IPAT (International Protection Appeals Tribunal) which hears appeals from applicants seeking refugee status and/or subsidiary protection.

I’m on the Board of Donegal Sports Partnership, an amazing organisation based entirely on the ethos of inclusivity, accessibility with a real focus on sport for those of us with additional needs as well as gender and ethnicity.

I am currently Chair of Donegal Women’s Centre which provides invaluable services to local women, including medical, counselling and programme facilitation. Again, there is a great team delivering these vital services with such commitment and drive which is a common theme in the community/ voluntary sector.

I am also a voluntary panel assessor with Athena Swan Ireland which considers applications from HEI’s for gender equality recognition, a very significant development within the education sector. Gender equality is an issue that is very high on my personal agenda from every perspective, and I am delighted to have been appointed Athena Swan lead at the OU Law School for 2023/24.

I hope my story, including humble beginnings, initial lack of confidence as a law student and the development of my career trajectory will inspire other women to follow their dreams.

If in doubt, I would say to volunteer as this is such a good pathway to experience and demonstrates commitment.  I have always done some voluntary work and hopefully this will continue. The common theme in all my current roles is teamwork and commitment which are key to supporting communities and developing change.

There are so many aspects to law, some more lucrative than others, yet I find that the areas I have chosen to work in are the most fulfilling for me personally.

I started working in criminal defence, my dream aged 14, and I am now in a place I have always wanted to be, enhancing equality and human rights with only one goal in mind, improving access to both justice and education for everyone.

WCI-Donegal are always looking for women to share their stories and looking for women to write features on topics of their choice which we will profile as part of our Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series.

Putting Women’s Equality Centre Stage

Sep19

WEAR PRESS RELEASE 2017.pngThe NCCWN Donegal Women’s Network warmly invites you to attend their WEAR (Women’s Equality Awareness Raising) seminar, an event which is part of a wider project that the Network has been delivering this year.   This seminar will be held in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny on 28th September 2017 from 12.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. everyone welcome.

In 2017 it remains a reality that globally women and girls can often face gender-based discrimination which increases their risk of experiencing poverty, violence, poor health and a lack of an education. While research also shows us there is a link between development, poverty eradication and women’s equality.

To create awareness to this issue and support women’s equality NCCWN-Donegal Women’s Network, developed The WEAR project, with the funding support of the educational development awareness, EU Ladder Project.

Since April the WEAR project held a 5-week workshop series in Letterkenny, working with women from across Donegal, where participants looked at topics on poverty, health, education, gender based violence and decision-making, through interactive activities and group discussions.

Working with young people is critical if we are to influence change and embed gender equality as a core value within our society.

Through the WEAR project over 80 Transition Year Students from Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana  and Moville Community College participated in a ‘Gender Equality and Development’ awareness workshop.  As both schools have Global Development incorporated into their curriculum the students who participated in WEAR  now have a better understanding of gender equality to inform their reflective learning and development.

Educational Development is about increasing awareness and understanding of the rapidly changing, inter-dependent and unequal world in which we live. The WEAR project has afforded the participants to learn about the structures and systems that impact on their lives and the connections of these to those in developing countries. While providing the opportunity for people to engage in analysis and reflection; recognising local action can assist and sustain global development to help to create a just and more equal world.

The WEAR seminar will share and reflect on the projects learning and look at the ways as a community we can help advance women’s equality locally and globally.

To book a place, please contact: NCCWN Donegal Women’s Network, 6 Tír Chonaill Street, Donegal Town. Tel No: 0749722790 Email: donwomnet@eircom.net

Donegal WEAR Project

Apr5

***Call for participation***

WEAR Flyer 5.4.17

Gender Equality is a fundamental human right.  Yet in 2017 women continue to face challenges and inequalities because of their gender, these include;

  • Employment Pay Gaps– “Women earn on average 15% less than men and at the top of the pay scale, 21% less.
  • Restricted Economic Opportunities– there are 128 countries with at least 1 legal difference restricting women’s economic opportunity.
  • Psychical and Sexual Violence– Global statistics show that 35% of women have experienced sexual violence in their life time. Only 52 counties criminalise rape within marriage. 2.6 Billion Live in a country that doesn’t.
  • Under Political Representation– Only 22 per cent of all national parliamentarians were female as of January 2015 (UN Women)
  • Lack of Access to Education– 1 in 5 girls of lower secondary age is out of school, 1 in 3 girls in the developing world is married by the age of 18.

NCCWN-Donegal Women’s Network are offering 20 places to women to take part in ‘The Wear Project’ a EU funded project supporting awareness to gender equality and human rights. The general objective of WEAR is that participants will have a better understanding of women’s human rights and gender equality and able to place their own lived experiences into human rights and global perspective and this making human rights and gender equality clear, real and relevant to women.

The project will deliver 5 gender equality focused workshops which will look at: 1) Poverty 2) Education 3) Health 4) Gender Based Violence, and 5) Representation & decision making. Workshops will begin at the end of April, finishing in early June, and will run on Tuesdays 10.00am until 1.00pm, in the Donegal Women’s Centre, Letterkenny.

Workshop’s are free and we can offer small contributions towards supporting participation (available on request). For more details please contact: Finola Brennan on donwomnet@eircom.net or 074 9722790

Sweet Treats for all this Easter?

Mar25

easteregg_2868022bMost of us look forward to chocolate at this time of year, however, before we all get cracking on Easter celebrations, let’s consider the global supply chain – from  cocoa farming to the Easter eggs we buy for our loved ones, and choose to enjoy chocolate which is produced fairly without exploitation of others.

Chocolate and Human trafficking

Most of the chocolate we buy is produced from cocoa grown in West Africa where farmers can earn less than $2 a day. This in turn can result in farmers resorting to child labour and slavery to keep their prices competitive in the global market. This drive to keep cocoa prices low is fuelled by multinational companies and consumer’s desire and expectation of low cost chocolate. In the West, chocolate has become a low cost everyday item, often produced at the expense of other humans.

Human Trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. It is a crime which violates human rights. Thousands of children are trafficked to harvest cocoa beans. Children as young as 5 are forced to work long hours, in dangerous conditions with no pay and no access to education. Impoverished families in Ivory Coast, West Africa can be duped by traffickers into believing their children will earn money and receive education if they work on cocoa farms, some children are abducted from neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali- two of the poorest countries in the world. Some children will never see their families again.

What is being done to combat child labour and human trafficking in chocolate production?

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) works in partnerships with multinational companies aiming to combat the worst forms of child labour. Whilst many of the major chocolate manufactures are working towards combating trafficking and child labour in the supply chain, only a small percentage of products have a guarantee that the chocolate is fairly produced without human trafficking and child labour.

What we can do here in Donegal ?

Join the campaign to put pressure on chocolate manufacturers to guarantee all chocolate is fairly produced, and find out where in Donegal you can buy chocolate such as “Fair trade”- visit WWW.stopthetraffik.org

Human Trafficking is a crime which can take place anywhere, including areas such as Donegal, where recent arrests were made following reports of human trafficking and labour exploitation here Letterkenny.

We all have a role to play in being alert to the possibility of trafficking crimes and to report any concerns to Crimestoppers:  Tel: 1800 25 00 25, E-mail: Blueblindfold@garda.ie, www.blueblindfold.gov.ie.

The most common forms of trafficking are for: sexual exploitation and  forced labour.

Some of the barriers to potential victims of trafficking escaping :

  • Not knowing how to access help
  • Fear of retaliation by the traffickers to the victim or their family back in their home country.
  • Fear of deportation due to undocumented migrant status or passports/documents being withheld from the victims by traffickers or others.
  • No English- victims may have little or no knowledge of the local language.

Some of the signs of human trafficking- (for further info. see www.blueblindfold.gov.ie):

  • Women or men living in groups in poor conditions and working very long hours.
  • Women or men dependent on their employer for all their basic needs such as food, accommodation and transport.
  • Women or men living in the same place as they are working.

In The Long Run :- Ending human trafficking ‘one step at a time’

“In the Long run” is a Belgian based Oasis project, where a  team of runners, who have travelled over 1,000km along a major international human trafficking route, aim to  raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking, and provide information to communities about the issue of human trafficking.

The Donegal Anti Human Trafficking Group is welcoming the “In the Long Run” team to Letterkenny on 30th March 2016. Donegal YouthCouncil will be hosting an event and have invited the “In the Long Run” team to highlight the human trafficking issue.

 For more information see: ‘Donegal Anti-Human Trafficking Group’ on Facebook and ‘In The Long Run‘.

This feature was written by Catherine Brown as part of our Women’s Lives series to raise awareness to the local and global crime that is human trafficking.