You can listen to the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview about Andrea here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_15_tue_03.shtml

Pippa x

--
=====
http://incurable-hippie.blogspot.com

Andrea Dworkin died on Friday night, in her sleep.

I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. We've lost an amazing woman.

Pippa x

--

=====
http://incurable-hippie.blogspot.com

'We Want to Make a Light Baby'
Arab Militiamen in Sudan Said to Use Rape as Weapon of Ethnic Cleansing

By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 30, 2004; Page A01


GENEINA, Sudan, June 29 -- At first light on Sunday, three young women
walked into a scrubby field just outside their refugee camp in West
Darfur.
They had gone out to collect straw for their family's donkeys. They
recalled
thinking that the Arab militiamen who were attacking African tribes at
night
would still be asleep. But six men grabbed them, yelling Arabic slurs such
as "zurga" and "abid," meaning "black" and "slave." Then the men raped
them,
beat them and left them on the ground, they said.

"They grabbed my donkey and my straw and said, 'Black girl, you are too
dark. You are like a dog. We want to make a light baby,' " said Sawela
Suliman, 22, showing slashes from where a whip had struck her thighs as
her
father held up a police and health report with details of the attack.
"They
said, 'You get out of this area and leave the child when it's made.' "

Suliman's father, a tall, proud man dressed in a flowing white robe, cried
as she described the rape. It was not an isolated incident, according to
human rights officials and aid workers in this region of western Sudan,
where 1.2 million Africans have been driven from their lands by
government-backed Arab militias, tribal fighters known as Janjaweed.

Interviews with two dozen women at camps, schools and health centers in
two
provincial capitals in Darfur yielded consistent reports that the
Janjaweed
were carrying out waves of attacks targeting African women. The victims
and
others said the rapes seemed to be a systematic campaign to humiliate the
women, their husbands and fathers, and to weaken tribal ethnic lines. In
Sudan, as in many Arab cultures, a child's ethnicity is attached to the
ethnicity of the father.

"The pattern is so clear because they are doing it in such a massive way
and
always saying the same thing," said an international aid worker who is
involved in health care. She and other international aid officials spoke
on
condition of anonymity, saying they feared reprisals or delays of permits
that might hamper their operations.

She showed a list of victims from Rokero, a town outside of Jebel Marra in
central Darfur where 400 women said they were raped by the Janjaweed.
"It's
systematic," the aid worker said. "Everyone knows how the father carries
the
lineage in the culture. They want more Arab babies to take the land. The
scary thing is that I don't think we realize the extent of how widespread
this is yet."

Another international aid worker, a high-ranking official, said: "These
rapes are built on tribal tensions and orchestrated to create a dynamic
where the African tribal groups are destroyed. It's hard to believe that
they tell them they want to make Arab babies, but it's true. It's
systematic, and these cases are what made me believe that it is part of
ethnic cleansing and that they are doing it in a massive way."

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell flew to the capital, Khartoum, on
Tuesday
to pressure the government to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis
in
Darfur. U.S. officials said Powell may threaten to seek action by the
United
Nations if the Sudanese government blocks aid and continues supporting the
Janjaweed. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is due to arrive on Khartoum
this week.

The crisis in Darfur is a result of long-simmering ethnic tensions between
nomadic cattle and camel herders, who view themselves as Arabs, and the
more
sedentary farmers, who see their ancestry as African. In February 2003,
activists from three of Darfur's African tribes started a rebellion
against
the government, which is dominated by an Arab elite.

Riding on horseback and camel, the Janjaweed, many of them teenagers or
young adults, burned villages, stole and destroyed grain supplies and
animals and raped women, according to refugees and U.N. and human rights
investigators. The government used helicopter gunships and aging Russian
planes to bomb the area, the U.N. and human rights representatives said.
The
U.S. government has said it is investigating the killings of an estimated
30,000 people in Darfur and the displacement of the more than 1 million
people from their tribal lands to determine whether the violence should be
classified as genocide.

The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch said in a June 22
report
that it investigated "the use of rape by both Janjaweed and Sudanese
soldiers against women from the three African ethnic groups targeted in
the
'ethnic cleansing' campaign in Darfur." It added, "The rapes are often
accompanied by dehumanizing epithets, stressing the ethnic nature of the
joint government-Janjaweed campaign. The rapists use the terms 'slaves'
and
'black slaves' to refer to the women, who are mostly from the Fur, Masalit
and Zaghawa ethnic groups."

Despite a stigma among tribal groups in Sudan against talking about rape,
Darfur elders have been allowing and even encouraging their daughters to
speak out because of the frequency of the attacks. The women consented to
be
named in this article.

In El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, about 200 miles east of
Geneina,
Aisha Arzak Mohammad Adam, 22, described a rape by militiamen. "They said,
'Dog, you have sex with me,' " she said. Adam, who was receiving medical
treatment at the Abu Shouk camp, said through a female interpreter that
she
was raped 10 days ago and has been suffering from stomach cramps and
bleeding. "They said, 'The government gave me permission to rape you. This
is not your land anymore, abid, go.' "

Nearby, Ramadan Adam Ali, 18, a frail woman, was being examined at the
health clinic. She was pregnant from a rape she said took place four
months
ago. She is a member of the Fur tribe and has African features.

"The man said, 'Give me your money, slave,' " she said, starting to cry.
"Then I must tell you very frankly, he raped me. He had a gun to my head.
He
called me dirty abid. He said I was very ugly because my skin is so dark.
What will I do now?"

In Tawilah, a village southeast of El Fasher, women and children are
living
in a musty school building. They said it was too dangerous to leave and
plant food.

Fatima Aisha Mohammad, once a schoolteacher, stood in a dank classroom
describing what happened to her three weeks ago, when she left the school
to
collect firewood.

"Very frankly, they selected us ladies and had what they wanted with us,
like you would a wife," said Mohammad, 46, who has five children. "I am
humiliated. Always they said, 'You are nothing. You are abid. You are too
black.' It was disgusting."

During a recent visit, government minders warned people at the school to
stop talking about the rapes or face beatings or death. Minders also were
seen handing out bribes to keep women from speaking to foreign visitors.
But
those at the school spoke anyway. A group of people handed a journalist
two
letters in Arabic that listed 40 names of rape victims, and wanted the
list
to be sent to Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Frank R. Wolf of
Virginia, Republicans who were touring the region and pressing the
government to disarm the Janjaweed.

"I was sad. I am now very angry. Now they are trying to silence us. And
they
can't," Mohammad said. "What will people think of all of us out here? That
we did this to ourselves? People will know the truth about what is
happening
in Darfur."

Later that day in Tawilah's town center, Kalutum Kharm, a midwife,
gathered
a crowd under a tree to talk about the rapes. Everyone was concerned about
the children who would be born as a result.

"What will happen? We don't know how to deal with this," Kharm lamented.
"We
are Muslims. Islam says to love children no matter what. The real problem
is
we need security. We don't trust the government. We need this raping to
stop."

Aid workers and refugees in Geneina said that despite an announcement last
week by Sudan's president, Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Bashir, that the Janjaweed
would be disarmed, security had not improved. Janjaweed dressed in
military
uniforms and clutching satellite phones roamed the markets and the fields,
guns slung over their shoulders. Last week, the Janjaweed staged a
jailbreak
and freed 13 people, aid workers said. They also killed a watermelon
salesman and his brother because they did not like their prices, family
members of the men said.

A government official, speaking with a reporter, described the rapes as an
inevitable part of war and dismissed accusations by human rights
organizations that the attacks were ethnically based.

In Geneina, two women told their stories while sitting in front of their
makeshift straw shelter. One of the women, a thin 19-year-old with dead
eyes, moved forward.

"I am feeling so shy but I wanted to tell you, I was raped too that day,"
whispered Aisha Adam, the tears rushing out of her eyes as she covered her
face with her head scarf. "They left me without my clothing by the dry
riverbed. I had to walk back naked. They said, 'You slave. This is not
your
area. I will make an Arab baby who can have this land.' I am hurting now
so
much, because no one will marry me if they find out."

Sitting on mats outside the shelter, Sawela Suliman's father talked with
village elders about what to do if his daughter became pregnant.

"If the color is like the mother, fine," he said as a crowd gathered to
listen. "If it is like the father, then we will have problems. People will
think the child is an Arab."

Then his daughter looked up.

"I will love the child," she said, as other women in the crowd agreed.
"But
I will always hate the father."

Then the rains came. They pounded onto the family's frail shelter, turning
their roof into a soggy and dripping clump of straw. Suliman started to
shiver as the weather shifted from steaming hot to a breezy rain. She will
no longer leave the area of her hut to collect straw. She will stay here,
hiding as if in prison, she said, and praying that she is not pregnant.




====
"Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes"
Maggie Kuhn
http://incurable-hippie.blogspot.com

You can either send this by post to the address below, or at
http://www.faxyourmp.com

Pippa xx



Rt. Hon. (Name of MP) MP 			 (Your Address)
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Date

Dear Rt. Hon. ( name of MP) MP

I/we are writing to you to draw your attention to
the inhuman plight of
approximately 500-600 women every year - women who
suffer domestic violence
whilst in the UK as immigrants and asylum seekers.
These women have a stark
choice: to risk their lives, and that of their
children by staying in
abusive relationships or face destitution and
removal from the UK. While the
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill, currently
making its way through
Parliament, aims to improve protection and provision
for women experiencing
violence in the home, the Government has chosen to
disregard the needs of
this small but extremely vulnerable group of women.
You have a historic
opportunity to improve this appalling situation by
supporting the amendments
proposed by Southall Black Sisters to the Bill,
which is due to debated in
the House of Commons from May 2004 onwards.

Most of the women are married to or have
relationships with UK citizens or
men who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. A
minority have come here
as fiancées, or dependants of students and workers
or are here temporarily
in their own right. Many of them have children who
are British citizens.
What they all share in common is they have no right
to public funds; that is
benefits and housing under the Housing Act 1996.
This means that they are
not even able to seek safety in a refuge, as the
rent for the refuge space
is usually funded by housing benefit. Most of them
are only allowed to stay
in the UK if they remain with their abuser. At a
time when the Government is
trying to hold perpetrators accountable for their
criminal actions, these
women are being unable to pursue prosecutions as
they remain economically
dependent on a violent spouse/partner and/or fear
removal from the country.

The Government has acknowledged that benefits and
support are "life saving
and critical" if victims of domestic violence are to
leave abuse. Why do
these women and their children not have the same
right to protection and
life as other victims in the UK? The Government says
that they cannot help
these women as this would undermine the integrity of
the immigration and
benefits rules. This is discriminatory and a breach
of the UK Government's
human rights obligations.

In 1999, the Government introduced a concession for
victims of domestic
violence, allowing them to remain in the UK
permanently, but this was
limited to only those who entered or stayed in the
UK on the basis of
marriage or relationship to a person who is a
British national or settled in
the country, and subject to a probationary period.
In 2002, the Government
incorporated this concession into the Immigration
Rules. However, even
victims entitled to remain under this "Domestic
Violence Immigration Rule"
are not allowed to have recourse to public funds,
preventing many from
leaving abusive situations for fear of destitution
and thus rendering the
Domestic Violence Rule ineffective.

Southall Black Sisters proposes that:

	 * all victims of domestic violence who are subject
to
immigration control should receive benefits and
housing under the Housing
Act 1996
	 * that the Government should retrieve these funds
from
sponsors provided there is no further risk of harm
to the victim or her
family
	 * that the Domestic Violence Immigration Rule
should be
extended to all victims of domestic violence subject
to immigration control
	 * that the types of evidence that are required to
prove
domestic violence under the Domestic Violence
Immigration Rule should be
extended, and include: adjudicator and other legal
decisions, victim and
witness testimonies and reports and letters from
voluntary and statutory
sector agencies

Amendments based upon these proposals relating to
access to public funds and
extending the Domestic Violence Immigration Rule
were tabled by Peers from
all three parties to Section 25 of the Domestic
Violence Bill. The
amendments were debated in Grand Committee and
Report Stage in the House of
Lords. These amendments may now be re-tabled after
the 2nd reading of the
Bill in the House of Commons.

These amendments are supported by a number of
organisations including the
Women's National Commission, Women's Aid, the Law
Society, Imkaan, Amnesty
International UK, the Greater London Domestic
Violence Project, Respect,
Rights of Women and many refuges.

I/we urge you to support these reforms by contacting
the Home Office
Ministers, Baroness Scotland and Paul Goggin MP, and
the Home Secretary,
David Blunkett MP. Also, please lend your support to
Early Day Motions
(including the current EDM 820 placed by Diane
Abbott MP) or future
amendments to the Domestic Violence Bill based on
these reforms.

Yours sincerely

(Your signature)

(Printed Name)



====
"Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes"
Maggie Kuhn
http://incurable-hippie.blogspot.com

Hi.  Just wanted to post my comments on this subject because for the past
year I have been working with the local DA's office and writing state reps
regarding getting our state's Hate Crime Bill updated.  In PA, the Hate Crime
Law
only covers ethnicity and religion...no inclusion for sexuality.  As far as I am
aware, any crimes such as gay bashing are cgarged as and tried for "assualt"
in this state.

I initially contacted the local DA's office because of my thoughts and
opinions as a survivor and going through the aftermath of rape that this is, in
every definition, a hate crime.  The local DA's seem to agree with me but are
not
able to charge a rapist with hate crime, wich would nearly double any sentence
given in court, because of the state of PA's Hate Crime Law.  Each state has
it's own...but it is definitely worth  writing to Senator's and Congressman in
your state regarding this matter...I know it's a slow process but one little
step and voice at a time always helps.

Thanks,

PixieChick0671

If when someone gets gay bashed or has racial slurs hurled at them
it's a hate crime- then calling a rape survivor names like wh*re is
a hate
crime/speech too.
I don't see any way that that is not true.
does anyone disagree with this?


"Last year the American Psychological Association issued the report
Hate Crimes Today: An Age-Old Foe in Modern Dress. In the report Dr.
Jack McDevitt, a criminologist, stated, "Hate crimes are message
crimes. They are different from other crimes in that the offender is
sending a message to members of a certain group that they are
unwelcome."
Preliminary research indicates that hate crimes have more serious
psychological effects than non-bias motivated crimes."
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hatecrimes.html

The dictionary defines a hate crime as

hate crime -orig. U.S., a crime, usually violent, motivated by
hatred or intolerance of another social group, esp. on the basis of
race or sexuality; crime of this type; freq. attrib. (occas. in
pl.), designating legislation, etc., framed to address such crime.

hate speech -orig. U.S., speech expressing hatred or intolerance of
other social groups, esp. on the basis of race or sexuality; hostile
verbal abuse (though the term is sometimes understood to encompass
written and non-verbal forms of expression).
Oxford English Dictionary

I just can't see how victim bashing wouldn't fit as a hate
crime/speech.
Any thoughts?

pixie

Sorry, this is very long:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Global Women's Strike"
<womenstrike8m@...>
> To: <womenstrike8m@...>
> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 3:24 PM
> Subject: Torture of Iraqi women
>
>
> > The recent exposures of rape and sexual
humiliation in Iraq by the
US
> > military have focused on the torture of men. We
are circulating
three
> > documents about what is happening to women at the
hands of the US
and UK
> > forces, both Iraqi women and women in the US
military:
> >
> > 1. A statement from Black Women's Rape Action
Project and Women
Against
> Rape
> > to women legislators.
> > 2. A statement from the Global Women's Strike.
> > 3. Attached is a statement from a former US
Airforce Captain and
Commander
> > who herself suffered rape as a serving officer and
who speaks about
how
> > widespread rape is.
> >
> > We have also received the following further news
via email from
Canada:
> >
> > "Dozens of former detainees and their families
came forward Sunday,
May
9,
> > to tell their experiences of physical, sexual, and
psychological
torture
> at
> > the hands of U.S. soldiers in Iraqi prison camps.
The press
conference
in
> > Baghdad was organized by several Iraqi and
international human
rights
> > organizations, including CPT, which have been
documenting
violations
> against
> > detainees and their families since last summer. .
.
> > "A fifty-year-old man in traditional dress who was
in Abu Ghraib
prison
> camp
> > last winter testified that U.S. soldiers herded
detainees into a
room in
> > groups of ten to twenty men and stripped them
naked. The soldiers
ordered
> > one detainee to rape the others. The soldiers then
ordered half of
the
> > detainees to sit on the ground and engage in oral
sex with the
standing
> > detainees. . . Still there was a younger man with
me, very
handsome. The
> > soldiers stripped him naked. When he refused
[sexual advances from
the
> > soldiers], they tortured him for three days. A
woman soldier
blindfolded
> him
> > and led him naked into the women's prison. He was
there for twenty
days,
> > naked. He witnessed the sexual abuse of the women
detainees by the
U.S.
> > guards."
> >
> > If you have any information about what is
happening to women at the
hands
> of
> > US & British troops in Iraq, or Afgahnistan, or
elsewhere, please
get in
> > touch with us.
> >
> > Stop the world and change it.
> > Global Women's Strike
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> > --------------
> > TO WOMEN LEGISLATORS OF THE COALITION OF THE
WILLING
> > 12 May 2004
> >
> > NEITHER BLOOD NOR RAPE FOR OIL
> > Coming clean on rape and other sexual torture of
women and girls at
the
> > hands of US and UK armed forces or their agents in
Iraq and
Afghanistan
> >
> > By Black Women's Rape Action Project and Women
Against Rape
> >
> > We are writing to you, women legislators in both
the UK and the US.
That
> > there are now many more women in Congress and in
Parliament is due
to a
> > massive women's movement over decades in every
area of this planet.
In
> the
> > name of all the women whose movement helped get
you there, we ask
for
your
> > accountability in the present crisis of war,
occupation, war crimes
and
> > torture, including rape, in which both your
governments are
complicit.
> >
> > 1. THE RAPE AND TORTURE OF WOMEN AND GIRLS HAS
BEEN LARGELY HIDDEN
> >
> > Information has exploded onto our screens and in
all the media
about the
> > sexual humiliation, torture and murder of
prisoners in Iraq and the
murder
> > of civilians, including children, in the streets
and in their own
homes.
> > Questions are also being raised about Afghanistan.
  Yet while the
rape
of
> > men (and increasingly boys) is beginning to be
acknowledged, the
rape of
> > women and girls was initially dismissed as "a
soldier had sex with
a
woman
> > prisoner."  Greater truth is now emerging.
> >
> > Iraqi women have told us that women are in prison
to be
interrogated and
> > tortured to get information on male relatives.
For women, torture
almost
> > always begins with the torture of rape, often gang
rape.  A US
reporter
> said
> > that "Last month women prisoners at Abu Ghraib
smuggled out
leaflets
> > claiming they'd been raped." (Anne Garrels,
National Public Radio,
4 May
> > 2004)  A woman from Baghdad University working for
Amnesty
International
> has
> > described her own sexual abuse at a check point
and what she knows
from
> > others.  "He pointed the laser sight directly in
the middle of my
chest,
> the
> > n he pointed to his penis. He told me, 'Come here,
bitch, I'm going
to
> fuck
> > you.' . . . According to Prof. Huda Shaker several
women in Abu
Ghraib
> jail
> > were sexually abused, including one who was raped
by an American
military
> > policeman and became pregnant." (London Guardian
12 May)  Other
sources
> have
> > confirmed this.
> >
> > The horrendous prison conditions to which women
have been subjected
have
> > been mentioned as an aside.  Iraq's human rights
minister, Abdel
Bassat
> > Turki, who resigned a month ago, said he spoke to
US chief
administrator
> > Paul Bremer last November about the treatment of
women in Abu
Ghraib:
> "They
> > had been denied medical treatment.  They had no
proper toilet.
They had
> > only been given one blanket, even though it was
winter.  And their
> families
> > had not been allowed to visit them."  (London
Guardian 10 May 2004)
> >
> > The International Committee of the Red Cross
report hardly mentions
women,
> > and their reporter interviewed only men.  (There
has been no
mention
> either
> > that the ICRC reports there were riots against the
prison
conditions and
> > Iraqis were shot dead.)
> >
> > Why are these attacks on women largely invisible?
Have you or
others
asked
> > questions about this? How many men will ask if
women do not?  If
you did
> > ask, what answers have you received? Why are they
not yet known to
the
> > public?
> >
> > 2. MOST WOMEN AND GIRLS CANNOT SPEAK OUT
> >
> > Organisations like Black Women's Rape Action
Project and Women
Against
> Rape
> > which have been demanding justice and protection
for women for
decades
and
> > which work with asylum seekers from all over the
world who have
fled
rape,
> > know only too well that most rape survivors
anywhere in the world
find
it
> > almost impossible to speak about their ordeal.
They feel degraded
and
> > ashamed, especially since society and the criminal
justice system
usually
> > blame the woman for what happened to her.  In both
the UK and the
US,
> women
> > often call the trial of their attacker "a second
rape" as it is the
> woman's
> > mental state and sexual history which are publicly
examined to
destroy
her
> > credibility and get the rapist off.  In other
countries, hostility
to
the
> > victim can be even more extreme.  Rape survivors
may be
un-marriageable,
> > ostracised and even killed.  We have read that
girls as young as
nine
who
> > were raped under Saddam Hussein were refused
hospital treatment and
that
> > this practice continues under the occupation.
> >
> > An Iraqi lawyer said that her client, an ex-Abu
Ghraib prisoner,
"fainted
> > before providing further details of being raped
and knifed by U.S.
> soldiers.
> > Another lawyer representing five former detainees
described to
their
> lawyers
> > having been beaten. But they did not say they had
been raped.
"They are
> > very ashamed." "They say, 'We can't tell you.  We
have families.
We
> cannot
> > speak about what happened.' " (Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2004)  "A
female
> > colleague of mine was arrested and taken [to Abu
Ghraib].  When I
asked
> her
> > after she was released what happened there she
started crying.  It
is
very
> > difficult to talk about rape.  But I think it
happened."  Prof.
Huda
said
> > the woman made pregnant as a result of rape by a
US soldier has now
> > disappeared and may have been killed. "When I went
to her house . .
.
the
> > neighbours said she and her family had moved
away."  (London
Guardian 10
> May
> > 2004).
> >
> > How convenient for the troops that the women and
girls they rape
should
be
> > too vulnerable to tell the truth.
> >
> > 3. PHOTOS OF WOMEN'S TORTURE HAVE NOT HIT THE
FRONT PAGES
> >
> > Given that women and girls who are rape survivors
risk being
ostracised
> and
> > even killed, we must protect their anonymity.  Yet
unless there is
> > incriminating photo proof, those in power seem
unwilling to
acknowledge
> what
> > is going on.  There has been no statement and no
apology regarding
the
> rape
> > and other torture of women and girls.
> >
> > We attach photos which have been sent to us of
women being raped by
> > soldiers, which have already appeared on some
websites.  We have
disguised
> > the women's identity and will not circulate any
photo where women
are
> > identifiable.  While we cannot verify the
authenticity of these
photos,
it
> > is clear from all the other information now
circulating that these
or
> > similar rapes have taken place.  We have heard
that thousands of
photos
> like
> > these have circulated like baseball cards among
the troops and even
used
> as
> > computer screensavers.  The Pentagon is quoted as
saying that it
knows
of
> at
> > least two CDs of photos containing several hundred
images of US
troops
> > "abusing" prisoners, including "beating an Iraqi
inmate to the
point of
> > unconsciousness, having sex with a female
prisoner, and gloating
over a
> > corpse."  (London Guardian 10 May 2004).
> >
> > It is not new for rape or other sexual torture to
serve as
pornography.
> > Women Against Rape (WAR) has complained that in
Britain in "normal"
times
> > photos and witness statements where the victim
describes her rape
are
> often
> > circulated for their pornographic value in prisons
by convicted
rapists
as
> > well as among the police.
> >
> > 4. WE WANT TO KNOW
> > We want to know what is happening to women and
girls in Iraq, in
prison
> and
> > elsewhere, at the hands of British and US troops,
beginning with
the
women
> > already mentioned.  We want to know what is
happening to women in
> > Afghanistan at the hands of occupying forces
there.  We understand
that
> much
> > of the brutality and murder may be perpetrated by
or on the orders
of
the
> > CIA and private military contractors - a euphemism
for mercenaries.
We
> want
> > to know about any mercenaries guilty of any of
these crimes against
women
> > and children, and how much they were paid to
perform and/or oversee
these
> > atrocities.
> >
> > Despite international precedents to the contrary,
it is common for
the
US
> > and the UK to consider rape by agents of the State
not to be
torture and
> > therefore grounds for political asylum.  As a
result, women are
> consistently
> > denied the international protection to which we
are entitled.  For
> example,
> > the UK asylum claim of a mother of five who fled
Uganda after being
raped
> by
> > soldiers who were interrogating her, was
repeatedly rejected by the
> > authorities.  The rape, they said, was merely
"sexual
gratification" and
> > "simple dreadful lust", not torture or
persecution.  Only after she
> decided
> > to give up her anonymity so that we could make her
case public, and
after
> we
> > called on prominent women to support her, did she
finally win the
right
to
> > asylum in 2003.  We have examples of many such
cases in our files.
> >
> > While rape is not limited to war, everyone
acknowledges that in war
rape
> is
> > inevitable.  In order to make war, men, and now
women (since we
have
been
> > urged to be more like men as the only route to
equality), are
trained to
> > kill.  Once killing is acceptable, rape is hardly
a moral problem.
And
> > during a period of mass slaughter, rape is even
less likely to be
taken
> > seriously.  When Iraqi casualties are treated as
irrelevant as they
have
> > been (the body counts are for US and UK troops not
for Iraqi or
Afghani
> > military or even civilians), are we not also
expected to dismiss or
ignore
> > the rape and other torture of Iraqis or Afghanis?
> >
> > - So why is the rape of women and children treated
as a surprise
result
of
> > war now? Why were no questions asked about rape
during the debate
about
> > whether to go to war?
> >
> > Defence secretary Geoff Hoon, commenting on the
photos of torture
by US
> and
> > UK troops, said: "I do not see that it is torture:
it is abuse.  I
do
not
> > see any evidence of systematic torture in terms of
interrogation."
> (London
> > Guardian 7 May).  Donald Rumsfeld has said
publicly that photos and
videos
> > depicting worse atrocities are still to come;
these are rumoured to
> contain
> > scenes of the rape of women and children.
> >
> > - How will such rape be viewed if what we have
seen so far is not
> considered
> > torture? How do you plan to deal with further
information on rape
that
is
> > bound to emerge? Will you excuse it as Ann Clwyd,
the UK
government's
> > special envoy for human rights, initially did,
saying that it was
not as
> bad
> > as what Saddam Hussein had done?  She now says
that she was never
shown
> the
> > International Committee of the Red Cross report.
Will she resign?
> >
> > 5. RAPE OF WOMEN SOLDIERS AND WITHIN SOLDIERS'
FAMILIES
> >
> > - What are the implications for the families of
officers, soldiers
and
> > mercenaries who are trained to rape, murder and
torture with
impunity in
> > this way? How often do they face rape and other
violence at the
hands of
> > these same men? How often do they get justice?
> >
> > The effects of army training and war on women
soldiers and the
families
of
> > military men is dealt with in an extensive letter
by our colleague,
former
> > air force captain Dorothy Mackey.  Rev. Mackey was
herself raped
within
> the
> > US army, and has been in touch with many other
women (and some men)
> > survivors of such violence, either within the
military or as
partners of
> > military men.  She makes clear that rape of women
within the army
is
> > condoned by the hierarchy.  Soldiers' rape of
women is treated as a
> > component of soldiers' pay, a cost not to
governments but to women.
We
> > enclose excerpts from Rev. Mackey's expose.  More
comprehensive
> > documentation is available on request.  Rev.
Mackey has forwarded
to us
> the
> > preposterous "McDowell's scoring" system used by
the US military
for
> > assessing the veracity of rape allegations.
Investigating
themselves
and
> > accountable to no one, they employ every prejudice
against women to
> dismiss
> > the victims as liars.
> >
> > We now hear that 100 US women soldiers are
claiming to have been
raped
by
> > their colleagues while serving in Iraq.
> >
> > - Will this or similar sexist measures be used to
"weed out" women
who
> > manage to come forward with allegations of rape in
Iraq or
Afghanistan?
?
> > What will you do to ensure that these cases are
investigated by
people
> truly
> > independent of the authorities that are accused of
the assaults?
> >
> > 6. WE DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM WOMEN IN CONGRESS
AND PARLIAMENT
> >
> > We do not accept that those in authority merely
"turned a blind
eye".
> There
> > is mounting evidence that orders to torture,
including rape, came
from
the
> > highest levels.  Neither do we accept that the UK
government bears
no
> > responsibility for the actions of US troops and
vice versa.  The
Coalition
> > of the Willing must mean joint responsibility.
> >
> > - Why are women soldiers who took part in the
outrages we all know
about
> > apparently the first ones to be named and
prosecuted?  Why has no
one in
a
> > position of authority resigned?  Will you ask that
they do now and
face
> > prosecution?
> >
> > We are asking, urging, in fact demanding, that on
the issue of the
rape
of
> > women and children which took place as a direct
result of the war
and
> > occupation that your governments perpetrated in
Iraq and
Afghanistan,
that
> > the women in Congress and in Parliament are
accountable to women
> generally.
> > We need the full information and we need to know
what you propose
to do
> > about it, individually and collectively.
> >
> > We must point out that even in 'normal' times, the
forces of law
and
order
> > have always found ways of protecting the rapist.
> >
> > In the UK, Soham murderer Ian Huntley, convicted
in 2003, was
reported
> nine
> > times for rape and sexual assault over years
before killing
schoolgirls
> > Holly Chapman and Jessica Wells.  This is typical
of the sexism of
the
> > criminal justice system when dealing with rape.
Nationally, just
5% of
> > recorded cases of domestic violence and less than
6% of reported
rapes
end
> > in conviction.  Incompetence and carelessness
permeate the
gathering of
> > evidence (beginning with the woman's statement to
the police), and
the
> > decision on whether to prosecute. In court, in the
23% of cases
that get
> > that far, the woman or girl is "put on trial", and
is left
undefended by
> the
> > prosecuting barrister and by the judge.  Victims
who are Black,
immigrant,
> > working class, single mothers, children, older,
lesbian, have
disabilities
> > or a mental health history, who were attacked by
their partner or
> > ex-partner, are sex workers or have a criminal
record, stand even
less
> > chance of getting justice or protection,
especially if their
attacker
has
> > higher social status.  Rape and sexual abuse by
police officers,
soldiers
> > and prison guards are notoriously difficult to get
the police to
> investigate
> > and the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute,
even when the
victim is
a
> > fellow (woman) officer.  We can document this from
our files.
> >
> > Emails:  bwrap@...
war@...
> > Crossroads Women's Centre 230a Kentish Town Rd,
London NW5 2AB
Tel 020
> > 7482 2496
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> > --------
> > RAPE AND OTHER TORTURE IN IRAQ
> > A statement from the Global Women's Strike
> > www.globalwomenstrike.net
womenstrike8m@...
> >
> > The present outcry over the torture of Iraqi
prisoners by US and UK
forces
> > in Iraq would never have happened if the photos
had not been
published.
> > Their publication and the impact they have had
signal that the
biggest
> > anti-war movement the world has ever seen has had
a profound effect
on
> > everyone.  The US and UK governments ignored it,
hoping it would go
away
> but
> > it never has.  It is this movement which has
pushed these images
onto
our
> > screens and front pages across the world.
> >
> > Governments tried to claim - as usual - that this
exposure of their
> actions
> > was "irresponsible," but without the photos the
torture and killing
that
> had
> > been documented for a year would never have been
available to us:
the
> > precondition to our being able to stop it.  In the
same way, the
> > anti-Vietnam war movement gave us the tragic photo
of the little
girl
> > burning from US napalm referred to now as a
turning point in ending
that
> > war.
> >
> > 1.  HIDDEN FROM HISTORY - THE IMPACT OF WAR AND
OCCUPATION ON WOMEN
AND
> > GIRLS
> > But despite the fact that women have been even
more opposed to war
than
> men
> > (our experience and every poll confirms this), the
effects of the
war
and
> > occupation on women and girls, including the
torture of women
prisoners,
> > have hardly been touched upon.  We know that there
are thousands of
> photos,
> > many of them of women being raped.  (See statement
by Black Women's
Rape
> > Action Project and Women Against Rape.)  It has
also emerged that
most
of
> > the thousands of people, including many children,
picked up
arbitrarily
in
> > Iraq, have been imprisoned for months, most for no
reason, without
their
> > families being informed of their whereabouts.
Mothers, the first
carers
> in
> > any community, and other relatives are left to
trudge in the heat
from
> > prison to prison searching for their loved ones -
another form of
torture,
> > characteristic of dictatorship.  And there is
clearly no guarantee
that
no
> > one has been disappeared in the process.
> >
> > The economic interests behind the atrocities are
barely mentioned;
their
> > implications for women have been totally hidden.
The privatisation
of
> > everything, from oil to water, electricity, etc.,
imposed by the US
as
> soon
> > as it had occupied Iraq, has given powers to
employers they never
had
> > before.  Paul Bremer has banned all unions and set
public sector
wages
at
> > $40, less than half the recommended monthly wage
of a sweatshop
worker
in
> > neighbouring Iran.  At Najebeeya electricity plant
in Basra, where
women
> > make up 10% of the workforce, "the nursery has
been turned over to
a
> friend
> > of the boss who has made it into a second home for
himself, leaving
> working
> > mothers to work with their children in tow."  And
of course there
is no
> > equal pay and women get $15-25 less than men for
doing the same
job.
The
> > same is happening in US occupied Haiti, where the
US has put
sweatshop
> > owners and their friends back in charge.
> >
> > After seven months of relentless organising, the
first conference
of
> > workers' unions and councils in Iraq took place in
Baghdad on 8
December,
> > 2003. After discussion, key issues were decided
upon: a list of
workers'
> > immediate demands, a draft for a new Iraqi Labour
Code and the main
> outlines
> > of its legislature, as well as the election of the
union leadership
> > committee members. The attendees then established
the Workers'
Councils
> and
> > Unions in Iraq - WCUI.  Within two days, their
offices were raided
and
> > destroyed by the US army.
> >
> > And what about Saddam Hussein's informers?  Former
women
intelligence
> > officers, the same people who handed over lists of
suspected
"prostitutes"
> > (or resistance activists) to security forces
during Saddam's
"faithfulness
> > campaign", are among those retrained by the
occupation.  At that
time,
> > hundreds of women were beheaded in public or
strung up outside
their
> homes.
> > What will happen now?  We have read that girls as
young as nine who
have
> > been raped have been refused hospital treatment,
and that in Basra
> unveiled
> > female students are being refused entry to
university and even
attacked
> with
> > stones and acid.
> >
> > Women everywhere have a right to know about our
sisters and their
children
> > in Iraq and elsewhere, and we want to know now.
> >
> > 2.  THE CONTEXT OF TORTURE IN IRAQ - WHAT THE US
AND UK HAVE DONE
> ELSEWHERE
> >
> > Far from being exceptional, the atrocities we are
seeing must be
put in
> the
> > context of what the US is known to have done in
Vietnam (where it
killed
> > three million people including with napalm and
cluster -
anti-personnel -
> > bombs), and all over Latin America (where it
funded and managed
torturers
> > and paramilitaries, and continues to do right now
in Colombia - all
> trained
> > in the US school for torturers, the infamous
School of the
Americas);
the
> > coup it backed against a democratically elected
government in
Venezuela
> > (2002); (jointly with France) its present
occupation of Haiti; and
the
> > infamous Guantanamo Bay; and what the British did
in Iraq, where
Churchill
> > ordered the gassing of "uncivilised tribes", in
Kenya during Mau
Mau
where
> > rape and other torture were standard, and more
recently where
hundreds
of
> > women were raped by the British army over 30
years, and in Cyprus
where
> the
> > British army is banned from some areas because of
its rape and
murder of
a
> > woman tourist and other violence since - to
mention a few.
> >
> > And what about the north of Ireland, which, we are
told, is where
the
> > British learnt "to behave"?  What about the
torture, shootings and
other
> > atrocities they committed there since 1969, in
particular the
> > strip-searching (and manhandling) of women at
Armagh prison by male
guards
> > and soldiers?  It took a women's movement to bring
attention to and
halt
> > this sexual assault.
> >
> > Channel Four News (UK) has reported that at least
12,000 people are
being
> > held in US army prisons around the world - in
Middle East
countries,
Diego
> > Garcia (stolen from the expelled Chagossian people
with the help of
the
> > British government), etc.  (10 May)  We want to
know if there are
any
> women
> > among them, why they are being held, the
conditions in which they
are
> being
> > held, and whether their families have been
notified.  And since the
US
> funds
> > and backs in every other way Israel's occupation
in Palestine (and
in
> Israel
> > torture and assassinations are legal), we also
want to know what is
> > happening to Palestinian women and children at the
hands of Israeli
troops
> > and prison guards.
> >
> > Also, we want to know about the treatment of
civilians, beginning
with
> women
> > and children, in that other occupied country,
Haiti, where
thousands
have
> > already been killed either by US troops or by the
gangsters and
drug
lords
> > they have put in power in that persecuted country.
  (Let us remind
people
> > that for 200 years, since Haiti's working people,
who were slaves
at the
> > time, liberated themselves by throwing out their
European masters,
Haiti
> has
> > been invaded, occupied, boycotted and in every way
persecuted by
the
> racist
> > US government with the assistance of the racist
French government
whose
> > Napoleon met his first Waterloo in Haiti all those
years ago.)  And
we
> want
> > to know about Colombia, where US-funded and
trained government and
> > paramilitaries have been murdering thousands of
civilians,
including
many
> > women, for opposing violence and exploitation.
> >
> > We know that some women Members of the UK
Parliament voted against
this
> war,
> > and some distinguished themselves with their
uncompromising
opposition.
> But
> > most voted for it.  We know that only one
congresswoman, Barbara
Lee (a
> > Black woman representing a largely Black
constituency - the sector
of
> people
> > who have been most opposed to war), voted against
the invasion of
Iraq.
> In
> > fact she was the only US legislator who voted
against.
> >
> > 3.  ALL WHO ACCEPT US LEADERSHIP SHARE
RESPONSIBILITY
> >
> > -  In our view and in the view of increasing
numbers of women and
of
men,
> > what the US does is the responsibility of all
those who accept
their
> > leadership, as Blair's government has done with
such dogged
determination.
> >
> > -  What the US has done in Iraqi prisons is an
extension of what
they do
> at
> > home, where two million people, disproportionately
Black and
Latino, are
> > incarcerated and often tortured, not merely by
living under an
unjust,
> > repressive and racist regime, but as defined by
international
standards.
> > The evidence for this is abundant, as is the
evidence that some of
the
> > leading people in this present crisis learnt their
interrogation
> techniques
> > as US prison guards.  Women prisoners are raped by
male guards;
over the
> > years, some cases have become famous - usually
when women get
justice by
> > physically defending themselves against their
attackers.
> >
> > - It is an extension of Guantanamo Bay, and of
what the US and UK
are
> doing
> > at home accusing Muslim people of terrorism and
imprisoning them
without
> > charge for an indefinite period of time.  To
assume, as the US and
UK
> > government do, that only Muslims will be upset by
torture and
injustice
> > against Muslims is itself a most extraordinary
level of racism,
which
many
> > millions of us are appalled by.
> >
> > - Torture by US troops and mercenaries ("military
contractors") is
an
> > extension of the consistent disregard for human
life in Iraq, as
expressed
> > in depleted uranium and years of sanctions which,
as we all know,
together
> > killed and maimed - especially children.
> >
> > - We must now see the back of the deliberate or
careless
disconnection
of
> > each form of killing anywhere, each treated as a
one-off, an
accident, a
> > mistake, an oversight; rather than at best a
policy of carelessness
about
> > the survival of whole populations.  It is time to
put the pieces
together
> > and face with what little concern for humanity the
world is
governed, so
> we
> > can change the society into one which Invests in
Caring and not
Killing.
> >
> > London 12 May 2004
> >






____________________________________________________________
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The Dallas police department has lots of cases where police officers
rape and or cover up rapes and walk. the newest one is a former
police officer and his wife. Garry ragsdale, 35 was sentenced to 33
months in a federal prison for selling rape scenes over an internet
site called "The Rape Video Store" He is out on bond and appealing
his sentence. Police officers are not suppose to promote rape. He is
using freedom of speech as his defense.What an excuse. dallas has
let to many police officers walk on rape and covering up rapes. I
think people should start putting pressure on the dallas police
department they hold the most cases on police officers that rape and
cover up rapes. Start writing them and let them know how you feel if
you want morecases on Dallas and rape just let me know. The attorney
representing the Ragsdales is Richard Goldman and Clint Broden.
Police officers should not promote rape.
                               Lourie Chancellor

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4809912/

http://www.capwiz.com/now/dbq/media/

Write to 5 newspapers/ media at a time with this NOW form for
contacting the press.  Select a state to contact and just check
which media you would like to send an email to.


Paris Hilton sex tape
to be released
A porn company acquired
the rights from Rick Salomon
The homemade video features Paris Hilton having sex with Rick
Solomon.

Updated: 8:07 p.m. ET April  22, 2004LOS ANGELES - The notorious
home video circulated on the Internet showing reality TV star Paris
Hilton having sex with her former boyfriend is coming to an adult
film store near you.

advertisement

Red Light District Video, a suburban Los Angeles porn production
company, said Thursday it has acquired rights from Hilton's ex-beau,
Rick Salomon, to distribute the full 45-minute video in June under
the title "One Night In Paris."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A spokeswoman for the company
said the homemade tape, parts of which surfaced last year on
Internet porn sites, will be released commercially in adult video
stores on June 15.

She said the retail price has not been set. In February, Salomon
posted a 38-minute version of the night-vision video on his own Web
site, where it sold for $50 per copy.

The 23-year-old socialite, whose grandfather founded the Hilton
hotel chain, has sued a Panama-based Internet firm for $30 million,
claiming the company violated her privacy and engaged in illegal
business practices by distributing the video.

Best known for starring on the Fox television reality hit "The
Simple Life," Hilton claimed in the lawsuit that the videotape
was "intended only for personal use" and that she never consented
for it to be distributed to the public.

There was no immediate comment from Hilton's representatives in Los
Angeles or New York about Red Light District's plans. And Salomon's
lawyer, Martin Singer, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Red Light District said its video will include never-before-seen
scenes from the tape Salomon and Hilton made in May 2001, including
footage of the hotel heiress "partying in a nightclub."

Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication
or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without
the prior written consent of

http://www.capwiz.com/now/dbq/media/

Write to 5 newspapers/ media at a time with this NOW form for
contacting the press.  Select a state to contact and just check
which media you would like to send an email to.

http://militarywoman.org/issues.htm
Military womens issues- sexual assault


http://www.now.org/nnt/fall-99/viewpoint.html
This site discusses how Armies At War Use Rape as a Weapon.  This
has been a problem in particular in Bosnia.  Recently it has come to
light that German women were raped by Russian soldiers and are only
now able to reveal their trauma.  Rape was not considered a polite
topic of conversation and it is often considered a kindness not to
ask if you think a woman has been raped in certain cultures.

http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/human_rights_quarterly/17.4niarchos.html#Mil
itarism
This site discusses Women, War, and Rape: Challenges Facing The
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.


--- In grrlactivistas@yahoogroups.com, "liz_j_morgan"
<liz_j_morgan@y...> wrote:
>
> I live in Colchester - a military town in the UK. I'm doing a
project
> on whether living in a military town increases the liklihood of
> physical and sexual violence against women. On a local level I'm
> trying to compare my town with another town in the UK with similar
> demographics & then do the same thing for either two towns/cities
> in the US, or two towns/cities in Germany (one with UK/US troops,
one
> without) or both.
>  I'm posting this to the list, as I would like to know if there
> are any websites people would recommend (I've already got the
RAINN
> website, as well as feminist.com), or whereabouts I can get
detailed
> statistics for comparison.
>
> Any help or pointers will be gratefully received.
>
> Liz

Liz Please try the PA Coalition Against Sexual Assault The web Site is PCAR.org
there should be a link to the national sexual violence resource center. There
has been a problem on US military bases and there has been some monry going to
centers to provide education on bases but Fort Riley in Kansas has had homicides
as well as other bases

Good luck
Crystal



"liz_j_morgan" <liz_j_morgan@...> wrote:

>
>I live in Colchester - a military town in the UK. I'm doing a project
>on whether living in a military town increases the liklihood of
>physical and sexual violence against women. On a local level I'm
>trying to compare my town with another town in the UK with similar
>demographics & then do the same thing for either two towns/cities
>in the US, or two towns/cities in Germany (one with UK/US troops, one
>without) or both.
> I'm posting this to the list, as I would like to know if there
>are any websites people would recommend (I've already got the RAINN
>website, as well as feminist.com), or whereabouts I can get detailed
>statistics for comparison.
>
>Any help or pointers will be gratefully received.
>
>Liz
>
>
>
>

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I live in Colchester - a military town in the UK. I'm doing a project
on whether living in a military town increases the liklihood of
physical and sexual violence against women. On a local level I'm
trying to compare my town with another town in the UK with similar
demographics & then do the same thing for either two towns/cities
in the US, or two towns/cities in Germany (one with UK/US troops, one
without) or both.
  I'm posting this to the list, as I would like to know if there
are any websites people would recommend (I've already got the RAINN
website, as well as feminist.com), or whereabouts I can get detailed
statistics for comparison.

Any help or pointers will be gratefully received.

Liz

Join Amnesty International's worldwide campaign to Stop Violence
Against Women!

On March 5th, AI launched its groundbreaking two-year international
campaign to
Stop Violence Against Women. Amnesty International is calling on all
governments
as well as private actors, institutions and individuals to take
immediate steps
to put an end to violence against women and to redress the suffering
it causes.

Violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive and
ignored human
rights violations in the world. In the US, a woman is raped every 6
minutes; a
woman is battered every 15 seconds. In North Africa, 6,000 women are
genitally
mutilated each day. This year, more than 15,000 women will be sold
into sexual
slavery in China. 200 women in Bangladesh will be horribly
disfigured when their
spurned husbands or suitors burn them with acid. More than 7,000
women in India
will be murdered by their families and in-laws in disputes over
dowries.

Amnesty International calls on you to help us eradicate violence
against women
and help women achieve lives of equality and human dignity. Please
take action
now!!!

--> Stop violence against women in the U.S. Military
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8180

--> Support women human rights defenders in Colombia
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8181

--> Express your concern about war crimes against women in the
Democratic
Republic of the Congo
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8182

--> Take action against domestic violence in Iraq
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8183

--> End the killings and violence in Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8184

--> Urge President Bush to help stop violence against women
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8185


Violence against women is not normal, legal nor acceptable and
should never be
tolerated or justified. It can and must be stopped. It is in our
hands to make a
difference.

Find out how you can get more involved:

See the campaign video
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8187

Find further information on this campaign
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8186

Support Amnesty's life-saving work
-- > Make a donation
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=655242&l=8189


Online Action Center
Amnesty International USA

I received an email from another group informing me Hunting For Bambi is back
again.  The web site is http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm
869486.html?menu=news.latestheadlines   There are now pictures on the Bambi
website http://www.huntingforbambi.com/pics.htm

The pictures are even more violent this time, showing deliberate violence being
inflicted upon women, such as restraints, hair pulling and naked bodies once
again being shot at with paintballs.

Can we shut this site down again?  We've done it once with a concerted effort
from various organisations - we must do it again.  Please pass this message on
to interested individuals and groups.

JENNIFER DREW



--------------------
talk21 your FREE portable and private address on the net at
http://www.talk21.com

http://www.capwiz.com/now/issues/alert/?alertid=5144441&type=CU

Demand the Firing of Colorado Football Coach

Panel Investigating Rape Charges at University of Colorado Must
Include Sexual Assault Prevention Experts
Action Needed:

Charges of sexual harassment, rape and cover-ups against the
University of Colorado's football program have shed new light on big-
time campus athletics and the treatment of women by coaches and
players.
The National Organization for Women, along with Colorado State NOW
and Boulder NOW leaders, are calling for the dismissal of two men
who have shown complete disdain for the health and safety of the
students at the University of Colorado (CU). We also urge the
immediate reorganization of the panel convened to investigate the
allegations, including the addition of sexual assault prevention
experts and the removal of individuals who have demonstrated bias.

Join us in calling for:

1.) The full dismissal of the University of Colorado's football
coach Gary Barnett and Athletic Director Richard Tharp. Placing
Coach Barnett on paid leave does not address the severity of this
issue and leaving Director Tharp in his position is unacceptable.

2.) The appointment of sexual assault prevention experts to the
University of Colorado panel investigating athletic recruiting
scandals, and sexual harassment and rape allegations at the school.

3.) The removal of the co-chair of the panel, Joyce Lawrence, who
has been outspoken in her suggestions that the women victims weren't
tough enough or brought it on themselves. Lawrence refuses to step
down even though she has proved herself incapable of unbiased
assessment.

4.) The removal of Bishop Philip Porter from the panel because of
his close association with former Coach Bill McCartney, and because
of the revelation, after his appointment, of Porter's status as a co-
founder of Promise Keepers, which promotes the submission of women
to men.

Please use this link to send a message to the University of Colorado
president, the school's chancellor, and members of its board of
regents.

Background:

For years the CU football department has been charged with using
alcohol and promises of sex with women students in order to entice
new recruits to the team. This combination has resulted in at least
three alleged rapes at recruiting parties. Those responsible for
protecting these women and setting an example for the players have
looked the other way.

Football Coach Gary Barnett and Athletic Director Richard Tharp have
failed in their duties to CU. As women who reported victimization by
CU football players attempt to rebuild their lives, Barnett and
Tharp have continued to claim ignorance of the obvious problems
within their football program, and in recent days the ignorance has
turned into malicious victim-bashing.

Coach Barnett spoke to a crowd of local reporters on Feb. 17, about
Katie Hnida. Hnida, a place-kicker on CU's 1999 football team, came
forward in recent weeks to reveal that she was harassed and raped
while playing at CU. Barnett said, "It was obvious Katie was not
very good, she was awful, you know what guys do, they respect your
ability ... if you can go out and play they respect you. Well Katie
was a girl, not only was she a girl, she was terrible."

Following Coach Barnett's statement was another allegation of
misconduct made by a University of Colorado-Boulder Athletic
Department employee. The woman told authorities late Wednesday that
Barnett told her he would back his players 100 percent if she went
forward with an accusation of rape stemming from an incident with a
player in 2001.

On Feb. 18, CU-Boulder President Betsy Hoffman announced that
Barnett had been placed on paid administrative leave "mainly" over
concern for his "extremely inappropriate and insensitive" remarks
about Hnida. Hoffman also said that Barnett's comments in
2001 "utterly distressed" her and added, "That is a statement we are
very concerned about."

"Aside from insulting Katie Hnida and allegedly using intimidation
to protect his players, Barnett seems to be saying that bad players
deserve whatever they get--including assault. With statements like
this, are we to believe that Coach Barnett was completely unaware of
his players' actions?" asked NOW President Kim Gandy.

"Furthermore, Barnett's immediate 'blame the victim' response to
media inquiries only makes it more suspicious that there was
misconduct."

Barnett issued a statement saying, "I sincerely regret that
yesterday a portion of my remarks were either misinterpreted or
taken out of context, and I apologize for answering that question in
a manner where I must have come across as insensitive." NOW believes
this non-apology to be insufficient considering the serious
allegations of rape, and the cover-ups that followed--and
considering Barnett's obvious tendency to blame others for his
behavior.

"Coach Barnett insists that nothing inappropriate has gone on with
the CU football program, yet he is positive that this behavior
exists at other campuses. Is he so busy watching other football
programs that he doesn't know what's going on under his nose? I find
that hard to believe," said Regina Cowles, Boulder NOW President.

NOW urges Colorado activists as well as other concerned individuals
to contact University of Colorado officials who have the power to
dismiss those responsible for the cover-up and lack of enforcement
of the school's policies against discrimination, harassment and
sexual assault.

What RAINN dinner?  I know there are often regional fundraisers...Do
you have any more info?

Thanks

Laney

What RAINN dinner?  I know there are often regional fundraisers...Do
you have any more info?

Thanks

Laney

Is anyone going to the RAINN dinner in April?
                                                                                  
Lourie

I just joined the group. Thank you for letting me in. I've been searching for a
group
like this for quite some time. I am against the media depiction of women, yet
every
time I speak out, I'm accused of being 'jealous' or 'prudish'. I'm neither. I
volunteer
at a Womens' shelter, and have learned that there is a link between pornography
and
violence. There are, as you know, many studies about this. My complaint is that
they
do not get the attention that they deserve.

Currently, there are four women whom have a large 'fan' base. All four on
participated
in pornography, including photos of anal sex and public maturbation (Vanessa
Paradis); actual penetration of another woman with fingers(Denise Richards);
Janet
Jackson's 'surprise'
breast exposure; and Naomi Campbell simulating sex with a plastic blow-up jaguar
(and the pictures with Madonna).

I want to help stop this, but at times I feel powerless. I am thankful for this
group, if
nothing else, to help me vent.

If I may suggest, which I'm sure has been suggested before is a boycot of the
products they endorse, and a very vocal writing campaign to advertisers.

I don't know when music/modeling/acting added the prerequisite of pornography in
order for a woman to be successful.

February 5, 2004    |  Tell a Friend

Action Needed

Background

All NOW Actions

More on Reproductive Rights Issues
   Urge Congress to Support Emergency Contraception
for Rape Survivors

Action Needed:

Please contact your senators and representative and insist that they
support S. 1564 or H.R. 2527, the Compassionate Assistance for Rape
Emergencies Act. This legislation would require all hospitals to
offer emergency contraception (EC)—the equivalent of a large dose of
birth control pills that inhibits ovulation, fertilization or
implantation before pregnancy occurs—to survivors of rape or sexual
assault.

It is a national shame that survivors of sexual assault, rape and
incest are denied an important medical option as part of their
treatment. Many hospitals refuse to inform trauma victims about EC
and many more refuse to administer it or write a prescription for
the patient. Even with a prescription, women are being turned away
by some pharmacies.

Even though the Food and Drug Administration is currently
considering making EC available "over the counter" without a
prescription, this will still not help the women who go to a
hospital after a rape and need the option of taking EC on the spot.
(EC is more effective the sooner it is taken.) As advocates, we must
demand that our members of Congress support this bill and we must
censure them when they don't. Voters need to know where their
members of Congress stand on this issue.

Organizations and individuals who care about helping survivors of
rape and sexual assault can take action in their own communities to
ensure that all hospitals provide EC as part of their medical
services to victims of sexual violence.

Again, please contact your senators and representative and insist
that they support S. 1564 or H.R. 2527, the Compassionate Assistance
for Rape Emergencies Act.

Background:

The Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act, coined
the "CARE" Act (H.R. 2527 and S. 1564), was introduced by
Representatives Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) and Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) in
the House of Representatives and by Senator Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) in
the Senate. These bills will ensure that hospital emergency rooms
offer EC to survivors of sexual assault, just as they patch up
broken bones, stitch wounds and offer antibiotics for infections and
sexually transmitted diseases.

We know that rape and sexual assault statistics are understated
because many of these crimes go unreported. Records from
confidential interviews of women aged 12 and over show that almost
249,000 women were raped or sexually assaulted in 2000. An estimated
one in six women will be a victim of rape in her lifetime and more
than 32,000 women become pregnant annually as a result of rape or
sexual assault, yet few women know about EC.

Offering information and access to EC within 72 (and up to 120)
hours after a sexual assault could prevent countless unwanted
pregnancies. The option to use EC after an emergency room visit
could be a life-saver for tens of thousands of sexual assault
survivors who go to an emergency room.

The American Medical Association's official policy stipulates
that "information about emergency contraception is part of the
comprehensive information to be provided as part of the emergency
treatment of sexual assault victims." However, a recent study found
that only 28 percent of the hospitals surveyed routinely offer and
provide EC to survivors of sexual assault. The problem of
availability of EC is made even more difficult by a recent wave of
hospital closings and mergers, where private and community hospitals
are being taken over by religious-based owners that are opposed to
including birth control and EC in their treatment regimen.

Every member of Congress, especially those members who say they care
about stopping violence against girls and women and helping
survivors of rape and sexual assault, should support this
legislation. Providing EC is not the same as performing abortions—on
the contrary, EC prevents pregnancy.

If you need additional information about EC, NARAL has background on
this issue. Additionally, please feel free to contact the Washington
D.C. offices of the bill's sponsors:

Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.)
      Staff contact: Jean Doyle, 202-225-5061
Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.)
      Staff contact: Laura Stevens, 202-225-4276
Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.)
      202-224-4744

Again, please contact your representative and senators and insist
that they cosponsor and support H.R. 2527 and S. 1564, the
bipartisan Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act.


SUPPORT NOW:
Support NOW's Work for Equal Rights | Join NOW | Shop Online |
Member Benefits

LEARN MORE:
NOW.org | TheTruthAboutGeorge.com | NOW News Releases

TAKE ACTION:
Get Involved | Legislative Action Center | Find Your Nearest Chapter
| Tell a Friend

LISTS:

http://www.now.org/issues/violence/

if you click on this url you can send a form letter
and it all takes about 10 seconds.  NOW is great.

The two artists involved (Jackson and Timberlake) have jointly come forward and
admitted it was a scripted publicity stunt. Producers a re debating whether to
drop them from the Grammys ceremony

(Daily Mail and Evening Standard)

Cheers,

Isabel

I just sent an e-mail to comments@... ... just wanted to share what
I wrote.

I thought that the way you presented the Janet Jackson story was
disgusting. She was very visibly upset by what happened, and it could
have been explained without showing the clip again, especially twice!
No, I'm not a conservative that is upset with "a little skin" being
shown on TV. What upsets me is the embarrassment that Ms. Jackson must
feel knowing that that clip is being shown over and over all across the
country. What happened to Ms. Jackson was a very public sexual assault.
Which brings me to the second thing that makes me angry: Chad Mahoney's
comments. When they shot to the news desk, Mr. Mahoney said, "First
Latoya, then Micheal, now Janet. Oh, well, one man's malfunction is
another man's pleasure." First of all, the Micheal Jackson case should
not be compared to what happened with Ms. Jackson. Micheal Jackson was
the perpetrator, Janet Jackson was a victim. By comparing the two, it
subtly spreads the myth that it is somehow the victims fault. As for the
other comment, I would like to know how ANY decent man can get pleasure
from watching someone being sexually assaulted. I found that comment not
only crude, but very disturbing as well.

I hope that in the future, your reporters will handle cases of sexual
assault with a bit more tact.

For those of you who haven't heard, let me tell what this is about
first. During the superbowl last night, Justin Timberlake was doing a
duet with Janet Jackson. At the end, he came up behind her, reached
across, and ripped her shirt down, exposing her breast. She was very
visibly and understandabley upset and embarrassed by it.

Well, there was a report about it in our local news, which upset me on
so many levels. First of all, they showed the clip again (TWICE!), which
was not needed to tell the story, and just brought more embarrassment to
Ms. Jackson. So they told the story (Adding Timberlake's comment that he
appologizes for the "wardrobe malfunction"), then shot to the newsdesk.
The male reporter (I'm pretty sure his name is Chad Mahoney) said two
things that really made me mad.

1)"First Latoya, then Micheal, now Janet."
-----excuse me, since when is this remotely similar to Micheal? Micheal
is up on sexual abuse charges, Janet is the victim of a very public
assault.

2)"Oh, well, I guess one man's malfunction is another man's pleasure."
-----I don't think I even need to comment on that one.

I would love it if we could launch a campaign against this station.
Their website can be found at http://www.wics.com
The e-mail is news@... or comments@...

Thanks,
Kristen

Apologies for cross-posting.
Catherine

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: 'zine contributions
Date: Friday 30 Jan 2004 7:14 pm
From: "Melanie Maddison" <diy_feminist_activism_zine@...>
To: mail@...

Hi there,

I am, with the backing of the Feminist Review Trust, publishing a ‘zine
version of my recently completed academic research into women’s DIY music
communities’ positive challenges to traditional constructions of ‘feminist
activism’ and ‘social revolution’.

As part of this, I am keen to compile a ‘directory’ of everyday DIY cultural
feminist activism occurring in the UK as evidence of our cultural-political
action, and as a starting point for individuals to get involved, become
aware of and be inspired by feminist action around the UK.

If you would like your collective, ‘zine, distro, label, radio show,
e-‘zine, website, dance troop, band, club night, venue, group, project,
film, circle, festival, network, comic, book, discussion group, (or anything
else relevant that you’re involved in and excited about), to be listed in
the resource guide/directory then email details to:
diy_feminist_activism_zine@...  Please include a short description
and as many contact details as possible.

The ‘zine will be in final stages of production in May for distribution in
June of this year, so please ensure any contact info submitted will be valid
then, (and is sent to me before May).

See www.feminist-review-trust.com for further info on my project, and on the
Trust, or feel free to email me.

Plus, if anybody is willing to include this ‘zine in their distro, email me
& I’ll send copies out when its all complete. The same applies for anybody
who is interested in getting hold of a free copy for themselves, just email
me.

Please feel free to forward this email on to anybody else that you feel
would be interested.

Many thanks for reading, and hopefully contributing,

Melanie.x.x.
---------------------------------------------------------

> >Clare Short - A number of feminist groups are responding to the Sun
> >newspaper's hate campaign against Clare Short.
> >
> >http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,1122906,00.html
> >
> >She had expressed her regrets that her 1980s Bill to ban 'page 3' failed
> >and has since faced tabloid abuse. We are pleased to note that the
> >'Soar-away' Sun's sales continue to plummet despite all this!!
> >
> >Why not send her a message of support via
> >
> >shortc@...
> >
> >
> >
> >Burton's Hit-a- Women Toy - The campaign group 'Object'
> >(http://www.object.org.uk) have informed of this disgusting 'toy' for
> >'men':
> >
> >
> >'Hit me, I squeal with pleasure'. A dartboard in the shape of a woman,
> >breasts as targets, is now available in Burton's menswear stores.
> >
> >Raise your concerns with your MP. Copy the message below, go to
> >http://www.faxyourmp.com
> >
> >and follow instructions to have it sent direct to your MP
> >
> >Patricia Hewitt (minister for women)
> >hewittph@...
> >
> >
> >Burton's
> >
> >customer.service@...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Model letter
> >I am extremely concerned that Burton's menswear store is stocking a 'hit
a
> >woman' dart board game. The torso of a woman, breasts as targets who
> >squeals with pleasure when hit.
> >
> >This game is totally unacceptable, especially given that violence against
> >women is endemic in our society. 1 in 4 women suffer domestic violence; a
> >conservative estimate suggests 1 in 10 women are raped; 40-50% are
sexually
> >harassed at work; one estimate suggests 70% of young women are harassed
in
> >the streets.
> >
> >Indeed, this game makes a mockery of all government efforts to make
> >violence against women be seen as a serious offence.
> >
> >It perfectly exemplifies why legislation for gender hate crimes (akin to
> >race hate crimes) is urgently needed and why corporate social
> >responsibility (including that for the media) has to be introduced.
> >
> >Given that no such protection exist, I would like to know what can be
done
> >to challenge the sale of this toy and prevent sim ilar games from being
> >produced and sold in this country in future? I do not believe in
> >'censorship' except where circumstances warrant it. This is one of them.
I
> >am quite sure there would be immediate action against a game which
> >portrayed a black man as a dart target, coaxing violence in similarly
> >racist jargon.
> >
> >
> >Petition for Women in Iraq - please sign, send and forward to:
> >
> >The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP
> >
> >The Prime Minster
> >
> >10 Downing Street
> >
> >London SW1A 2AA
> >
> >Dear Tony Blair
> >
> >Hundreds of Iraqi women, amongst them a woman minister, were on the
streets
> >of Baghdad this week, protesting against the decision by 11 votes to 25
> >(not a majority) of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) to repeal all the
> >secular achievements that Iraqi women have achieved in the last fifty
years
> >in one stroke. The old civil laws will be abandoned. Instead, marriage,
> >divorce, custody, and child support, inheritance and all other aspects of
> >family law will be dealt with by Islamic Sharia courts each according to
> >his/her sect, thus leaving women at the mercy of Mullahs and biased male
> >judges. It will be introduced in the new Iraq family law known as
personal
> >status law.
> >
> >This is a giant leap backwards.
> >
> >The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (UK) support the
> >protest by Iraqi women's organisations inside and outside Iraq concerning
> >this decision.
> >
> >I ask that you, believing in the "universality and inalienability of
> >women's rights" support the women of Iraq in their plea for equality,
> >freedom, justice and protection from violence which they will be deprived
> >of should Iraq, like Iran, impose a strict and discriminatory
> >interpretation of Islamic Law. Please use you influence to prevent this
> >retrograde step.
> >
> >To be free of Saddam Hussein is not enough. Human Rights are also
Women's'
> >Rights. What is the UK Government's position? Where is its ethical
foreign
> >policy if it remains silent now? This was not a democratic vote and the
IGC
> >was not freely elected but appointed by the Coalition. It is not a
> >legitimate representative of the Iraqi people and is not therefore
> >qualified or authorised by the Iraqi people to take any decisions that
are
> >going to affect the future of Iraq.
> >
> >I look forward to receiving your reply.
> >
> >Yours sincerely
> >
> >Insert name & address.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Truth About Rape
> >c/o CER
> >The Pankhurst Centre
> >Department 5
> >60-62 Nelson Street
> >Manchester M13 9WP
> >www.truthaboutrape.co.uk

Sorry, the link didn't work - I posted the direct link to the entry
but it obviously cut & pasted badly.

The blog is at:
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com - the relevant entry is January 15th

(She's a fabulous blogger - I get more insight on the issues of Iraq
& the occupation from her blog than from 'proper' news sources.)

Firuze, I certainly did not intend to make any generalisation about
Islam, sorry if I have caused offence.  It is about specific badly
thought-out legal changes in Iraq, which have attracted protest &
criticism in Baghdad - see the other links below.

(they will probably have the same problem as the first link - best
thing is to copy the whole link & paste into the browser address bar)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040113/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_us_women_law_0401132025
30


http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_dear_raed_archive.html#107420
250300402561

Maria Ng

I beg to differ, Shariah is totally unknown to Westerners, and they talk
about what they don't know. Media and Western imperialism, so bound to bend
other peoples and impose cultural uses that are not our own, and we don't
want to practice, like in France and the veil, which is a absolute violation
to our human rights. I'm a Muslim, I'm a woman and I use hijab (veil). As a
religious student, I know the MANY advantages Shariah has for woman,
advantages that no Western code posses, specially in Shiite Muslim branch.
My husband and I are representing Imam Ali's Foundation Spanish Speaking
Branch. Imam Ali's Foundation is managed by Grand Ayatollah Sistani. So you
have a good source of information right here.
   Now, if we are talking about men misusing Shariah to keep women down,
that's another issue.
   Unfortunately, in the West it's exactly the same. We also have wonderful
laws that are supposed to protect us, yet they are still words written in
the books. And men still take advantage of us. In America, women win 76
cents for each dollar an American male is paid, in Europe, women receive 30
% less than men for the same jobs (average). In Chicago, you have that in a
total of 500 top corporations, 496 has NO women in upper executive posts.
And I won't go into how many representatives male and female are in the
Congress.  Laws protect us in theory... but in true reality, we are still
second hand citizen here too.
   So, there are problems right here, that requires us to change it. Focusing
in things that most of the present ignores in reality, only diverts the
efforts and weaken our strength.
   Western concepts can be good for westerners, but they are hardly
Universal, and the West should learn to be less arrogant and respect other
peoples cultures. Yesterday, 10.000 women wearing Hijab marched ONLY in
Paris to protest for the ban of the headscarves, the protests repeated in
several European, including England and in many muslim countries. Chirac is
no better than the Taliban.  While these brutes forced a caricature of Islam
in a totally ignorant fashion. We, as Muslims, reject them. But Chirac is no
better than them when he order us to take out our veils. Both force us! We
do know what we want and we don't need any Western daddy to tell us what we
must do, in ANY sense.
   Don't think that the Iraqi clerics are similar to Taliban. In first place,
the House Ilmie in Najaf is probably the oldest University of the world
founded in times of Harun Al Rashid, second, to become a cleric, you must
have an Universitary degree. They are NOT priest, most of them work on the
side to maintain their families. These people is a totally different brand
from Taliban mullahs. I only beg you, ask to the source, and don't rely on
the manipulative media. I'm fed up hearing stories that I know FIRSTHAND
that are no true about us....
   Sorry for the rant, but I had to vent. I could not access the link so I
don't know for sure what the blog said, but I'M POSITIVE it has to do with
inheritance, divorce, children, etc, which are totally taken out of context
and the real meaning they have. Again, if you want to know about these
questions, ask me and I'll try to explain these for you.
   Regards.
   Firuze

i received this email - may be of interest.
Catherine

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: *Take Back The News*
Date: Saturday 17 Jan 2004 9:18 pm
From: Emily Brandt <emilybrandt@...>
To: emily@...

To those committed to ending sexual violence*,

Please read this, forward it along, and visit the web-site to learn more
  about this project and to get involved.  Together, we can make a change.

TAKE BACK THE NEWS is an independent media project that counters the
  mis-representation of rape by the mainstream media. It is a haven for
  survival stories told in survivor’s own, un-edited words.  It is an
  opportunity for the public to gain insight into the realities of rape, in
  hopes of opening hearts and minds, and inspiring action.

Please visit www.TakeBackTheNews.net to learn more about sexual violence, the
  project and how it began. Take the time to read through some of survival
  stories in the “News” section. Read the invitation on the home page, or
  check out the resource page. I encourage you to join the mailing list to
  receive project updates and announcements.

Take Back the News is an incredibly effective print-media project as well,
  particularly on college campuses.  See the “Act” page for step by step
  instructions on how to start your own project in your community!  Those
  campuses that have hosted projects have been deeply touched by the results,
  and my hope is that the project will continue to spread.

Feel free to contact me (emily@...) with any questions or
  comments, or if you would like to learn about volunteer or donation
  opportunities. Thank you for your time.

Best Wishes,

Emily Brandt
Director
Take Back the News

--Feel free to forward this message widely--

* If you are wondering why you received this:
I have gone to thousands of web-sites, including those of universities,
  newspapers, zines, organizations, blogs, artists, activists, and more in the
  past several months. If you have a web-site, I've been to it. If you do not,
  I got your address through the web-site of a
  group/university/project/organization that you are affiliated with. (If this
  makes you uncomfortable, I apologize and feel free to delete this message.
  Please understand that I had to get in touch with everyone I could to inform
  you all about this project.) This was hard work, but I have an important
  request. Help take back the news.


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BUST Magazine: For
Women with Something to Get Off Their Chests
Subscribe at http://www.bust.com

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The F-Word : contemporary UK feminism - http://www.thefword.org.uk
UK Feminist Action : http://groups.yahoo.co.uk/group/ukfeministaction
Anti Street Harassment UK : http://www.anti-harassment.ik.com