WORLD WORLDWIDE FRANCE News Journal Update - (en) France, UCL leaflet: Violence against women: an arsenal of war (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 

The consequences of armed conflicts strike populations as a whole but
they particularly affect women and girls: rapes, murders, sexual
slavery; prostitution, forced pregnancy and sterilization. ---- These
wars also increase the phenomena of displacement and increase the waves
of refugees. However, more than 75% of displaced people are women and
children who remain very exposed to violence and exploitation in
countries of asylum as well as during their repatriation. ---- Wars and
militarism are cogs in the system of exploitation and oppression in
which we live. They block the freedom of people, unbalance economies and
ways of life. They are destroying us. For decades, feminists have
denounced the impacts of wars on women's lives and their close link with
patriarchy, capitalism and racism.

However, sexual violence and its causes are not just a phenomenon of
war. They are deeply rooted in our patriarchal society, even in times of
peace.

Violence has no country, no religion, no borders
In 2020, the United Nations recorded cases of sexual violence linked to
armed conflicts in 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle
East, mainly but also in South America, Asia and Europe.

On October 14, 2022, following two reports, the UN denounced the
"military strategy of rape" of Russian forces in Ukraine. In Iran, the
pressure on women is increasing a little more every day.

In Afghanistan the situation is more than dramatic: 13.8 million women
and girls need assistance to survive; early and forced marriage and
involuntary displacement have intensified.

In October 2023, Rojava, a revolutionary and democratic territory in
Syrian Kurdistan, suffered a new massive attack from the Turkish state.
As with every offensive, women are specifically victims of violence,
harassment and abuse.

During the Hamas attack on October 7, civilians died, but women were not
killed in the same way as others. They were exhibited naked, raped, some
were decapitated, others dismembered and burned.

Thousands of women and children have been killed in the Gaza Strip, and
thousands more injured. Bombings, damaged or non-functional health
facilities, massive displacements, the collapse of water and electricity
supply systems as well as restricted access to food and medicine are
seriously disrupting health services, particularly for the 50,000
pregnant women, more than 180 of whom give birth every day. Despite the
lack of clear data on violence against women, it is indisputable that
the conflict worsens the situation. It intensifies sexual abuse and
exploitation.

Here, nothing moves
Since 2018, gender-based and sexual violence (SGBV) has been declared a
major national cause without anything tangibly changing our realities,
and Macron's latest outings on inclusive writing reflect his reactionary
policy.

213,000 women are victims of physical or sexual violence at the hands of
their spouse or ex-spouse each year. 94,000 are victims of rape or
attempted rape each year, and 250 women are raped every day. In 91% of
cases of sexual violence, women know the attackers. One in 6 women enter
sexuality through non-consensual and desired sex. One in 2 women have
already suffered sexual violence in France. 16% of French people
suffered sexual abuse in their childhood.

32% of women have already been victims of sexual harassment at work. 80%
of women with disabilities have been victims of violence. 75% of
Islamophobic attacks target women. 85% of transgender people are
attacked during their lives. As of October 28, 2023, the count of
feminicides in France is 107.

To support our sisters there, let's continue the fight here:
- To obtain resources for associations which fight on a daily basis
against VSS, for the rights of women and LGBTI people, exiled or
undocumented people;
- to obtain regularization for all;
- to denounce the role of the French state in armed conflicts, demand an
end to arms exports and fight against the militarization of our society;
- to denounce all political and religious fascisms whose first victims
are always women and children.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Les-violences-faites-aux-femmes-un-arsenal-de-guerre
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