Displaying items by tag: Culture

A study of 315 staff working for MPs found that 42% met the clinical definition of experiencing psychological distress, three times higher than in the general population. They face similar levels of psychological distress as frontline NHS workers, amid a ‘toxic’ workload and fears for their safety. MPs’ caseworkers said there was a ‘worrying upturn’ in the number of actively suicidal people seeking help in the past year. Two-thirds described their work as emotionally draining and one in ten said it was ‘harrowing’. It was not unusual for them to open horrifying mail detailing child abuse or containing pictures of maimed or dead children.

Persecution remains present in all South Asian countries, although location, social context and time frame all affect the intensity. In India and Nepal Christians are persecuted mostly by Hindus; in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives by Muslims; and in Sri Lanka by Buddhists. Some of this is a response of resentment and fear of church growth. But some persecution results from lack of sensitivity and wisdom by Christians ministering into these situations. Pray that evangelists, church planters and missionaries might share the gospel with love and boldness, but also with humility and wisdom. The Church in South Korea is a large and influential minority, an integral part of society. North Korea has an underground movement hunted down and reviled by the autocratic regime. But we can praise God for the recent growth of the Church in Asia through national workers, local evangelists and ordinary believers. These churches are Asian in structure, style and leadership. See also

Institutions working with children should be required by law to report suspicions of child sexual abuse, a seven-year independent inquiry concluded. It found crimes are often concealed from authorities, allegations are not recorded, victims ‘treated as if they were unworthy of protection’ and blamed for the abuse. Many individuals who failed to report abuse to the police or social services failed to meet their professional or moral obligations but did not break any laws in doing so. The inquiry said ‘systemic change’ is needed to ensure reporting of allegations of child sexual abuse, and said urgent action is required to protect children. Many institutions have ‘historically inadequate measures’ which fail to safeguard children from abuse that happened and continues to happen in schools, care homes and in religious settings. Child sexual abuse is an epidemic that leaves thousands of victims in its poisonous wake.

Tenants who complain of dangerous or potentially deadly faults in privately rented homes are being let down by councils. When landlords fail to fix hazards - including serious faults that pose an immediate risk to health - councils have a legal duty to act. But the number of times councils use enforcement powers is far lower than the number of reports made. In the last five years 135,687 hazards were recorded, including 42,654 which posed an immediate risk to safety, but council action was only taken on 25,243 occasions, while less than 1% of the registered faults led to a prosecution. The housing charity Shelter said the whole system was ‘a car crash’. The private rented sector is home to 11 million people: many are young professionals who are close to buying, but there are also families and older people who will be renting for many years.

Security forces have killed at least 201 people in unrest following the death in custody of a woman arrested for breaking strict hijab rules. Now people honk car horns supporting any women they see not covered up. Protests against the security forces are in the evening and afternoon in different locations. At night, those who do not leave their houses shout ‘down with the dictator’ out of their windows in big and smaller cities. The protests are not just about women wearing the hijab; that was just the spark. They have always been about basic human rights. Iranians have always wanted what westerners might take for granted as a normal life. A protester said, ‘We want life, liberty, justice, accountability, freedom of choice and assembly, a free press. We want access to our basic human rights and an inclusive government that is actually elected by the people through a proper election and that works for the people.’ See also

It is estimated that on 24 September the ten millionth child would have been killed under the Abortion Act.. Last week the media reported that at 14 weeks’ gestation a child can demonstrate their sense of taste. But this child has no meaningful protection in law for another ten weeks. Babies at 23 weeks, which could be delivered and go on to lead healthy lives, can be killed at the mother’s discretion. Leading abortionists would like this to be offered all the way to birth. There are signs of encouragement for pro-life activists. The morals of abortionists like BPAS are being exposed. Fresh young pro-life campaigns are springing up. March for Life UK had record attendance. Each landmark, each record, each year is a painful reminder that we have not come far enough.

An appeal fund has been started by Buckinghamshire Council to help people facing a cost-of-living crisis. It is working with the charity Heart of Bucks; about £17,000 has been raised to date. Martin Tett, its Conservative leader, said the county had some ‘relatively affluent’ people; he was asking them to make a donation for those struggling to get through the winter. Through the Helping Hand programme, advice, financial help, and information is being offered to people ‘to cover the food and energy costs to households in crises. He said, ‘In the council area not everyone is literally down to their last farthing. If you can afford it, if you can help other people, to help them get through the winter, particularly struggling pensioners and people on very low incomes, we'd like you to consider making a donation towards our crisis fund.’ The council also has Welcoming Spaces programmes, opening libraries for people to spend the day somewhere warm.

A new review from the Children's Commissioner has shown that 23% of UK families are lone-parent - 10% higher than Europe’s average. The communities minister highlighted the need for better government policies that support families. The head of public policy said, ‘What is required is not just laws but wholesale culture changes. We need to value marriage (between a man and a woman) as a sacred, lifelong bond, and promote marriage as the best and most stable and successful structure for bringing up children.’ There are no policy recommendations in Part 1 of the review, but Part 2 will look at the impact of its policies on families. Sadly, for too long, the Government has done little or nothing to promote or support families. In fact, it has done the opposite, finding time in the coronavirus crisis to pass legislation for ‘no-fault divorce’. This means potentially enabling one partner to unilaterally destroy the family.

English and Welsh barristers will go on an indefinite, uninterrupted strike from 5 September. Recently they have been striking on alternate weeks in a dispute over pay, working conditions and legal aid funding. The strikes will delay thousands of cases, leaving victims and the accused waiting longer for justice. The Criminal Bar Association said the strike action was a last resort, after warning signs coming for many years. Barristers have endured their income collapsing, cuts, and underfunding. Their income has decreased 28% since 2006. Court cases are not going ahead because there are not enough barristers to defend or prosecute. A solution would be an injection of money into the backlog of cases that barristers are working on (currently 60,000 cases). It would cost the government £1.1m per month. It is costing much more for the courts to sit empty.

In July furious parents stormed a Drag Queen Story Hour for three- to 11-year-olds in Reading central library, the first venue in a UK-wide two month library tour. The event descended into chaos after the parents broke in and screamed abuse in front of the children. As they threatened to perform a ‘citizens’ arrest’ and accused the drag queen of paedophilia, the police had to step in to bring calm. The final story hour, in Cardiff, was also targeted by protesters with placards and banners, saying it was inappropriate for children. Many people came to support the event, wearing clothes adorned with the rainbow flag. Sab (drag character Aida H Dee) says the stories provide a positive experience about queer culture and deliver a positive role model for people to look up to. Sab moved to Cardiff to capitalise on its flourishing LGBTQ community. and thinks it wouldn’t have thrived without the support Wales gives to that community. Cardiff councillors received 143 letters of complaints about these story times.