I must be mellowing. Or something. Because listening, close to tears, to today’s Jeremy Vine show I found myself nodding in total agreement with Claire Phillipson, director of Wearside Women in Need.
She was talking about the horrific beyond words violence, viciousness inflicted by Shane Jenkin on his partner, Tina Nash. Read the rest of this entry »
We appear to be living in interesting times – which is not always a blessing. Because, as events around the Paddy Power fiasco unfold, I am beginning to sense that this story, after the heady days of the Leveson inquiry all of two weeks ago, has the potential for being a real trans disaster.
For that reason, I am going to ask all those currently getting hot under the collar to calm down, at least until tomorrow, when a few things will become a lot clearer. Read the rest of this entry »
As part of VDay Sussex 2012, and in conjunction with the LGBT History Month, Elizabeth Mills and Aristea Fotopoulou will be running a series of body mapping and digital storytelling workshops, using various media ranging from paints and pens to digital art, film and music. Read the rest of this entry »
During the VDay Sussex 2012 season, which runs from February 1st through April 30th , we are not only concerned with raising awareness about the negative reality of violence against women and girls, but also with enabling and inspiring positive social scripts on campus in order to challenge those realities. V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. It is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.
This year, dozens of motivated students, faculty members and staff on the Sussex campus are working to produce a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues. But performance is only the beginning, we are also designing complementary artistic, participatory and experiential workshops.
Professional by Experience: Survivor Perspectives on Preventing Violence against Women
The first annual Rise Conference is taking place in Brighton on Thursday November 17th 2011.
Join survivors, activists and specialist service providers to explore effective approaches to preventing violence against women and supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence, forced marriage, FGM, prostitution and sexual exploitation.
This violence against women national conference examines pioneering best practice that delivers innovative, cost effective and outcome driven solutions to prevent violence against women, support survivors and challenge perpetrators.
It provides you with the opportunity to hear how to create effective intervention from evidence based approaches developed by those who know what works.
Speakers will include:
Chair: Dr Aisha Gill
Activist in violence against women prevention & Senior Lecturer in Criminology
Caroline Lucas MP
Leader of the Green Party and MP for Brighton Pavilion
Professor Liz Kelly
Activist and researcher in violence against women prevention and Co-Chair, End Violence Against Women Coalition
Constance McCullagh
Feminist writer and activist in prevention of violence against women
Bernie O-Roarke
Activist in violence against women prevention and Irish Traveller Outreach Worker, Solas Anois
Fiona Broadfoot
Founder of EXIT and campaigner on the issues of sexual exploitation
Hannana Siddiqui
Activist in violence against women prevention and Joint Co-ordinator, Southall Black Sisters
Rita Buhanda
Campaigner to advance the rights of African women and girls, FORWARD
Davina James-Hanman
Activist in violence against women prevention and Director, AVA Project
Philippa Chapman
Co-ordinator of SEEDS (Services Educating and Empowering Domestic abuse Survivors)
Shelley Stoops
Sexual Violence Advocate, Armistead Street Project, Liverpool
Shannon Harvey
Coordinator, Stella Project to address problematic substance use, domestic and sexual violence
Neil Blacklock
Development director, Respect, the UK association for perpetrator programmes
Nicola Sharp
Activist in violence against women prevention
Medina Johnson and Annie Howell
Implementation Leads for IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety)
Morgan Frackrell
Chief Executive, Cardiff Women’s Aid
For further information or to register, see the Rise site.
Lesbians in Ecuador are demanding an end to “torture clinics” designed to “make them straight”.
An online petition, addressed to Ecuadorian Health Minister, David Chiriboga and launched last month welcomes moves by the Ecuadorian government to close some 27 such clinics – but points out that over 200 are still open. According to the petition letter, escaping patients have reported cases of physical and psychological abuse including verbal threats, shackling, days without food, sexual abuse, and physical torture – all inflicted in an attempt to “cure” their sexuality.
Paula Ziritti, 24, who escaped after two years in one such facility, tells of three months when she was shackled in handcuffs while guards threw water and urine on her. She also describes numerous accounts of physical and sexual abuse.
She says, “The closure of the first clinics by the government is good, but not good enough. Why is the clinic where I suffered still open?”
The petition, which is supported by Fundacion Causana, an LGBT human-rights organization, and a coalition of other Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender groups has so far attracted almost 80,000 signatures.
Further information may be found on the advocate.com website.
Analysis
This is a pretty good example of what happens when those of a “normative” persuasion are allowed to get away with medicalising – and pathologising – human sexuality. We’ve seen it in the US (and occasionally in the UK too) with “reparative therapy”, as well as surgical interventions designed to “normalize” the bodies of intersex children. We see it in the debates around the Diagnostic Standards Manual – the bible of the Psychiatric community in the US and many other nations , too.
Those who argue that what goes on in the US is “different” may thereby assuage their own consciences – but in fact, the end results can be much the same, or worse. At least if you are tortured, you know who your real enemy is: whereas there is now a long list of cases of individuals, both gay and trans, who suffered the psychological torture of reparative therapy, became their own enemy, and later took their lives.
As for the Ecuadorian Government: it is good to hear that they have closed a few of these clinics: however, given reports that these clinics have decreased in popularity over recent years, a cynic might sugest that they are not so much acting to protect gay women – as throwing a sop to public opinion by taking credit for something that is already happening.
These allegations are disturbing and, frankly, disgusting: no apologies, therefore, to readers if in this instance, “analysis” has strayed into “comment”.
Sign the petition: and if you have a moment, please draw this story to the attention of your MP.
Jane Fae
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Its definitely been a day and a half – and one that ended, sort of, with me back on a stage, trembling like a leaf and waving the trans banner at the London slutwalk demo.
To begin at the beginning. It always felt like it was going to be a slightly surreal day, with not only slutwalk, but also the naked bike ride due to hit London mid-afternoon, and a political knitathon going on somewhere in the vicinity.
We didn’t, er, tangle with the knitathon, but we did bump into a few stragglers from the bike ride – but more of that later.
Off on a slutwalk!
Myself, andrea and the boy went down to London on the fast train. At Kings Cross, we rendez-voused with Sarah Brown – Cambridge city councillor and trans activist – Belinda Brookes-Gordon, a psychologist and sometime expert adviser to the Home Office on sex crimes, and Cat Stephens. No: not THAT Cat Stephens. This one is convenor for the International Union of Sex Workers – and the sort of sane, gentle person you’d really hope was talking to government about policy in this area.
Then off to Hyde Park Corner (getting off, by accident or design at Green Park instead) where we milled – that is about the only word for it – amongst the massed ranks of women gathered to protest the suggestion, however “helpfully” intentioned (and originally by a Toronto policeman) that if women didn’t “dress like sluts”, they might be less likely to get raped.
Not going to dig into the politics of the issue here, except to note in passing that since I was on today’s demo, that rather suggests that I am well and truly in favour of slutwalk’s aims and against victim-shaming in all its manifestations.
It was hot, crowded and for the first half or so of the march to Trafalgar Square, the boy was not in best of spirits: slightly intimidated by the chanting and occasional waves of ululation that noised up and down the route. He did, on the other hand, appear to have picked up the spirit of the chant, repeating on the train later “Yes means yes and No means NO”.
OK. At six, I suspect he may imagine that the principle is more likely to apply to things like extra sweets and extra helpings of pudding than anything more adult. But maybe, in ten or fifteen years time it might light a bulb in the corner of his mind and help create a slightly more enlightened male in the process.
Support for sex workers
Met loads of people I seem to have spoken to before, or who recognised my face: the joys (and perils) of being an increasingly known national journalist. Lovely, though, when chatting to the ECP, about whom I have written a number of stories.
Conversation began suspiciously enough cause…we-ell, I’m a journalist. Then recognition and “Jane!” and, apart from chatting to various bods I haven’t actually met in the flesh before, I also spoke to Sheila Farmer – yet another woman who has had little support from the police when she was attacked, but a great deal of police interest in scoring an easy conviction for the sole reason, pretty much, that she has been involved in sex work. I will be writing about her case in the not too distant.
But down to Trafalgar Square, in the hope of saying hi to blogger and New Statesman columnist, Laurie Penny. (We met: we shook hands daintily!)
Suddenly on stage
And with speakers from pretty much every group under the sun due to go on, the organisers inform me there is no trans speaker. Quick hustle with Sarah B: is it appropriate for me to do a short spot about the trans view of rape and violence? Consensus is yes.
So at about five minutes notice I find myself stood on stage in front of a 3,000-plus audience talking about the epidemic of violence that trans women face in their everyday lives. Was trembling top to toe as I stepped down: but the audience appeared to like it, and the boy was well pleased.
And home again
Then Pizza Express, where he ate his meal backwards (choccie cake followed by pizza) – and STILL managed to find room for a McDonalds about two hours later.
And home by way of Covent Garden, which is where we picked up the remnants of the naked bike ride. The boy described it best. An astonished “That man is TOTALLY naked!”
And “look at that wobbly bottom”. Yep: that seemed to cover it.
And finally the Deepings where, to cap a day of high political excitement, the boy decided to bring us all back down to earth by tipping a third of a cup of McDonald’s shake over the back of the car. Yum!
Still: he’ll definitely have something to talk about in class on Monday morning.
jane
xx
