International Women’s Day

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

It is always an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, and listen to her wise words, many of which she has given to me over the past few years when I have been floundering around on the Front Bench.

I thank both my noble friends the Ministers for today’s debate and congratulate my noble friend Lady Berridge on her new appointment and my noble friend Lady Sugg on her appointment as Special Envoy for Girls’ Education. It is a brilliant appointment and one that means girls’ voices will be heard across the world. I also welcome my noble friend Lord Ranger to this House; following his maiden speech, we look forward to his contributions in the future.

I want to talk briefly on some of the issues facing women in our rural communities in the UK. The view that people living in the countryside are well off and enjoy a rural idyll masks the reality of pockets of deprivation, loneliness and ill health and the feeling of exclusion, due in main to the scarcity of transport, internet, local nurseries and schools, affordable housing, health services, training and secure, well-paid work.

Loneliness and the feeling of isolation are often seen as affecting mainly the elderly, but this is not necessarily true. According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, the under-25s are as vulnerable as the over-65s. For a young graduate or single mum, stranded in a location without transport, with no relatives or friends close by, it is easy to see how this can lead to isolation, causing depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, and to limiting their wider opportunities.

The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester and the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, talked about domestic abuse. A report by the National Rural Crime Network published last year stated that women living in rural committees and enduring domestic abuse are half as likely to report their suffering, while the perpetrators are, as we know, shielded by the isolation of the countryside. Abusers are able to isolate their victims with financial control and removal from friends and relatives. The report says that the availability of public services in rural areas more generally is on the decline, limiting support networks and escape routes for victims. Therefore, I was pleased to hear my noble friend the Minister mention in her opening remarks that the Domestic Abuse Bill will be coming forward and will help this vulnerable group of women.

As the Minister mentioned in her opening speech, rural BME women can find themselves particularly marginalised. Many of these women live in small towns and villages, and language, cultural differences and racism can make their problems worse. They have difficulty in accessing support networks, leading to loneliness and isolation because of a lack of interaction in culturally diverse environments.

Women are among the group who find it most difficult to move into, remain and progress in employment in rural areas. Those who do not have their own transport can spend hours taking several forms of public transport to get to their workplace or to a college or university, where courses are available to enable them to get better jobs and open up opportunities. Data shows that employment levels in these areas are high, but examining this work in greater detail shows that it is often low-paid or informal, low-skilled or seasonal, with little hope of progression.

The noble Baronesses, Lady Gale, Lady Pinnock and Lady Donaghy, all mentioned the problems relating to social care. As we know, the social care burden usually falls to women. Rural areas can face difficulties in providing care services to the same standard and cost level as urban areas, particularly where those services involve a higher degree of travel. This means that women living in rural areas often face a particularly heavy burden, leading to them having no choice but to give up work, further education or training places. They are also often sandwich carers, caring for a loved one and bringing up children. This responsibility can make the pressure especially intense, with little or no hope of respite and in many cases no one to turn to for assistance with childcare or the nursing care of a loved one. The feeling of hopelessness and loneliness can be overwhelming.

In 2018, Girlguiding carried out some interesting research with over 1,000 girls and young women which showed that being lonely made them less confident, less happy and less likely to do activities such as sport. Talking to friends, going outdoors and being part of a youth group made them feel less lonely. Groups such as Girlguiding can play a vital role in relation to girls’ mental health and well-being by strengthening their resilience, while offering a safe space and opening up opportunities for the future. To this end, Girlguiding is offering aviation badges in partnership with easyJet and a coding badge in partnership with Google, along with getting girls interested in STEM in partnership with Rolls-Royce and Amey.

Of course, many of these issues are not a problem solely for women but their voices seem so often to go unheard. “Put up with” and “Carry on” are no longer good enough and we all need to start listening and acting on what we hear. Therefore, I look forward to the Government cracking on with their investment in infrastructure and transport, along with helping community-based projects, making it possible for there to be locally based education, training and childcare for women, young and old, in rural areas, so that they can make the choices that enable them to reach their full potential.