Our Rights Stories

This is part 2 of our Scotland’s Human Rights Bill episode of the Our Rights Stories podcast created and developed by the JustRight Scotland team.  
 
This episode continues to look at the Scottish Government’s consultation proposals for a Human Rights Bill published on 15th June which will close on 5 October 2023. 
We are focusing on this topic as part of our Scottish campaign which aims to call for the right to an effective remedy – one that is accessible, affordable, timely and effective – to be included in the Bill as a substantive right, with a duty to comply.  

That was omitted from the Consultation proposals.  
 
Inclusion of this right in the framework Human Rights Bill will ensure it is part of national law and can be used to drive positive change, in the same way as the other substantive rights.    

 

For more information, check out our website: Scotland’s Human Rights Bill: the right to an effective remedy is essential to the new framework - JustRight Scotland  

 

This is part 3 of our Scotland’s Human Rights Bill series of the Our Rights Stories podcast created and developed by the JustRight Scotland team.   
 
In this episode, we keep talking about the current consultation, what are some of the gaps, how this impacts policy and what human rights incorporation means for people in Scotland and our justice system. We analyse the accessibility level of this consultation, how our JustCitizens members have reacted to these proposals and what's missing.  

We also focus on some next steps which can follow this consultation process, and talk about our hopes for the future, including why the right to an effective remedy has to be included in this Bill framework.  

For more information, check out our website here: Scotland’s Human Rights Bill: the right to an effective remedy is essential to the new framework - JustRight Scotland  

Read our response to the consultation here: 23.10.09-updated-A-Human-Rights-Bill-for-Scotland-JRS-Response-.pdf (justrightscotland.org.uk)

Every year the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) welcomes students from the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic as interns.  
All of them work alongside our legal team, they improve their knowledge of the wider organisation by taking part in weekly meetings, events and activities and they gain new experience into the legal sector.   

Maya joined the SWRC on a placement over the summer and she is still a volunteer at our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre.  
In this episode, we talk about her experience as intern first and as a volunteer after, her hopes and dreams for the future and the impact this opportunity is having on her studies and careers.  

Our Scottish Women's Rights Centre is a unique collaborative project between us, Rape Crisis Scotland and University of Strathclyde Law Clinic.  

They provide free legal information, advice, representation and advocacy support to self-identifying women in Scotland affected by violence and abuse. 

The SWRC’s services include legal and advocacy helplines, legal advice surgeries, advocacy support and legal representation. The team also produces accessible information regarding women’s rights and guides on women’s rights.  
 

You can read their latest blog about voyeurism and upskirting here: Voyeurism and upskirting: what are they and what are your rights? | News/Blog | Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk)  

Download their guidance here: Legal guide cover template.docx (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk) 

Read Maya’s blog post is available here: Insight series – Part 4: a JustRight Intern - JustRight Scotland 

 

To find out more about our SWRC and their latest vacancies, please visit their website: Vacancies | Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk)  
 

 

This episode features our Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre (SATEC) which is the only specialist legal project in Scotland that provides direct legal advice and representation to child and adult survivors of trafficking and exploitation in Scotland regardless of nationality, gender, type of exploitation and geographical location. 

We talk with the team about their work, their current projects, their holistic and trauma-informed approach to help and support survivors of trafficking and exploitation.  
 
We hear more about their casework and their hopes for the future – you can find out more about it on our next episode so don’t miss it!  

  
Listen now to learn about the incredible work that Eeman and Antonia are doing in Scotland, why their services are so important and how they have a life-changing impact on each client they work with.  

 

Stay tuned for Part 2 - coming soon!   

 

Useful links: 

Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre - JustRight Scotland  

Legal Factsheets - JustRight Scotland

 

In this latest episode - created and developed by the JustRight Scotland team, we are focusing on digital learning, how to set up personalised training and how transformative and impactful learning can be.  

We talk with Laura and Ricarda about the role of our social enterprise JRS Knowhow, the work the team is doing to improve people's understanding of rights and equalities across Scotland and to help organisations better understand what this approach means for their day-to-day job, and why it is so important across sectors and communities in Scotland.   

Our digital consultancy specialises in learning and social justice and the team has recently launched their online Craftivism Origami Box which you can check out here: https://jrsknowhow.org/shop/ 

 

Want to learn more about their other innovative projects? Click the below links: 

• JRS Knowhow website: https://jrsknowhow.org/ 
• Digital identity toolkit: https://www.accessnow.org/guide/digital-id-toolkit/ 
• Free email course ‘Equalities and human rights in the digital space’ developed together with THRE: https://mailchi.mp/jrsknowhow/equalities-and-human-rights-for-digital 
• eLearning course on sexual harassment: http://eepurl.com/iB897o 

 

Today we talk with Maria McCloskey, PILS Director, and Emma Cassidy, Senior Engagement Lead at PILS about what PILS is and what the team does, how the staff members take on new projects and develop them to help and support communities across Northern Ireland, how important strategic cases are as they impact not just one person but a number of people in our society and how the UK Government’s hostile environment policies are negatively affecting people and above all, children, in Northern Ireland.  

   
The team also speaks about their latest projects including their recent podcast To Be Fair NI (shout out to this amazing new series!) and their upcoming toolkit for public interest litigation.  

  

To learn more about their recent cases, find out more about their next steps and listen to the PILS podcast, visit their website: 

PILS Project - Public Interest Litigation Support Northern Ireland (pilsni.org)  

This is part 2 of our Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre (SATEC) episode of the Our Rights Stories podcast created and developed by the JustRight Scotland team.    

This episode features the kind of services the team is delivering with a focus on their current projects and their holistic and trauma-informed approach.   
    
To learn about the amazing work that Anushya, Eeman and Antonia are doing in Scotland and how impactful it’s on their clients, you can also visit our website:  

Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre - JustRight Scotland 

This episode features our trainee solicitor Eilidh, who speaks about her experience as a trainee at JustRight Scotland through the Justice First Fellowship scheme delivered by The Legal Education Foundation. 

Eilidh has been working across all our legal centres learning more about legal processes and procedures, court cases and legal surgeries. She also developed new skills and worked on different projects including her latest work on the Incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into the Scottish law.  

 

Want to learn more? Read our resources: 

UNCRC Implementation Fund - JRSKnowhow 

https://uncrc.scot/  

Make Human Rights Justice a Reality report 

https://www.justrightscotland.org.uk/2022/08/my-first-6-months-as-legal-trainee-and-justice-first-fellow/ 

We are also recruiting for a new Trainee Solicitor (Justice First Fellowship). You can apply here: Work with Us - JustRight Scotland 

What are the root causes of gender-based violence? And what’s the difference between economic and financial abuse?  

Today’s episode is a special one, because we talked about the calls to action of the #16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and how organisations, institutions and individuals play a key role in ending violence against women and girls. 

We speak with our Senior Associate Solicitor at the Scottish Women’s rights Centre (SWRC) Lyndsay Monaghan and Jenn Glinski, researcher and expert on domestic abuse with unique expertise in economic abuse and banking.  

 
We highlight how violence against women CAN and MUST be prevented through  

- investing in organisations which provide services for women survivors of gender-based violence; 

- committing to structural reform of our legal aid system to address systemic barriers women face to accessing justice  

- increase awareness of all forms of gender-based violence including coercive control and economic abuse 
 

Want to find out more?  

Visit our SWRC’s website and explore the latest resources: Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk) 

https://www.scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk/resources/Economic-Abuse-final.pdf 
https://www.jennglinskiconsulting.com/postseparation 

 

As part of our #16 Days of Activism campaign against Gender-Based Violence, we continue our conversation with staff members from the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC), Nicola Mooney, Advocacy Worker, and Constance Trepanier, Legal Caseworker. 

In this episode we highlight which kinds of resources the SWRC has produced and produces to support survivors of gender-based violence and how important it is to train solicitors, police officers, and support workers on how to have a trauma informed approach when liaising with victims/survivors.  

We also speak about our dedicated weekly immigration advice surgery, staffed by solicitors from our Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre in collaboration with the team at the SWRC, to provide a holistic service when survivors call for information.  

Lastly, we talk about the training the SWRC provides on topics such as sexual harassment, gender-based violence and domestic abuse; and we point out that all the work the SWRC does is informed by lived experience panels, which are part of current strategy the centre is working on.  

 

You can find out more about the services and resources provided by the SWRC on their website: Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk) 

Training’s details are available here: Training | Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk)  

More information on the immigration advice surgery here: Advice surgeries | Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (scottishwomensrightscentre.org.uk) 

Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a set of universal, indivisible and inalienable rights, recognizing the equal dignity and worth of every person.  

 

Listen to our special episode to learn more and download our resources below:  

 

Partner organisations:  

Human Rights Consortium Scotland – Civil society network to protect human rights in Scotland (hrcscotland.org)  

Making Rights Real – Using rights to improve communities  

Our Team - The PILS Project (pilsni.org)  

 

Our team: Our Team - JustRight Scotland  

Our centres: What we do - JustRight Scotland  

 

Our landmark legal case who changed the law for migrant students in Scotland now accessing free education: Access to Higher Education for migrant students is now a real right (justrightscotland.org.uk)  

Our work on Access to Justice: Access to Justice - JustRight Scotland 

Our campaign on the Scottish Human Rights Bill: Scotland’s Human Rights Bill: the right to an effective remedy is essential to the new framework - JustRight Scotland  

How you can support our work to defend and extend people’s rights: Donate - JustRight Scotland  

 

 

Today’s episode is a part one of a special conversation with Kairos Women+, a community-led women’s space for all women and non-binary people across Renfrewshire and beyond. We talk about their collaborative, intersectional and innovative participatory approach.  

What does it mean? We speak with Katy Wilson-Scott, senior coordinator, and Abril Flores Rojo, project worker, who highlight: 

• The value of collaboration  

• The role of an active and engaged local community 

• The lived expertise panel 

Want to find out more? Visit Kairos Women+’s website and explore their latest resources: Kairos Women+ – Renfrewshire's community-led women's space—collaboratively creating opportunities for women via workshops, events and courses.