November 25th was White Ribbon Day to mark Ending Violence Against Womenand Girls. It is followed by 16 days of action around gendered violence.This includes a number of Reclaim the Night demonstrations. Reclaim theNight had its origins in Leeds in 1977 when Peter Sutcliffe, theYorkshire Ripper, was on the rampage, killing thirteen women includingsex workers. The police instructed women to stay away from public spacesat night. In response to this the first Reclaim the Night march wasorganised. Reclaim the Street marches mobilise against streetharassment and sexual violence and to reclaim spaces that are seen asoff-limits to lone women.Violence against women is expressed not just in sexual harassment in thestreet, in the workplace and in educational establishments but indomestic violence, which affects one in four women and is the cause ofmany women's deaths. It is expressed on the internet with thedistribution of sexually explicit images, known as revenge porn. Manyyoung men grow up believing that it is quite alright to abuse andhumiliate women sexually because of this. Above all it is expressed intimes of war when mass rape, physical and psychological abuse by armedforces is used to intimidate, humiliate, and control. In times of warwomen face this as well as displacement, with their children being thelargest group in refugee camps around the world. In addition, we havethe example of Gaza where an estimated 50,000 pregnant women cannot getthe services, treatment, and medications they need to safely deliverbabies. As a result, maternal deaths will increase. The stress of warwill also result in a rise in miscarriages, stillbirths, and prematurebirths.Rampant sexism, exploitation and violence have been perpetrated byofficers in every police force in the UK - although the Met has receivedthe most critical publicity. How is it acceptable that the 'Guardians oflaw and order' are consistently the perpetrators of misogynisticviolence? Rape, murder, and sexual harassment of women have been regularactivities of police officers for a very long time and the authoritiesand media say "Oh dear - how terrible" although nothing changes.It is starkly expressed under theocratic regimes like Iran andAfghanistan. Here the adoption of sharia law has led to the practice ofchild marriage, a form of violence against girls. Girls escaping thissituation have been shot and killed. Sexual violence is used in Iranagainst female prisoners arrested in the recent waves of protest againstthe regime. We cannot forget the murder of Mahsa Amini and ArmitaGeravand by the morality police.In India too there have been horrific rapes and murders of women leadingto the development of protest movements. In Uttar Pradesh 400,000 womenhave taken part in the Gulabi Gang to defend women against maleviolence, by direct action.The struggle against the patriarchal system has brought about the growthof movements in reaction to these horrors on a global level.Patriarchy is intimately entwined with and predates capitalism andimperialism. It must be fought. In all these areas of violence againstwomen, we must support women's struggles for safety and forself-organisation to collectively defend ourselves. This might be inwomen's groups within unions at the workplace, in local mutual aidgroups, within domestic abuse and rape support groups, migrant / refugeesupport groups, housing campaign groups or wherever women can gather todefend themselves.No libertarian communism without women's liberationNo women's liberation without libertarian communismhttps://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2023/11/28/violence-against-women-and-girls-and-gendered-violence/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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