“Lawyer Files Antifeminist Suit Against Columbia”
“Mini-skirts banned to stop “provoking” rape in Mexico”
“How the Left censored the blindingly obvious truth about rape” (Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail, 16.08.08) a.k.a.
“Geez, When Will Women Stop Getting Themselves Raped Already?”
2 presentations about the vulnerability to sex trafficking and exploitation, one focused on moldova and one on the u.s.:
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h/t londonfeministnetwork & discussion about organizations, like GEMS (whose mission is “to empower young women, ages 12-21 years, who have experienced sexual exploitation and violence to exit unsafe and abusive lifestyles and to develop their full potential”), that provide the most vulnerable girls and women “with empathetic, consistent support and viable opportunities for positive change” – which arose as a reaction to the news about the “Guide to Brothels” from the Women’s Institute in UK: “Women’s Institute ladies toured the world in search of the perfect brothel” (story also in romanian: “Doua bunici, reprezentante ale Institutului Femeilor din Marea Britanie, au facut turul pamantului pentru a gasi bordelul perfect”)
interesting, this almost seems like “Challenging Rape Culture” (and v.a.w. in general) at an institutional level:
“A huge job for the boys” (Guardian, July 30 2008) – The minister for police, security and community safety tells Julie Bindel how he wants men to take a more responsible attitude towards domestic and sexual violence against women – and to spread the word to others
and he’s hitting mostly right notes!
“The majority of men don’t abuse women, but there is a responsibility on men to speak up and speak out about it,” he says. “The noise that men have made about it in the past has never been loud enough. I think that’s a perspective I can bring to the whole discussion.”
Coaker is pushing forward the need to debate tricky issues such as rape, sexual assault and male demand for prostitution, and repeatedly emphasises how proud he is to be part of a process of engagement with citizens about a topic as emotiveas violence towards women. “I have always tried to be frank and upfront about things, and to go out of my way to engage,” he says. “For me, it is not about just maintaining the status quo, but looking at effective ways to deal with the problems.”
“This is about the sort of society and communities we want to live in,” Coaker says. “It is about men challenging other men’s behaviour.” Although he has become well-respected among women’s organisations that deal with domestic and sexual violence, there is nothing arrogant in his approach. “The women’s movement has done a fantastic job foregrounding this work,” he says, “What I want to do is to continue making it mainstream.”
Again, the key issue for Coaker is public education. “You make the absolute assertion that rape is a criminal act, one of the most heinous we know, and there will be consequences. It is about teaching respect, and educating men to bring about attitudinal change. It is a massive step forward to discuss these things. Now the challenge is how we move things forward.”
What about Coaker’s plans for the future? While acknowledging the importance of legislation and the role of the criminal justice system, his aim is to prevent crimes from occurring in the first instance.
Posted on August 6, 2008
womensgrid
Filed Under Faith, London, Opinion Comment, Women’s Group
by Pragna Patel, chair of Southall Black Sisters and a member of Women Against FundamentalismIn the rush to be tolerant or sensitive to religious difference, the space is created for the most reactionary and even fundamentalist religious leaders to take control
On 18th July 2008 at the High Court, Southall Black Sisters (SBS) won an important legal challenge affirming its right to exist and continue its work. At stake was a decision by Ealing Council to withdraw funding from SBS – the only specialist provider of domestic violence services to black and minority women in Ealing – under the guise of developing a single generic service for all women in the borough.
The council sought to justify its decision on the grounds of ‘equality’, ‘cohesion’ and ‘diversity’. It argued that the very existence of groups like SBS – the name and constitution – was unlawful under the Race Relations Act because it excluded white women and was therefore discriminatory and divisive!
more
(en: “Romania to Allow Girls Under Age 15 to Have Abortions Up to 24 Weeks”)
24 Iulie 2008
Avocatnet.roMinisterul Sanatatii Publice a elaborat un proiect de Ordin privind aprobarea procedurilor de interventie in situatia constatarii sarcinii in evolutie la minore care nu au implinit varsta de 15 ani.
Potrivit proiectului de Ordin, lansat deja in dezbatere publica, “orice sarcina survenita la o minora care nu a implinit varsta de 15 ani este considerata sarcina cu risc obstetrical inalt, a carei supraveghere va fi in responsabilitatea medicului de specialitate obstetrica-ginecologie, din momentul depistarii acesteia.”
Propunerea Ministerului Sanatatii stabileste procedura intreruperii de sarcina, in cazul minorelor sub 15 ani, atat in situatia in care sarcina nu a depasit 14 saptamani de gestatie, cat si in situatia in care sarcina a depasit aceasta perioada.
Intreruperea sarcinii va putea fi posibila pana la cel mult 24 de saptamani de gestatie.
Proiectul de ordin prevede si proceduri de consiliere psihologica si juridica, inainte de intreruperea sarcinii.
Totodata, medicul de specialitate obstetrica-ginecologie caruia i se solicita efectuarea unei intreruperi a cursului unei sarcini va fi obligat sa realizeze informarea medicala a reprezentantului legal si a minorei privind alternativele intreruperii de sarcina, sprijinul pe care femeile gravide il pot primi, tehnicile de efectuare a intreruperii de sarcina, riscurile potentiale, precum si complicatiile si sechelele care pot aparea.
Intreruperea de sarcina se va efectua doar cu acordul informat al reprezentantului legal, ascultand si opinia minorei.
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Proiectul de Ordin al Ministerului Sanatatii poate fi vizualizat integral, aici.
“A reckoning for the women victims of the Bosnian war?”
… We will never know how many women were raped in Bosnia and Croatia. What we do know is that mass rape occurred and it was not a specific aspect of Serb brutality. There has always been rape in war. What this war did was to bring it out of the shadows, out of the dismissive inattention that accompanies the phrase “war propaganda”, or “the fog of war”. Rape is as much a fact of war, of the control of civilian populations, as ethnic cleansing. It took a modern women’s movement to collect the data and a critical mass of women journalists to insist on writing about it. From then on, rape in war would be taken seriously.
With the arrest two days ago of Radovan Karadzic, and his forthcoming trial in The Hague, there might now be some debate about justice for the women so abused.
“Hărţuirea sexuală în Spitalul Universitar, interzisă prin regulament”
Invitaţiile compromiţătoare şi gesturile indecente vor fi pedepsite
Asistentele din unitatea sanitară, încurajate să depună plângeri
(articol din 21 iulie in Gandul, cu o ilustratie absurda) – h/t c.
ps: legislatie contra hartuirii sexuale la locul de munca exista deja (desi nu multi stiu acest lucru, iar primul caz a aparut abia anul trecut)… o resursa utila (de la centrul parteneriat pentru egalitate): managementuldiversitatii.ro
[Open letter regarding roma women and discrimination in health care, english version; Campaign on Coerced Sterilization]
“… scrisoarea isi doreste sa atraga atentia cu privire la formele pe care le ia discriminarea femeilor rome in sanatate si a fost elaborata pentru a fi diseminata […] in cadrul conferintei mondiale a femeilor (Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s Worlds 2008) [la o] prezentare a eforturilor realizate in obtinerea compensatiilor ca urmare a incalcarilor violente ale drepturilor omului prin sterilizarea fortata a femeilor rome din europa centrala.” (fwd crina)
Discriminare multipla – Cazul femeilor rome
Motto: “Noi nu suntem de neatins!”
Am redactat aceasta scrisoare pentru a exprima ingrijorarea noastra in legatura cu discriminarea multipla ce exista de multa vreme si continua sa fie prezenta in toate aspectele vietii publice, dar si pentru a face cunoscute circumstantele ei in ce priveste femeile rome.
Ca femei rome si ca membri de organizatii rome si non-rome, dorim sa ne exprimam solidaritatea cu femeile rome din Republica Ceha si Slovacia care au trecut prin drama de a fi sterilizate fara sa-si fi dat consimtamantul si fara a avea la dispozitie informatii adecvate despre efectele care pot aparea[1]. Exista o ampla documentatie ce arata ca femeile rome din toata Europa sunt excluse in mod specific de catre sistemul de asistenta medicala si deseori au acces la ingrijire medicala numai in cazuri de extrema urgenta si/sau la nastere[2].
Alaturati-va campaniei de la Madrid adresata guvernelor Republicii Cehe, Ungariei si Slovaciei cu privire la indreptarea actelor de violare a drepturilor omului, accesand: http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2965.
In orice interventie medicala, doctorul ar trebui sa se comporte fata de pacient ca o persoana ce presteaza servicii si un egal in fata legii; nu ca o autoritate publica superioara. Interventiile medicale sunt performante, servicii, nu acte de putere publica.
Din punct de vedere legal, aceste interventii de sterilizare fara consimtamantul pacientei sunt mutilari deoarece afecteaza organe sanataose si duc la daune permanente chiar daca au un scop permis de lege.
Dorim sa ne exprimam sustinerea ferma fata de femeile cehe care rup tacerea in privinta numarului mare de femei supuse de catre doctori la sterilizarea prin constrangere.
Este extrem de dificil pentru activistele rome, care sunt si sotii si mame, sa porneasca pe drumul plin de riscuri si nesiguranta al activismului contra opresiunii din afara dar si din interiorul comunitatii lor. Continue reading
Romani Women Campaign around Forced Sterilisation Practices at the 2008 Women’s Worlds Congress in Spain
http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2965
Information also in česky, español, magyarul.
3 July 2008, Budapest, Madrid, Ostrava, Prague: Today, a coalition comprised of the Ostrava-based Group of Women Harmed by Sterilisation, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Peacework Development Fund launch a global campaign seeking support for Romani women victimised by coerced sterilisation practices in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
Continue reading