Last Thursday, attending a meeting of the Attorney General’s Equality and Advisory Group (three cheers to Baroness Scotland for continuing her predecessor’s initiative) we sat in a high-ceilinged committee room in the House of Lords. Massive paintings of the coronations of King George V and King George VI adorned the two end walls of the room, while a tall portrait of King William IV in naval uniform looked down on us – women and men, black and white, straight and gay, advising the UK’s first black woman Attorney General (some of the Victorian judiciary must be turning in their graves). Under the minatory gaze of these various monarchs, we discussed the Crown Prosecution Service’s draft policy on prosecuting crimes of violence against women.
Gratifyingly for the CPS, the representatives of the civil society organizations at the meeting were full of praise for this draft policy. It was visionary, they said, and it was well written. Oh yes, there were some suggestions for amendments and for things that had been omitted to be considered for inclusion. But it must be rare for a policy to achieve such unanimity of approval.
Equality of women and men is a fundamental Baha’i principle and the Baha’i International Community’s Office for the Advancement of Women has chosen ending violence against women as one of its focal areas.
Shamefully it is only relatively recently that violence against women, particularly in the home, has been considered a matter for public policy, but now that it is on the agenda, at least the CPS has made a good fist of a draft policy about prosecution of those who commit crimes of violence against women.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Attorney General, Patricia Scotland, equality, women, violence against women
Related posts:
Comments on this entry are closed.