Resisting Oppression Sexism in Activism: ROSA Statement: Oppose Violence Against Women in the Labour Movement

UPDATE MESSAGE ABOUT THE ‘DIFFERENCE’ BETWEEN ROSA (Resisting Sexism and Oppression in Activism) and the Socialist Party Ireland’s own ‘ROSA’ organisation 27 Juin 2013

Hello, Laura Fitzgerald of Socialist Party Ireland has contacted me to complain about our decision to use the acronym ROSA (Resisting Oppression Sexism and Activism) as part of the title of our statement as the Socialist Party Ireland set up an organisation called ROSA some time before. Whilst I’m happy to say that yes it’s true that myself and other comrades were inspired by their initiative and I think it’s excellent, I’m also happy to clarify that our statement here has nothing to do with the Irish organisation of the same name. Whilst hoping to be sensitive to Laura’s views, those of us who support OUR initiative have discussed Laura’s objections  to use using ‘her’  name and we are not willing to follow laura’s orders as we do not think it’s reasonable. Rosa Luxemberg inspires many socialists, including those outside the CWI and there isn’t a monopoly or ownership of political names, hence the existence of numerous unrelated parties called the ‘Socialist Party’ around the world, for example. Laura’s request unfortunately is not a response to the poltical content of our statement and this is what we are seeking – a debate and exhange on the actual issues, not a petty falling out over who gets to use what names. So just to sum up, I think the SP ireland’s ROSA campaign is great whereas judging by Laura’s initial response, they do not feel able to respond in this sisterly and comradely manner. In the meantime, we will be setting up our ROSA wordpress account group shortly. This is the beginning, Sara and supporters

new signatures added 🙂

Foreword

ROSA are a network of like minded labour movement activists and working class revolutionaries who share a mutual concern and desire to challenge sexism and oppose violence against women and make the movement genuinely inclusive for all. Our statement below is our collective response to the recent cases of sexism, sexual assault and harassment in the labour movement in the U.K. (and internationally) and the ensuing crisis of the left which it has produced. These cases include: the Socialist Workers Party rape / sexual violence allegations r.e. ‘comrade Delta’ case (Manson, P, ‘SWP Leadership – if you don’t talk about it’, 2013), the RMT domestic violence allegations against a leading male member of the RMT National Executive Committee case (Leneghan, C, ‘Domestic Violence and International Women’s Day RMT’, 2013) and the sexual assault allegations against a prominent male trade unionist member of the Socialist Party England and Wales (Mayo, S, ‘Just another Woman’s Testimony of Sexism, sexual assault and male abojuse of power in the labour movement’, 2013). Of course these type of cases are not at all limited to left organisations and in fact major capitalist institutions such as the BBC (Haliday, ‘BBC: new child sex abuse allegations ..’, 2013), the Catholic Church (for ex, Bates, ‘Bishops round on Panorama’s claims of abuse cover-ups’, 2006) and mainstream political parties such as the Liberal Democrats (Syal, R, ‘Liberal Democrats under pressure to reopen old claims of sexual harassment’, 2013) are all deeply embroiled in their own scandals of this character. The common pattern in all of these cases is that the relevant organisational leaders tend to be complicit in covering up reported abuse and silencing the victims / survivors; All of these stories of abuse are symptomatic in varied and complex ways of a deeply unequal, sexist and violent yet ‘modern’ globalised capitalist society.

Nevertheless, this statement focuses itself on the crisis in the labour movement as these organisations are our vehicles for struggle against the system itself. This statement is intended as a socialist follow up contribution to the recent ‘End Violence Against Women’ discussion initiated by a number of different left organisations and union activists, including the Socialist Party England and Wales (SP) statement ‘Combating violence against women: A socialist perspective on fighting women’s oppression‘ by Deputy Secretary, Hannah Sell ,which was published this April (2013).

However, within our grouping, marxists, socialists, anarchists, trade unionists, community campaigners, feminists, LGBTQIA activists, anti-racist / fascists and other lefts are welcome to participate with us and discuss and debate left political ideas and issues. We are not a political party and therefore do not demand or think a democratic centralist approach is possible in this form of organisation at this stage, but we do promote the fullest democracy and debate, guaranteeing every comrade the freedom to publish their own political material where possible.

Our aim is to create a network which is both an educational tool, a discussion forum and a support network for left activists who have experienced problems of sexism and other discriminatory treatment such as racism, homophobia and transphobia etc. If you share our determination to challenge, engage and hopefully change the existing labour movement organisations on these issues please contact us.

We encourage and facilitate open, honest, self reflective and democratic discussion. We do not claim to be infallible or above criticism; instead, we hope to help create a culture on the left which is better able to be genuinely inclusive, democratic, self critical where appropriate, open and collaborative and equal. We think all activists are diamonds: precious, rare and indispensible so long as they abuse no other; activists have the right to remain healthy and not become so over worked, under valued and exhausted to the point at which they end up burnt out. This is no way to treat people; therefore we also want to put the humanity back into the activism of socialists, anarchists, trade unionists et al.

We intend to address the issues of under-representation of women, as well as ethnic minorities and all those who fall outside of ‘traditional’ gender and sexuality binaries in later material. Women are overwhelmingly the majority of inter personal violence survivors and it is this sexism and misogyny we wish to protest against whilst at the same time we wish to make it clear we are opposed to ALL abuse, all forms of discrimination, bullying and harassment. We will expand on this question further on in our statement.

We propose in our statement a number of positive, constructive measures and action points which socialist, anarchist and labour organisations may wish to take to help improve and minimise the organisational problems of violence against women and all discriminatory, hostile and bullying behaviours and actions on the part of some of their members, where this problem exists. But above all, we recognise that these problems are political in character and therefore require political solutions.

Therefore, we hope our contribution here is received in the constructive and comradely manner in which it has been written by ourselves. To repeat the point again, we are NOT proposing the creation of a new party nor are we claiming that we have all the answers – we do not. However, at least some of us are former members of at least one prominent socialist organisation (The Socialist Party) England and Wales, for example) and we wish to note that many of us in this position of former membership regrettably feel we have been ‘pushed out’ and excluded from politics by our former organisation(s). This is a major factor in our decision to organise this network in order to allow us to continue actively in socialist, trade unionist, anarchist and left wing politics.

Introduction:

Whilst our title statement puts our focus on violence against women, we of course recognise how anybody can experience inter- personal violence and sexual abuse and this is equally abhorrent. Both socialists and anarchists as human beings are firmly opposed to all interpersonal violence and abuse and wish to help make the labour movement a safe and inclusive place for EVERYONE. Capitalism as an ideology, its violent, ‘dog eat dog’, selfish pursuit of self (and capitalist) interest and its glorification of war, distorts human pyschology to such an extent that all humans can experience violence, degradation and abuse. Nevertheless, women are the primary victims of violence and abuse in society whilst men are the primary perpetrators because women are systematically devalued and degraded by a capitalist society based on both class and gender division and inequality whilst even working class men, exploited as workers, nevertheless are socially conditioned to enjoy so-called ‘male priviledge’, which of course, the most conscious and socially aware men reject (not all men are abusers, far from it). For instance,we quote Women’s Aid on the key question ‘Who are the victims of domestic violence?” on the aspect of gender:

“Gender is a “significant risk factor” as women are more likely than men to experience interpersonal violence, especially sexual violence, and to experience severe and/or repeated incidents of violence and abuse. “Women are the overwhelming majority of the most heavily abused group. Among people subject to four or more incident of domestic violence from the perpetrator of the worst incident (since age 16) 89 per cent were women”. (British Crime Survey, Walby & Allen, 2004) – (Women’s Aid website 2013 )

All survivors of inter personal abuse, irrespective of gender, age and sexuality should be entitled to full and specialist NHS support free and on demand but it is vital we highlight the risk to specialist support services for women in particular. We are opposed to all cuts to jobs, homes and services, including all budget cuts to specialist services, including for women and children who have experienced interpersonal violence. Furthermore, we are opposed to the capitalist class’ attempt to destroy the welfare state both in the U.K. and internationally; we are ardent in our opposition to capitalist austerity and many of us campaign for an internationalist socialist world as the only secure basis to create a genuinely, equal world based on co-operation and solidarity, with the wealth produced and distributed democratically with society run and managed by the majority, whilst anarchist comrades do not call for this on a socialist basis.

However, the dual oppression of women as both workers and as women under capitalism means we live in a society where rape culture is normalised and violence against women is endemic. Two women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner (Homicide Statistics, 1998) – 1 woman killed every 3 days ( – Women’s Aid, 2013). It is essential that we make reference to this historical and social context in order to raise consciousness of the battle for women’s rights within the labour movement. Furthermore, we are stating that whilst we acknowledge that both abuser and abused can vary in gender and sexuality (e.g lesbian domestic abusive relationships), in the clear majority of cases, it is women abused by men and this illustrates the structural inequality of patriarchal capitalism in the 21^st century. It is crucial that we don’t lose sight of the central issue at stack here; the gendered dimension of interpersonal violence in the political, social and economic context of Rape Culture in modern globalised capitalist society, whilst at the same time, we remain utterly opposed to any forms of abuse, irrespective of the gender identity of the culprit.

Furthermore, we understand why many activists prefer the term ‘survivor’ to ‘victim’ as the first term is positive and suggests recovery is indeed possible in contrast to ‘victim’ which implies helplessness (VictorytotheToils, ‘Betrayal: A critical analysis of rape culture in anarchist subcultures’, 2013). However we have chosen to use both terms to both emphasize the harm done and the possibility of recovery and to reflect how individuals are free to define themselves as they see fit.

Finally, the lessons of the Socialist Workers Party UK (SWP) case (Newman, A, ‘Statement of the Democratic Opposition’, 2012) also needs to be addressed in full at a later point. We will publish more material on this question as soon as we are able, as well as other issues raised directly or indirectly by the statement below. This is followed by an appendix and full bibliography for your information.

STATEMENT: Oppose Violence Against Women in the Labour Movement

1. It is of utmost importance that the labour movement is a place in which anybody can feel comfortable to come forward with any allegations of sexism, violence or sexual assault in all its forms without being judged and with confidence that the allegations will be examined seriously and democratically with the fundamental agreement that no comrade is indispensable. This can only be achieved if the leadership of the labour movement actually do take up cases seriously and in an informed and sensitive manner, democratically with an attitude that nobody is indispensable and that they must have the membership’s confidence in their ability to do so.
   
2. Our starting point should be to believe the survivors, the majority of whom are usually women; just like we approach the question of racism; start from the viewpoint of the oppressed. We need to acknowledge how difficult and brave it is for a member, especially a rank and file member, to come forward with an allegation against another member, especially if the latter is in a prominent or leading position. We recognise how these are frequently, although not always, political relationships in which an unequal gendered power dynamic is at play with the alleged abuser, usually male and the abused, often female. All of our comrades are vital with an as important and equal contribution to make to their party / labour organisation as their better known leader comrades. We need to support comrades who come forward with such allegations – it is our duty of care: anything less is not acceptable.

3. It is also important for such leaders to acknowledge the facts around false allegations of rape / sexual assault / domestic violence – only a tiny minority of such allegations are false and no more common than false allegations for other crimes such as burglary etc. Such cases should be contextualised on the basis of our Marxist understanding of women’s oppression and the social reality of rape culture in society (Bowcott,O, Rape investigations ‘undermined by belief that false accusations are rife’, 2013).

Presumption of Innocence

It is important that any person accused of committing interpersonal violence and abuse is given the right to defend themselves by the investigating party, be it the police or a revolutionary party, for example. We are very sensitive about genuine concerns regarding the principle ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and understand and respect that this is both a genuine and legitimate concern of socialists, particularly if they personally know and respect the accused (Sell, H, ‘Combating violence against women: A socialist perspective on fighting women’s oppression‘ ,2013). However, sometimes these concerns on their own are in practice one sided and there is the danger that legitimate concerns as above are used opportunistically and / or naively to ignore the equally important questions, particularly when armed with the facts around the actual rates of false allegations. The following questions need to be addressed adequately by investigators of such complaints:

– What evidence does the victim / survivor provide e.g. personal testimony, medical evidence, photographs, diaries, witnesses etc?

– What legitimate, evidence based reasons are there to disbelieve the person making the allegations?

– What precisely are the benefits for a survivor to make a false allegation?

– What is the balance of power here, the gendered power dynamics of personal / political relations in the case in question?

– Was the accused in a position of power or authority over the alleged victim / survivor?

– Is the survivor / victim vulnerable in any way?

– Is it not possible to make an informed assessment of the verity of the complainant’s claims and if not, who could be consulted for expert advice, e.g. specialists in the relevant field, e.g. specialised NHS workers?

– Surely it is reasonable for the survivor / victim to be believed, as any suggestions otherwise may actually compound and worsen the original trauma?

– How can the organisation concerned do its best to MINIMISE any further distress to the victim / survivor and what support has been offered to them?

All of the above must be factored in a fully rounded analysis AS WELL AS the right of the accused to defend themselves and be ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Everybody has the right to a fair trial, including the complainant and not just the accused.

Nevertheless, if an investigating party concludes it is unable to verify which of the two parties is to be believed then the answer to this dilema is to hand over the investigation to the relevant authority which will be in a place to do this e.g. specialists within the organisation and / or an outside body e.g. the police in cases of criminal acts.

5. Therefore, this is a message to the socialist left and the labour movement as a whole: if you are complicit, however naively and well intentioned you may be, in trying to protect misogynistic abusers and sidelining and abandoning (usually) female survivors, you reap what you sow: you WILL be implicated in these scandals and will suffer the inevitable political damage including both attacks from the bourgeois press and the other left wing parties etc.

6. Our movement must be a genuinely equal environment, free from sexism, racism and homophobia as much as possible. Whilst we acknowledge these are primarily political issues, we advise organisations to also consider the lessons of organiisations which have used pro-active measures such as adopting a ‘Safer Spaces Policy’, or guidelines for appropriate behaviour, such as the policy Occupy Sheffield adopted on 20th November 2011 at the evening General Assembly. By a safer spaces policy or guidelines we mean a set of mutually agreed rules of conduct to pro-actively promote healthier, constructive relationships and minimise and hopefully help PREVENT sexism, racism, bullying, abusive and harassing behaviour and actions of group members, providing clear mechanisms to challenge such unwanted behaviour, deal with internal complaints and create a supportive group environment within the given organisation(s).We quote the Occupy Sheffield policy in full in the appendix. It could assist triggering an internal discussion on how members are expected to behave with each other and help raise their consciousness from the day they join and such policy or guidelines would need to be adapted and revised so that it is 100% relevant and applicable to each organisation concerned, if such policies are not already in place. Members would both benefit from and become much more aware of their own behaviours and actions from the adoption and internal discussion of such a policy.

7. We recognise the danger of the capitalist establishment using the political issue of male abusers of women (or any other cases of abuse) as a means to attack socialists accused of such crimes to weaken the socialist struggle as a whole (Sell, H, ‘Combating violence against women: A socialist perspective on fighting women’s oppression‘, 2013). Violence / abuse of women cases also raise important questions for revolutionary socialists on how we deal INTERNALLY with prominent socialist abusers AND what methods of recourse we advise survivors / victims to take within the remits of capitalist democracy e.g. We support the right of victims to report violent and abusive crimes to the police and to access relevant support on the NHS etc e.g. Sexual Assault Referral Clinics etc. But above all, Violence Against Women cases which have emerged since (and will emerge) on the revolutionary left and the labour movement as a whole raises the key question: Do we continue to politically collaborate with known, evidence based proven, abusers? What evidence do we have that they have sufficiently changed and are the survivors – usually women, but not always – asked for their input into possible disciplinary action against the abuser?

8. The SWP Comrade Delta case (Newman, A, ‘SWP Democratic Opposition Statement’, 2012) is now notorious and discussed by working class people across the U.K., Eire and throughout the world. We think it is correct to start from the premise that the women who made the allegations were telling the truth, as the mostly likely situation statistically speaking alone, let alone when we consider the power dynamics at root in this and other cases within the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) ( Leneghan, C, ‘Domestic Violence and International Women’s Day RMT’, 2013) and the Socialist Party England and Wales (Lewis, B, ‘SPEW: Peter Taaffe and his own scandal’, 2013). The two female complainants in the SWP case were rank and file members, possibly with none of the power or status or authority of the full time leadership of the SWP. It’s an act of courage for rank and file members in any party to come forward with allegations of rape, sexual assault and harassment against a party leader. Survivors like this often worry if they will be supported and believed by their organisational leaders and may even fear a hostile and unsympathetic response, especially as SOCIETY disbelieves women and other survivors every day in ‘our’ most popular capitalist newspapers e.g. The Daily Mail and The Sun etc.

9. Furthermore, the answer for socialists uncertain they can take a survivor’s word on its own is to factor in the evidence (e.g. the survivor may well be receiving counselling, doctor’s support, plus accessing any other specialist services such as Women’s Aid and NHS Sexual Referral Clinic units). In fact, socialists should advise survivors in this position to access this support immediately and offer a specially trained advocate from the organisation itself to support the survivor.

10. Therefore it is the duty of socialist and labour movement leaders to ensure they are fully educated in the complex and varied issues around domestic violence / rape / sexual assault / harassment so they can use an evidence based approach when investigating internal cases of this nature (Fightback, ‘Socialists and sexual violence claims an evidence based approach’, 2013) including seeking out specialist support from relevantly trained comrades and seek advice from relevant organisations i.e. Women’s Aid.

The guidance from the U.K. Domestic Violence charity Refuge is also instructive and should be studied closely by all investigators. Here they address the vexed question: Will he change? [http://refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/help-for-women/will-he-change/]

11. We support the right of survivors to report sex crimes to the police and should not put any pressure on victims not to do this out of a misguided and misunderstood conception of party / union ‘loyalty’. We cannot be complicit in the silencing of survivors of abuse. Our duty is to champion their fight for justice and publicly condemn the abuser, no matter the ‘perpetuator’s power or position.

12. We should advise survivors / victims to seek specialist support from their G.P.S, therapists, specialist support services such as sexual assault referral services, Refuge, Women’s Aid etc. Whilst we recognise that organisations / parties can’t provide these services ourselves, our duty of care means we should offer both personal, political and practical support, including publicly if requested by the survivor.

13. Equally, it is the duty of the leadership to organise an intensive and far reaching campaign of political education about violence against women and interpersonal violence in general and to directly challenge sexist, misogynistic and abusive behaviours. Women and all survivors (irrespective of gender and sexual orientation) should be playing the leading role with the full and active support of their organisations. Likewise, women and survivors generally should be given the space and practical and political support to organise to discuss these burning political issues and to educate the membership as a whole about this complex topic.

14. As one anonymous female comrade herself testifies:“The whole issue of domestic violence is mind-blowing, I used to work for Women’s Aid and had all the theory and all the training yet still got caught up in his snare of psychological warfare- questioning whether it was my fault, minimizing it, allowing myself to become isolated and control gradually be taken over my life. The issues are so complex and not being believed/ questioning yourself/being isolated causes more damage than the bruises. – i.e. the response of society does inflict more damage than the actual event, in a lot of cases.”.

15. “Furthermore, we do not ask each worker to prove they are being exploited, because we know how work is organised under capitalism, how profit is taken from the mass of workers. While we seek information on the specifics of a workplace situation, we do that on the basis of a broader analysis. Similarly, our analysis must proceed from knowledge about how gender oppression works” [Fightback, ‘Socialists and sexual violence claims an evidence based approach’, 2013].

16. We are opposed to all interpersonal violence and abuse of power but at the same time we believe women’s equality should also be at the heart of anybody who believes in the anti-capitalist struggle to change society (especially in the heart of socialist and anarchist revolutionaries); it is also a fact that over half the world’s population and indeed a majority of the working class in the 21st century are women. There can be no strive towards a better society without our female comrades! We don’t want to be a part of a movement that alienates women or anybody else wanting to fight for Socialism.

17. We are in favour of bringing these issues to the fore in the light of the SWP’s scandal of it’s attitude towards both women’s emancipation and internal democracy (or lack of!) at a time where the capitalist media have jumped on the case and used it to demonise left-wing politics(Malik, S and Cohen, N, ‘Socialist Workers Party leadership under fire over rape kangaroo court’, 2013). We think socialist and left parties and trade unions must issue a statement on the shambles that emerged with kangaroo courts, significant splits and the afore-mentioned attack on the credibility of the left as a whole. We believe that remaining silent on the issue is irresponsible, unjust and damaging.

18. It is the responsibility of elected leaderships of such bodies to:
    

a) Reassure everyone in the movement that we oppose violence against women (and any other form of interpersonal violence) within our own ranks and will immediately investigate the accused, allowing said comrade the right to self defence, but equally important, supporting the survivor and centring the energy, care and attention for the survivor, not leaving the survivor isolated whilst concentrating solely on supporting the accused. This is particularly the case if the evidence is clear, if the survivor’s testimony, witnesses, medical and police evidence prove insufficient for said investigators

b) Secondly, it is the responsibility of the leadership to issue a statement on violence against women in the labour movement, drawing on lessons learned from previous cases as well as ongoing ones from this crisis.

c) Thirdly, it is an opportunity to clear the name of said organisation(s), explain the actual campaigning record on these issues and address the questions of democratic centralism, including putting the issue in it’s broader social, economic political context; Internationally, we are in an era of growing revolutionary opportunites for struggle alongside the threat of counter-revolution from the capitalist powers following the Arab Spring and massively increased radicalisation of the working class and women in particular across the continents. This debate has to be taken in this context, including not least the changing mood in U.K. society on this issue too e.g. the impact of the Jimmy Saville scandal, the Catholic Church and related cases throughout the political and cultural establishment here r.e. the main capitalist parties and their own sexist crises such as in the recent cases concerning the Liberal Democrats (all previously referenced). We should outline our political programme for women and the working class here and internationally and our specific programme on rape / sexual assault /domestic violence / sexual harassment etc.

d) Fourthly, it is an opportunity for organisations to reflect upon their own handling of such cases up until now and draw the necessary political and organisational conclusions and to educate the membership on women’s oppression – the double oppression of working class women.

In this time of crisis we look to the leadership! But as activists and revolutionaries we also share their responsibility in taking the revolutionary struggle forward and this is why we can not be silent on this issue.”

19. Some of our comrades and indeed friends have approached us with the argument that by demanding action we are failing to understand that this is a reflection on wider society, that we don’t understand that we aren’t immune to these issues because some of us are a part of socialist organisations and parties. In reply, we say this:

‘We are active Marxists and our approach is explicitly based on Marx and Engels’ analysis of women’s oppression as the product of the rise of the family, property and the state. We do understand that we live under capitalist, class, patriarchal society and that these issues are a product that comes from that. We understand that even amongst those workers and youth that are economically and politically inclined to socialist ideas, from an embryonic instinct to an advanced consciousness, sexist and other discriminatory attitudes are common- but they must be clearly addressed and challenged by both the leadership and members as a whole.’

20. Yes, this is a situation that isn’t helped by the mainstream propaganda inflicted on the class every day, of course owned by the capitalist class themselves. We understand that there are no invisible filters surrounding the left that only allow within our walls those purged from discriminatory attitudes. We also understand that people can change over time but we are adamant in the duty of care we have towards our women comrades and all oppressed comrades that fall victim to these vile products of this corrupt, decaying society we are so determined to overthrow. The task is to launch a mass campaign of political education on women’s oppression and how it is absolutely linked to the class struggle. The two are entwined, you can not be a class fighter if you are not also a firm fighter for women’s rights within the movement itself.

21. Moreover, we do not believe that every man in society is capable of sexual assault or other forms of violence and abuse of women. We are sure our comrades also acknowledge this. But we need an informed, evidence based assessment of such individuals and above all we must ensure the survivor is satisfied that the attacker has both changed sufficiently and has adequately apologised and reformed by fully admitting sole personal guilt and responsibility for said crime(s). If either the survivor and / or the evidence indicates otherwise, immediate disciplinary action should be considered once an investigation has been completed, with a recommendation of expulsion if the offence is a criminal one.

22. We do not think any leadership in this position should consider it a ‘choice’ between the abuser (recognised as guilty by said leadership following a fair investigation ) and the survivor. Instead the outcome of such an investigation needs to be clear: expel the criminal and keep the survivor. If you do the opposite and keep the assailant on a mistaken and incorrect notion of ‘socialist forgiveness’ the damage you will inflict to our struggle will never be forgiven by those of us with the political integrity to speak out.

23. Furthermore, we are writing this statement in the sure knowledge that the most radicalised women, workers and above all else, the youth, share our sentiments and zero tolerance attitude. Yes, it is true that sexism and misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia and all such social issues will not be eradicated under this decaying, crisis ridden capitalism system

.However it is both correct and laudable internationally for the Rage Against Rape, One Billion Rising movement, the SlutWalk protests and Reclaim the Night etc campaigns to have it as their aim to stop violence against women now and fight with every inch of our bodies to make the labour movement and social struggle a safe space for women today, a safe place for the revolutionary struggle to take place as we fight for an end to this rotten, corrupt, decaying capitalist system and its replacement by a genuine socialist system where capitalist distortions can be overcome once and for all; This could be achieved by a revolutionary struggle to overthrow the capitalist oppressers and bring the ownership and control of production into the majority’s hands. This process could transform both economic, cultural and social life, eradicating the state, private property, the money form and begin the end of millenia of class division and patriarchy. This new, equal society would create the material conditions to enable abundance for everyone and would give each new generation greater freedom and opportunities than the last in ways we can only dimly imagine now.

24. The struggle for women’s rights is inextricably interwoven with the class struggle and deserves high prominence in the revolutionary programme for the socialist struggle of the working class in all its forms. In the case of revolutionary parties not least, but other labour and social movement organisations should also make the women’s struggle a key and central part of their program for the organised working class. We fight for both the liberation of the working class and women but in fact our struggle goes further than even these bold ambitions: A key part of our struggle is for genuine human freedom and creativity to express our identities liberated from the fetters of socially constructed categorisations which many of us believe is only possible on the basis of a socialist world.

25. Our socialist and marxist political perspectives for mass struggle and resistance by women, the working class and the oppressed as a wholeare wholly optimistic.

26. The new generation – young, energetic, fresh and the future leaders of the workers revolution both in the U.K. and internationally – do not share the tired, conservative outlook of silence, inaction and indifference of some of our labour organisation leaders whatsoever. They – we – are the music of the future. It’s time socialists, Marxists, trade unionists and community campaigners everywhere start listening and learn to correct past mistakes.

Viva la revolution!

In struggle and solidarity,

• Sara Mayo, Carlus Hudson*,  Francesca Cunliffe, Nick Parker,  Jake Ceileachair
• * Carlus asked for me to include this reservation by his signature: ”

  ‘with reservations on the minor point about the document’s presentation of the anarchist position, but otherwise wholeheartedly supporting the document’

   

   
   

June 23^rd 2013

Appendix

1) Domestic violence – the facts – from www.refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/what-is-domestic-violence/domestic-violence-the-facts/

General

2 women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner (Homicide Statistics, 1998) – 1 woman killed every 3 days

1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes and between 6-10% of women suffer domestic violence in a given year (Council of Europe, 2002)

Domestic violence has a higher rate of repeat victimisation than any other crime (Home Office, July 2002)

Every minute police in the UK receive a domestic assistance call – yet only 35% of domestic violence incidents are reported to the police (Stanko, 2000 & Home Office, 2002)

The 2001/02 British Crime Survey (BCS) found that there were an estimated 635,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales. 81% of the victims were women and 19% were men. Domestic violence incidents also made up nearly 22% of all violent incidents reported by participants in the BCS (Home Office, July 2002)

On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police (Jaffe, 1982)

Children

In 90% of domestic violence incidents in family households, children were in the same or the next room (Hughes, 1992)

In over 50% of known domestic violence cases, children were also directly abused – NSPCC (1997) found a 55% overlap; Farmer & Owen (1995) found 52% overlap

Health

30% of domestic violence either starts or will intensify during pregnancy (Department of Health report, October 2004)

Foetal morbidity from violence is more prevalent than gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia (Friend, 1998)

Cost to society

In November 2009, Sylvia Walby of the University of Leeds estimated the total costs of domestic violence to be £15.7 billion a year.  This is broken down as follows:

The costs to services (Criminal Justice System, health, social services, housing, civil legal) amount to £3.8 billion per year

The loss to the economy – where women take time off work due to injuries – is £1.9 billion per year

Domestic violence also leads to pain and suffering that is not counted in the cost of services.  The human and emotional costs of domestic violence amount to almost £10 billion per year

2)Occupy Sheffield General Assembly Safer Spaces Policy

Everyone deserves and has the right to feel safe. This camp will not tolerate abusive behaviour. Accordingly we ask that people treat each other as they would wish to be treated – with respect and tolerance.

Never touch someone without their permission. If you are unclear whether you have permission or not, then don’t.

Be aware of the connotations of your language. Many common expressions use discriminatory language so think before speaking.

Do not make assumptions about anyone’s gender, pronouns, sexual preference, abilities, ethnic identity, survivor status, or life experiences. Do not be derogatory to anyone about these things.

Be prepared to challenge hateful, discriminatory, or oppressive language.

If you are challenged, do not become defensive, but listen and think and learn.

Be aware of your own privileges when engaging in discussions. Others did not necessarily have what you did or the same life that you have had. Do not deny the validity of other people’s experiences.

Do not film or video people without their permission.

Do not speak over or interrupt other people.

Take care of yourself mentally and physically. Know where to get support and identify where First Aid is available on the camp.

Respect others’ need to safely negotiate the site. Keep access routes clear of rubbish and clutter so that people of all abilities can safely move through the space.

The camp environment can be very intense. If you feel exhausted or stressed take time to take a break from the camp – go for a walk, visit a friend, or phone somebody close to you.

Please help us to maintain the camp as a place of safety and mutual respect. People who violate this policy may be asked to leave the camp.

References

Author	Year	Title	Web address	online	Accessed date (appr)
‘Another Angry Woman’ blog, author anonymous	2013	There is nothing unusual about the Steubenville rape’	Http://stavvers.wordpress.com/	yes	March 19th 2013
‘Another Angry Woman’ blog, author anonymous	2013	‘I’m on the radio talking about sex and hierarchy’	http://stavvers.wordpress.com/	yes	March 13th 2013
‘Another Angry Woman’ blog, author anonymous	2013	‘Rape in the headlines: is there a war on?’	http://stavvers.wordpress.com/	yes	March 12th 2013
Owen Bowcott	2013	Rape investigations ‘undermined by belief that false accusations are rife’	http://guardian.co.uk/society	yes	March 2013
Stephen Bates	2006	‘Bishops round on Panorama’s claims of abuse cover-ups’	http://guardian.co.uk/society/media	yes	26th October 2006
Cath Elliott and Marsha Jane Thompson	2013	‘Our movement must be a safe space for women’ statement	http://womeninthelabourmovement.wordpress.com	yes	12th March 2013
Fightback (authors unknown)	2013	‘Socialists and sexual violence claims: An evidence-based approach’	http://fightback.org.nz/2013/03/14/socialists-and-sexual-violence-claims-an-evidence-based-approach/	yes	2013
Josh Halliday	2013	‘BBC: new child sex abuse allegations emerge against staff other than Savile’	http://www.guardian.co.uk/media	yes	30th May 2013
Steve Hedley	2013	‘Steve Hedley’s Resignation from the Socialist Party’	http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/16319	yes	14th March 2013
Caroline Leneghan	2013	Domestic Violence and International Women’s day RMT‘	http://carolineleneghan.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/3/	yes	8th March 2013
Ben Lewis	2013	‘SPEW: Peter Taaffe and his own scandal’	http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/953/	yes	March 2013
Andy Littlejohn	2013	‘Steve Hedley’s statement – Not “Cleared of Domestic Violence” with a Case Still to Answer’	http://carolineleneghan.wordpress.com/	yes	April 7th 2013
Shiv Malik and Nick Cohen	2013	Socialist Workers Party leadership under fire over rape kangaroo court’h	http://www.guardian.cokyk/society	yes	March 9th 2013
Peter Manson	2013	‘SWP leadership crisis -if you dont talk about it‘	www.cpgb.org.uk/	yes	21st March 2013
Sara Mayo (published as Sa Kollantai)	2013	‘Justanother woman’s testimony of sexual assault, sexism and male abuse of power in the labour movement’	http://sakollantai.wordpress.com	yes	11th March 2013
Sara Mayo (published as Sa Kollantai)	2013	‘Follow up statement on -Just another woman’s testimony of sexual assault, sexism and male abuse of power in the labour movement’ http://sakollantai.wordpress.com	http://sakollantai.wordpress.com	yes	9th April 2013
Sara Mayo	2013	Sara Mayo’s resignation from the Socialist Party	http://sakollantai.wordpress.com	yes	11th April 2013
Sara Mayo	2013	‘A message to members of the Socialist Party England and Wales – part 1‘	http://sakollantai.wordpress.com	yes	24th April 2013
Andy Newman	2012	‘SWP democratic opposition statement’	http://socialistunity.com	yes	24th December 2012
Occupy Sheffield	2012	‘Occupy Sheffield Safer Spaces policy’	In this refs section!		November 2012
Refuge	2013	What is domestic violence?‘	Http://Refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/what-is-domestic-violence/	yes	2013
Hannah Sell	2013	Combating violence against women: A socialist perspective on fighting women’s oppression’	http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/campaign/Women/16503	yes	April 11th 2013
Hannah Sell	2013	Letter to Sara Mayo	http://sakollantai.wordpress.com	yes	10th April 2013
B.Seaton	2013	‘Is the SWP finished?’	http://athousandflowers.net/	yes	29th March 2013
Rajeer Syal	2013	‘Liberal Democrats under pressure to reopen old claims of sexual harassment’	Http://www.guardian. co.uk/poltics	yes	22nd February 2013
‘To the victors go the toils’ author unknown	2013	‘The SWP and women’s oppression: a brief history of failure‘	http://victortoils.wordpress.com/	yes	March 13th 2013
To the victors go the toils’ author unknown	2013	The Anatomy of a Cover-up: How Organizations Respond to Patriarchy and Reinforce it	http://victortoils.wordpress.com/	yes	April 12th 2013
To the victors go the toils’ author unknown	2013	‘Betrayal: A critical analysis of rape culture in anarchist subcultures‘	http://victortoils.wordpress.com/	yes	April 12th 2013
Women’s Aid	2013	‘Who are the victims of domestic violence ?’	http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domesticviolencearticles	yes	April 2013

‘

–