LMH backs men
THE JCR of Lady Margaret Hall are putting through a motion to establish a Male Welfare Officer and a Female Welfare Officer, which will lead to the abolition of the current roles of Welfare Information Officer and Women's Officer.
It is hoped that the equalisation of the welfare role will mean that all gender issues will be represented, particularly specifcally male welfare issues such as testicular cancer, male suicide and alcoholism that have previously received little attention.
Anna Barras, the current Women's Officer, explained that the move was prompted by increasing awareness in the college that "male welfare is under-represented and never taken seriously." The new welfare officers will also have a lot of shared duties and will be expected to work together on issues that are not gender specific.
The motion was proposed in this week's JCR meeting and was passed by an overwhelming majority. However, for the plan to go ahead it must also be ratified at the next JCR meeting and wil then be presented to the college's governing body. Most people in the JCR seem to be in favour of the change. However, according to one source at LMH, there are fears that this will mean that the uniquely political role of women's welfare will be diluted, by no longer having a Women's Officer to specifically deal with these issues. In order to address this concern a clause is being written into the JCR constitution that states that the Female Welfare Officer must attend OUSU Women's Committee; and also that if this proves to be too much work she will have the authority to appoint someone to do this, thus delagating the social and political side of the role. It is hoped that this will ensure that women's welfare will not suffer.
If the motion is successful a Male Welfare Officer will be elected during this term's JCR elections to replace the Welfare Information Officer. However, there would not be elections for the role of Female Welfare Officer because LMH JCR has a policy of staggered elections. This role will be taken over by the current Women's Officer, Anna Barras for two terms in a caretaking facility, to ensure there is someone with experience in the team. This may be problematic as some are concerned that she was not elected for that role.
7th Oct 1999