#gender violence
“They’re only sixteen!”
She’s only sixteen.
“He broke down crying in court!”
Imagine all the times she’s going to break down crying.
“They have a promising future!”
So did she, but now that might be hindered by PTSD.
The difference is that they brought it upon themselves. She didn’t.
La violenza e’ attuata e puo’ essere attuata da qualsiasi forma di vita nei confronti delle altre forme di vita. Penso sia innegabile che tutte ne sono capaci.
La violenza-di-genere invece si riferisce invece agli animali umani ed e’ attuata dagli uomini nei confronti di tutto quanto non sia uomo in quanto, appunto, non-uomo.
La mia lotta personale non e’ per sconfiggere la violenza-qualunque o analizzare perche’, in questa societa’, le persone sono stronze e prevaricatrici. Mi interessa smantellare un sistema, Patriarcato, che veicola, propaga e perdona la violenza-di-genere. SIAMO D'ACCORDO che il patriarcato favorisce e sponsorizza anche altre forme di violenza, cosi’ come credo siamo d'accordo che la violenza-qualunque NON sia un'invenzione del patriarcato. Ma credo che la violenza-DI-GENERE sia invece strettamente correlata al dominio culturale e materiale-fisico che gli uomini hanno avuto, hanno, e intendono continuare ad avere.
Sappiamo tutt* che NON ogni uomo partecipa al Patriarcato, ma ogni uomo che NON combatte il Patriarcato vi contribuisce e lo rafforza che lo voglia o no. Questo vale anche per chiunque non sia un uomo, quindi anche* le donne (*scusate la confusione ma io contemplo piu’ di due generi sebbene non ci sia ancora un nome per tutti), per cui e’ giusto dire che ogni donna che NON combatte il patriarcato rafforza il patriarcato, ma tuttavia **NON sono le donne ad attuare la violenza di genere**.
Non c'e’ bisogno di ribadire OGNI VOLTA che non tutti gli uomini sono maschilisti. Farlo, per assurdo, contempla e da’ forza a una delirante idea di misandria che invece non esiste. Certo, non tutti gli uomini sono maschilisti e non tutti gli uomini sguazzano nel patriarcato (sebbene restino comunque privilegiati), ma non e’ prioritario in alcun modo spendere energie a elencare le eccezioni ogni volta che viene attaccato l'unico gruppo (non gli individui) che ha il potenziale per attuare la violenza-di-genere e non fa niente per fermarla. Il gruppo, non gli individui, ok?. Ogni uomo veramente antisessista che si senta chiamato in causa ogni volta che una femminista attacca “gli uomini” deve secondo me rivedere di brutto il proprio percorso antisessista.
Il motivo per cui io non accetto e non digerisco questi nuovi percorsi di dialogo con i sostenitori e le sostenitrici del patriarcato e’ perche’ la ritengo una strategia sbagliata- Peggio, a considero addirittura nociva per la lotta.
Non ritengo che il cambiamento avverra’ o possa avvenire cercando di comprendere queste persone e usare un linguaggio piu’ equilibrato.
No.
Il cambiamento avviene assicurandosi che le persone che ancora collaborano con il patriarcato pur convinte che sia il nemico, smettano di farlo e acquisiscano i mezzi per difendersene e contrattaccare. A quel punto i maschilisti, cosi’ come in un sacco di posti e momenti storici e’ stato per i razzisti, saranno travolti. Il cambiamento avviene prima smantellando le insicurezze che ci CI hanno inculcato per mantenerci deboli e complici, che cercando di smantellare le sicurezze che GLI hanno inculcato per mantenerli forti.
Considero il dialogo con un/una anti-femminista un grave errore perche’ offre solo il fianco a strumentalizzazioni. Continuamente, sempre, e sara’ sempre cosi’ (si e’ visto anche di recente mi pare). Non nego che possa essere utile sul piano PERSONALE, ma sul piano collettivo e della lotta lo ritengo un grave sbaglio che indebolisce tutt*.
Quindi per come la vedo io non si tratta di difendere le donne a tutti i costi. Le donne possono essere stronze e spesso lo sono (come qualsiasi altro essere vivente). Le donne possono essere violente e spesso lo sono (come qualsiasi altro essere vivente). Credo che lo sappiamo tutt*.
Ma le donne non praticano la violenza di genere ne’ la misandria, e ogni volta che questo concetto viene ambiguizzato (anche involontariamente) in pubblico (!) si rafforza il patriarcato. Potrei non intendermene di femminismo, ma me ne intendo di patriarcato e so di cosa si nutre. E come e’ abilissimo a sfruttare le aperture e manipolare l'auto-coscienza altrui.
Quindi, attent* alle parole che usate. E a come esprimete e esternate i vostri importantissimi e rispettabilissimi percorsi personali. All'interno hanno un valore. All'esterno completamente un'altro.
Io la penso cosi’. E concludo come ho cominciato.
La violenza e’ praticata da tutt*
La violenza di genere e’ praticata dagli uomini. Magari tra tremila anni sara’ in un altro modo, ma in questa era geologica e’ cosi’ e non ripeterlo a chiare lettere ogni volta e’ per me un grave errore. Poi, dopo averlo ribadito, possiamo parlare delle eccezioni.
Drew
Because of Tuğçe Albayrak, a 23-year-old teaching student who was killed for defending two teenage girls from being sexual harassed.
Albayrak was eating at a McDonald’s restaurant in Offenbach,Germany, when she heard the screams of the two teenage girls. They were being sexual harassed by three male adults in the restaurant’s toilet. Albayrak rushed to their aid and asked the men to leave. The situation was defused and the men left the restaurant.
Albayrak finished her meal with her friends, but when she left a short time later she was attacked in the car park by one of the men. He hit her in the head with a baseball bat and she fell to the ground.
Albayrak was left with critical head injuries and spent two weeks in a coma before her parents made the decision to switch off her life support machine. She died on Friday 28th November, her 23rd birthday.
This tragic act of violence is a symptom of n infected society which encourages a violent masculinity and teaches men that women are their property. When challenged on this, violence is the answer.
This is not an isolated event, just some random crazy guy. This is a problem that we need to address. This is not the only case where a person has been violently attacked for standing up against sexual harassment:
Mary ‘Unique’ Spears in Detroit.
Awindra Pandey in New Delhi.
In the latest edition of the video game series Grand Theft Auto you can approach a female sex worker, choose what sexual act to engage in from a price list ($50 for a blow job, $70 for a half-and-half, $100 for everything), engage in the chosen act (and thus increase your life points), pay, and then kill the sex worker and get your money back.. You cannot, however, play a female character. The creators of Grand Theft Auto V have made it very clear: women are objects to be toyed with, not human beings.
This game, which allows the player to enter first-person mode, not only objectifies women, and particularly sex workers, it glorifies and trivialises violence against women. It turns it all into fun and games. The game allows you to kill a sex worker for no particular reason. It makes it cool to buy services from a sex worker and then physically harm her. It even rewards you for these acts!
Video game creators are free to create any scenarios and universes they want, yet this is what they choose to create. And this is what people chose to play. The existence of this game and its popularity are clearly a reflection of the misogyny in our society. There’s no doubt, we’re a long way from gender equality.
Who is Julien Blanc?
A U.S dating coach and pickup artist who teaches his pickup system Pimp to men around the world. Or in the words of The Guardian’sLindy West:“He’s currently touring the globe leading expensive seminars and “bootcamps” in which he teaches sad sacks how to violate women’s boundaries through persistence, psychological abuse or outright sexual violence.”
Why is he in this blog?
Because…
- On September 8th 2014, he posted a video on hisYoutube channel called White male fucks Asian women in Tokyo (and the beautiful methods to it). The video has been taken down, but reportedly showed Blanc giving a talk to a room of men where he claimed that, when it concerns women in Tokyo; “If you’re a white male, you can do what you want,”. He then continued to describe himself on a visit to the Japanese capital grabbing women and shoving their faces in his crotch. The video included footage of Blanc actually doing this.
- One of his pickup tactics involves choking women and he is the author of the hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld. He has used this hashtag to post pictures of himself choking women from different countries.
- He is the author of the following tweets:
There seems to be this common misconception that misogyny in Western society is a thing of the past. If we encounter it, it’s because of a few old guys with a bad sense of humor. And when these old guys die, we’ll all live together in a gender equal society.
But that’s not the situation here.
Julien Blanc is 26 years old. And he’s white, and he’s not Muslim, and he’s educated and he’s from a Western “modern” country. You don’t have any excuses left! Misogyny is a real thing.
What’s worse, young men around the world are PAYING to hear what he has to say. I’m sorry, but we still live in a world where gender inequality is a problem.
There are solutions to this problem though. As his methods have caused a lot of controversy and protests, Julien Blanc has now been denied entry to several countries and has had events cancelled in others. Denying him a visa makes a statement and raises awareness, but we need another solution to the problem:
“Some of the behaviour Blanc demonstrates in his videos amounts to sexual harassment and sexual assault. More broadly this is part of a culture that makes light of assault, that tells victims they will not be taken seriously. We need a social conversation about why this type of ‘advice’ is commercially viable.”
-Sarah Green from the End Violence Against Women coalition
Watch the full video and learn more about the complexities of domestic violence: Violent Relationships with Dr Leelia Franck - Moving Forward #4.
Note:The Michigan Women’s Justice & Clemency Projectreport similar statistics.
Last week Swedish Radio News revealed that Stockholm Police had kept a secret database with names and details of 2000-3000 female victims of domestic violence. The illegal database, named Kvinnoregistret(Women’s Register) by the press, has been used for about 10 years and an estimated 20 police officers have contributed towards it. Though officially labelled a register over suspected abusers, the database contains details such as the victim’s name, age, ethnicity, country of birth, religion, history of abuse and hobbies, as well as details about their family members. Police officers have also made notes about possible psychiatric diagnoses and the credibility of the victim’s story. Many of the women have been brandedtricky,difficultandparticular.
Here are some excerpts from the database:
- Claimant sometimes socialises with drug addicts. Has difficulty keeping her story together. Has a daughter with intellectual disability.
- Claimant has visited inappropriate places.
- Claimant’s half-brother has a dodgy background.
- In my personal opinion, the claimant seems to have mental health issues.
- Claimant has, according to her sister, problems with alcohol abuse and mental health issues.
- She is very frightened and the fear is not in proportion to the assesed risk.
- Louise is a little girl with issues. Not our problem.
- Both parties give credible stories, however, the woman’s story is a bit “embroidered”
- Claimant has been here for 10 years, from Iraq. Fled Saddam Hussein’s regime, politically active. Member of Iraqi Artists Association in Sweden. Gives same old story about ex husband recently finding her. Social services believe she might have mental health issues, delusional.
- Claimant is a mentally retarded Roma.
- The greatest victim in this situation is the man himself.
Anna-Karin Rybeck, the head of the Sisters’ Shelter Somaya for women and girls, told Swedish Radio News:
“I am really surprised and am really upset, because the information that is registered here, is not interesting at all. The only thing it reveals is discrimination and racism and it reveals an antiquated view of women. I can, of course, understand that the police want to register indicators for arresting an offender, or if they want to minimize further acts of violence, but the information that is registered in this register is really just horrible. It also reveals lack of knowledge within the police force about the whole situation of violence against women.”
An analysis of 2011 U.S homicide data by the Violence Policy Center.
