20 September 2003

The Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and Minister for Women and Equality
1 Victoria St
London
SW1H OET

Dear Secretary of State:

Members of Act Together would be extremely interested to attend the meeting with you on September 25, and have been in contact with your office to make the necessary arrangements.

In advance of the meeting, we would like to table some concerns we have regarding the security situation in Iraq -- a situation which, in our view, makes it debatable whether or not it's possible for Iraqi women to make the sort of 'invaluable contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq' that Deborah Lincoln
describes in her letter of invitation.

You will no doubt have seen the Human Rights Watch report published in July 2003, called 'Climate of Fear: Sexual Violence and Abduction of Women and
Girls in Baghdad'. Although this report was based on the direct testimony of only four women and girls who had been abducted and subjected to sexual
violence, and a further twenty-five 'credible reports' given to the HRW researcher, 'Climate of Fear' is categorical that a very great many women and girls are affected by the widespread fear of sexual violence, abduction and trafficking -- a fear which keeps them locked up in their homes and prevents them contributing to the reconstruction of anything, let alone their country.

From our own contacts with family and friends in Iraq, we can confirm that there is 'a palpable climate of fear' amongst women. And we have to say that we agree with HRW's conclusion, that 'the failure of the occupying power to protect women and girls from violence, and redress it when it occurs, has both
immediate and long-term negative implications for... (the) participation (of women and girls) in post-war life in Iraq'.

We would like to table the following questions for discussion at the September 25 meeting:

1. Have British forces operational around Basra been given specific instructions to be vigilant in the protection of Iraqi girls and women from attack in the street? What measures are being taken by British forces to protect girls and women and make public spaces safer for them?

2. Are British forces, and the CPA in general, monitoring and making particular record of the rape, abduction and possible trafficking of Iraqi women?

3. What protocols govern British forces and medical personnel in providing appropriate treatment for, and taking forensic evidence from, Iraqi women who may be victims of sexual violence?

4. In the training of Iraqi police and security personnel, how much time are British trainers giving to the issue of gender violence? Are Iraqi police in training being told that it is an important part of their responsibility to take women's complaints of sexual violence seriously? Are they being shown how to enable evidence to be taken without further harming or traumatising the woman? Do you support the creation of special units with women staff to deal with victims of sexual violence, and are you taking steps to make this happen?

5. An anonymous Iraqi police investigator is quoted in the HRW report as saying that 'some gangs specialize in kidnapping girls; they sell them to Gulf
countries. This happened before the war too, but now it is worse; they can get them in and out without passports'. What measures are British forces
implementing at Iraq's borders to try and prevent the criminal trafficking of women?

We are heart-broken at what is happening in Iraq. We are particularly disappointed in the light of the consciousness expressed in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. When the governments of the world -- including the government you represent -- adopted this resolution unanimously in October 2000, they were saying they understood that violence and sexual violence against women in conflict situations need to be specifically addressed, and that conflict itself cannot be adequately resolved without the participation of women. Your government, along with every other government in the world, signed up to a commitment to incorporate a gender perspective in all peacekeeping and reconstruction activities. We look to the powers occupying Iraq to fulfil their obligations under international law. If the CPA and its related military forces cannot institute measures to protect the generality of Iraqi women, promote their security and enable their participation in the post-war political process, is talk of the 'reconstruction' of Iraq even remotely plausible?

We look forward to meeting you on September 25.

Yours truly,

on behalf of Act Together