Thursday, January 17, 2013

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Why we need to start #Shoutingback

Posted: 16 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST

There’s a huge lack of awareness about just how serious street harassment is.

The Everyday Sexism Project, set up by English writer and activist Laura Bates, exists to ‘catalogue instances of sexism experienced by women on a day to day basis’.

The hope is that soon everyone using Twitter in the UK will have at least heard of @Everydaysexism.

Via twitter and their blog the project aims to document stories of sexism from the normalised, through the minor, to the dangerously offensive.

One stand out topic relating to street harassment has now taken on its own twitter hashtag: #Shoutingback.

Within 24 hours of its creation thousands of female tweeters were contributing to the host of stories revealing incidents of street harassment.

Interestingly, many of these tweets made reference to the recent gang rape and murder of a 23 year-old student in the Indian city of Delhi. Tweeting that rape and harassment is not confined to India.

“There is nothing ‘Indian’ about street harassment”. Tweeted feminist writer, Soraya Chemaly.

There is a misconception that regular harassment and rape is a foreign problem, but endeavours like The Everyday Sexism project are bringing to light the fact that we need to wake up to the harassment  and fear women experience every day all across the globe.

If you’re still not convinced then take a look at the stream of stories and support from both men and women generated by the hashtag.

Speaking to Stylist Magazine Bates said of the #Shoutingback movement: “One of the big problems with street harassment is that if you don’t experience it, you rarely see it, so there’s a huge lack of awareness about just how serious the issue still is.

“Many people have no idea how extreme women’s daily experiences are – how they are made afraid simply for leaving the house or having the audacity to walk unaccompanied down the street.”

A Europe free from prostitution

Posted: 16 Jan 2013 06:35 AM PST

Lobbyists call to criminalise the purchase of sex and free Europe from prostitution.

Mary Honeyball MEP and Labour’s spokesperson in Europe on women and gender equality has declared her backing for the European Women's Lobby (EWL).

This called on the European Parliament to support a 'Europe free from prostitution' at a conference in Brussels recently.

The EWL made six key recommendations to EU Member States, which essentially follow the model adopted in Sweden.

The Swedish model referred to recognises women involved in prostitution as victims of violence and criminalises the purchase of sex and offers methodical exit strategies towards new lives.

Legislation in Sweden makes it illegal to procure sexual services, including promoting or deriving profit from prostitution.  In 1999 further legislation prohibited the purchase of sexual services.

In 1996, prior to the prohibition of the purchase of sexual services, 13.6 per cent of Swedish men said they had bought someone for prostitution purposes.

In 2008, the figure had dropped to 7.8 per cent.

By this time, of course, it was illegal to purchase sex.

One wonders how many men questioned at this time therefore answered truthfully and whether indeed this figure could be higher in reality.

Speaking to WVoN recently, Ms Honeyball said that she was in full support of the adoption of such a model.

In a statement, Ms Honeyball said that we must also focus attention on the issue of human trafficking, which helps fuel the demand for prostitution.

"If we are to tackle the problem of prostitution we must also acknowledge and fight equally hard to abolish the very violent crime of human trafficking.

"Statistics show that between 76-79 per cent of reported trafficking in humans is for sexual exploitation.

“This is a worryingly high statistic, and, in reality, is likely to be even higher because not every crime of this nature is reported.

"I therefore support the criminalisation of all forms of procuring, and the creation of effective exit programmes for sex workers, in line with the views of the EWL."

Ms Honeyball said that statistics from Sweden following the introduction of legislation to criminalise those who pay for prostitutes had shown a significant impact: reducing the number of persons exploited in street prostitution by 50 per cent.

Petra Ostergren, a Swedish debater, writer and social commentator specialising in gender politics, interviewed sex workers affected by the change in laws in Sweden and studies reports which have sought responses direct from sex-workers.

She reported that while Swedish politicians and feminists insist the criminalising of procuring all forms of sex has brought about positive effects, the girls and women involved in prostitution report very differently.

Her work showed that Swedish sex workers feel discriminated against, endangered by laws considered protective by politicians and were under severe emotional stress as a result of these laws.

And while some women have reported a reduction in the number of exploitative pimps seen on the streets of Sweden since the introduction of the legislation, other sex workers criticise the legislation as placing them at risk of violence.

They argue they now have to offer lower prices because there is higher competition from other sex workers on the streets for fewer clients.

Women in need of the money agree to engage in unsafe sex to secure the business and put themselves in situations they previously would not have considered.

Some Swedish men still want to purchase sex despite the legislation making it illegal – what the law does, however, is to make it difficult for sex workers to make a full assessment of the client and the risk they may pose.

As a result of the change in law any negotiating is reported as being a hurried affair placing the sex-worker at greater risk of ending up with a dangerous client.

What is concerning, is that Swedish sex workers report an increase in 'perverted' customers – those who demand more violent forms of sex and sexual practices including humiliation and degradation.

The men paying for sex refuse to wear a condom more frequently than before the legislation was introduced and those sex workers who are funding a drug problem find it difficult to refuse these customers.

The girls who remain on the street report a weaker support network resulting in an inability to warn each other of dangerous clients.

They also report the need to live a double life, too afraid to admit they work in prostitution for fear of putting their families at risk.

In Sweden, it is illegal to receive any income from a sex-worker, making it difficult to co-habit with a partner, and prostitutes are not considered fit parents so live with the fear of losing custody of their children, if it emerges they sell sex.

In response to criticism of the Swedish model, Ms Honeyball refers to the findings of Sweden's Justice Chancellor, Anna Skarhead, who reviewed the impact of the legislation 10 years after its implementation.

"A review of the prohibition of the purchase of sexual services in Sweden found that it had had the intended effect, and moreover, it proved an effective tool in both preventing and combatting prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes.”

The report said: ‘There is nothing to indicate that the prevalence of indoor prostitution that is not marketed through advertisements in magazines and on the Internet, e.g. prostitution in massage parlours, sex clubs and hotels, and in restaurant and nightclub settings, has increased in recent years.

‘Nor is there any information that suggests that prostitutes formerly exploited on the streets are now involved in indoor prostitution'.

However, other reports have found criticism of the model.

One year after the law was passed, the National Council for Crime Prevention conducted a survey of the practice of the new law and what problems had been encountered.

The National Board of Health and Welfare, also documented existing knowledge of the spread of prostitution.

The National Police Board published a report evaluating the practice of the law and making suggestions about new methods in police work against prostitution.

All three of these reports find, unsurprisingly, that street prostitution dropped immediately after the introduction of the law.

They also suggest that recruitment was lower, although the National Council for Crime Prevention stated that the exact number of prostitutes in certain areas was hard to estimate because street prostitution had simply moved to other streets in larger areas.

All three reports said there is no evidence that prostitution was lower overall. Instead they say that hidden prostitution had probably increased.

This concurs with the reports from the sex workers interviewed, who said that lying about their lives had become a necessity and that those who paid for sexual services simply denied it.

All three reports also confirmed that those men still purchasing sex were more dangerous, and the women who cannot stop or move their business were dependent on these more dangerous men, since they could no longer afford to turn them down.

The National Police Board also highlighted concerns by the healthcare system regarding the declining health of sex workers and the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases.

In response to this, Ms Honeyball said: that sex workers having adequate access to health check-ups is of paramount importance.

"I appreciate that much of the work is demanding and requires healthcare workers, charities and others to do a lot of outreach work and this can be a challenge in such a closed community.

“However building good relationships based on trust helps, and such agencies are trained and equipped with these skills."

With all the cuts in public spending, one wonders which organisations would be sufficiently trained with the necessary skills to deal sensitively with these women and have the time and resources to build the level of trust required.

"Of course this relies on the government not cutting essential services provided by these stakeholders and I have campaigned against Boris Johnson and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) who planned to cut services to a dedicated MPS human trafficking unit which provided skills and expertise to tackle violent crimes like human trafficking.”

It would be naive to say that sex work is a career choice, but many of these women do depend on sex work to live.

We do of course hope there is a brighter, safer future for the sex workers of Europe – a future which includes them in the decision making process and recognises that removing prostitutes from Europe will be a long struggle.

Let’s hope lawmakers consider and listen to the opinions of those women who are already living with the consequences of the criminalisation of prostitution – and offer them a future with the dedicated, appropriate levels of support they will undeniably need to exit the world of sex work.

Tributes to editor of Ebony magazine

Posted: 16 Jan 2013 06:32 AM PST

Terry Glover, who devoted much of her career to promoting black culture, has died.

She was managing editor of of Ebony magazine, a monthly publication which targets the African American market and had previously been a filmmaker as well as a writer.

She lost her two-year battle against colon cancer on 24 December.

Tributes have been paid to her from across the USA.

Filmmaker and longtime friend Barbara E Allen told the Westside Gazette: "She was really about moving the black community forward on all levels – especially on an artistic level. She was dedicated to the arts, and her work has had a such profound influence."

In their early career, 20 years ago, Glover and Allen toured Paris, London and Amsterdam to shoot a film about ‘black Europe’.

“Nobody believed we could find so much black culture in Europe, but they did when we brought back the film,” Allen said. “We were young and crazy and wanted to travel the world,” Allen told the Denver Post.

Glover had gained a degree in radio, TV and film from Northwestern University, Chicago, and a masters in journalism from Roosevelt University and worked at Savoy magazine and Uptown magazine. She wrote for the Chicago Times on a freelance basis.

She joined Ebony in 2006 and was made managing editor in 2009 after working as a senior editor on their website for three years.

Amy DuBois Barnett, editor in chief, said Ebony plans to print a memorial to her in the next issue.

“Terry is completely irreplaceable,” DuBois Barnett said. “We will find someone to fill in her editorial functions, but in terms of the glue she was for our team, that’s not replaceable.

“We really feel her absence every single day. All of us at Ebony loved her.”

She leaves two daughters Parri and Maya and husband Kendall Glover.

Her husband has paid tribute on a memorial website and says a celebration of her life is planned for January.

Tragic death of key environmental activist

Posted: 16 Jan 2013 01:52 AM PST

Tributes for influential environmental activist Rebecca Tarbotton after her unexpected death.

As the first female Executive Director of Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Tarbotton helped achieve some of its most significant victories to date and has been described by her colleagues as a visionary and transformative leader.

Tarbotton died on 26 December after swimming in rough waves off a beach in Mexico, where she was on holiday with her husband and friends. She was 39 years old.

A coroner confirmed the cause of death as asphyxiation from water.

Rainforest Action Network is a 25 year-old San Francisco based environmental organisation with a worldwide membership.

It campaigns to protect the rainforests, the rights of their inhabitants and of other life-supporting ecosystems.

RAN is particularly renowned for its market campaigns against major multinational corporations, which often include non-violent direct action. It was dubbed "some of the most savvy environmental agitators in the business" by the Wall Street Journal.

Tarbotton became RAN's Executive Director in August 2010, having been its Program Director the previous year and head of its Energy and Finance program for two years before that.

According to Michael Brune, a former executive director at the network, Tarbotton was gifted at communicating with corporate leaders on environmental issues in a firm but engaging way.

"Even through RAN could be confrontational, she was able to be hard on the issues but soft on the people," he told the New York Times.

The greatest achievement of her short tenure as Chief Executive was an agreement with Disney,the world's largest publisher, on the way the company purchased and used paper.

As part of the most far-reaching paper procurement policy in the publishing industry, Disney has committed to eliminate paper products sourced from High Conservation Value Areas such as rainforests.

According to Tarbotton's colleague Anna Lappé, the development of Disney's new policy was instigated by Tarbotton and RAN.

Lab research carried out by RAN had revealed that 60 per cent of children's books tested were made from fibres that could be traced back to Indonesia's rainforests.

Following deforestation, Indonesia became one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters and the clearing of the forests also meant the destruction of the habits of endangered species such as the  Sumatra tiger and orangutan.

Disney initially refused to change its paper buying practices when RAN challenged all of the world's biggest publishers to do so.

But after a direct action at the company's executive headquarters, in which a banner was dropped over the headquarters and a Mickey and Minnie Mouse holding chainsaws chained themselves to the office’s gates, Disney executives decided to consult RAN on developing an environmentally and socially responsible paper policy.

RAN described Disney's paper policy as the most significant agreement in the history of the organization.

The tributes to Tarbotton mourn the loss of a campaigner regarded as especially innovative and inspiring.

In her first years at RAN, she helped lead a successful campaign aimed at persuading major US banks to stop financing companies that practise mountain top coal removing.

This tactic of fighting environmental corporate campaigns is, according to a RAN spokesperson, part of the course "that [Tarbotton] set for us," which they are determined to continue.

The tragic loss of potential that Tarbotton's death represents was conveyed by Lappé, who wrote "we have no surplus of graceful, visionary, strategic leaders."

The tributes also fondly remember a person who was warm-hearted and motivating to work with.

Speaking about her campaigning in October 2012, Tarbotton said, “We don’t always know exactly what it is that creates social change.

“It takes everything from science all the way to faith, and it’s that fertile place right in the middle where really exceptional campaigning happens – and that is where I strive to be.”