Women's inequality highlighted in Jersey

The first ever report on the status of women in Jersey has been released.

It highlights the low number of women in the States Assembly, the high cost of childcare, and a lack of any discrimination laws as some of the issues of inequality they face.

Jersey Community Relations Trust's report looks at issues of inequality and discrimination affecting women and highlights some areas that require urgent action.

They also say there is a lack of statistics relating to the pay differences between men and women performing comparable roles, without which it is impossible to address this potential issue.

The Trust says it's "astonishing" that the assumption in Jersey, based on the Income Tax Law, is that the income of a married woman is deemed to be that of her husband.

On the upside, they say feedback on how domestic violence is dealt with on the Island has been largely encouraging, even though there is a lack of specific legislation on domestic violence.

However, it warns, the incidence of domestic violence remains high and this is an issue that cannot be ignored.
(from CTV)