A Guest Post by B. Smeaton

First off, this piece is nothing which is either groundbreaking or adding new, controversial details into the scandal that is bringing down the Socialist Workers Party, an organisation in which I have spent the bulk of my political life. It is certainly not addressed to the party loyal which will no doubt write this off in the same way as Alex Callinicos, that this is merely the “dark side” of the internet, that it’s all lies, heresy and so forth. If this is you, I am not really interested in your judgement or response to this – I think the response of the organisation in recent months has been very clear, that it will sacrifice principle, members and resources to cover up the indefensible. The reports surfacing that the party’s Disputes Committee has in fact ruled on more allegations of rape than was previously…

Mäns våld mot kvinnor, hösten 2005

HBT-socialisterna, oktober 2009

De som har hoppat av Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna i Umeå har i sina utskick angivit vår analys av kvinnoförtrycket och vår kvinnokamp som ett av huvudskälen till sitt avhopp. Frågan debatterades på RS kongress 2005 och även vid 2009 års kongress, kring HBT-temat. Här nedan finns nyckeldokumenten, först en ny artikel ”Introduktion på kvinnodebatten” som svarar på det som avhopparna kallar för ”brev II” som de skickade till Offensivprenumeranter och RS-medlemmar 18-22 mars.

It is great to see so many signatories from across the movement, we are reposting the statement with those who have signed in order of union.

We hope this will help you organise solidarity within your union, please circulate to others in your union/organisation to sign.

If you wish your union added to your name please comment and we will update it.

Thanks

We the undersigned labour movement activists stand in solidarity with all women opposing all forms of male violence against women. We recognise that male violence against women is endemic in society, and that our movement is obviously and unfortunately not exempt.

We believe that our trade union and labour movement has the potential to transform society for the better. Therefore we have a particular responsibility to confront and challenge male violence against women within our movement.

Male violence against women is not acceptable in any case. It…

Trigger warning: this post discusses rape and rape apologism

And so the sad story of the Steubenville rape continues. The perpetrators were found guilty of raping an unconscious girl, as many others looked on and watched, finding this assault nothing more than an exciting topic for gossip. A community was torn apart as the perpetrators happened to be integral members to the football team, their important social standing meaning that many decided to twist reality and try to fervently believe–and make others believe–that this was somehow the fault of the survivor. And even after the guilty verdict, the rape apologism continued, pundits mourning the fallen careers of the perpetrators. And Steubenville, in a bid to make sure this never happens again, has decided to launch a probe into why it all came to pass.

Time will tell what is unearthed, what conclusions are drawn by these officials, what…

by Ian Anderson

On March 12^th 2013, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the UK split, over a crisis triggered when the Central Committee defended a member accused of rape. The Disputes Committee, comprised of colleagues and friends of the accused, had found the case “not proven.” While leading members of the SWP challenged this decision, a Special Conference in March reaffirmed it, leading to around 100 members leaving and forming a new International Socialist Network (http://tinyurl.com/bafj5ya).

This is not an isolated case. In recent years, rape allegations against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have divided progressives. Whenever nominally progressive men are accused of sexual violence, it reveals divisions in the groups and communities they’re a part of.

When men are accused of rape, “where’s the evidence?” is a common refrain – as seen in the SWP Disputes Committee verdict of “not proven.” But what evidence or proof…