The end of post war consensus 1970-1979: Society Flashcards
When was International Women’s day inaugurated?
1977 by the United Nations
When did the contraceptive pill become available through the NHS?
1971
When did the 1st rape crisis centre open?
1976
When was the domestic violence act passed and what did it do?
- 1976
- Made it possible for women to take out court orders restraining violent partners
What did women do in response to the murders of the Yorkshire Ripper?
Reclaim the night marchers
When was the sex discrimination act passed and what did it do?
- 1975
- Passed to end discrimination against men or women on the basis of gender or marital status
- Aimed to ensure equality of opportunity in the fields of employment and education and to outlaw harassment
What was the Equal Opportunities Commission?
- Set up to oversee the sex discrimination act and the equal pay act
- Could bring court proceedings against any party it judged to not be compliant with these acts
- Only launched 9 investigations in 8 years and only 10% of sex discrimination in the workplace were successful
What could women do from 1971?
Take out a mortgage without a males permission
When did the equal pay act come into force?
1975
When was the employment protection act passed and what did it do?
- 1975
- Introduced paid maternity leave and outlawed dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy
How was sexism still present within trade unions?
- Continued to be dominated by men
- Suspicions remained that women in the workplace would suppress wages for men
How did the equal pay act not help to solve sexism?
Employers got around it by making tasks slightly different so they weren’t comparable
How much did women’s wages increase by from 1970 to 1977?
1970- 59%
1977- 70%
When was the immigration act passed and what did it do?
- 1971
- Restricted the right of people from the New Commonwealth from coming to Britain
- They would need to have a guaranteed job and at least 1 grandparent born in Britain
How many New Commonwealth immigrants had come to Britain by 1974?
Over 1 million
What was cultural representation like within politics?
- Not great
- Ina 1974 council election only 10 non white councillors were elected
- By 1978 this increased to 35
- However, still didn’t reflect the size of the immigrant population
When was the Race Relations Act passed and what did it aim to do?
- 1976
- Aimed to tackle discrimination on the basis of race
What was the National Front?
- Popularity grew in 1970’s with up to 20,000 members by 1976
- By 1977 it was described as Britain’s 4th largest political party
- 1 strategy was to hold marches and demonstrations in areas high in immigrants living there
- Over 100 incidents including 2 murders and assaults/robberies rose by 1/3rd
How did skinheads contribute to racism?
- Attracted by National Front ideas
- Often behind violent attacks on people from other ethnic backgrounds
How many police officers were black or had an ethnic minority background in the metropolitan police in 1976?
70 out of a total workforce of 22,000
How did the death of Blair Peach highlight police attitudes towards race?
- Was an anti Nazi league supporter who was killed when a demonstration was blocked by the police
- It was alleged that he was struck on the head
- Metropolitan police finally admitted responsibility for his death in 2010
How was racism present at football games?
Fans would make monkey noises and throw banana skins at black players
When did the youth punk movement start?
- 1975 to 1976
- Influenced by US bands
- Rejected hippie culture
- Wore bondage gear, ripped T shirts, had spikey hair
- Created a moral panic
What were skinheads influenced by?
- Mod culture
- Influenced by Jamaican music
- Becoming increasingly linked to football hooliganism and the national front
What did environmentalism cover?
- Industrial pollution
- Wildlife protection
- Organic farming
- Radiation and nuclear waste danger
When did the environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth expand into Britain?
1971
What did anti nuclear protests campaign for?
The use of nuclear power to generate electricity because of the long term dangers in dealing with radioactive nuclear waste and the potential for accidents
When was GreenPeace UK formed?
1977
When did animal rights activists carry out violent attacks on pharmaceutical companies and why?
- 1973
- Discovered beagles were forced to smoke 30 cigarettes a day to research the effects
When was the animal liberation front created and what did it do?
- 1976
- Adopted extreme violence: letter bombs were sent to politicians
