[Who's 'breaching the peace"? Protestors or warmongers? WOMEN…]

Scan page 6

Who's 'breaching the peace"? Protestors or warmongers? WOMEN in the Labour Party have major differences with Annual Conference.

At this year's Women's Conference resolutions supporting the mandatory inclusion of women on shortlists; Women's Conference being given the right to forward five resolutions to Annual Conference for inclusion on the final agenda; and Women's Conference electing the Women's Section of the NEC, were all carried on card votes. And yet Annual Conference, following recommendations from the NEC lu oppose, rejected all of these demands by a massive 5. million to million majority.

Since then, there also been a series of attacks on the Women's Organisation -by the NEC. Jo Richardson, the only Labour woman MP to have a real commitment to women's rights, has been removed from the NEC's Home Policy. Committee, and has lost the chair of the Women's Committee. This means she also loses her vital place on the Policy Co-ordinating Committee which, along with the Shadow Cabinet, will draw up the next Party Manifesto.

The work of the Women's Rights Study Group has also been halted; and the NEC's representation on the National Labour Women's Committee has been arbitrarily increased to include such staunch defenders of women's rights as John Golding, Denis Howell and Roy Evans.

However, women the National Executive spokesperson Gwynneth Dunwoody opposed moves for women's rights Party will-only take these moves as an indication of the renewed effort that needs to be made to win demands for fundamental changes in the women's organisation.

The CLPD Women's Action Committee, which has fought for a whole range of such changes since it was set up in 1980, wih be stepping up its campaign at its AGM on December 4 in London's County Hall.

One main area of attack will be to build support in the trade unions for organisational changes for women, given the key role the unions play with their block votes at Conference; and another will be to spread the campaign further through the Labour Party Regional Women's Organisation.

Already, major gains in the regions have been made with the election of new WAC-supporting women to the National Labour Women's Committee; gains which need to be consolidated and increased over the next year.

As well as these issues, changes in the structure of the Women's Action Committee itsell are proposed; these include the election of regional representatives, to widen the base of the campaign as it spreads through the regions.

WAC believes that if the Labour Party is to gain the support of women at the next General Election it has to show that there is a real commitment to women's rights and positive discrimination for women in society. To do this it first must give the women's organisation in the Party far greater status to show that its policies are not just empty words, but that it is prepared to put them into practise in its own organisation too.

For further . details of WAC and the Annual Meeting, contact: Ann Pettifor, 39 Caldervale Road, London SW4.

Jenny Fisher reports. men whose families do not know they are prostitutes have been filmed. Press activity has scared away clients.

Last Monday I met one woman who had been unable to earn any money all day: with rents (£84/week in the hotels), fines; pimps to pay, and children to look after. Another woman had taken a •client' to her flat, only to find out he was a reporter.

Economics play a large part in prostitution. The recession. has brought a marked increase in the number of women in Argyle Square -now there are about 200 prostitutes in this small area. This includes a number of women who travel down from the North for a week or so each month - known locally as 'Thatcher's girls' The occupation has been supported by women's groups in Britain, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy, Germany and America (a solidarity picket of the British Consulate in Los Angeles has been held):

Will you join the fight against the police? *Women are welcome to visit or join the occupation (Holy Cross Church, Gromer St., London WC 1), especially those bringing food! *Money, messages of support to the Women's Centre, 71, Tonbridge St., London WC1. (If you can duplicate messages, they will be handed out.) *Encourage your MP to go to the meeting which will be held in the House of Commons. *Write to the Home Office about the unlawful conduct of their sexist and racist police, demanding that Commander Chambers of 'E' division agrees to the womens' demand for a meeting in the presence of official witnesses.

13 *41.