AGENDA
_ Terms of
abuse
The hard-hitting Zero Tolerance campaign, which has been running for over a year in Edinburgh to raise awareness of violence against women and children. was this week launched on a bigger scale throughout Strathclyde region.
The regional council opted to use material from the Edinburgh campaign to reinforce an already-established message. rather than risk confusing the public with a different approach. Edinburgh District Council‘s women's group, which devised Zero Tolerance. is encouraging local authorities throughout Scotland to promote the campaign to create a coherent. nationwide message.
it was originally hoped that the Government would back Zero Tolerance, but it looks as if a proposed Scottish Office advertising campaign about domestic violence will not use the slogan. ‘Zero Tolerance has become an established and recognisable
Susan Hart. ‘lt's unfortunate that the . Scottish Office will not be building on that.’ Strathclyde's awareness campaign will run throughout the year. backed by £200,000 worth of leaflets. posters and billboards, linked to a series ofevents. it will focus on three types of abuse in turn: domestic violence; child sexual abuse; and rape and sexual assault. The ! fourth and final part ofthe campaign will consider the links between these
l
v v ‘-
g slogan. says EDC women s officer
Z
kinds of abuse.
‘We’re looking at all sorts of creative and imaginative ways of getting the message across.’ says Strathclyde's development worker Katie Cosgrove. ‘We want to raise awareness but also make sure there is a deeper understanding of the issues.‘
The already overstretched Glasgow Women's Aid, which runs refuges for abused women and their children, is expecting the campaign to lead to increased demand on its services but
has been given no new money to cope with the extra workload. it already turns away far more women than it can help; last year it accommodated around 230 women but had to turn away nearly 1000.
‘For twenty years we have been demonstrating that there is a bigger demand for Women‘s Aid than we can accommodate.‘ according to one worker. ‘Wc hope that increased public awareness will lead to increased pressure to make resources available.’
Strathclyde has deliberately opted for a publicity campaign. rather than increasing resources for organisations such as Women‘s Aid, because it believes awareness to be a vital first step in changing men’s attitudes. Cosgrove likens the campaign to the Government's approach to drink- driving, which took nearly twenty years to change public opinion; Zero 'l‘olcrance is regarded as a similarly long term project. (Eddie Gibb)
For more information on .S'tratlu‘l'vde 's Zero ’Iolerani‘e campaign. (‘ontar‘t tlte Women is Unit on ()4/ 227 2856. A debate ('alled ‘Is there a future for men i/ifaniilimf’ ' is on Thursday 24 March in lfdinlmrgh 's City Chamber at 7pm. Details on ()3/ 52‘) 43/2.
:— West end?
West 8: Wilde, Edinburgh’s only specialist gay and lesbian bookshop, has had financial problems before but, according to partner Bob On, this is the closest it has come to collapse since opening twelve years ago. The owners must raise £10,000 by the end of May to avoid closure and are calling on the shop’s loyal customers and members of the gay community to contribute to a survival fund.
flu is confident that the bookshop can trade profitably again if the immediate cash crisis can be overcome, but West & Wilde’s predicament highlights the double bind that every gay bookshop finds itself in. All independent booksellers find it difficult to compete with the marketing muscle and buying power of major chains like Dillons and Waterstones, but gay bookshops are doubly bit because the same stores now have their own gay sections. While this brings gay and lesbian literature to a wider audience, it has had a devasting impact on West & Wilde, particularly the mail order business.
“The malor booksellers want to hook onto the gay market as a way of extending profits,’ says Gay Scotland editor Dominic d’Angelo. ‘But bookshops like West & Wilde handle a broader range of material. Gay bookshops have to focus on the breadth of material.’
0rr says the shop’s financial problems have prevented it moving into profitable gay merchandise like T- shlrts and the ‘tasteful’ end of the soft pom video market. ‘We do more than book selling,’ he says. ‘lt is a space for people to feel secure and we want to make it a more valuable resource to the community.’ (Eddie Gibb)
Joy is holding a fundraiser club night 'on Friday 8 April at Gallon Studios . Details on 031 556 0079.
. :— Gash prize
i David Bonnar is about to become a i very big wheel in the Scottish arts. lie j is currently general manager of the ’ Perth Repertory Theatre but next month Bonnar starts his new job as director of the arts’ share of the " money raised from the llational lottery. Cautious estimates put the figure at £6 million annually, but it could be much more if Britain is gripped by lottery fever. Money is expected to start flowing from the lottery early next year though the process for distributing the cash
1 has not yet been finalised. But the
Department of National Heritage, which is responsible for the lottery, has made it clear that the money is intended for capital projects, ie
buildings, as opposed to subsidising
running costs, which is how the SAC funds the bulk of its clients. Although the SAC is in charge of administering the arts’ share of the new fund, it has been given assurances by the Government that it will be regarded as additional cash, and won’t be used as an excuse to reduce its existing grant. ‘This is new money,’ says Bonner. ‘There is no intention of simply propping up what the Scottish Arts Council is already doing. But new projects may mean talking to people
who are already in receipt of council money.’
A recent survey of local authorities and SAC clients suggested that the bulk of applications for lottery money are likely to be for upgrading existing venues rather than creating new ones. (Eddie Gibb)
I To help the SAG’s deliberations over whether or not to push for a national theatre ‘resource’ - among the options are a new building or a touring company - it has appointed consultants Bonnar Keenlyside. However there’s still time for the public to contribute to the process by sending comments to Anna Stapleton at SAC by Friday 25 March.
:- Dramatic development
There are an estimated l200
professional actors in Scotland; over 80
per cent of them are currently ‘resting‘.
and most of those are praying that a bit
part in the next lizggart will spare them
from the bank manager's attentions. Nobody treads the boards if they’re
looking for job security, according to
Equity‘s Scottish secretary Lorne
Boswell, but lack of work means actors
are missing out on opportunities to
polish their skills. in an attempt to
tackle this problem, a Scottish Actors
Studio has been proposed, which would
give actors the chance to work with
established professionals of stage and
screen.
it is not envisaged as a home of
‘McMethod’ where actors spend
: torturous hours reworking a short
l passage of Shakespeare. According to
i co-ordinator Andrew Byatt the studio
3 would run focused sessions which give
E actors the chance to pick up practical
l_ skills from experts.
.’ is \\\ .|‘ “‘2‘
Tom Conti: studio supporter
An initial two-week run of workshops by actors including Tom Conti. Peter Capaldi and Billy Connolly has been organised to test the response to the idea. Most of the sessions are already over-subscribed and Byatt is confident that the idea has enough support to justify setting up a permanent actors studio. ‘lt‘s been very easy to enlist support from actors and directors,‘ says Bymt
The initial programme has been supported by BBC Scotland and Scottish Television. which Byatt regards as adding credibility to the idea. ‘This is a chance for film and television to find new actors.’ he says. ‘BBC and Scottish are backing this because they can see the value of it.‘ ;
Boswell regards the involvement of I the broadcast companies as particularly important because actors rarely get the l chance to learn television skills before they have to do it for real. ‘TV technique is so significantly different from the theatre which is why we seriously welcome their involvement,’ he says. (Eddie Gibb)
A (.‘(niferenr'e to disr'uss establishing a Stratus/1 Actors Studio is to be held on Friday 18 March at Scottish Ballet 's heiulazairters. Details on 04/ 422 2023.
9a.. capaiei
4 The List 11—24 March 1994