(story told by an actress)

Rape prevention needs to focus on perpetrators

Belfast Feminist Network have launched an online campaign to call for a change in the way public safety messages about rape and sexual assault are delivered. The Network commissioned local film company Campaign Social to make the short film “The way I see it” that portrays a survivor of rape talking  about the experience and how she has come to terms with what happened. It also uses statistics from the Northern Ireland Crime Survey report on experiences of sexual violence and abuse to highlight the fact that 1 in 4 women are affected by this crime, with the vast majority of them having prior knowledge of their attacker.

A spokesperson for Belfast Feminist Network described the reason for making the film at this time:

“While there are increased incidents of rape and sexual assault over the Christmas period, the PSNI prevention campaigns in recent years have made the mistake of focusing on telling women how to avoid getting raped, rather than driving home the message that rape is never acceptable and the law places the burden of responsibility on men to seek clear consent. Teaching women to be more careful only serves to make excuses for rape, create a culture of shame for victims that makes it harder to report. This contributes to the very low conviction rates which do not deter attackers. Victim-focused campaigns don’t make women safer as they do nothing to challenge the attitudes and behaviour of men who rape.”

The film will be shared through social media in an attempt to make sure the voices of survivors of rape are heard. The film’s director, Matt Bonner of Campaign Social said:

“The challenge in filming this piece was to portray a side of this issue that campaign ads rarely portray accurately, that of the victim. Through filming in Belfast, I wanted this particular person’s story to have the look and feel of a short film, whilst grounding it locally. It should be something that anyone living here can connect with.”

The film is available to view at belfastfeministnetwork.com and through their Facebook and Twitter pages.  The Network will also be holding a candlelight vigil in Belfast City Centre on Friday at 5:30pm to mark the closing of the international “16 Days” campaign that highlights the issue of violence against women.

For the last 2 years we’ve been frustrated by the victim-blaming campaigns trotted out by the PSNI and DHSSPS that do little more than feed into the idea that rape should be prevented by controlling women’s behaviour and encourage a culture that makes excuses for rapists. We challenged this directly and in the press but to no avail. So we decided we might have to do the job ourselves. Earlier this year we had a fundraiser where Rachel Austin and a host of other amazingly talented local female musicians gave their time to help us raise money to produce a campaign of our own.

On Thursday 6th Dec at 6pm you will be able to view the results – the film will be launched here on our website for you to share as widely as possible. We’ve had a sneak peak and Campaign Social have done an amazing job –  it’s pretty powerful so we’re very hopeful about the impact it can have. Consider the countdown started! Check back for updates in the new few days, and please consider joining us for the official launch on Thursday at 7pm  in the Women’s Resource and Development Agency, Belfast. There will also be a candlelight vigil in Corn Market, Belfast City Centre on Friday 7th Dec from 5:30 – 6:30 when we will stand in solidarity with everyone who has experienced sexual violence and give out flyers about the film to the public. Please come along.

Historic Conference on Women’s Inclusion in Peace Processes, 5^th November

‘There can be no true democracy when the voice of half the community is silent in Parliament…The challenge to the party system has at least been made by the Independent women; their election campaign has set the public thinking…When next an election comes the seed sown should be ready to germinate – the seed beneath the snow as Silone calls it, speaking of those seeds of new growths that lie for a while submerged, but living’ Quote by Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, 1943, on having stood as Independent candidate in the 1943 Dail election.

Hanna Sheehy Skeffington one of Ireland’s foremost suffragettes and peace activists would have been proud of women’s rights activists today who have successfully brought about new legislation on political party funding and candidate gender quotas in Southern Ireland. The Electoral Act, 2012 provides for a 30% gender quota for party candidates at the next election, rising to 40% seven years later. With non-compliant parties risking financial penalties. Fiona Buckley one of the co-founders of the 50:50 group will be talking about the campaign, the challenges of the new legislation and ongoing work needed to encourage more women to become active in public life at the ‘Women Delivering Peace & Security’ Conference in Croke Park next Monday 5^th November.

But that’s not the end of the story. More women are also needed in all of those institutions that have been set up under the Good Friday Agreement if they are to be active participants in decision-making on conflict prevention, management and resolution. For example, the new Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation has only one woman out of 11; and the newly formed North South Inter-Parliamentary Association has one woman out of 12 on its executive committee, while the Northern Ireland Assembly has 21 women out of 108 MLAs.

Hanna’s House, inspired by Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, is the only cross border feminist organization in Ireland and are the hosts of the Croke Park conference. Their aim is to bring politicians, activists and academics together for the first time to discuss the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, on women’s formal involvement in peace processes. Hanna’s House are recommending that the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement develop a gender perspective and set gender targets in keeping with the UN Resolution.

Shirley Graham, the conference co-ordinator says ‘this is the first time such a conference is taking place in Ireland that looks at the impact of the conflict on women North and South of the border with a focus on thinking creatively and pragmatically about policies that need to be developed to support women’s participation in the ongoing peace process and to ensure that both women and men are equally represented’. President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins will formally open the conference. Speakers include Deputy Chief Constable Judith Gillespie from the PSNI; Professor Monica McWilliams of University of Ulster & previously Human Rights Commissioner NI; Claire Hackett of Healing Through Remembering; Sean Barrett TD of the North South Inter-Parliamentary Association; Fiona Buckley of the 50:50 Group. To register for the conference go to: www.eventelephant.com/HannasHouseConference

For more information about Hanna’s House www.hannashouse.net or the Conference, contact Shirley Graham at shirley@hannashouse.net or on 0851476548.

You can sign here.

As we approach 500 signatures, we think this is a good time to close the petition and deliver it directly into the hands of the politicians. While the tone of the public discourse over the last couple of weeks has been reassuringly pro-choice, the MLAs have sounded precitably archaic, misinformed and sensationalist by comparison. We must take this opportunity to remind them that they are there to represent us and our view is that full reproductive choice and healthcare is essential to securing women’s well-being and equality!

In addition to this online letter, activists have been gathering paper signatures in the QUB Student Union and Belfast City Centre. In total we now have well over 1000 and are hoping to present these to Stormont on Monday. Therefore this petition will close at midnight tonight so let’s have one last big push to share it with as many friends as possible who might want to sign! Please focus on people who live here in Northern Ireland as those signatures will have the most impact for the MLAs.

Many thanks again for your support,

Lord Morrow’s Private Members Bill: Amnesty welcomes anti-trafficking measures but warns against diversion of resources

Amnesty International has welcomed steps to tackle human trafficking in Lord Morrow’s draft Private Members Bill as providing a timely focus for the debate on how Northern Ireland can fulfil its international obligations on trafficking. However, the organisation warned that the Bill’s proposals on prostitution risked the potential diversion of resources away from tackling existing human trafficking offences. The Amnesty statement came as Lord Morrow prepared to present his Private Members Bill to the All Party Group on Human Trafficking at the Northern Ireland Assembly this afternoon (Tuesday 4pm).

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International Northern Ireland Campaigner, said:

“The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive have important roles to play in making the region a hostile place for human traffickers and a place of safety and support for the victims of trafficking.

“We agree with the stated objective of Lord Morrow’s Private Members Bill which is to enable Northern Ireland to meets its international obligations to reduce demand, tackle trafficking, successfully prosecute cases and support victims.

“There are key elements of the Bill, especially around the provision of protection and services for the victims of trafficking, which we welcome.

“However, Amnesty International is concerned that making ”the paying for sexual services of a prostitute” a criminal offence could run counter to the purpose of tackling trafficking by confusing these related but separate issues and diverting criminal justice resources away from tackling trafficking. It is already an offence in Northern Ireland to pay for sexual services from someone who has been subjected to force,a position which we support.

Grainne Teggart added:

“The Trafficking Convention and the EU Trafficking Directive expressly provide measures to be taken for discouraging and reducing the demand for trafficking victims; the criminalisation of the users of prostitutes is not one of the measures they recommend. The proposed change to the law in Lord Morrow’s Bill thus creates an offence outside the trafficking legal framework. Legislators should focus on the provision of essential support services to the victims of trafficking and steps to ensure more successful prosecution of traffickers.Amnesty International welcomes this debate on how Northern Ireland can meet its international obligations to protect and uphold the human rights of victims of trafficking.”

Today in Belfast, we didn’t let them away with it. We had a counter rally where  brave sisters and brothers called out the bullshit and said “We are not ashamed”. We sat in a small theatre later in the afternoon and shared stories of real women’s abortion journeys while the last stragglers of the ‘Rally for Life’ passed by the window, oblivious to the truth they were missing out on just a few feet away. It was a strange day of mixed feelings. We were buoyant to begin with, Emilie and I half-running round to City Hall with the Belfast Feminist Network banner, desperate to catch our first glimpse of the crowd and buzzing with activism adrenalin. Later I talked to a lot of people who were surprised at their own rage as the anti-choice rally passed by, some were disgusted by the very fact that the marchers had felt the need to make the trip to our city to share their bigotry and ignorance, and others were really down as the sheer numbers passing by endlessly seemed overwhelming. Hopefully our pro-voice performance “Free to Tell” was a good debriefing experience, allowing the emotion of the protest to find a direction and focus on the whole reason we will continue to raise our voices.

The thing that angered me the most about Precious Life and Youth Defence and the whole movement they represent is their domination of the word “life”, in particular the way they use “pro-life” to define themselves. Last week while rehearsing for the play, we had a little cast in-joke where we wasted half an hour or so cracking ourselves up with how many ways we could reclaim the term for ourselves. A Facebook page was created as a result (of course) but perhaps the joke doesn’t have much mileage in it. It did get me thinking though, about all the ways I KNOW I’m pro-life and about the depth and breadth of what that term should mean. I believe in some version of the sanctity of life; that life is precious and should, with full consent, be preserved at all costs. I love the writings of John O’Donohue the Irish poet and philosopher who said “It is a strange and magical fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a world at your fingertips outside you.” I learned about injustice as a child and I knew it had something to do with people being denied the chance to live in the fullness of that mystery so I’ve spent most of my life looking for ways to do something about that. I’ve sat with children who’ve had more to bear than most of us could imagine, talked to them about how precious they are while they self harmed and my job was just to make sure they were safe. I’ve held the hand of a 9 year old as she proudly showed me round her house, 3 or 4 dirty mattresses on the floor in each bedroom, no photos, no toys, all 7 siblings adopted or fostered…and afterwards I took her out for ice-cream and wondered how many of the houses we passed on the way looked similar on the inside. I listened to a friend try to tell me about her mistakes, about what shame feels like, about what it means to never feel comfortable in your own skin because it’s like your body is the enemy, and missed the chance to understand her through being young and inexperienced and mostly drunk. But I’d understand now. I believe in human rights and equality, in creativity, in adventure, in community and family, in pleasure, in pushing yourself, in wanting more, and appreciating what you have. So that’s how I know I’m pro-life, and if someone out there thinks they can own that phrase because they believe one stupid thing about what god thinks about what women do with their bodies, then screw them. They can go to hell.

Kellie

Today in Belfast, we didn’t let them away with it. We had a counter rally where  brave sisters and brothers called out the bullshit and said “We are not ashamed”. We sat in a small theatre later in the afternoon and shared stories of real women’s abortion journeys while the last stragglers of the ‘Rally for Life’ passed by the window, oblivious to the truth they were missing out on just a few feet away. It was a strange day of mixed feelings. We were buoyant to begin with, Emilie and I half-running round to City Hall with the Belfast Feminist Network banner, desperate to catch our first glimpse of the crowd and buzzing with activism adrenalin. Later I talked to a lot of people who were surprised at their own rage as the anti-choice rally passed by, some were disgusted by the very fact that the marchers had felt the need to make the trip to our city to share their bigotry and ignorance, and others were really down as the sheer numbers passing by endlessly seemed overwhelming. Hopefully our pro-voice performance “Free to Tell” was a good debriefing experience, allowing the emotion of the protest to find a direction and focus on the whole reason we will continue to raise our voices.

The thing that angered me the most about Precious Life and Youth Defence and the whole movement they represent is their domination of the word “life”, in particular the way they use “pro-life” to define themselves. Last week while rehearsing for the play, we had a little cast in-joke where we wasted half an hour or so cracking ourselves up with how many ways we could reclaim the term for ourselves. A Facebook page was created as a result (of course) but perhaps the joke doesn’t have much mileage in it. It did get me thinking though, about all the ways I KNOW I’m pro-life and about the depth and breadth of what that term should mean. I believe in some version of the sanctity of life; that life is precious and should, with full consent, be preserved at all costs. I love the writings of John O’Donohue the Irish poet and philosopher who said “It is a strange and magical fact to be here, walking around in a body, to have a whole world within you and a world at your fingertips outside you.” I learned about injustice as a child and I knew it had something to do with people being denied the chance to live in the fullness of that mystery so I’ve spent most of my life looking for ways to do something about that. I’ve sat with children who’ve had more to bear than most of us could imagine, talked to them about how precious they are while they self harmed and my job was just to make sure they were safe. I’ve held the hand of a 9 year old as she proudly showed me round her house, 3 or 4 dirty mattresses on the floor in each bedroom, no photos, no toys, all 7 siblings adopted or fostered…and afterwards I took her out for ice-cream and wondered how many of the houses we passed on the way looked similar on the inside. I listened to a friend try to tell me about her mistakes, about what shame feels like, about what it means to never feel comfortable in your own skin because it’s like your body is the enemy, and missed the chance to understand her through being young and inexperienced and mostly drunk. But I’d understand now. I believe in human rights and equality, in creativity, in adventure, in community and family, in pleasure, in pushing yourself, in wanting more, and appreciating what you have. So that’s how I know I’m pro-life, and if someone out there thinks they can own that phrase because they believe one stupid thing about what god thinks about what women do with their bodies, then screw them. They can go to hell.

Speaking first was Michael Moore, Regional Organiser for UK Feminista, who focused on the role of men in feminist activism. He opened his talk by affirming that “male feminists do indeed exist” and that feminism has been a positive experience in his life. Outlining his involvement, he said that his role as a NI Regional Organiser was to co-ordinate actions and groups in the region. He recapped previous actions from a male perspective, including those targeting domestic violence, trafficking, reproductive rights and campaigns to broaden gender diversity within politics; concluding that potential male contributions to the movement need to be tackled on an issue by issue basis.

Michael discussed how domestic violence, trafficking etc. evoke a ‘female victim face’ and a ‘male perpetrator face,’ concluding that engaging the male population is unavoidable if the attitudes which permit these crimes were to be tackled. Male silence on these crimes “should be regarded as a form of complicity.”

He insisted that men need to stop thinking that feminism had nothing to do with them. Culturally, there is a huge argument for men’s involvement in feminism as a movement based on gender equality and with the power to bring out the best in everyone. Its core values require appreciating the shared responsibilities between men and women and shared experiences which can benefit universally. He acknowledged that female only spaces are sometimes preferable, but that most problems would not be solved without an admission that women and men need to work together.

Michael shared his awareness that, within feminism, “diversity can be a difficulty.” Veteran feminist campaigners sometimes resist male involvement, often due to past mistreatment from men at an individual or institutional level. He attributed suspicion of male feminists to unfamiliarity, and said that it was incumbent on men to build these bridges.

Asking rhetorically what the “sham” of liberal democracy has done for women, Michael concludes “very little.” Representational government allows citizens to vote, once every four years, to mandate individuals to represent them. Due to governments always being predominantly male, legislation and policies tend to reflect male perspectives. The political system must represent men and women, and a sustained conversation between the sexes is a prerequisite to achieving this.

Michael explained that since becoming a UK Feminista Regional Organiser, he is frequently quizzed on his motivation for working with a feminist organisation. His response is that 100 years ago, western democracies denied women the basic right to vote. He believes that if he was alive then, he would be appalled into supporting suffragists. There remain more important issues to campaign on today.

He recently surveyed activists on feminist priorities in the region, in order to avoid campaigning based on his own perspective. Generating over 100 substantial responses, the survey identified 5 top priorities: legalising abortion services, preventing rape, preventing domestic violence, ending the gender pay gap and transforming women’s representation in media and society. He challenged people to offer arguments against men campaigning on these issues.

Sadie Fulton of the Socialist Workers Party spoke next, presenting on feminist issues from a Marxist perspective and illuminating important areas of overlap between the two. Marxism identifies the birth of social classes as the beginning of male-supremacist sexism, the dominance of which Marxists see as harmful to both sexes. Sadie outlined this narrative, arguing that the only world without sexism was one with no class.

Marx’s ally Friedrich Engels put forward the theory that women were considered equal to men in hunter-gatherer societies. Differences only arose when members of those societies achieved a surplus of supplies, meaning that they moved from subsistence-based resource management to one in which extra supplies required dedicated manufacturers and managers. The development of heavy labour eventually led to the use of machinery. The typical biological differences between male and female physical strength and build meant women were sidelined and a woman’s role became increasingly confined to childbirth and parenting.

Sadie recounts that women’s oppression took different shapes. Working class women were ignored for promotion within factories. Women who lived in luxury usually had restraints placed upon them in terms of leaving the home to seeking employment. Women’s oppression is therefore different to other types of oppression, as women were everywhere throughout society rather than a small minority group. Working class men have always shared an interest in seeing oppression eradicated. Sadie explained that the sources of domestic violence are powerlessness and weakness, and that the roots of this stemmed from classist culture. She questioned the argument that men naturally wanted to oppress or be violent towards women; rather, these attitudes were ingrained in them.

The presentation then moved on to present-day sexism, which Sadie considers a matter of social responsibility. In societies which lack a healthcare system free at the point of access, children are raised and cared for by women. Children born in to better-off families where such systems exist can benefit from paid facilities, their parents from the hired services of others. The relative freedoms afforded to women in this minority of families are prohibitively expensive for less wealthy majority.

Another issue of profit-driven society is its fostering of a new concept of sexism, known as raunch culture. With women today more emancipated than previous generations, marketers focus on stripping individuals of their self-worth to in order to sell products to ‘restore’ it. To be socially valuable, to be “worth it,” consumers must use a certain hair product, wear the right clothes. Sadie emphasised the importance of purchase power, calling on women to abandon products whose manufacturers and marketers reproduce this raunch culture.

In concluding, Sadie reiterated Michael’s point about the failings of liberal democracy, recalling that “the big gains made, such as those which came from the suffrage and Dagenham movements, were all linked to class issues.” They were achieved through social struggle and through working alongside men.

Finally, Kellie Turtle from Belfast Feminist Network took on the topic of the sex industry and explored the often unpopular argument that legalisation and regulation of this industry would be the best way ensure the women involved are safe and empowered. Through a presentation prepared by Cat McGurren of QUB FemSoc who was unable to attend, Kellie outlined the failings in the current legislative landscape. This involved outlining how the law in both the UK and Ireland is confusing, at times contradictory and actually contributes to making sex work more dangerous. For example, laws on soliciting and brothel keeping force women to rely on pimps to find business and into working in isolation rather than working together. In addition, the very fact that it is an industry that is so criminalised means that when women do encounter violence they are unable to report it and seek the help of the police for fear of arrest Kellie gave a recent example of 3 violent robberies by a gang of men in brothels in London where the women didn’t feel safe to report the attacks due to a recent clamp down on the sex industry amid fear that the Olympics may cause brothels to proliferate.

In exploring some of the ways that legalisation and regulation could help make sex workers safer, the New Zealand model was considered with it’s stringent health and safety provisions and focus on women controlling their own work. A quote from a 23 year old Escort from Wellington described the work as “gratifying” and said she feels “appreciated”. Kellie outlined some safety and human rights arguments for the legalisation of prostitution including reducing exploitation by pimps, raising women’s awareness of their rights, improving the health of sex workers, and removing the social stigma surrounding this work. There is also a case for this approach making a significant impact on reducing sex trafficking as regulation gives women a voice and would make it easier to detect and protect women forced into prostitution. We then looked at the website Escort Ireland which is an important resource to independent sex workers who operate here. There are currently 320 such sex workers in Ireland, 88 brothels in Northern Ireland and around £500,000 spent every week. Escort Ireland not only allows sex workers to advertise safely but also provides a forum for them to freely discuss their experiences and a platform for them to campaign for changes to the law. Some quotes from the site gave an opportunity to hear a small snippet of what those who are central to this debate have to say. Finally, Kellie looked at the common assumption in the feminist movement that sex work is in itself a form of violence against women and claimed that it is not good enough to persist with this claim, painting all women as victims, while there are women who are fighting to transform the industry through enhancing the rights of sex workers. Regardless of our uncomfortableness with the idea of it or the outstanding questions about the balance of power in the exchanging of sex for money, we must open the door for sex workers voices to be heard and in the current legislative context that can’t happen.

As you can imagine, there were a number of contributions, questions and discussions that emerged from these opening speeches, the richness of which can’t really be captured in a blog post. Please feel free to add to that by posting your own thoughts in the comments.

Ashleigh Simpson

Lynn put her research and lobbying experience to great use in passionately running us through the remaining barriers to economic autonomy faced by women in Northern Ireland. The gender disparity in terms of the power to earn, spend and save begins when teenage girls are pushed towards lower-paying sectors for work (e.g. carers, beauticians, hairdressers). While there have been visible improvements in the numbers of women entering higher education in recent years, the most recent period of university applications indicates a faster decline in female applicants than male. The pressures of gender intensify from young adulthood and earliest childbearing age, at which stage the expectation to bear the brunt of childcare responsibilities severely impact women’s ability to work and earn outside the home. Often a career is not an option for mothers, who must instead settle for low paid, part-time work, resulting in one-fifth of income for women coming from tax credits and benefits, compared with one-tenth of men’s income. Circumstances which prevent women from gaining full-time incomes well over minimum wage also wipe out the possibility of saving towards a pension. Lynn sees this as one of many reasons why it’s important for feminists to begin gendering the age sector and others outside the women’s sector.

Gillian’s journey to becoming Director of Footprints Women’s Centre began with her own politicisation. This was brought about by a growing consciousness of class, with which she sees a connection to feminism that is yet to be developed to its full potential. Having worked at Footprints for almost twenty years now, Gillian reflects on the remarkable dignity and resilience of women living in poverty in West Belfast, both now and during the conflict years. The very impressive development of the Centre was also relayed to us, along with some valuable insights into how women can be helped out of poverty and financial dependence. In the Centre’s early days, women expressed a strong desire for training and education despite work not being an option for the majority. The staff working at Footprints have responded to that hunger for knowledge and found that women from deprived areas accelerate in terms of skills and learning once the facilities are in place and encouragement is given. Gillian’s concern is that thousands of young women today are, quite suddenly in many cases, facing the same hardships and challenges as those decades ago. Without the same history and experience of poverty, this generation of working class women may not have the same motivation to pursue opportunities. Many currently living in more fortunate circumstances could be caught on the back foot by the effects of austerity. The best way to prevent taking present comforts for granted is to inform as many people as possible about what is being imposed by government, in order to generate anger and inspire resistance.

Our speakers were in agreement that the most urgent task for protecting women is to oppose the brutal welfare reforms currently being ushered through in Westminster, identified by Lynn as “the biggest ever attack on women’s economic autonomy.” The introduction of universal credits (consolidating various, individually-labelled benefits into a single payment) will exacerbate current gender inequalities by making women more dependent on ‘the man of the house.’ With benefit claims being made by one individual per household, there can be no prizes for guessing which partner in the majority of heterosexual couples will gain financial control. Even where the single payment is made into a joint account, women – with greater childcare responsibilities in most instances – will now be deprived of much-needed child benefit money. Another issue identified is the potential impact on female victims of domestic violence in situations where dependency on the single household payment increases the risk involved in confronting and reporting abuse. The reforms reek of an ideological determination to restore the supremacy of the nuclear family, complete with deeply patriarchal gender dynamics. Some interesting comments were made about the discourse surrounding these political movements. Coverage in mainstream media has been obstructive, rather than helping the most vulnerable to work out how they might be impacted by changes to welfare. The political establishment has stubbornly refused to acknowledge women’s interests in relation to the changes, instead focussing all rhetoric on the family. Such talk reduces women to a prescribed household function and is further evidence of a desire to shift women forcefully back into a way of life structured around subjugation within the traditional family unit.

The need for action is becoming increasingly clear, let’s hope our evening of discussion can initiate a prolonged engagement with the burning issues raised.

Michael