Maternal Mental Health Campaign In This Issue

@WRDA_team

@WomensResourceandDevelop

mentAgency

WRDA has been working on the urgent issue of perinatal and maternal mentalhealth since 2017. The health inspection body the RQIA published a damningreport into the state of perinatal mental health services just before the collapseof the NI Executive. As a result of the political situation and the demandsplaced on the Department of Health from the Covid-19 crisis, the importantrecommendations they made have not yet been implemented. These includethings like creating a specialist mental health mother and baby unit so thatmums with acute conditions who need inpatient care do not have to beseparated from their babies. The report also calls for specialist multi-disciplinary teams in all health trusts including midwives trained in perinatalmental health, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists etc. There are currently onlya handful of specialist providers and all are situated in the Belfast trust.

the work on the Mental Health Action Plan has been suspended due to thepandemic. However, on Tuesday the 19th of May the Department for Healthdid publish the Mental Health Action Plan. We are pleased to note that the plan contains a commitment to developperinatal mental health services and we will continue to campaign for urgentimplementation.

Newsletter ~ April/May 2020

Maternal MentalHealth Campaign

Another SuccessfulYear for our BCB

Programme

Hate Crime Review

Breaking DownBarriers Report

Launched

Call for AnthologySubmissions

In 2019 participants from ourMaternal Advocacy and Support(MAs) project met with ChiefMedical Officer, Michael McBride.He pledged to secure urgentperinatal mental health servicesincluding an inpatient mother andbaby unit and specialist perinatal

mental health professionals in every trust. Neither of these things has happened.

The Women’s Sector Lobbyist,Rachel Powell requested an urgentupdate from the Department ofHealth on these issues. The replynoted the need for mental healthservices would increase due to thepandemic but went on to say that

This year WRDA delivered the innovative Breast,Cervical and Bowel Screening AwarenessProgramme to 2,237 people in groups from allacross Northern Ireland. The programme was developed to tackle the lowuptake of screening invitations by women living insome areas of Northern Ireland and to promoteinformed choice. The success of these aims isevidenced by the improvement in willingness toattend for mammograms, cervical smear tests andwillingness to use the FOB test kit.

WRDA are currently unable to delthe PHA havetaken the difficult decision to pause routinescreening so that Health and Social Care staff andresources can be redeployed in response toCOVID-19. Even though the routine screening programmeshave been cancelled you can still make anappointment with your GP if you are concerned.Early detection leads to better outcomes in breast,cervical and bowel cancer treatment and so it isimportant to know what to look out for (p. 3).

Another Successful Year forOur Breast, Cervical and

BowelScreening Awareness

Programme

Introduce of an adequate working definition ofhate crime,Apply the statutory aggravation model to allprotected characteristicsRecognise gender, specifically misogyny, asa protected characteristicRecognise transgender identity a protectedcharacteristicRecognise intersex identity as a protectedcharacteristicConsider recognising sex workers as aprotected characteristicCreate a legal framework that recognises theimportance of intersectionality to adequatelyreflect the experiences and identities of victimsand motivations of perpetratorsRemove “dwelling” defencesRecognise the severe harm caused by onlinehate speech again womenUpdate and amend existing legislation dealingwith public order, malicious communicationsand harassment to reflect the changing natureof communications due to social mediaEnsure online harm is fully covered withinhate crime legislationStrengthen law relating to public authoritiestackling hate expressions in public spacesImplement victim-led restorative justiceprogrammes in collaboration withcommunity based organisations

The key asks form the WRDA are:

You can read the complete response on ourwebsite.

Hate Crime Review -Summary of

WRDA's Response

WRDA Newsletter ~ April/May 2020 2

Treatment for early stage cancers can be moreeffective and less complicated than at later stages.It is vitally important attend for screening wheninvited.

Breast, Cervical and Bowel Cancer - Know the Signs

WRDA Newsletter ~ April/May 2020 3

You can find out more about reducing your riskand the signs to look out for by visitinghttp://www.cancerscreening.hscni.net/

Researchers at University College London are studying the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on familyand community life. They are looking for families with children under the age of 18, living in the UK totake part. They are especially interested in hearing from families with grandparents living-in, as well asfrom parents who co-parent across two households, but the main pre-requisite is being in a householdwith children. They want to hear from the whole family. If you take part, everyone over the age of 12 inthe family will be asked to fill in diaries about your activities, how you are coping, and yourunderstandings of the pandemic as it progresses. You would also be asked to take part in one or twoonline interviews. No face-to-face contact will be made with the researchers- it’s all happening online. You can find out more here: https://uclioe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5gukWgLMAhFSCHz

Can You Help Researchers Study the Impact of Covid-19 onFamily Life?

The Breaking DownBarriers project, whichwas funded by BelfastCity Council, has had toend early due to therestrictions in place todeal with Covid-19. The project focused onendemic sexist attitudesand behaviours whichact as barriers towomen’s full

Breaking Down BarriersProject Report Launched

participation in our communities and public life. The vision for this programme was to pilot a projectthat tackles sexual harassment and sexism asbarriers to women’s participation in communitydevelopment and public life. It sought to provideawareness-raising on what constitutes sexualharassment and build capacity to act collectively tostamp out sexism in Belfast. We cannot solve these problems by telling womento toughen up and to take sexist abuse or sexualharassment on the chin as the price of public life;we solve them by tackling the root causes.Misogyny is at the root of all of these behaviours,and we must call it what it is, strive to understandit, and address it everywhere it exists. It is withinour power to begin to tackle this issue, but it is asociety-wide problem and needs a robust,committed, society-wide approach. We need morewomen at the table to make it possible for more tojoin them. The final outcome of this project will be a Toolkitdesigned by the participants around tacklingsexism in public life. As the project had to finishearly, this is a work in progress. The full report intoour Breaking Down Barriers project can be read onour website.

WRDA Newsletter ~ April/May 2020 4

Culture Matters is taking an initiative in the midstof the Covid-19 crisis to compile a secondanthology of working-class writing. We hope it willbe one way for working people to creativelyexpress their anxieties, experiences and thoughtsabout various aspects of their life in these troubledtimes. Our first anthology of working people’s poetry fromcontemporary Ireland, The Children of the Nation,was a success in the US and Europe, as well as inIreland. This second volume will focus on short prose:flash fiction, short stories, anecdotes, epigrams,memoirs and other kinds of life writing (diary,letter/email, essays, blogs, and black and whiteimages). Relevant themes that come to mindinclude the Climate Emergency, the CoronavirusCrisis, Working Women, More Than Profit andCommunity and Global Solidarity – but also quitesimply your everyday experience as a workingperson in contemporary Ireland. We are unable to offer fees for publication, but willsupply free and discounted copies to contributors. Here are the stipulations: one or two submissionsper person, unpublished in print. A maximum of2,500 words per submission. In English or Irish (ifin Irish our international readership will appreciateyour English translation please). Black and whiteimages should be jpegs of photos, drawings,cartoons etc. no bigger than 1MB. A briefbiography outlining your connection with theworking class, 150 words max. Deadline forsubmission: 31st July 2020 Submissions to besent to: irishstories2020@yahoo.com You retain copyright on any submission but yourmaterial may be published in print and online byCulture Matters.

Call for AnthologySubmissions