Dear Mr Cameron, 

Please stop treating me like an idiot. I know enough NOT to get all snarly at the thought of a family claiming Income Support with 3 or more kids, because I know that many of those people lost work in this recession AFTER the children were born. I know that 25 does not mean you have not contributed, it can mean you have contributed for 9 years!.  I know that Housing benefit provides and emergency net for women (and sometimes men) who are being abused by their partner.  I know that very many people claiming Housing Benefit are employed taxpayers claiming only part of the amount.


I know that the problem with housing benefit is that you (and your predecessors) allowed a situation where someone earning a wage needs state help to cover the rent. That is the big problem here, but you are too cowardly to address that as too many BTL Landlords vote Tory. 

Yours in hope of being treated like an adult,

Peachy, over 25 years old, who left home at 24 and was in Ft work and living with her partner.

'It doesn't affect me' is not the same as 'it isn't wrong'. 

We Believe You: Mumsnet Campaign on Sexual Violence

We Believe You is a new campaign being spearheaded by Mumsnet which, simply, is about believing victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence and challenging destructive rape myths. We live in a culture whose default position is to immediately raise the issue of women who lie about rape even though false reporting of rape is generally less than false reporting of most other crimes. 

The statistics on rape in the UK, as outlined by Kat Banyard in The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today, are distressing: 

• Around 100 000 women a year will be raped in the UK.
• Fewer than 17% of rapes are perpetrated by strangers.
• 13% of rapes take place in public spaces. 
• 2/3 of women who are raped will develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Women raped by their intimate partner are 10 times more likely to be subjected to multiple sexual assaults.  

This works out to one women being raped every 6 minutes in the UK; over a third of these women will go on to be raped again during the following 12 months.

2009 British Government Survey on Rape found that: 

• 43% of people think a woman should be held (partly) responsible for their rape if they had been flirting with the man 
• 42% believe that women should be held (partly) responsible for their rape if they had been taking drugs 
• 36% believe that women should be held (partly) responsible for their rape if they had been drunk 
•  26% believe that women should be held (partly) responsible for their rape if they were wearing sexy or revealing clothes. 

These statistics alone are terrifying enough but the financial cost of rape and sexual violence in society is immense. We don't factor the financial cost of rape and sexual violence into general discourse but the the base cost is huge in terms of healthcare. Rape and sexual violence can cause physical injuries, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The lasting effects in terms of mental health are equally expensive as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, social phobia, substance abuse, obesity, eating disorders, self harm and suicide. According to Rape Crisis, "the overall cost to society of sexual offences in 2003-04 was estimated at £8.5 billion, with each rape costing over £76,000. Much of this cost is made up of lost output and costs to the health service resulting from long term health issues faced by victims." 

Current cuts to frontline services in the NHS and funding grants available to charities that work with victims means that many more women will not get the support they need. The long-term consequences for women's health is incalculable yet the ConDems are continuing to push through short-sighting cuts to frontline services that put more women, children and men at risk of sexual violence. 

The Mumsnet Campaign won't take into account these financial costs. Instead, it is focussing on the human cost; a cost that continues to be ignored in the destruction of the NHS and our welfare state.

Twitter hashtags: #WeBelieveYou and #WeVote 

Mumsnet Campaign on Rape and Sexual Violence

Mumsnet Survey on Rape and Sexual Violence

Rape Crisis England and Wales  

• Freephone: 0808 802 9999 
• 12-2:30 pm and 7-9:30 pm. 

Find a rape crisis centre near you in England and Wales

Rape Crisis Scotland:  

• Every day 6pm – 8pm
•  08088 010302 

Current legal definition of rape: The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the Act) came into force on the 1st May 2004. The purpose of the Act was to strengthen and modernise the law on sexual offences, whilst improving preventative measures and the protection of individuals from sexual offenders. The Act extends the definition of rape to include the penetration by a penis of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person. 

The 2003 Act also changes the law about consent and belief in consent. The word "consent" in the context of the offence of rape is now defined in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. A person consents if he or she agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. The essence of this definition is the agreement by choice. The law does not require the victim to have resisted physically in order to prove a lack of consent. The question of whether the victim consented is a matter for the jury to decide, although the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) considers this issue very carefully throughout the life of the case. 

What is sexual (indecent) assault? Sexual assault is an act of physical, psychological and emotional violation, in the form of a sexual act, which is inflicted on someone without consent. It can involve forcing or manipulating someone to witness or participate in any sexual acts, apart from penetration of the mouth with the penis, the penetration of anus or vagina (however slight) with any object or the penis, which is rape. 

Further Information:

Guardian: Women's Groups Struggle Among Funding Cuts

Touchstone Blog: Cuts to women's Domestic Violence Services

Cuts Watch 390: 100% Funding cut to Liverpool's Rape Crisis Centres

Women's Views on the News: Funding Cuts to Glasgow's Rape Crisis Centres

End Violence Against Women

Nice workfare if you can get it.

We thought you might be interested in this position working nights at Tesco - for your £67 a week JSA, plus travel expenses.

It's one of the 1,400 positions Tesco fills by using staff on 'workfare' schemes - that is, funded by taxpayers. They say that 300 of those obtained paid employment with the company.

Tesco's financial report last year (record profits of £3.5bn) boasted that they made £14,300 profit per employee. With an increasing number of their staff employed without wages, we expect that will increase even more. Lucky old Tesco.

Some people seem unclear about the way these schemes function: There is no job contract.

The employer has a deal with one of the scheme administrators, like A4E who get around £5k for each claimant placed. The claimant is sent on placement by the JobCentrePlus. The claimant doesn't get a choice and their benefits can be stopped if they don't do as they're told.

The employer/provider doesn't get to choose choose who is sent. Their contract is with the agency - to provide the place - and the worker is controlled by the government.

Since the employer doesn't employ the workfarer, employment laws do not apply to the post. With compulsory, indefinite workfare being rolled out for disabled and sick people, this raises concerns about bullying and abuse on placements as well as the obvious dangers to people's health.

Fellow Frother MmeLindor has blogged more on the Tesco job at saltandcaramel.com.

There are currently 8 job seekers for every job. Obviously, these schemes take vacancies off the market - why pay wages, when you can get the taxpayer to provide staff for free?

Read our first post about workfare here - take a look at the readers' comments. Find out more at boycottworkfare.org.

Mainstream retailers using workfare staff include:
Boots
Superdrug
TopShop
Miss Selfridge
Dorothy Perkins
Wallis
Evans
TopMan
Burton

Matalan
BHSMarks & Spencer
Asda
Tesco
Argos
Primark
Poundstretcher
Wilkinsons
Holland & Barrett
Royal Mail (pilot scheme)
Burger King
McDonald's
KFC
Pizza Hut
Greggs the bakers
Booker Wholesale
Maplins
WH Smith
HMV

Retailers who don't use workfarers:
Aldi
Lidl
The Co-op & Co-operative group
Morrisons
John Lewis & Waitrose
99p Stores has withdrawn
Waterstones has withdrawn
TKMaxx has withdrawn
Sainsbury's has withdrawn
Poundland has withdrawn
Superdrug say they will withdraw

Matalan has suspended its involvement
Argos has suspended its involvement
Greggs is reviewing its involvement
Tesco has altered the terms of its involvement

Updates: PROTEST WORKS!
The Independent, 18th Feb 2012
The Independent, 24th Feb 2012
BBC, 24th Feb 2012

Tesco, Sept 2011 (Note dress code) 5 wanted

What can I do?

• Boycott the companies exploiting staff on benefits.

• Sign this petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29356

• Tweet your objections here: http://www.pint.org.uk/work/