President’s Blog
SOS re WOMEN ASYLUM SEEKERS
Recently some Leicester Soroptimist Club members attended a meeting organised by daughter club Loughborough to hear a lawyer working with a national charity called ‘Asylum Aid’ which aims to secure protection for people seeking refuge in the United Kingdom from persecution & human rights abuses abroad.
The particular concern was women seeking asylum in this country who under current legislation if they are pregnant, and or destitute or detained in immigration removal centres do not receive comparable gender sensitive consideration as in the criminal justice system .
The case studies described were heart rending and yes,there is something we can do-a little lobbying!
Please visit ‘Asylum Aid’ website, info@asylumaid.org.uk :-
a) For more information
b) A GOVERNMENT LOBBYING LETTER TEMPLATE which can be used personally or on behalf of any sympathetic organisation/society.
And speaking of gender issues:-
WOMEN MAGISTRATES!
On December 31st.1919 the first woman to sit as a magistrate took her oath! She was one Mrs. Ada Summers,Mayor of Stallybridge & consequently an ex-officio justice who incidentally took the chair at her first court session without training or even induction! And that’s how it was for far too long or nearly so! I was appointed a justice in 1961 together with a couple of chaps with absolutely no training apart from information about a voluntary course provided by The Magistrates’ Association! I did it but my two male colleagues did not! As they announced at the time ‘If we can run businesses we can dispense justice!’ It was called ‘Sitting next to Nellie” which was fine I suppose as long as ‘Nellie’ knew what she/he was doing.I was fortunate, she did!
Incidentally training is compulsory nowadays, mayors are no longer ex-officio justices and often there are more female magistrates than male on benches. Something to do with multi-tasking or endowment with common sense perhaps?
Joan Gregory.
President,SI Leicester.