VIEW, Issue six, 2012


Website: viewdigital.org


Page 14 Women rally ove Reporter Lucy Gollogly reports on a recent protest held


Women from a range of organisations at the recent Stormont protest Images: Kevin Cooper


W


moving benefits “from the purse to the wallet”. The coalition Government’s Welfare Reform


omen’s groups in Northern Ireland say they fear the new benefits system, due to introduced next year, will entrench inequality between men and women by


Act, which received Royal Assent in March, consoli- dates a range of benefits, including child tax credit, housing benefit and income support, into a single Universal Credit. In the case of married or cohabiting couples, the benefit will be paid to just one person – and the Empty Purse Campaign argues that vulnera- ble women could lose what little financial independ- ence they have at present. In Northern Ireland we’re still waiting for the Welfare Reform Draft Bill to be brought before the


Assembly, which breaks for the summer on July 7. While the Executive is unlikely to break parity with Westminster and change the legislation radically, it can tinker around the edges. The campaign group, which includes the Women’s Resource and Develop- ment Agency, Women’s Aid NI, trades unions and local women’s groups, want the Universal Credit to be paid to the secondary earner or main carer – nor- mally a woman. They turned out at Stormont last Monday to


take their message to MLAs, a number of whom came out to speak to protesters and pose for photo- graphs.


Trademark, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to tackle inequality, said the reforms “haven’t been


One of the organisers, Kellie O’Dowd from


thought through” and described them as a “disgrace”. “The welfare reform issues are quite difficult to understand, so people are saying ‘I don’t really know


‘I don’t think we realise the extent of the cuts but it’s beginning to hit’


what that means – it’ll be OK’. They’re trying to turn a blind eye to it but they’re coming, and people need to be aware of the issues,” she said. Lynn Carvill from the Women’s Resource and


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22