pressure groups Flashcards
what are the two examples of pressure group campaigns??
- Protection against stalking
- Snowdrop campaign
how is the protection against stalking campaign a pressure group??
Protection Against Stalking is a large organisation and national charity working within communities to raise public awareness about stalking and support victims of stalking through providing specialist support services.
They form part of a national group of specialist stalking charities who use their influence and support to pressure the government into legislative change relating to stalking and harassment.
what is the reason behind the protection against stalking campaign??
The campaign believed that the laws at the time, including the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, were no longer fit for purpose as ‘stalking – involving the fear of violence and psychological harm’ was not a recognised criminal offence at the time.
Statistics show that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men are likely to experience stalking, and 94% of women murdered by men were stalked prior to the murder.
what was the protection against stalking campaign’s method??
PAS set up an independent parliamentary inquiry to ask MPs to review the legislation on stalking and harassment.
PAS acted as advisers to the inquiry and approached victims, academics, lawyers and frontline police and probation officers to give evidence.
uring this public enquiry PAS also used the method of Lobbying to gain support further support.
In addition, PAS also used Social Media, Educational Events, Posters/Leaflets and running the National Stalking Helpline.
What was the policy introduced from the protection against stalking campaign??
Protection of Freedoms Act (2012) - Officially made stalking (involving the fear of violence and psychological harm) a criminal offence.
Stalking Protection Act (2019) - Introduced Stalking Protection Orders (SPO) intended to combat stalking. These orders ban offenders from visiting a victim’s workplace, home and place of study, as well as preventing them from contacting victims. The SPO can force perpetrators to seek out professional help.
These orders typically last for a minimum of two years, and a breach is considered a criminal offence. This can land the stalker in prison for up to five years.
how is the snowdrop campaign a pressure group??
The Snowdrop campaign was considered a pressure group due to the large number of campaigners that rallied to support the cause.
They pressured the government into legislative change relating to the private ownership of firearms.
what is the reason behind the snowdrop campaign??
13th March 1996, Thomas Hamilton walked into the gym at Dunblane Primary School and killed 16 young children and their teacher before shooting himself. He also injured 13 other children and three teachers.
Hamilton was a gun collector and was able to legally own several firearms. During the massacre he was carrying four handguns and 743 rounds of ammunition.
A local resident, Ann Pearston then started the campaign to call for the ban of private ownership of handguns in the UK.
what was the policy introduced by the Snowdrop campaign??
The government introduced the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 which banned the private ownership of handguns above a .22 calibre.
This then led to a national gun amnesty where 165,353 licensed handguns and 700 tonnes of ammunition were surrendered across the UK.
Although the campaign didn’t see the full change it was aiming for and because it didn’t take long to pass the law, this campaign is considered the most successful campaign in Britain.
what were the methods used by the snowdrop campaign??
The main campaign method was a petition which gained over 700,000 signatures.
The campaign also use media methods when a letter written by the mother of one of the slain children was printed in two national newspapers to raise more awareness.
Campaigners took part in marches and even made a short film, voiced by Sean Connery, showing celebrity support.
