Category Archives: Male violence against women
Exiting the Sex Trade – Resources for girls and women needing or wanting to exit the sex trade (Western Australia)
Resources for Girls and Women
Resources & information for girls & women experiencing sexual assault and/or family/male violence and/or who are at risk of homelessness – with or without children.
This list is Western Australia based, but a lot of the information should be helpful to girls and women no matter where they live.
You are important. You are deserving of love. You deserve happiness. You deserve to be liberated from abuse and violence. I hope, with all of my heart, that this list and this information helps you.
Please click the link below.
https://jkwilliamsoriginalwork.wordpress.com/2020/08/31/resourcesforgirlsandwomen/
Tactics and Flaws of the Transgender Ideology + Self-ID Movement
Original article – https://criticalthinkinginapassiveworld.wordpress.com/2020/11/15/tactics-and-flaws-of-the-transgender-ideology-self-id-movement/
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
Growing up, I was confused. You see, I was very different from most of my girl-friends. At least, I thought I was. I was flat-chested, had really big feet & hands and a really low voice. I hated everything “girly.” I didn’t want to wear dresses or have my hair curled.
I loathed the fact that I would eventually start menstruating. I didn’t want to shave. I had strange, but nice, feelings for some of the girls I was friends with. I had already disassociated from my body because of a male cousin deciding to molest me at a very young age, but it was more than that. I hated my body. I hated the things that I ‘had’ to wear and do and endure, and this all started early on. It’s basically all I remember about my feelings toward my body and the expectations of me based on my biological sex.
Even as a young girl, I already knew what being a female meant, and I knew ‘it’ wasn’t good. At least, not within this society. Knowing what I was in for as a girl and a woman made me uncomfortable and embarrassed. It made me angry.
I remember my mom joking about how they (my parents) “thought I was going to be a boy,” but got surprised, and that just added to this growing feeling in my head that I was actually meant to be born a boy.
I didn’t realise it then, but I was experiencing body dysmorphia. It wasn’t just about my breasts, uterus and vagina, though. I obsessively loathed my nose, my stomach, my skin colour, my hair, my freckles, the size of my feet and hands, my voice and so much more. I was traumatised and already suffering from PTSD and obvious low self-esteem. I was mentally and emotionally unwell and needed mental health assistance.
If I was growing up now, I’d be transgender….
My mom would be pressured by peers, social media, media and neglectful medical “professionals” to put me on prescription drugs to alter my body chemistry and to prevent natural, imperative, biological cycles from occurring in my body. Her and I would have the red carpet rolled out for us as we frolicked to day surgery for me to permanently alter, and possibly even mutilate, my body. [1]
I wouldn’t be able to legally vote, drink alcohol, smoke, drive, have sex or travel alone (and rightfully so), but I’d have the authority to mutilate my body and permanently alter my life. Makes total sense! (sarcasm /off)
Hit the pause button….
There are reasons why children aren’t allowed to do certain things or make certain decisions for themselves. There are extremely crucial and important reasons why children have adults to look after them, guide them and make decisions for them. It isn’t an “invasion of privacy” or an “invalidation of their identity.”
It’s reasonable and logical to understand that children need to develop into a teenager, and then to an adult. It’s sensible to understand that the brain must have an appropriate amount of time to develop. It’s rational and sane to understand, no matter how confident a child is with a decision they’ve made, that time, environment, and a thousand other potential factors will have an impact on their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires. That is life.
As an adult I have finally starting coming to terms with my body and my biological sex. As an adult, I understand and realise that what goes on in my head can feel very real at times, but it’s still only in my head. As an adult, I’m so glad that I did not grow up amidst the madness that is transgender ideology.
What I haven’t come to terms with is the systemic oppression that the female sex class is still enduring. [2]
What I cannot come to terms with is the madness occurring on social and political levels surrounding transgender ideology.
Material reality vs. ideology….
I never imagined that I would be attacked or vilified for knowing that I am a female and that I have a female reproductive system. I never thought the day would come when “woman” would be an offensive word.
The transgender movement denies the truth, but it also denies reality. “Truth” is often subjective and one person’s truth may not be the next person’s truth. However, reality just is.
They proclaim that your ‘gender’ is “assigned” at birth. That is not true. Sex is observed and recorded. I wonder if the parents of the estimated 23 million aborted female foetuses (mainly from Asia) were confused about the sex of the foetus? I wonder if the high number of female infants being murdered (due to being valued less than boys) just needed a way to verbalise that they identified as boys, not girls? [3]
They say that women discussing issues relating to their vaginas is “transphobic” by “excluding trans women,” but men don’t have a cervix, uterus, ovaries, Fallopian tubes or a vagina. Women do, and we’ve had it up to here (*points to the sky*) with men trying to control what we do, how we do it and how we speak about, and organise around, issues that affect us.
How did we even get to this point?…
I’ll admit, I honestly thought the ‘panic’ over the trans movement was uncalled for. That is, until I saw hard fought for rights being rolled back for women. That is, until I saw women’s bathrooms disappearing while men’s remained. That is, until I was the subject of a witch hunt led by women that I called my friends for years.
Women that know I have spent years leading the charge for inclusive spaces in our local area, and not just online where it’s f’ing easy. I took on overwhelming amounts of stress, anxiety, harassment and bullying, from mostly men, to fight for safe and inclusive activist spaces, safe nightclubs and more.
These women witnessed me being pushed to the brink of my own sanity to fight for everyone’s rights. I faced-up to businesses, organisations and activists to fight for justice. I exposed the rapists lurking around our spaces and I called out the racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes and bigots in our spaces. I have invested thousands of hours running campaigns, protests & rallies and have dedicated my time to helping so many different individuals within my community.
Yet, this pack of ravenous women had the audacity to target me, intimidate me and harass me. They had the audacity to recruit people in their hate campaign; their witch hunt. They had the audacity to say that what I think and believe about myself is not true and that it is bad and wrong. How dare they?!
These women are known as trans-rights activists (TRA’s) and they don’t believe women have the right to sex-segregated spaces or sports. [4] These are women that don’t believe women have the right to see medical professionals that are women. These are women that have the audacity to call themselves feminists.
It’s never enough….
It isn’t enough to keep track of and use preferred pronouns. It isn’t enough to refer to them by their new name. It isn’t enough that they already have the exact same rights that their counterparts have. Oh, goodness no. They want more. They want you to speak their language. They want you to think their thoughts. They want you to believe everything they believe.
Does it matter that their beliefs invalidate your existence?
Not to them, it doesn’t.
Does it matter that they deny your truth?
Not to them, it doesn’t.
Yet, that is why they swarm and attack. That is why they recruit people into their campaigns of hate and harassment. Because you won’t accept their truth. You won’t say the words they want you to say. The words they DEMAND that you say.
You won’t forget your reality and you won’t forget historical fact or the axis of oppression you are bound to by birth, and that makes you a monster.
What’s worse? They don’t stop there. They expect people to omit words and definitions from their language and believe & think exactly how they are told to. If you don’t do it, they will actively try to harm you.
1) Force: coercion or compulsion, especially with the use or threat of violence.
2) Coercion: the action or practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.
3) Compulsion: the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something
These are the main tactics of the transgender movement.
They’ll start with manipulation, guilt and condescending tones. If that doesn’t make you crumble and start repeating the magic soundbites, they’ll move on to swearing, name calling, intimidation and veiled threats. The recruitment has already begun behind the scene, and you’ll soon be bombarded with comments and messages and physical confrontations, all demanding answers from you. You are now being harassed.
They don’t give thought to a lot….
Not the young girls having their clits cut off. [5] Not the girls starting their periods that desperately want privacy in the bathroom at school. Not the females around the world that don’t have access to abortion care. Not the women in sports that we had to fight to be able to participate in for decades, all to have men invade that space, too. [6] Not the army of ex-sex workers that want nothing more than to see the ‘industry’ shut down on every level and for women everywhere to be liberated. [7] They don’t give thought to the hundreds of thousands of women fleeing abuse that desperately need a safe space. No. This crowd does not give thought to a lot.
When was the last time this crowd picked up a lexicon?
I’m a woman. A woman is (*looks in lexicon*) an adult human female. *random shouting* “OH MY GOD! TERF! TERF! PUNCH THE TERF!”
A-b-s-u-r-d-i-t-y!
The words “girl“ and “woman” are not representative of imaginary things. Contrary to what some say, girls and women aren’t formless blobs. Those words exist for necessary reasons. Those words are how we verbally differentiate or specify between young and older members of the female sex class, just like “boy” and “man” for the male sex class. How and when did definitions become so trivial and offensive?
Facts still remain regardless of how persistent and aggressive this movement is. The audacity of this crowd to think they somehow have the power or authority to command to people what they are allowed to say, think and believe is beyond me, honestly, and it wreaks of authoritarianism.
The forgotten ones….
There are many groups of people that are being forgotten within ‘discussions’ (see: verbal attacks) with trans rights activists, and within the ideology as a whole. First and foremost – females. We are quite literally having our rights stripped from us around the world. We haven’t even achieved equitable rights for all girls and women, yet, our rights are being taken away. Rape shelters and domestic violence refuges are being vandalised and defunded because they refuse to accept “transwomen” into their facilities. [8] Let me rephrase that for you. Rape shelters and domestic violence refuges are being vandalised and defunded because they refuse to accept men into their facilities.
The staff at the shelters and refuges are protecting the hard fought for rights of traumatised women that are victims of rape and physical abuse, and many times, their children, too. We have the right to sex-segregated services and facilities! We need that right. How could anyone try and take that away from us? How can women be a part of this?
Another group of people that are forgotten are lesbians. A lesbian is a same-sex attracted female human being. One of the many problems with “self-identification” is this new and disturbing idea that men can be lesbians. The idea is, if a woman identifies as a man, the woman can be with another woman in a lesbian relationship (which it actually is) but ‘he’ is a ‘man.’ Yes. They believe all of this. The flip side of this is, if a man identifies as a woman, he can now be with a woman (in what is actually a heterosexual relationship) and call himself, sorry – ‘herself’ – a lesbian.
Yep…..take a minute, if you need to. It’s a lot to take in.
Now, how does this have a negative impact on lesbians? I know a lot of radical feminist lesbians that share personal testimony to how often men say things like “maybe you just haven’t had the right dick yet,” and how often they are verbally and sexually harassed, and sadly, many times they are assaulted and/or raped in order to “convert” them from loving only biological women. The idea of a woman that doesn’t need a man for anything, not even for basic sexual pleasure, is extremely threatening to men in general. Lesbians are too often met with hostility, and far worse, simply for who they love and want to have sex with, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. [9]
The people and issues being overlooked within the transgender ideology movement go on and on. Children that need access to genuine and effective mental health resources that, instead, are sexualised and/or put on a path of body mutilation.
The very people at the core of this ideological movement are being overlooked!
So many people grow up with body dysmorphia, low self-esteem, warped sense of self, dissociation and other serious and traumatic mental health issues. So many girls just do not want to deal with being female. I fully believe that we have the knowledge of our foremothers in our genes and in our bones. We know, straight out of the womb, what our life will be like. We carry that generational trauma within us. Is it any wonder that so many young girls would elect to ‘be’ a boy?
Does anyone else ever stop to wonder why so many parents are jumping on board with this? Could it be, just maybe, that it’s easier to pretend they have a daughter, rather than a feminine son that wants to wear dresses and vice versa?
Toxic male standards create pressure for boys, too, and many of them do not want to perform the assumed stereotypes that come with being a male.
Feminists have been working for decades to smash the sex-based stereotypes that create that pressure for girls and women. Gay men have been smashing gender norms for decades. Rock gods gave us “gender fluidity” in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, but society, in general, just hasn’t let go of gender expectations & stereotypes yet. So I sympathise with parents of children that are confused, lost and feeling empty, but surgeries, body altering drugs and jumping on the bandwagon of harmful ideologies are not the answers. The core issues for these children are not being properly addressed.
Furthermore, the long-term consequences and side effects of blocking puberty have not been fully explored and are not fully known or understood. [10]
Who is looking after the longterm health and well-being of individuals seeking gender affirmation?
The ‘T’ in LGBT….
Remember, there is an important difference between a transsexual person and a transgender person. The transgender movement insists you only need to feel like a man/woman/neither in order to be a man/woman/neither. Nothing more than an idea and suddenly…BOOP! You’re not what you were born as.
Transsexuals are men or women that go through physical and chemical changes (hormone replacement therapy, surgeries) in order to look and be more like the sex they are transitioning to. Yes. That’s where “trans,” or, the ‘T’, comes from; transition.
It concerns me that the transgender movement has seemingly, and in their minds, erased the existence of real human beings that have extremely specific medical and social needs. Needs that, I dare say, are not being effectively met within the constraints of our current medical systems and policies. These are men and women with unnatural amounts of hormones in their bodies and, many times, with unique post-surgery genitalia. [1]
In online transsexual spaces, transsexual women (biologically male) are almost entirely free from misconceptions or delusions about the ability to change their biological sex. They know they cannot change sex. What they can do, and are doing, is changing their secondary sex characteristics. I’ll reiterate that this creates extremely unique medical needs which are not the same as either men or women, and they deserve spaces and systems that recognise those needs and address them effectively and civilly. There are also many transsexual people that find they need compassionate mental health support in relation to their decision to permanently change their body. [11]
Transgender people are undermining everything about transsexuals, their needs and their history of oppression that led to being a part of the LGBT community. They are turning people against actual trans people.
Here’s just one example:
Look, feminists are not wishing harm on anyone. We are not smashing windows or punching and harassing trans people. Feminists just want to protect, and advocate for, the rights of girls and women.
That is what feminism is for.
Females – that is who feminism is for.
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
References –
[1] Post-surgery trans genitalia:
Phalloplasty (graphic) – https://images.app.goo.gl/EEdqKTvH7ptd9kFm8
Penile inversion vaginoplasty (graphic) – https://images.app.goo.gl/BwmSrgnbdHct52RNA
[2] UN study finds 90% of people are bias against women:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51751915
[3] Sex-selective abortions (female foetuses) and female infanticide:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/medical/infanticide_1.shtml#top
[4] Trans rights activists against women’s rights:
What’s Current: Police investigating bomb threat against A Woman’s Place meeting
[5] Female genital mutilation:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation
[6] Men (transgender women) in women’s sport:
[7] Former prostitutes/“sex workers” against porn/prostitution
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/11/prostitution-legalised-sex-trade-pimps-women
[8] Vancouver Rape Relief shelter defunded/Men in women’s shelters & refuges and other female-only spaces:
Rape shelter loses funding after trans rights activists complain
[9] Hostility that lesbians face:
https://www.feministcurrent.com/tag/the-cotton-ceiling/
[10] Longterm effects of puberty blockers and gender ideology:
https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-side-effects-hormone-blockers-surgery
[11] Transexual perspectives/de-transitioning:
https://www.piqueresproject.com/about.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51676020
https://www.genderhq.org/trans-youth-side-effects-hormone-blockers-surgery
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct0hyy
Other relevant information –
Medical and moral neglect:
American College of Pediatricians – November 2018 – REVIEW: Gender Dysphoria in Children:
https://acpeds.org/position-statements/gender-dysphoria-in-children
Gender Dysphoria and Autism: A Parent Speaks Out
Big money in gender affirmation:
https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/sex-reassignment-surgery-market
Women in sports speaking out:
Aussie Olympian takes a stand against transgender athletes at Tokyo 2020
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2019/09/26/782557.full.pdf
Women being no-platformed and ‘cancelled’:
Four Corners story linked to $6 million grant for Australia’s busiest kids gender clinic:
https://nypost.com/2020/06/17/j-k-rowling-stands-up-for-feminism-against-trans-extremism/
The Guardian – Women Must Have the Right To Organise:
Erasure of women:
https://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/event-details/period-power
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1235623170339672065.html
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRjZaK2hDW_M45TzPvt9HEddtZ3GjULIWVZadCv6z-P6vTRw/viewform
English translation of google doc – https://www.facebook.com/1301660769891895/posts/2895621953829094/?d=n
We cannot change our biological sex:
https://threader.app/thread/1133120326844506112
In someone else’s words:
https://www.facebook.com/migrantwomeneurope/
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
International Women’s Day 2020 – We Demand Change
Demands for Change – https://realforwomen.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/demands-for-change/
Send Demands for Change to these Ministers:
Hon. Mark McGowan MLA
WA State Premier
wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au
Hon. Simone McGurk MLA
Minister for Child Protection; Women’s Interests; Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence; Community Services
Minister.McGurk@dpc.wa.gov.au
Hon. Senator Anne Ruston
Federal Minister for Families and Social Services
libadm@liberal.org.au
https://ministers.dss.gov.au/anne-ruston/contact
Hon. Senator Marise Payne
Federal Minister for Women
ministerforwomen@pmc.gov.au
Hon. Michelle Roberts MLA – Member for Midland
WA Minister for Police
Minister.Roberts@dpc.wa.gov.au
Hon. Julie Collins MP
Shadow Minister for Women
julie.collins.mp@aph.gov.au
Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC
Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women
https://www.nsw.gov.au/your-government/ministers/minister-for-mental-health-regional-youth-and-women/
Hon. Gabrielle Williams MP
Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women and Minister for Youth
gabrielle.williams@parliament.vic.gov.au
Hon. Yvette Berry
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence,
Minister for Women
berry@act.gov.au
Hon Michelle Lensink MLC
Minister for Human Services
dhsministerforhumanservices@sa.gov.au
Hon. Di Farmer MP
Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence
childsafety@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Hon. Paul Fletcher MP
Federal Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts
paul.fletcher.mp@aph.gov.au
Also consider sending this from Reclaim the Night Perth – https://www.facebook.com/158606704346880/posts/1319079638299575/?d=n
…and the following calls to action/statements from Fair Agenda and Women’s Council for Domestic & Family Violence Services – WA:
- https://www.facebook.com/169695319887050/posts/1284101488446422/?d=n
- https://www.facebook.com/158606704346880/posts/1319924964881709/?d=n
F E M A L E
By J.K. Williams
So sweet, loving and kind. A beautiful mind
Pretend to be a princess, handmade dresses
A heart so giving, such a joy for living
Things were great. Oh….shit, just wait.
That doesn’t feel right. Stop! STOP! I have to fight.
I can’t. Terrified. Hide it all inside.
Shame. So much shame. So fucked – myself I blame.
I don’t want any of it! No period, no bras or shaving, none of that shit.
Disassociate from my fate. Disassociate. Disassociate.
Never ending. The comments, stares, touches, the breaking and the mending.
You can’t say that
You can’t fucking say that bitch
Shut your mouth. You’re fat.
Feeling so small, worthless, sick of it all.
Everything is wrong. Just keeping plodding along.
Nothing is right. Just get through the night.
Broken nose, broken face, blood all over the place.
I didn’t do anything. Why is this happening?
Whore. Here’s some more.
Teeth smashed and the house is trashed.
Go to sleep. Wake up. Repeat.
Never taken seriously. Even if you ask politely.
Silenced, dismissed. Be different…I wish. I wish. I wish.
Punished for existing. Endless suffering.
Suck it in, doubt yourself, never win.
Constant pain. Feel the damage to your brain.
Lightheaded. Full of absolute dread.
Reality is deeply traumatic. Shut up. Stop being so dramatic.
Harassed, raped, beaten, killed. Watch the blood spill.
Lied to, misdiagnosed, gaslighted. Wish to be dead.
Don’t want to leave….need a reprieve
Heart shattered
Body battered
Mind splitting
Spirit weakening
Still here, jaw clenched in fear.
Our existence is not respected. Resistance should be expected.
Warrior
Survivor
You’ll never fucking stop her
F E M A L E
By J.K. Williams
Written on October 23rd, 2019
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2019
More from this author here – https://jkwilliamsoriginalwork.wordpress.com/
Demands for Change
By J.K. Williams
25/02/2020
Full, original source here – https://jkwilliamsoriginalwork.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/just-admit-you-dont-care-if-we-die/
This list of demands is a direct message to our Federal and State governments, all media agencies and reporters in Australia, all medical professionals, all State and Federal Police Officers and Detectives, all Australian Magistrates and all Family Court staff and every single adult male in Australia.
Our Demands
1-
Language and Reporting:
– This deadly problem shouldn’t be referred to as “domestic violence” anymore. We can’t immediately change the definition and legal categorisation, but we must change how we talk about it and refer to it. Femicide/male violence against women (MVAW)/terrorism of women and children – are all more accurate terms.
– Along with this, the media must be held accountable regarding their duty of care to the public when reporting on matters of MVAW. Publications must be held to the mandatory standards and guidelines of this country.
• Based on the Australian Press Council’s ‘Statements of Principles’, Australian publications are failing to adhere to at least two key principles:*
- Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
- Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
• According to the APC’s Advisory Guideline on Family and Domestic Violence Reporting, they are failing to meet numerous guidelines that must be adhered to:*
“Safety
The safety and well-being of those affected by family violence must be the primary consideration. Publications should not publish information that could cause or contribute to the risk of harm, offence or distress. Survivors of family violence often comment that their pain and suffering was exacerbated by media coverage. In some circumstances, it may not be safe, appropriate or legal to use real names or other identifying information.”
“Responsibility
Reporting of family violence should try not to blame a person affected by the violence or suggest that the person somehow enabled the violence or could have avoided it. Publications should also avoid placing undue emphasis on the characteristics or surroundings of the victim, or implying that such things contributed to the family violence, unless doing so is essential to the narrative and sufficiently in the public interest. Use of the active voice in relation to the perpetrator will help avoid placing undue emphasis on the person affected by family violence. For example: “Police charged a 38-year-old Melbourne man with the murder of a 36-year-old woman”, as opposed to, e.g. “A 36- year-old woman was murdered and a 38-year-old Melbourne man has been charged”.”
“Context and content
The context and complexities of family violence should also be key considerations, such as when an alleged perpetrator may have a mental illness. Publications should note any such factors when it is warranted in a particular case and in the public interest. Care also should be taken to avoid casual stigmatisation, such as by stating or implying that the violence was “caused” by a person’s mental illness or culture.”
“Words matter. Publications should be mindful of the language they use and try to avoid terms that tend to trivialise, demean or inadvertently excuse family violence, such as “a domestic”, “a domestic dispute” or “a troubled marriage”. Where it is lawful to do so, the relationships of the people involved should be described as accurately and precisely as possible.”
“In addition to reporting particular incidents, journalists can play a critical role in deepening readers’ understanding about family violence by referring to resources such as official statistics, peer- reviewed research, and experts, such as domestic violence counsellors and survivors.”
“Publications should also be aware of the potential impact of story layout, headlines and surrounding material (such as advertisements) that may be insensitive or jarring in the circumstances.”
– We demand better from the Australian media.
– We expect the government and police/judicial system to back us up on that.
2-
– Mandatory incarceration for violent adult males. Whether it’s a king hit in the city or beating their female partner or their kids, they must be locked up for a minimum of 14 days and a maximum of 30, with/without charges being laid. This is when there is physical evidence of violence being perpetrated. (Witnesses, bruising/bleeding, cctv footage, ongoing police involvement, previous Report(s) to Police, Restraining Order(s) or other Court Order(s) etc.)
This gives the men time to calm down and gives the women (and kids) time to figure out an exit plan, and for most victims of MVAW, this will give them time to de-condition themselves, for lack of a better term, and discover/realise that they don’t want to stay in that relationship.
With this process, there must be initiatives to introduce effective and proven strategies in to our jails and prisons to immediately begin educating and rehabilitating perpetrators of violence to lower the probability of them reoffending. **
Ideally, we would have new and specific clinical facilities to house and rehabilitate these violent offenders. There is reason to believe that rehab programs set in the environment of a correctional facility are not as effective as they need to be. Regardless of where these violent offenders are housed during their required stint in some form of temporary removal from their community, the focus must be on effective rehabilitation to lower the risk of reoffending.
3-
– More government funding for men’s and women’s crisis counselling (with the aim of making it entirely free of charge to patients).
– More than 10 bulk billed visits per year to see a mental health professional are needed. We demand at least 24 bulk billed appointments per calendar year for youth and adults on Mental Health Care Plans.
4-
– More government funding for women’s refuges, with the aim of there being more facilities and each facility being more efficiently staffed and more well-rounded with the services and support they can give.
5-
– New and specific funding for women’s and children’s programs and facilities that can mimic the Women’s Police Stations, and relevant programs & policies, that are having great success aiding in lowering rates of violence against women and children in Argentina.*
6-
(this is for everyone)
– Normalise interference, intervention and involvement in families and households that have a problem with violence or control. Normalise checking in on them and normalise awareness of their situation amongst the community. Normalise direct interference and immediate interruption and intervention of controlling and violent men. Normalise public conversations about the violence you witness in your community and let’s normalise supportive rehabilitation of violent males, whether they are a child, teen or adult.
7-
– We want our court systems; our magistrates, bailiffs and clerks, to favour women and children in all matters of “family violence.” A core value of any justice system should be to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. More focus needs to be on the facts and statistics of MVAW and “family violence,” and assessments for determining authenticity of the threat of violence for an individual victim need to be based on those facts and statistics. ** This should translate in to efficient and accurate assessments for women and children, in lieu of evidence, so they can receive protection and assistance. **
8-
– New and specific funding for specially tailored recreational AND sports programs, facilities and events for all males and females aged between 12 and 17.
9-
– New and specific funding for specially tailored mental health programs and educational-based programs and courses for “at risk” males aged between 12 and 17. These should be available at no cost to families with “at risk” male teenagers in the home.
At risk = (but is not limited to)
– struggling in school (socially and/or academically)
– engaging in verbal harassment or abuse at school or at home
– engaging in violent behaviour of any kind
– police involvement at any level
– if Restraining Orders or other Court Orders are in effect or have previously been in affect
– if there is any history of controlling behaviour, verbal, physical or sexual abuse for either parent, whether biological (and not living in the home) and/or step-parents/guardians living in the home with the male youth.
10-
– New and specific funding for specially tailored mental health programs and educational-based programs and courses for “at risk” females aged between 12 and 17. These should be available at no cost to families with female teenagers in the home that are “at risk” of becoming a victim to male violence.
At risk = (but is not limited to)
– struggling in school (socially and/or academically)
– withdrawing from friends, school, social activities, sports etc.
– engaging in self-destructive/harmful behaviour of any kind
– police involvement at any level
– if Restraining Orders or other Court Orders are in effect or have previously been in affect
– if there is any history of controlling behaviour, verbal, physical or sexual abuse for either parent, whether biological (and living/not living in the home) and/or step-parents/guardians living in the home with the female youth.
Our demands are reasonable and achievable.
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
References and resources –
* APC Advisory Guidelines: https://www.presscouncil.org.au/advisory-guidelines/
* APC Advisory Guideline on Family and Domestic Violence Reporting: https://www.presscouncil.org.au/uploads/52321/ufiles/Guidelines/Advisory_Guideline_on_Family_and_Domestic_Violence_Reporting.pdf
** Strategies for the education and rehabilitation of male perpetrators of violence. Examples:
– Change the Story: A shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia – https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/0aa0109b-6b03-43f2-85fe-a9f5ec92ae4e/Change-the-story-framework-prevent-violence-women-children-AA-new.pdf.aspx
– Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men: https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Why_Does_He_Do_That.html?id=azvHexd1g1YC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y
– Coercive Control, Laura Richards:
https://www.ourwatch.org.au/Understanding-Violence/Facts-and-figures
* Women’s Police Stations in Argentina: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/127088/
Recent headlines and comments regarding the tragic murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children, and rates of male violence in Australia-
The Media Is Once Again Failing A Female Victim Of Domestic Violence
Other relevant information and resources –
If you do care, take action now: https://fair-agenda.good.do/asaferfuture/email/
https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/television/media/updating-australias-media-laws
https://www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Guidelines%2
Prison-based correctional rehabilitation: An overview of intensive interventions for moderate to high-risk offenders [in Australia]: https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi412
VIOLENT OFFENDER TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHERE TO FROM HERE: https://www.div12.org/violent-offender-treatment-effectiveness-what-we-know-and-where-to-from-here/
Thank you to the radical feminists that helped me with some of the references and resources.
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
If you need help, please contact one of the resources below, and/or reach out to trusted family and/or friends.
WOMEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELPLINE
The Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline is a state wide 24 hour service. This service provides support and counselling for women experiencing family and domestic violence. This includes phone counselling, information and advice, referral to local advocacy and support services, liaison with police if necessary and support in escaping situations of family and domestic violence. The service can refer women to safe accommodation if required. A telephone based interpreting service is available if required.
Telephone (08) 9223 1188
Free call 1800 007 339
In an emergency – if someone is in immediate danger – call the police on 000 now.
Here is a link to a thorough list of a range of numbers, services, hotlines and websites.
https://www.breakingthesilence.com.au/albany/womens-domestic-violence-hotllines/
Just Admit You Don’t Care If We Die
Written by J.K. Williams
Seriously, Australia! Could our politicians, reporters, magistrates, police officers and the adult male members of the public all take a stand, and in unison, repeat after me – “I DO NOT CARE ABOUT DEAD WOMEN AND CHILDREN!”
What? Does that offend you? Do you immediately scoff and think “Well, that’s awfully judgemental. I’m sure plenty of them care about women and children (and men!!!!) and don’t want them to die!”
But, do they really care? Do you really care?
Don’t we just have to look at the recent headlines about the horrific murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children, the recent comments from Queensland Detective Inspector Mark Thompson or to the increasing annual rates of dead women, children and men killed by violent males to see the obvious lack of concern? *
If politicians, police officers, media agencies, magistrates and all men genuinely cared, women and children wouldn’t be dying from male violence as often as we are. Heck, I dare say we wouldn’t be dying from male violence at all. If those people truly cared, our communities and social structures would be very different. They’d look, feel and work opposite to how almost everything works now.
Male violence against women (MVAW) isn’t always about assault, rape or murder….
The ways in which girls and women are objectified, dismissed, neglected, harassed, silenced and abused seem to be endless. Girls and women have always been objectified in books, magazines, advertisements, tv shows and movies, and we have been overlooked and erased from our very own archived history. Black and Indigenous girls and women have suffered and have been erased even more so than white women.
Our body parts are commodified. Archaic beliefs are held about our natural bodily functions, and unless you are a female, the full extent of the brutal truth about how girls and women are viewed, spoken about and treated has been hidden from you. This steady erosion of our humanness has created a world where, for the most part, we are treated like objects and not like living human beings. (Go figure!?)
The problem is, it’s all quite natural to us now.
Right here, right now….
I assure you that there are hundreds of thousands of women and children in Western Australia (and hundreds of thousands more across Australia and in other countries) suffering in silence in their homes due to abuse from the adult male in the home, and many times, from older male youth members of the family.
I promise you that hundreds of thousands of women in Western Australia are being neglected, misdiagnosed, lied to and assaulted by the male medical professionals they are in the care of. They’re being silenced by bosses, husbands and strangers.
I guarantee you that hundreds of thousands of girls in WA are being sexually molested, assaulted and raped by their fathers, brothers, cousins, Uncles and the males in their churches, daycares and schools. They’re being objectified and humiliated by their peers.
There are tens of thousands of WA girls and women being objectified, sexualised, raped and trafficked through different forms of “sex work” and pornography.
This is happening all around you. This is happening on the street where you live. This is happening on the street where you work and the street where you worship. This is happening in the restaurants and bars you hang out in. This is happening every day, whether or not it’s being reported to police. Women are quietly congregating all around you to talk, vent, scream and cry, and to console one another and support each other through shared, but individual, traumas.
This is your community. This is your culture. This is your state. This is your country.
You can get angry about it and puff your chest and dismiss all of this as hogwash or horse shit, but it won’t change our reality.
If the people ‘in power’ genuinely cared about all of the women and children being controlled, neglected, assaulted, abused, raped, trafficked and killed, everything we know about how our society works would be different.
Advertisements would be different.
Funding for programs would be different.
Laws would be different.
Judicial processes would be different.
How we interact with one another and how we function on a daily basis as a community would be entirely different.
Our homes and neighbourhoods would be different.
Our educational processes and systems would be different.
“Entertainment” would be different.
Girls and women would be protected, exalted and cherished.
Women would be empowered, not oppressed, and hold power within the homestead and within business and politics. *
True equality and equity could actually exist….
The feminine is supreme….
I do not mean lipstick and dresses, or solely the ability to bare children. The “feminine” I speak of, the “feminine” I know and recognise in other women is nurturing, empathetic, compassionate, fair, powerful, wise, firm, rational and just. The feminine is supreme. Radical feminism recognises this. Radical feminists know what is lacking and what is needed in our communities, schools, workplaces and in our homes. Basically, women know what girls and women need/don’t need.
We know what the problem is….
Set aside what I said about radical feminism. You don’t have to agree with me on that point right now. Regardless of your views on feminism, there are thousands of studies, papers and forums about the ‘issue’ of MVAW, and there are Women’s Health Packages and specific policies and laws meant to prevent and/or address this “issue.” There are also ads, programs and campaigns etc. So it’s a fair call to say that we shouldn’t still be dealing with this problem, right?
Yet, women and girls continue to objectified, silenced, harassed, sexualised, neglected, assaulted, raped and killed. Every time another woman, child or man is hurt or dies due to male violence, people always ask what else can be done to end this horrific problem. We keep having the same conversations and we still use the same old & ineffective policies and tactics. Our politicians continue to serve us word salads instead of radical, transformative and effective laws, policies and protections. Word salads instead of action.
So, what makes this publication different to some others?
Well, I have spent some time researching, thinking and writing. I’ve also accumulated over 30 years of first-hand experience with sexism and misogyny along with over 10 years of first-hand experience with male violence in different places, times and scenarios influenced by a range of circumstances and factors.
And….I’ve put a list of demands together. I’ve based this list of demands on valuable, credible information and references as well as my own experiences and conversations, and the collective, historical experiences of other members of the sex class I belong to. I’ve included excellent resources, too.
This list of demands is a direct message to our Federal and State governments, all media agencies and reporters in Australia, all medical professionals, all State and Federal Police Officers and Detectives, all Australian Magistrates and all Family Court staff and every single adult male in Australia.
Our Demands….
#1- (LANGUAGE AND REPORTING)
– This deadly problem shouldn’t be referred to as “domestic violence” anymore. We can’t immediately change the definition and legal categorisation, but we must change how we talk about it and refer to it. Femicide/male violence against women (MVAW)/terrorism of women and children – are all more accurate terms.
– Along with this, the media must be held accountable regarding their duty of care to the public when reporting on matters of MVAW. Publications must be held to the mandatory standards and guidelines of this country.
• Based on the Australian Press Council’s ‘Statements of Principles’, Australian publications are failing to adhere to at least two key principles:*
1. Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
6. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
• According to the APC’s Advisory Guideline on Family and Domestic Violence Reporting, they are failing to meet numerous guidelines that must be adhered to:*
“Safety
The safety and well-being of those affected by family violence must be the primary consideration. Publications should not publish information that could cause or contribute to the risk of harm, offence or distress. Survivors of family violence often comment that their pain and suffering was exacerbated by media coverage. In some circumstances, it may not be safe, appropriate or legal to use real names or other identifying information.”
“Responsibility
Reporting of family violence should try not to blame a person affected by the violence or suggest that the person somehow enabled the violence or could have avoided it. Publications should also avoid placing undue emphasis on the characteristics or surroundings of the victim, or implying that such things contributed to the family violence, unless doing so is essential to the narrative and sufficiently in the public interest. Use of the active voice in relation to the perpetrator will help avoid placing undue emphasis on the person affected by family violence. For example: “Police charged a 38-year-old Melbourne man with the murder of a 36-year-old woman”, as opposed to, e.g. “A 36- year-old woman was murdered and a 38-year-old Melbourne man has been charged”.”
“Context and content
The context and complexities of family violence should also be key considerations, such as when an alleged perpetrator may have a mental illness. Publications should note any such factors when it is warranted in a particular case and in the public interest. Care also should be taken to avoid casual stigmatisation, such as by stating or implying that the violence was “caused” by a person’s mental illness or culture.”
“Words matter. Publications should be mindful of the language they use and try to avoid terms that tend to trivialise, demean or inadvertently excuse family violence, such as “a domestic”, “a domestic dispute” or “a troubled marriage”. Where it is lawful to do so, the relationships of the people involved should be described as accurately and precisely as possible.”
“In addition to reporting particular incidents, journalists can play a critical role in deepening readers’ understanding about family violence by referring to resources such as official statistics, peer- reviewed research, and experts, such as domestic violence counsellors and survivors.”
“Publications should also be aware of the potential impact of story layout, headlines and surrounding material (such as advertisements) that may be insensitive or jarring in the circumstances.”
– We demand better from the Australian media.
– We expect the government and police/judicial system to back us up on that.
#2-
– Mandatory incarceration for violent adult males. Whether it’s a king hit in the city or beating their female partner or their kids, they must be locked up for a minimum of 14 days and a maximum of 30, with/without charges being laid. This is when there is physical evidence of violence being perpetrated. (Witnesses, bruising/bleeding, cctv footage, ongoing police involvement, previous Report(s) to Police, Restraining Order(s) or other Court Order(s) etc.)
This gives the men time to calm down and gives the women (and kids) time to figure out an exit plan, and for most victims of MVAW, this will give them time to de-condition themselves, for lack of a better term, and discover/realise that they don’t want to stay in that relationship.
With this process, there must be initiatives to introduce effective and proven strategies in to our jails and prisons to immediately begin educating and rehabilitating perpetrators of violence to lower the probability of them reoffending. **
Ideally, we would have new and specific clinical facilities to house and rehabilitate these violent offenders. There is reason to believe that rehab programs set in the environment of a correctional facility are not as effective as they need to be. Regardless of where these violent offenders are housed during their required stint in some form of temporary removal from their community, the focus must be on effective rehabilitation to lower the risk of reoffending.
#3-
– More government funding for men’s and women’s crisis counselling (with the aim of making it entirely free of charge to patients).
– More than 10 bulk billed visits per year to see a mental health professional are needed. We demand at least 24 bulk billed appointments per calendar year for youth and adults on Mental Health Care Plans.
#4-
– More government funding for women’s refuges, with the aim of there being more facilities and each facility being more efficiently staffed and more well-rounded with the services and support they can give.
#5-
– New and specific funding for women’s and children’s programs and facilities that can mimic the Women’s Police Stations, and relevant programs& policies, that are having great success aiding in lowering rates of violence against women and children in Argentina.*
#6- (this is for everyone)
– Normalise interference, intervention and involvement in families and households that have a problem with violence or control. Normalise checking in on them and normalise awareness of their situation amongst the community. Normalise direct interference and immediate interruption and intervention of controlling and violent men. Normalise public conversations about the violence you witness in your community and let’s normalise supportive rehabilitation of violent males, whether they are a child, teen or adult.
#7-
– We want our court systems; our magistrates, bailiffs and clerks, to favour women and children in all matters of “family violence.” A core value of any justice system should be to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. More focus needs to be on the facts and statistics of MVAW and “family violence,” and assessments for determining authenticity of the threat of violence for an individual victim need to be based on those facts and statistics. ** This should translate in to efficient and accurate assessments for women and children, in lieu of evidence, so they can receive protection and assistance. **
#8-
– New and specific funding for specially tailored recreational AND sports programs, facilities and events for all males and females aged between 12 and 17.
#9-
– New and specific funding for specially tailored mental health programs and educational-based programs and courses for “at risk” males aged between 12 and 17. These should be available at no cost to families with “at risk” male teenagers in the home.
At risk = (but is not limited to)
– struggling in school (socially and/or academically)
– engaging in verbal harassment or abuse at school or at home
– engaging in violent behaviour of any kind
– police involvement at any level
– if Restraining Orders or other Court Orders are in effect or have previously been in affect
– if there is any history of controlling behaviour, verbal, physical or sexual abuse for either parent, whether biological (and not living in the home) and/or step-parents/guardians living in the home with the male youth.
#10-
– New and specific funding for specially tailored mental health programs and educational-based programs and courses for “at risk” females aged between 12 and 17. These should be available at no cost to families with female teenagers in the home that are “at risk” of becoming a victim to male violence.
At risk = (but is not limited to)
– struggling in school (socially and/or academically)
– withdrawing from friends, school, social activities, sports etc.
– engaging in self-destructive/harmful behaviour of any kind
– police involvement at any level
– if Restraining Orders or other Court Orders are in effect or have previously been in affect
– if there is any history of controlling behaviour, verbal, physical or sexual abuse for either parent, whether biological (and living/not living in the home) and/or step-parents/guardians living in the home with the female youth.
Our demands are reasonable and achievable.
Now, if you’re still reading – great! There is a lot to ‘digest’ so I will wrap this up, but before I do….
I am inclined to acknowledge the role that industrialisation/capitalism plays in all of this. I could write for hours about the reasons why capitalism is a part of a lot of problems, but I want readers to really reflect on what I’ve put together here. I don’t want to overwhelm you. So, for now, I’ll just say that, in my opinion, the most obvious way that capitalism fuels stress ➡️ poor mental health ➡️ aggression ➡️ violence (a cycle of violence) is through the absolute and oppressive necessity to work, in order to live. That correlation may catch some readers off-guard, and that’s ok.
Working for an income is the only way we know to live, to survive. I find that heartbreakingly sad and infuriating. This earth was meant to be enjoyed, cherished and appreciated, but we have very little time for that. We have so little time for ourselves. The overwhelming majority of us have jobs and that removes us from so much and creates so much stress, pressure and uncertainty. Not to mention that we are becoming increasingly aware of how destructive our existence on this earth has been, which, personally, adds to my anger and poor mental health regarding the inability to live as I wish that I, and my family, could live. The way I wish we all could live.
Do you ever sit back and imagine what life could be like if we didn’t have such a dependence on the cycle of money in our society? Do you ever imagine a world without corporate greed and destruction? One without rampant inequalities and preventable horrors? It might be really difficult to imagine, because that’s how far we have moved away from that kind of existence and from that kind of connection with our world, our surroundings and with each other. This underlying current that runs through each of us as individuals, and through our society as a whole, may often be the fuel for already existing micro-aggressions.
In closing….
I know. It’s complex. It seems so massive and, to some, impossible to change all of the engrained beliefs, traditions, behaviours and policies in our society and within our homes, schools and courts etc., but we must. Politicians, reporters & journalists, Magistrates & Police Officers and the men in our communities must pay attention. Listen (and read). We are literally spelling it out for you. Starting with changing the way we view, speak about and treat the majority of the world’s population (which are girls and women) is not only a necessity, it’s a good start at healing our entire society as a whole. It can be done. It will be done.
Written by J.K. Williams
February 24, 2020
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
References and resources –
*Recent headlines and comments regarding the tragic murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children, and rates of male violence in Australia:
https://junkee.com/medai-domestic-violence-hannah-baxter/242982
https://www.ourwatch.org.au/Understanding-Violence/Facts-and-figures
* Women would hold power within the homestead and within business and politics: Believe it or not, there are examples of tribes, communities and cultures that function just like that. They cherish and exalt female members of society. The women hold the power of decision making amongst their tribe/community. (there are also examples of what happens when women are severely oppressed)
History of feminist-based civil disobedience and direct action (starting at page 109)
Gulabi Gang: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/02/gulabi-gang-indias-women-warrriors-201422610320612382.html
https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18037688/womens-day-gender-equality-poverty-human-rights
Equality for Women = Prosperity for All: https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Equality_for_Women_Prosperity_for_All.html?id=zmtuDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y
Akashinga: [Empowering Female Fighters] – https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-28/akashinga-the-female-fighters-protecting-wildlife-in-zimbabwe/10418542
* APC Advisory Guidelines: https://www.presscouncil.org.au/advisory-guidelines/
* APC Advisory Guideline on Family and Domestic Violence Reporting: https://www.presscouncil.org.au/uploads/52321/ufiles/Guidelines/Advisory_Guideline_on_Family_and_Domestic_Violence_Reporting.pdf
** Strategies for the education and rehabilitation of male perpetrators of violence. Examples:
– Change the Story: A shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia – https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/0aa0109b-6b03-43f2-85fe-a9f5ec92ae4e/Change-the-story-framework-prevent-violence-women-children-AA-new.pdf.aspx
– Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men: https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Why_Does_He_Do_That.html?id=azvHexd1g1YC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y
– Coercive Control, Laura Richards:
https://www.laurarichards.co.uk/coercive-control/
https://www.laurarichards.co.uk/deep-diving-coercive-control/
* Women’s Police Stations in Argentina: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/127088/
Other relevant information and resources –
If you do care, take action now: https://fair-agenda.good.do/asaferfuture/email/
https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/television/media/updating-australias-media-laws
https://www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Guidelines%2
Prison-based correctional rehabilitation: An overview of intensive interventions for moderate to high-risk offenders [in Australia]: https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi412
VIOLENT OFFENDER TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHERE TO FROM HERE: https://www.div12.org/violent-offender-treatment-effectiveness-what-we-know-and-where-to-from-here/
Reclaim the Night/Take Back the Night – https://domesticviolenceservice.org.au/a-history-of-reclaim-the-night/
Thank you to the radical feminists that helped me with some of the references and resources.
This work is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Copyright © 2020
If you need help, please contact one of the resources below, and/or reach out to trusted family and/or friends.
WOMEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELPLINE
The Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline is a state wide 24 hour service. This service provides support and counselling for women experiencing family and domestic violence. This includes phone counselling, information and advice, referral to local advocacy and support services, liaison with police if necessary and support in escaping situations of family and domestic violence. The service can refer women to safe accommodation if required. A telephone based interpreting service is available if required.
Telephone (08) 9223 1188
Free call 1800 007 339
In an emergency – if someone is in immediate danger – call the police on 000 now.
Here is a link to a thorough list of a range of numbers, services, hotlines and websites.
https://www.breakingthesilence.com.au/albany/womens-domestic-violence-hotllines/
Project Respect doors closing unless something miraculous happens
Project Respect is a Melbourne based support service for women trafficked for sexual exploitation and women in the sex industry. On March 16, Project Respect released this statement with “a heavy heart” via email and a social media post, informing their community and supporters they will be closing their doors in a month unless “there is a miraculous response to this letter.”
“Project Respect has survived by hard work, good will and financial support by many organisations and individuals (for 17 years) however, without funding which is sustainable, we will have to close on the 15th April 2016.”
In a 2015 interview with Emma Alberici on Lateline, Kate Connett, who before becoming an outreach worker for Project Respect, was a sex worker on the streets to support her heroin habit from age 17 to 23, speaks of how vital these services are for women and why they are so desperately needed,
“I think nearly every single woman I have worked with at Project Respect has gone into the sex industry because of financial hardship. All women are there for the money, they’re not there for the sex, they’re not there because they enjoy having sex with men, they are there to get the money… Homelessness is a huge issue. We find many women that are homeless. We find a lot of women that sleep in brothels which is illegal, so I guess it’s kind of hidden homelessness in women.”
(Every month Kate visits legal brothels, offering support to women.) … and says it is “quite typical that in all Asian brothels one woman will speak for all the women and just kind of take over, and it’s very hard to kind of get in and speak to individually to women in Asian brothels. Outreach can be really difficult, actually, because sometimes you are met with really volatile people.
“We meet women constantly who have been either raped or beaten. Currently working with a woman at the moment who is pregnant due to a client raping her. I don’t think legalisation works. I don’t think decriminalisation works either. Again, it hasn’t stopped the incidence of violence.”
“The Nordic model which looks at criminalising the buyers which are predominantly men and making it legal for people to sell sex which is predominantly women, I think so far that’s the best option that I’ve seen come out. What girl, what young girl goes, “I want to be a prostitute when I’m older”? What young girl ever has that aspiration? What mother ever wants their child to become a prostitute when they are older? It’s not a dream job for anybody.” (Transcript and Video here)
The work of organisations like Project Respect is vital to the Nordic Model of prostitution. Vital to supporting women in the sex industry with the availability of exit programs.
Project Respect works in three ways:
* One, we assist women one-on-one and help them access essential services – such as healthcare and legal representation. We support women in making police reports, gaining child custody, even applying for jobs in a new industry. While many community organisations become targeted, offering just one service, Project Respect remains broad. Led entirely by the needs of women, we place no limits on the length or type of support offered. At the centre of our support work is regular outreach, where we visit brothels in Victoria. We do this so women know we are available to them – without judgement – should they need us.
* We also connect women together, supporting them to support one another, in their shared experiences. Intense stigma around the sex industry means it can be isolating. Through community lunches and weekends away we nurture a safe, non-judgemental and supportive network. For many women, Project Respect is simply and powerfully about belonging. It their place to be. Outside the mainstream, in these rare spaces, women are understood, welcomed, and finally treated with respect.
* Lastly, we advocate for women’s rights against violence, trafficking and exploitation. To improve life for women in the sex industry, we must improve the status of women overall. That’s why we work directly with all levels of government, lobbying for broad policy change. We argue for better conditions for women while they are in the sex industry. We argue against the trafficking of women. We help expose violence against women, and push for solutions to eradicate it. In all of this work, we ensure women’s voices are heard. We offer women a platform to write, speak and meet directly with decision makers. We know that their voices and leadership will create the positive change we seek.
At Project Respect, we believe that all women have the right to feel safe and respected. We are fundamentally for and about women – supporting their entire life and future potential. To achieve a world free from sexual exploitation we are committed to doing what others can’t.
Ways to help:
Donate – “Just like you, we aren’t ready to give up without a fight! If you feel the same way about Project Respect, then please donate to us via our GoFundMe campaign.
Share – “Please spread the campaign as far and wide as you can, and Help Save Project Respect!” – Project Respect
See also:
* The Government must fund services like Project Respect for women trafficked for sexual exploitation and women inside the sex industry in Australia.
* Expunging prostitution convictions essential for those exiting the sex trade – Simone Watson, Director NORmac
#ThankaFeminist Australia 2015
*BRISSC celebrated 40 years of ongoing work and support for victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and incest along with Women’s House in Brisbane in 2015, with their work extending into the community. We would also like to thank BRISSC for:
- Running safe, women-only events including Reclaim Activism 2015; Community responses to end sexual violence, and hosting workshops and safe creative spaces for female survivors
- Hosting events for other women‘s and Indigenous groups at BRISSC
- And their continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women, including the Wicked Pickets campaign, Reclaim The Night Brisbane, SOS womensservices and Warriors of the Aboriginal resistance to name just a few.
*Caroline Norma, lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. Many thanks for:
- Her submission on behalf of Collective Shout to the Inquiry Into The Regulation Of Brothels, by the NSW government.
- Writing about this inquiry: It’s time to clean up prostitution in NSW
- Writing in defense of women’s human rights not to be prostituted, regarding AI’s 2015 ‘sex work’ policy: A Right to Prostitute Others? Amnesty International and the Privileging of the Male Orgasm
- Critiquing the recent witch hunt of Germaine Greer: Transgenderism: The Latest Anti-Feminist Wedge of the Left
- Critiquing the agenda of male run media: Dirty Business: Why is the Porn Industry Getting a Platform on your ABC?
- Publishing The Japanese Comfort Women and Sexual Slavery during the China and Pacific Wars 2015
*Celeste Liddle, “Arrernte, feminist, hard left, trade unionist, with a taste for protopunk”, a big thank you for:
- Highlighting the over-representation of Indigenous women murdered in Australia this year at Counting dead Aboriginal women 2015,
- Highlighting the institutional racism that lead to the death in custody of Ms Dhu: What the final hours of Ms Dhu’s life tell us about our broken justice system
- Articles and speeches dissecting male violence, racism and culture, including:
- Her keynote speech from the Putting Gender on the Agenda conference in Alice Springs, October 2015 – an extraordinary first gathering of women; majority Aboriginal; to discuss violence against women in a culturally-appropriate and safe space, free from the scapegoating of the media and govt. This conference was a collaboration between Tangentyere Council, Our Watch and the Alice Springs Women’s Shelter.
- And follow up piece, Empowering Aboriginal women is the key to eliminating gendered violence,
- Fighting domestic violence shouldn’t mean revoking Aboriginal rights and She is Someone, plus many more
- This roundup of “wonderful Aboriginal women smashing the mould” in 2015 (published Jan 1st 2016)
- And her continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW and liberate women, as well as her butt-kicking attendance at anti-racism rallies.
*Collective Shout, grassroots campaigns movement mobilising and equipping individuals and groups to target corporations, advertisers, marketers and media which objectify women and sexualise girls to sell products and services. Many thanks for:
- These achievements listed here: 2015 Wins and Highlights
- Making this submission with Dr Caroline Norma in relation to the Inquiry into the Regulation of Brothels, received on 19/08/2015 by the Regulation of Brothels Committee.
- Working and writing in defense of women’s human rights not to be prostituted, regarding AI’s 2015 ‘sex work’ policy:
- Social media campaigning and community on Facebook and Twitter
- And their continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women.
*Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence celebrated 25 years of service in 2015, a big thank you also this year for:
- Providing a social media community for support, information and awareness via their Facebook page
- And their continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women, including commenting on public opinion in our society versus the realities.
*Janet Fraser, National Convenor of the Australian Homebirth Network, Joyous Birth, committed to community birth education, birth activism, supporting women and families in healing from birth trauma, blogger and feminist activist, big thanks for inspiring #ThankaFeminist 2015 and many blessings for:
- Her social media campaigning, writing and feminist analysis
- Her home birthing advocacy and Anti-obstetrics violence campaigning, including being a speaker at the Mother of all Mothers of Rallies in Canberra in June 2015
- Speaker and attendee of grassroots protests for women’s liberation, including the Sydney leg of the global women-led protests against AI’s ‘sex work’ policy, October 2015.
- Her continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women, including being feminist queen of the sharpie pen.
*Laura McNally, a psychologist, researcher, author and PhD candidate, chair of the Australian branch of Endangered Bodies and provides social commentary on issues related to gender inequality, many thanks for:
- Critiquing the Safe Schools initiative in this opinion piece : Gender Neutrality or Enforcement? ‘Safe Schools’ isn’t as Progressive as it Seems
- Writing in defense of women’s human rights not to be prostituted, regarding AI’s 2015 ‘sex work’ policy:
- Taking part in this ABC podcast: The link between pornography and domestic violence
- Critiquing the agenda of male run media: Inconvenient Facts: Why Would the ABC Airbrush Porn’s Complicity in Sexual Violence? and Pornography, Violence and Sexual Entitlement: An Unspeakable Truth plus more.
- Critiquing the focus of Liberal Feminism and the fallout for women:
- Supporting and attending grassroots protests for women’s liberation, including the Sydney leg of the global women-led protests against AI’s ‘sex work’ policy, October 2015.
- Supporting other feminist groups and actions to end MVAW, and liberate women.
*Liz Waterhouse, founder of listeningtolesbians, member and contributor of Women Shout Out Australia and Reclaim The Night Perth. A big thank you for:
- Publishing roundups of Lesbians In the News from around the world, and running listeningtolesbians
- Writing about the misogyny directed at lesbians from the LGBTI community:
- Organising against male violence with Reclaim the Night Perth, and continually supporting other feminist groups and actions to end MVAW, and liberate women.
*Mairi Voice, writing and sharing articles and interesting news with radical feminist analysis, a big thank you for:
- Writing and advocacy for the Nordic model of prostitution, including: Why the Nordic Model is Safest for Women, addressing a number of issues raised in the ‘prostitution debate’.
- Critiquing the downfalls of liberal feminism in Australia: Liberal Feminism and the Prostitution Debate, drawing from the reading of ‘Freedom Fallacy: The Limits of Liberal Feminism edited by Miranda Kiraly and Meagan Tyler (2015).
- A supportive, informative Social media community and continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women.
*Meagan Tyler, Research Fellow, RMIT University. Member of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia (CATWA). Many thanks for:
- Co-editing Freedom Fallacy: The Limits of Liberal Feminism, published 2015, a compilation of several feminist writers. And publishing this speech from the launch party: On being a feminist killjoy
- Writing in defense of women’s human rights not to be prostituted, regarding AI’s 2015 ‘sex work’ policy: Does decriminalising pimping further women’s rights?
- Critiquing the choice argument of Liberal Feminism: No, feminism is not about choice
- Writing in remembrance of the women murdered by johns and pimps amid the #FacesOfProstitution hashtag, April, and supporting the global women-led protests against AI’s ‘sex work’ policy, October 2015.
- Her continued support of other feminist groups and actions to end MVAW, and liberate women
*Paula Orbea, founder of Questions for Us and the Wicked Campers campaign, educator, blogger, feminist activist and co-founder of Boycott Wicked Campers , A big thank you for:
- Running workshops for high school students, parents and teachers to help navigate this culture
- Her social media campaigning and community on Facebook and twitter,
- Social commentary and critiquing of male violence, sexism and misogyny via her blog:
- Facebook; the frontline of misogyny, plus more here
- Speaking at and attending grassroots protests for women’s liberation, including Wicked Pickets rally, Brisbane, Rally Against Male Violence Against Women, Brisbane, and the Sydney leg of the global women-led protests against AI’s ‘sex work’ policy.
- Her continued support of other feminist groups and actions to end MVAW, and liberate women
*Radfem Groundhog Day, “Rather than re-invent the wheel, this passage by Mary Daly (from a talk at UCLA in 1987), pretty much says it all…” Many thanks for:
- Critiquing the agenda of male run media in a male ruled world:
- Critiquing male violence within a male justice system in our male ruled culture:
- Her continued support of other feminist groups and actions to end MVAW, and liberate women
*Reclaim the Night Perth, For a world without male-pattern violence and control over women and children, a big thank you for:
- Their #mysteryismisogyny campaign, calling for the responsible reporting of fatal male violence against women.
- See also: Mystery Is Misogyny
- And Murder, Mystery and Misogyny in Oz
- Holding Perth’s Reclaim the Night annual, international march to protest against gendered violence,
- Including Rape is a sanctioned crime
- And listing and reading out the names of the men who murdered women this year in Australia: Reclaiming the Night, Naming Perpetrators
- Providing a supportive Social media community and continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW and liberate women.
*Simone Watson, director of NORmac; survivor led advocates for the Nordic model Australia, and feminist activist, many thanks for:
- Her work along with other Australian Amnesty International members, in putting a No Confidence Motion in the Amnesty International Australia Board over their actions on Amnesty’s proposed new sex law policy.
- Writing and co-writing several pieces for the Tasmania Times and her blog informing readers of AI’s ‘sex work’ proposal and policy and their biased consultation process
- Exposing Scarlet Alliances denial of the extent of human trafficking for sexual slavery and focus on keeping women inside the sex industry: The Scarlet Alliance/Sex Worker Collective’s Misogyny. Why They Should Not Be funded.
- Taking part in this live debate regarding AI’s ‘sex work’ policy with an unbalanced panel with biased hosts, deconstructed by Meghan Murphy here: The Stream discusses Amnesty International’s new prostitution policy. And this interview published by ressourcesprostitution: Legalized prostitution in Australia: behind the scenes…
- Writing in defense of women’s human rights not to be prostituted, regarding AI’s 2015 ‘sex work’ policy: ‘Sex Work’- The Dignity Of Men
- Her work as Director of NORmac, including raising awareness and gaining support for implementing the Nordic model of prostitution for women and girls: Expunging prostitution convictions essential for those exiting the sex trade
- Supporting and taking part in grassroots protests for women’s liberation, including the Perth leg of the global women-led protests against AI’s ‘sex work’ policy, October 2015.
- Her continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women via her blog and writing, including: Wicked Campers out in the cold says Lonely Planet
*Wicked Pickets, A community action to extend anti vilification law to include ‘sex’ as a ground for complaint. Race religion sexuality gender identity are already covered. Many thanks for:
- Campaigning to outlaw the vilification of women and girls through Qld’s Anti Discrimination Act, including:
- Holding information stalls with petitions, speaking at events and organising grassroots protests, April and July 2015
- Their Social media campaigning and community, and continued support of other feminist actions to end MVAW, and liberate women
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