Campaigning

1. Struggling to access GP appointments in Nottingham

Case study

“I was really struggling with my mental health and having lots of panic attacks which were stopping me from working. Even though I really didn’t want to call my GP because I felt ashamed, I eventually built up the courage to reach out for help. However, when I did call, the receptionist said there was a month-long waiting list to get an appointment with the doctor which made everything so much worse.”  

Long waiting times

Case workers are reporting that women are waiting up to four weeks to see a doctor at their GP surgery in Nottingham city.

Online portal

Some GP practices have asked patients to book through an online portal, rather than booking over the phone. This has caused some women high levels of anxiety, which has been a barrier to accessing GP appointments. One of our clients has been unable to get a repeat prescription due to the new booking system and the anxiety it has caused her.

Online portals can also be a barrier to accessing appointment for women who:

●        Do not have the relevant digital skills. 22% of the UK’s population lacks basic digital skills.

●        Do not have access to Wi-Fi and/or digital devices. Half of households earning between £6000 – £10,000 do not have access to the internet at home and between 1 – 1.8 million families do not have access to a laptop, desktop or tablet at home.

●        Are not able to read and/or write in English. 16.4 % of adults in England have very poor literacy skills, which means they are unlikely to be able to fill out a form, read instructions or easily use the internet. Women who have English as a non-primary language (around 7% of UK population) may struggle to write or understand English easily, which may prevent them from using an online booking portal.

Call backs

GPs don’t give a specific time for ‘call backs’, which can be particularly difficult for women with work and caring responsibilities. Women have reported being forced to use annual leave to wait for a GP ‘call back’ to ensure they’re able to pick up the phone when the GP calls. Women with caring responsibilities have been unable to organise childcare without knowing the time of the call, which has resulted in women missing out on health care.

What NWC is doing about this issue

Our caseworkers can try to book appointments on behalf of clients, when feasible, but this is not a long-term solution. We can also signpost women to Nottinghamshire HealthWatch if they want to make a complaint about their experiences.

What change is needed at a policy level

1. Specific times for ‘call backs’ to enable those with caring responsibilities to plan care

2. Further investment in reception staff to enable women to call their GPs and book an appointment over the phone, which will avoid discrimination of those living in digital poverty and those with poor literacy.

3. For Nottinghamshire CCG to monitor this issue and complete an equalities impact assessment regarding the move to online bookings and longer waiting times to access appointments.

2. Lack of specialist endometriosis clinic in Nottingham

Case study

“I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018 after suffering from cripplingly heavy periods, chronic pelvic pain and fatigue for over 12 years. The gynaecologist who diagnosed me did not have the special interest in endometriosis required by the NICE guidelines and told me that I had mild endometriosis which she had removed during my diagnostic surgery. This turned out to be a misdiagnosis I’ve now been diagnosed me with severe endometriosis, which requires a different level of treatment.

My second round of treatment has been delayed due to Covid. My symptoms are worsening all the time and I am now in constant pain. I have gained two stone and I am no longer able to run (due to pain from the endometrioma) which was something which was very beneficial for my mental as well as physical health. Because I rely on strong painkillers to get through the day, I am now opiate dependant and when I do have the surgery I am waiting for (assuming it is successful) I will need to go through an opiate withdrawal programme.

Because I have severe endometriosis, I have to be treated by a specialist endometriosis centre, however Nottingham does not have such a centre so I need to travel to Leicester for my care. This is also where my surgery will take place meaning it is unlikely that any friends or family will be able to visit me while I’m in hospital.” 

Background

1 in 10 (1.5 million) women suffer from endometriosis in the UK – a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. It currently takes an average of eight years to get a diagnosis with endometriosis despite the fact that:

●        58% of those diagnosed had visited GP over 10 times

●        21% visited doctors in hospital over 10 times

●        53% visited A&E with symptoms

●        27% went to A&E more than three times

Nottingham

Several our staff and service users are suffering due to the lack of a specialist NHS endometriosis clinic in Nottingham. Women are being forced to travel to Leicester, Peterborough, Birmingham, and other parts of the country for treatment. This is particularly difficult for women with caring responsibilities and those who do not have cars. Women who access social security can claim back travel costs, but women on low wages cannot claim financial support for travel.

We ran a poll through our social media platforms and found that 45% of respondents with endometriosis (7 out of 15 women) said they had to travel to other parts of the country for treatment. Women unanimously agreed that it was “extremely important” that Nottingham gets a specialist endometriosis treatment centre through NHS.

Lack of appropriate and timely treatment can have a serious impact on women’s mental health and has been linked to painkiller addiction. 90% of the women we polled with endometriosis said they would have liked psychological support, but they have not been offered this as part of their treatment.

What is NWC doing about this?

We will continue to raise awareness about endometriosis by sharing information about the condition on our social media channels and we will consider becoming an Endometriosis Friendly Employer.

What we want changed at a policy level

1)      We want to see the funding allocated for a specialist endometriosis clinic in Nottingham. There are an estimated 16,000 women who suffer with endometriosis in the city.

2)      As outlined in NICE Guidelines, we want anybody who is suspected to be suffering from endometriosis should be seen by a gynaecologist who has a special interest in endometriosis (i.e. specialist training). We have learnt there are currently no gynaecologists with a special interest in endometriosis in Nottingham.

3)      Better training and more awareness about endometriosis in Nottingham’s GP practises.

4)      Free psychological support for women suffering from endometriosis.

3. Unaffordable childcare provision forcing women out of the workplace

“Before I started getting the free hours when my boys turned three, basically all my wages went on childcare” – A woman from Nottingham

Background

Unaffordable childcare is a key issue that’s been raised multiple times by our service users and staff. Most UK Government spending is targeted at preschool age (3-4 years) which has been shown to limit women’s ability to stay in work after giving birth. England is also one of the most expensive places in the world for childcare (only Japan is more expensive in terms of percentage of household income) with the average cost of a full-time nursery place at £263 a week, which is over half of average wage.

More recently, parents have been unable to work when their child is sent home from school due to a Covid case. Employers have no legal obligation to pay their staff in these circumstances, which means parents have been losing two weeks income in these circumstances. This can quickly push single parents into a financial crisis.

Nottingham

We surveyed 55 women about their experiences of motherhood, childcare and work and found:

●        75% of women said the cost of childcare affects the amount they can work

●        53% of women reported that the pandemic has increased the negative impacts of unaffordable childcare

●        25% of women said they have been affected by redundancy/furlough because of childcare issues

Research by Pregnant then Screwed found that 15% of mothers have either been made redundant or expect to be made redundant since the pandemic and of those, 46% have said that a lack of childcare provision played a role in their redundancy. They also found that 72% of mothers have been forced to work fewer hours because of childcare issues, and 65% of mothers who have been furloughed say a lack of childcare was the reason.

Women told us:

●        “One of us has to work part time so that we only use the free hours, but we didn’t get any when one of us couldn’t work”

●        “I was part time and freelance. Returning to work was hard as you pay even if you have no work booked.”

●        “Childcare costs should be subsidised, but workplaces also need to offer flexibility.”

●        “I decided not to go back to work after maternity leave as I would have been getting so little money after childcare costs.”

●        “It’s due to the free hours (now she’s 3) that it’s not affecting me financially right now”

●        “It’s impossible”

What is NWC doing about this?

NWC used to run an affordable childcare crèche but unfortunately this had to close due to funding restraints.

What we want changed at a policy level

1)      Free full-time childcare from 6 months

2)      Track and trace isolation grant for parents. Gingerbread and Pregnant then Screwed are calling on the government to extend the Track and Trace isolation grant of £500 to parents who are unable to work when their child is sent home from school due to Coronavirus. There is a petition calling this – https://www.change.org/p/rishi-sunak-mp-parent-isolation-grant

3)      An independent review of childcare funding and affordability. There is a petition calling for this –  https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/586700

4. Putting more women in prison

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is creating 500 extra prison places for women to “accommodate a growing prisoner population”, some of which will be built at Foston Hall in Derbyshire. MoJ has predicted that the number of women prisoners is expected to rise by 40% over the next five years due to the recruitment of extra police officers and longer sentences.

This plan goes against the Government’s own female offender strategy which envisages more women being given non-custodial sentences as an alternative to prison. It also goes against the Government’s own evidence which has previously shown that prison is more likely to increase reoffending rather than reduce it and actually called for a reduction in the women’s prison population.[1]

What NWC is doing about this issue

We believe prison tears families and communities apart. We’ve joined Women in Prison and many other representatives from housing, domestic abuse, criminal justice, midwifery, and children’s organisations in writing to Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland QC MP and Prisons Minister, Alex Chalk MP. This combined letter makes a clear case for community solutions instead. It was published in the Sunday Times and also warns about the rise of self-harm in prison. It also clearly refutes the Government’s claim that additional places are needed to prepare for a projected rise in the prison population due to the future hiring of more police officers.

We are also circulating a letter template link on our social media and across our networks encouraging more people to write to the Justice Minister to ask him to #Stopthe500 now.

To read the letter in full click here.

What we want changed at a policy level

We would like to see a new model of funding for community-based women’s centres that provides support to women affected by the criminal justice system. We fully support The Case for Sustainable Funding for Women’s Centres report published by Women in Prison together with the Women’s Budget Group, The Nelson Trust, Together Women, Anawim and Brighton Women’s Centre.

The report asks that: “Central Government use the upcoming Spending Review to introduce a New Deal for Women’s Centres which should:

●        Provide core funding from central Government with a system of matched funding granted from a local consortium of commissioners.

●        Provide mandatory commissioning guidance to local commissioners to ensure a network of appropriate services is available nationwide.

[1] *”In 2018 the Ministry of Justice launched the Female Offender Strategy which set out to reduce the women’s prison population, committing to shifting emphasis from custody to the community, and as part of this abandoning plans to build five new Community Prisons for Women previously announced in 2016.” Women in Prison, July 2021

Who we are

Nottingham Women’s Centre is a charity and community space that empowers women by providing financial and employment support, counselling, training and campaigning in a women-only building in central Nottingham. Our staff and volunteers support around 250 women a week. We know from our work that the pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone but it’s been especially hard for women who were already struggling with their mental health, poverty or discrimination. 

Our quarterly Issues Papers outline some of the issues impacting our service users that have been highlighted by our caseworkers and management team. We send this anonymised information to a wide range of decision makers, such as Nottingham’s MPs and Leader of the Council, with the aim of creating change in partnership with other stakeholders. 

If you have any questions or feedback, or would like to be added to the Issues Paper distribution list, please email our Policy and Influencing Officer – katie@nottinghamwomenscentre.com

Nottingham Women’s Centre is a charity and community space that empowers women by providing financial and employment support, counselling, training, social activities and activism in a women’s building in central Nottingham. Before lockdown measures were imposed, around 250 women came to the Women’s Centre every week. We are now supporting similar numbers over the phone and online.  

Our staff and volunteers have supported many women facing crisis during Covid-19. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment, but it’s been especially hard for women who were already struggling with their mental health, poverty or discrimination. This blog is a summary of the main issues that have been highlighted by our caseworkers and management team, along with issues identified by our local ‘Communities of Identity’ funding partners, POW and Women’s Resource Centre.

This paper can be downloaded in full here and is compiled by our Policy and Influencing Officer, please send any feedback or comments to: katie@nottinghamwomenscentre.com. 

Mental Health Crisis

“Mental health is the primary issue for our young people”

– Communities of Identity Funding Partner 

Women and girls from a wide range of backgrounds across Nottingham have reported increased mental distress due to bereavements, isolation and Covid restrictions. Co-ordinators for groups supporting Muslim women, young people, sex workers and trans women have reported mental health issues as the primary concern for their community members. 
Research by the international charity CARE has also highlighted the global disparities between men and women’s experiences of Covid-related mental health with 27% of women reporting increased mental illness since the start of the pandemic compared to 10% of men.

“The main issue impacting our service users is social isolation, especially for women living alone. Some have been furloughed and struggled to survive on less hours or less pay, which has affected their mental health. They were worried about feeding children at lunchtime while kids were off school isolating due to Covid cases in their classes, and during school holidays. We are aware that ourselves and other organisations need to be even more aware of people’s mental situations caused by events over the last year. For those women already on an unsteady path Covid has rocked them and they have no or very little support. A lot of the women we speak with do not want to go back to the doctor and get labelled with the stigma of mental health.”

– Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers (Communities of Identity Funding Partner)

“The main issues have been not able to do any activities hence women are being isolated and losing confidence but we are trying to support and help women in any way we can by doing packed lunches and to help them to stay positive and gain confidence and live a healthy life for we do cook healthy lunches”

– Muslim Women’s Group (Communities of Identity Funding Partner)

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a huge piece of legislation which proposes major changes to Government policies relating to crime and justice, including protests. We are acutely aware of how many women’s rights have been won through non-violent direct action and are therefore are deeply concerned about the new protest restrictions.

Currently the police can impose specific measures on the routes of marches and put restrictions on protests that may result in “serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community“. The Policing Bill will allow Police chiefs to put more conditions on rallies such as imposing a start and finish time and setting noise limits. Offices will also be able to fine individuals up to £2,500 if they refuse to follow Police directions. These restrictions are designed to prevent the occupation of public spaces and other forms of nonviolent direct action. 

More than 150 rights organisations including Liberty, End Violence Against Women Coalition and Unite have co-signed a letter to Home Secretary, Priti Patel, and Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, warning that the legislation would be “an attack on some of the most fundamental rights of citizens” and have asked the government to “fundamentally rethink its approach”.

Legacy benefits 

Some of our clients are concerned and angry as they have been excluded from the £20 Benefits uplift announced by Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in the latest budget because they have remained on ‘legacy benefits’. An estimated 1.9 million disabled people will miss out on the £20-a-week payments which has led to two disabled people launching legal action against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Some of our clients have chosen to stay on ‘legacy benefits’ (e.g. ESA and Child Tax Credit) rather than move over to Universal Credit system for a wide range of reasons such as: UC usually being paid monthly rather than fortnightly, payment amounts perceived as being less predictable, and concerns about the five week delay between an application for UC and receiving the first payment. 

Women who do choose to switch to UC may be entitled to an ‘advance payment’ loan, which can be taken out at the start of the five weeks but many women fear they will not be able to survive on the reduced level of benefit paid while repaying the loan. 

There are different rules around savings, earnings and eligibility for UC and the £20 uplift is only guaranteed until September. Longer term this means some women may be worse off switching, and it’s not possible to ‘switch back’ to legacy benefits. The finance blog MoneySavingExpert says “as rough guidelines, those who are better off (on UC) are typically those who pay private rents in expensive cities. Those who might be worse off are those with disabilities.”

Our caseworkers have noted that, on average, women are paid 10% less on UC in comparison to legacy benefits. It’s understandable why some women do not want to switch, but we do not believe it’s fair that they have been excluded from the £20 benefits uplift.

Gypsy, Traveller and Roma Women in the Criminal Justice System

New research by The Traveller Movement reports that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) women are shockingly overrepresented in the Criminal Justice system, forming approximately 6% of the prison population and yet just 0.1% of the general population. This is even higher at the women’s prison in Derbyshire (HMP Foston Hall) where at least 9% of women self-identify as Gypsy/Irish Traveller. The Traveller Movement demonstrates how GRT people are routinely discriminated against by the police and therefore have poor outcomes throughout the justice system, contributing to this overrepresentation. 

‘Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Women in Prison’ calls for policymakers to implement a series of recommendations, including:

1. A call for increase in the use of Out Of Court Disposals (OOCDs) for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Women, and also for consistent ethnic monitoring to capture how these are implemented by the Police. 

2. A call for more integrated sentencing plans to better support GRT women upon their release.

3. Prisons need to become trauma-informed spaces, and HMPPS should commission providers with expertise in Domestic Abuse and Adverse Childhood Experiences to develop a better understanding of the intersecting needs of GRT women.

4. Roma ethnicity must be introduced into ethnic monitoring by Criminal Justice organisations to allow the experiences of Roma women to be better recorded and better included in calls for reform.

Problems with Unpaid Work Orders

Unpaid Work Orders are community orders or suspended sentences where people are obliged to carry out between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work, usually at a charity or community project.

Some women haven’t been able to complete Unpaid Work Orders during Covid restrictions because charities have either closed their premises and activities or have been overwhelmed with work and unable to take on extra responsibilities. The Orders are time-limited by court, which has led to some women’s Orders expiring before they have been given the opportunity to complete them. 

We know that a clear end date for court orders, and all forms of punishment, are really important for women’s rehabilitation and mental health. However, rather than allowing women to move on with their lives, some courts have extended court Unpaid Work Orders by a further 6 to 12 months. This has left some women feeling distressed and frustrated, which has led to some women mounting legal challenges against the extension as other types of orders have not been extended. 

Rise of online sex work

There are growing numbers of women offering online sex work. Research by the sex workers organisation, POW Nottingham, has highlighted a new community of online sex workers, mostly consisting of young women, working on the platform OnlyFans.

Even though these women don’t necessarily identify with the term ‘sex worker’, they can experience risks relating to sex work including: harassment, outing, and stalking.

The research also found that street and off-street sex workers have generally not moved online. This could be due to digital exclusion, language barriers or lack of marketing or technological skills.

Issues impacting women in Nottingham during Covid-19 (Winter 2020/21)

Nottingham Women’s Centre (NWC) is a charity and community space that empowers women by providing financial and employment support, counselling, training, social activities and activism in a women’s building in central Nottingham. Before lockdown measures were imposed, around 600 women came to the Women’s Centre every week[1]. We are now supporting similar numbers over the phone and online. 

Our staff and volunteers have supported many women facing crisis during Covid-19. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment, but it’s been especially hard for women who were already struggling with their mental health, poverty or discrimination.

This blog is a summary of the main issues that have been highlighted by our caseworkers and management team, along with information from two focus groups: our quarterly feedback focus group ‘V.I.E.W’, and one specifically regarding misinformation held with Nadia Whittome MP.

1. Misinformation

Caseworkers have reported a notable rise in the amount of misinformation and conspiracy theories within since the pandemic started. Misinformation has rapidly spread through social media networks (e.g. WhatsApp and closed Facebook groups) and has become normalised. This could pose a threat to public health as the misinformation generally creates mistrust in the Government and the medical establishment, and creates tension between racialized groups.

Reported conspiracy theories include false information on the following topics:

5G internet causes Covid-19; the pandemic has been planned by either the Chinese Government or Bill Gates; drug companies want to depopulate the planet; vaccinations are harmful and/or being used to ‘track’ individuals; an explosion in Beirut was set-up by the Government; white British people’s cultures are being ‘erased’; there’s a plan to ethnically cleanse black people through Black Lives Matter protests.

The history of oppression and violence against racially minoritised communities fuels many of these conspiracy theories. Our caseworkers have noted that misinformation and conspiracy theories are particularly common in communities where English is the second language.

During our focus group on misinformation, it was noted that scientific information is often inaccessible due to the technical language used, whereas misinformation spreads widely because it uses plain language and more accessible formats, such as audio files or memes. It was also noted that far-right organisations are attaching themselves to legitimate campaigns such as anti-child exploitation and veteran’s rights to promote their own agenda of racial segregation.

Change needed:

Women in our focus group want shareable and easy-to-understand online materials that;

1. Explain how to identify misinformation
2. Actively dispute specific conspiracy theories
3. These online materials also need to be available in multiple languages.

Women also want community leaders and doctors to be vocal about getting the Covid-19 vaccine themselves to reassure people that it’s safe. For example, Nadia Whittome MP confirmed that she would be taking the vaccine.  Testimonies from already trusted community leaders would be the most powerful, as new conspiracy theories may form around high profile politicians and celebrities having the vaccine (e.g. that they were taking a fake vaccination).

2. Transphobia

Transphobic hate crimes have quadrupled since 2015[2]. Recent research found that 60% of trans people had experienced transphobia online and more than 50% had experienced transphobia in the street[3]. This is partly due patriarchal gender norms, the hostile online ‘debate’ around updating the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), and anti-trans sentiments expressed by politicians such as Donald Trump.

We are proud to be a trans-inclusive women’s centre. The Board of NWC ratified our trans-inclusion policy[4] on 1st June 1998, although trans women were accessing the women’s centre for many years before that date. Contrary to some populist commentators, trans women have been a valued part of our community for many years and including trans women in our services hasn’t caused any internal issues. The only problem has been abuse from anti-trans activists over social media and the phone. This abuse has impacted our staff and volunteers’ mental health and increased our workloads.

The Women and Equalities Committee (a cross-party group of MPs who are selected to hold the Government to account regarding women and equalities) launched an Inquiry in November to investigate the Government’s handling of changes to the GRA. Our Policy Officer submitted evidence to the Inquiry based on information from NWC staff, volunteers and service users, as well as Notts Trans Hub, TRANS4ME and Nottingham Chameleons. We will publish the evidence in full on our website in the new year, but here’s a quick summary of some of the key barriers experienced by Trans people when accessing services in Nottingham:

1. Misgendering and problems with updating official records

Trans people, particularly non-binary people, have reported experiencing misgendering from reception staff and frontline staff when accessing support services, who do not respect their correct pronouns. This can have a detrimental impact on trans people’s mental health and sense of safety, as well as compromise service users’ privacy.

There are also many reports of support services taking a long time or making it difficult to update official records to reflect a trans person’s gender identity. For example, young trans people have to put their ‘deadname’ (the name they were given at birth, that they no longer use) on their exam papers. This causes extra stress and anxiety during exams.

2. Outdated Equality and Inclusion Forms 

Equality and Diversity forms often do not offer a full range of genders, which results in data being lost because it’s not being collected. For example, non-binary people are forced to select ‘Would rather not say’ or ‘Other’. This leaves non-binary people feeling invisible and being erased from Equality and Diversity data and research. One of our non-binary partners remarked: “One day I hope I have the absolute joy of being identified as myself… I’d love to be identified as X”

3. Anxiety accessing services with ‘women’ in name

Trans people have reported feeling anxious about accessing services that have ‘woman’ in the title as they are concerned about potential hostility from anti-trans activists, even if they have a legal right to access those services. This is clearly concerning as trans women are at heightened risk of domestic and sexual violence. For example, Stonewall and YouGov’s research[5] found that 16% of trans women had experienced domestic violence in the last 12 months (whereas 7.5% of cis-bodied women had experienced domestic violence in the same period[6]).

4. Issues with safely accessing toilets

Our trans partners reported multiple issues with accessing public toilets. Most of these issues stemmed from a lack of gender neutral toilets, which led trans people to being confronted or challenged in the toilet and accused of being in the ‘wrong gender’ toilet. For example; “My daughter had an issue in the council-run toilet where the attendant challenged her in the public loos. Also her college made her use the disabled toilets.”

5. Digital exclusion and extreme isolation

A lot of the people talking about trans issues are tech competent, young, middle class people with resources that allow them to access support for being trans. Those who are working class and don’t have access to tech may struggle to access resources, services and experience increased risk of isolation, which is highly likely to impact that persons mental health.

3. Women with limited leave to remain and/or no recourse to public funds

We are supporting a number of women with no recourse to public funds or limited leave to remain in the UK. These women may have children who were born in the UK, but have to reapply for a visa every 2.5 years to stay with their children. The process of applying for a visa is costly and stressful, and involves the following charges:

• The cost of the visa, along with a biometric residence permit: £2208
• An upfront payment of NHS charges for the 2.5 years: £1560
• Solicitor’s fees: approx. £700 – £800
• The costs associated with visa renewal, which includes at least one in-person attendance at a centre (the nearest are in Manchester and Birmingham): approx. £30

This totals approximately £4,500 every 2.5 years, which is 521 hours’ work on minimum wage before paying for basic living costs.

Although use of a solicitor is optional, the women reported that attempting to do the application without a solicitor can be very hazardous. If the Home Office is unable to contact them directly they may decide that the application is fraudulent and dismiss it. In these circumstances fees may not be refunded. Using a solicitor means not only that all the forms will be checked but also that they will handle any queries by the Home Office and make sure that the responses are accurate. Most of the women felt that the extra charges involved were worth paying.

The visa process is not only very expensive but also highly stressful. It’s a threat to their right to remain in the UK if they make a mistake or the Home Office decides that they have made a mistake or that their application is not genuine. Two of the women we are supporting have incurred substantial debts trying to challenge Home Office decisions in the past. While they are on the 2.5 year visa they may have no recourse to public funds and therefore may not be eligible for any benefits including child benefits. If they don’t get a visa at all, they are unable to work.

After 10 years of being granted temporary visas, these women will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

Change needed:

We would like to be able to offer additional financial support to women with no recourse to public funds who are on very low incomes. We would be open to suggestions about where to access such funding.

We would also like to join or support campaigns that are working to reduce the stress and/or cost of the visa process for women with no recourse to public funds. For example, campaigning for low cost legal support, local arrangements for obtaining biometric cards, as well as bigger campaigns around visa fees/renewal times.

4. Housing

Research from the Women’s Budget Group[7] reveals a huge gender disparity in housing. Women’s housing tends to be of a lower standard than men’s in terms of affordability, ownership, safety and overcrowding. On average, women who privately rent spend 43% of their earnings on housing whereas men who privately rent spend 28%. Also the median home in England costs over 12 times women’s median wages, whereas it’s 8 times men’s median wage.

Issues with housing association accommodation have been raised by NWC caseworkers. Six of our current service users have been moved into housing association accommodation without basic flooring, decoration or white goods. The lack of carpet, laminate or wooden flooring makes houses unsafe for young children, particularly those that crawl, and the lack of clean decoration has impacted women’s confidence and wellbeing.

Change needed:

We would like housing associations to provide clean flooring as part of their basic ‘offer’ to new tenants, especially those who are particularly vulnerable such as women who have recently left a domestic violence refuge and/or those with small children.

We would also be open to joining campaigns that challenge high private rental costs for women.

5. Other issues reported through our partnerships

Women’s casual work

Many women rely on casual ‘cash in hand’ work such as catering jobs, cleaning, dog walking and child minding. Much of this work is no longer available because of Covid-related changes and restrictions. For example, a group of women cater for small events for cash, which enables them to pool their resources, socialise and have a small amount of financial independence. They haven’t been able to form a legal entity because their husbands disapprove so it’s been hard to get support during the pandemic and continue with their activities.

Rise in violence against sex workers

Our partners at POW who support sex workers in Nottingham said “We saw a rise in violence against our client base since the beginning of lockdown which has added another layer of complexity for some of the most complex people and disenfranchised people within the city”. A Bill regarding the legality of buying sex has passed its first reading in Parliament so we are expecting to cover this topic in greater detail in January 2021.

Covid-related scams

Caseworkers have reported that women have been approached over social media for ‘school funding’, which is actually a scam that asks women to hand over their bank details in exchange for a ‘free’ £70. Another scam tells women that a free £200 supermarket voucher is available for single mothers, if they provide their bank details.

Isolation and poor mental health

This continues to be a major issue. Many groups we work with, including trans support groups and Muslim women support groups, have reported isolation as being a huge issue with their service users.

Volunteer burnout

There are many community and ‘grassroots’ organisations that are run by 1 – 2 volunteers who are offering vital support to a whole community of women in Nottingham. We support many of these groups through our Communities of Identity funding, in partnership with Nottingham City Council. These volunteers have often experienced a rise in demand and work, but also more pressure on them as individuals, which is leading to ‘burnout’ and exhaustion. More funding and support is needed for these community leaders so they can continue to offer support through their organisations.

This document was compiled by our Policy and Influencing Officer. If you have any questions or feedback, please email Katie@nottinghamwomenscentre.com.

Footnotes:

[1] From April 2019 to March 2020 almost 600 women came through our door each week, 800 women participated in our courses and activities, 125 women accessed our counselling service and 70 volunteers were involved with the Centre.

[2] https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/10/14/hate-crime-england-wales-police-record-transphobia-homophobia-lgbt-home-office/

[3] http://www.galop.org.uk/transphobic-hate-crime-report-2020/

[4] https://www.nottinghamwomenscentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Trans-inclusion-policy-2017.pdf

[5] https://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/lgbt_in_britain_home_and_communities.pdf

[6] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/domesticabusefindingsfromthecrimesurveyforenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2017

[7] https://wbg.org.uk/analysis/reports/a-home-of-her-own-housing-and-women/

Staff and volunteers at Nottingham Women’s Centre (NWC) have been supporting many women facing crisis during lockdown. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment, but it’s been especially hard for women who were already struggling with their mental health, poverty or discrimination.

We’ve been monitoring the issues impacting women that come into contact with us and our partners, and regularly sending briefings to local decision makers about what support is needed at a policy level. We’re pleased to have successfully worked in partnership with Alex Norris MP, Nottingham City Council (NCC) and Wider Nottingham Clinical Commissioning Group to take action on school places for vulnerable children and improve communications around medication changes for women who cannot read.

This blog is based on those briefings and should give you an understanding of the main issues that women are struggling with in Nottingham.

Issue: Women not having access to food

“A client messaged our Facebook page requesting a food bank voucher. She had no money, no transport and a small baby with no pram and was in desperation”

We have seen a marked increase in the number of women asking for foodbank vouchers and food parcels. Food Banks were initially struggling to stay open because of a lack of volunteers, which complicated the process of referring women to them. Food Banks also assign a limited number of vouchers to each person, which has resulted in some women going without enough food.

NWC has been able to help some women in crisis, but this is not sustainable as we do not have the funding or infrastructure for this work. We are asking Food Banks to be flexible about how many vouchers they can assign to each woman and highlighting the need for more food bank funding to NCC and Government.

Issue: Decline in Women’s Mental health

The main reoccurring issue has been a huge decline in women’s mental health. For the women we’ve been in contact with, there have been the following trends and issues:

• Marked increase in suicidal thoughts, calls to Crisis teams and Samaritans.
• Marked increase in self harm including cutting, burning and excessive hand washing causing injury
• Severe increase in anxiety exacerbating obsessive compulsive symptoms and paranoia
• Development of agoraphobic type symptoms
• A ‘reversal’ in recovery progress for pre-existing conditions, depression, complicated grief, post-traumatic stress
• Pressure of home schooling/lack of childcare support leading to anxiety, insomnia

NWC’s counselling service is still operating online for existing clients and we are carrying out wellbeing checks for our most vulnerable clients, which are appreciated. Plus our Peer Support Mental health group has moved online since lockdown, meeting on Zoom once a week. We are also signposting women in crisis to Notts Healthcare Trust helpline and other local voluntary sector support, but we are all running on short term funding.

We believe there is a major mental health crisis on the horizon and a second epidemic is around the corner: a mental health epidemic. We are calling for increased and longer term funding for mental health services in Nottingham, especially trauma-informed and gender sensitive services that effectively serve the most vulnerable in our city.

Nearly all mental health support is now online or over the phone, which is a barrier to accessing support for women who do not have access to a laptop, tablet or an internet connection. This leads us to our next issue.

Issue: Women not having resources such as Wifi and laptops

“A client who has recently fled domestic violence is unable to access mental health support, such as our online Peer Support group, as she doesn’t have access to wifi or the funds to pay for mobile data to access the internet.”

Some women don’t have access to the internet, or they lack the appropriate technology (laptop, tablet or smartphone). In the current climate this makes them totally isolated from their support networks and unable to access mental health support, information about benefits or educational courses. This also impacts the home-learning capacities of those families without appropriate technology and/or access to the internet.

“A client wants to join an online course which would help her get a place in college, but she hasn’t got a laptop or the funds to buy one.”

We are advocating that vulnerable women should have access to the appropriate technology and/or internet for an affordable price or for free. Already vulnerable women are being further disadvantaged and isolated because they are digitally excluded from our society, which is even more sharply felt during the epidemic. The simple intervention of a preloaded dongle or being lent a laptop would make a tangible difference to a large proportion of the women who are accessing our services.

Issue: Women being laid off or having a reduced salary due to Covid-19 and problems with the welfare system

“One woman who was laid off from her job in a hotel in Nottingham has a baby and is a single parent. She has been struggling to access food, baby milk and clothes for herself.”

A large number of our clients have been laid off or had their salaries reduced due to Covid-19. This is leaving women financially reliant on Universal Credit or family members. The monthly assessment period for UC means that women are forced to manage on a small amount of money for a long period of time, and they have a whole month of uncertainty about what they will get next time. Some clients have been very uncertain about whether they are going to get Statutory Sick Pay, how much is the correct amount, or how to check it.

NWC can provide food bank and clothes bank vouchers, but this is not enough. We are asking for the development of emergency hardship grants for women to support those in financial crisis because of Covid-19.

Issue: Increase in Domestic Violence

There has been an increase in the number of women we refer to Nottingham’s specialist domestic violence organisation Juno Women’s Aid, which normally runs from Nottingham Women’s Centre but is currently functioning remotely. There has been a 25% increase in calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline since the lockdown started.

Juno Women’s Aid and Women’s Aid UK are better positioned to understand the needs and support required by the increasing number of survivors of domestic abuse – https://junowomensaid.org.uk/

Issue: Parents of disabled children struggling without support

Many women with vulnerable children are providing complex, round-the-clock care with no respite or outside help. Many have to cancel home carers’ services because of the lack of sufficient PPE or testing, and some are struggling to cope without family support.

“One of our clients is dealing with multiple issues including low income, mental health conditions, and looking after small children – one child has severe learning disabilities. The client normally gets considerable help from her mother, but is unable to do so because her mother is shielding due to her own health condition.”

What do our women need? PPE should be prioritised for carers and families with disabled children, and the impact of quarantine for women who rely on intergenerational family networks for caring and domestic support must be considered by policy makers and recovery planners.

Issue: Child contact centres are closed

Women who are currently going through family court proceedings and see their children at a Child Contact Centre are currently only allowed video contact. This is causing distress to some women. We have one client whose child’s foster parent won’t allow video calls so she can only speak to the children on the phone. In response to our clients’ needs, we are asking that Child Contact Centres are prioritised for reopening as soon as possible.

If you’re interested in this work, please keep an eye on our website and social media and feel free to email our policy and influencing officer on Katie@nottinghamwomenscentre.com to join the policy mailing list.

We have recently set up a new crisis fund for the women we are supporting. If you’re able to, please help us expand our crisis fund by donating through our new Local Giving page. Any donation small or large is really appreciated and will go directly to women in crisis.