Proposed Boundary Changes

I strongly encourage all of my constituents to visit www.bcereviews.org.uk to view maps showing the proposed new boundaries and engage in the consultation before it closes on 2nd August 2021.

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Good Luck Hebburn Town FC!

After such a long wait for the final, I would like to wish Hebburn the very best of luck for today’s big game. It is such an amazing opportunity for the team to play at Wembley Stadium and they have my full support! It is, however, such a shame fans aren’t allowed to travel down with the team to watch the biggest game in the club’s history.

It has been great to see the amount of support for Hebburn Town with the community coming together to decorate the local area with their black and yellow ribbons and flags to show their support. This is a proud moment for Hebburn.

I’ve got my virtual ticket and I’ll be watching the game later on; I’ve got a good feeling about it. Come on Hebburn!

The need to set out a strategy for tackling systemic racism

Read below Kate’s latest Column in the Shields Gazette.

Just two weeks ago, the Tory government’s new Race and Ethnic Disparities Report claimed that Britain is a model to the world of a successful multi-ethnic society.

Whilst I fully understand the need to discuss what we as a country could do to work together to promote anti-racism and equality, the report is wholly inadequate in addressing much of the “systemic” racism that has been identified by those who gave evidence to the commission.

Yet the reality paints a rather different picture.

It was only 18 months ago when the United Nations special rapporteur for racial equality Tendayi Achiume said that Britain’s levels of inequality are so bad that it amounted to a “threat to democracy“.

This mirrors with the Government’s own report on race in the workplace, led by Conservative peer Ruby McGregor-Smith, who came to similar findings. Baroness McGregor-Smith said that racism in employment was costing Britain £24bn a year.  

Research from the TUC has also found that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) unemployment rose twice as fast during the Covid-19 pandemic than it did for white workers.

Recently, the TUC released further analysis to show that BAME youth unemployment had rocketed by 50% over the same period.

The Government’s harmful and dangerous Race and Ethnic Disparities Report clearly undermines the experiences of racism, harassment, and discrimination within our BAME communities.

It is important to remember that the report was released during a time the Government were trying to rush through a Bill that intended to criminalise protest and protect memorials more so than its own citizens.

The Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill would, if passed, give police greater powers to shut down and arrest demonstrators like the Black Lives Matter protesters.

Whilst I fully understand the need to discuss what we as a country could do to work together to promote anti-racism and equality, the report is wholly inadequate in addressing much of the “systemic” racism identified by those who gave evidence to the commission.

The report identifies the inconsistent way data is collected, but concludes there was no evidence of systemic or institutional racism.

The findings are at odds with almost every single report on race. It is at odds with the Human Rights Committee’s study, which found that 75% of Black people did not believe their human rights were protected equally to white people.

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, Marsha de Cordova called the report an “insult” and argued that Labour would listen to the voices of communities. Sir Keir Starmer reiterated Labour’s commitment to introduce a Race Equality Act. These are essential steps, and we will wait to hear more details. In the immediate future, some will say this report has halted all the momentum following the Black Lives Matter protests last year, but it need not do. We need to continue to build bridges that address structural racism and address class inequalities – because this Tory government is failing on both measures.

The Government must now go back to the drawing board and set out its strategy for tackling the very real institutional and systemic racism that is undeniably present in our country.

Although the report states that the UK has made progress when it comes to getting rid of racism, this progress does not negate the fact that it continues to plague our society.

This is not the time to pat ourselves on the back to celebrate a job well done.

This is the time to continue to knuckle down, to rid our society from racism, prejudice and discrimination and create a fair Britain for all.

See the article here: https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/politics/kate-osborne-the-need-to-set-out-a-strategy-for-tackling-systemic-racism-3200801

Everyone’s Invited

The Women and Equality Committee’s Report on the issue of sexual violence in schools, published 5 years ago included guidance and advice on how to prevent sexual harassment and violence and protect its students. Sadly, this Government has so far been resistant to take the necessary steps to ensure there is a functional and effective safeguarding procedure in place, leading to a continuation of a culture of misogyny and sexual violence against women and girls in education. 

The website ‘Everyone’s Invited’ has gathered over 11,000 harrowing testimonials from young women and girls from all over the UK about their experiences of sexual harassment, violence, and abuse in school. These testimonies are a product of a rape culture that has been left unchecked within our society for far too long.

It is not only the responsibility of young girls and women to protect themselves from sexual violence and harassment. The Government and education providers need to take urgent action to incite change to make certain that schools, colleges, and universities are safe places for every single student. I want to lend my voice to the calls for an urgent inquiry to investigate and overhaul the safeguarding procedures, as they are evidently not fit for purpose.

As a society, it is important that we learn from past mistakes and make each day safer than the last. The allegations of sexual abuse in schools need urgent investigation, and support must be in place for the victims. Guidance for schools is available on the gov.uk website but the issue of peer-on-peer sexual harassment is a complex one, with over a third of female students (37%) and 6% of female students in mixed-sex schools having reported experiences of sexual harassment in school in 2018 alone.  There must be a national strategy put in place to ensure that every school has clear guidance on how to deal with sexism, harassment and violence against pupils.

The Government must act now to introduce an effective strategy to tackle sexism and sexual harassment in education settings. Education providers need clear guidance, policies and training to ensure staff are confident in maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to sexism and sexual violence.

The normalisation of every-day sexism is a major issue that leads to a lack of consequence for sexual harassment that is damaging for the victims, who are often told to brush off advances, as ‘boys will be boys’ or ‘banter’. The lasting and damaging effects of this are dangerous and need to stop.

The ‘Everyone’s Invited’ movement has brought more public awareness to the issue of sexual violence in schools, but it is unfortunately not a new issue. I hope that the Government will act swiftly and decisively to ensure that harassment in schools longer goes unchecked, that the victims of abuse have safe and secure ways to report violence and more importantly, access to counselling and further support. We must protect our children in their schools and eradicate sexism, misogyny and abuse.

Sexual violence in schools is an abhorrent and endemic issue that this Government must act on immediately. It is the responsibility of schools  the Government to work together to protect children from, especially young girls who are being told alter their behaviour to account for the actions of others. It is vital that young people are educated properly at a young age and shown repeatedly that sexist behaviour is not ok. A uniform approach up and down the UK is necessary in order to finally put a stop to misogyny and make sure that the education system is safe for every student.