Dare To Be A Feminist

Among other things, the policy misunderstands how deeply manipulative, destructive, coercive, and dangerous abusers can be.

Rahila Gupta argues that the term ‘victim’ needs to be reclaimed by feminist politics; whilst 'survivor' is important because it recognises the agency of women, it focuses on individual capacity, but the notion of 'victim' reminds us of the stranglehold of the system.

Monday, November 25, is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

...The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS – UNAIDS – says every hour 50 young women become newly infected with HIV. Many of those infections are related to violence.

“Lots of the gender-based violence [is] sexually related. There is a lot of data right now showing that most of the violence against women happens in the context of intimate partner violence – domestic violence. And many times it takes the face of non-consensual sex, which is a polite way to say rape,” said Dr. Mariangela Simao is UNAIDS Director of Rights, Gender, Prevention and Mobilization.

Simao said gender-based violence is strongly linked to HIV/AIDS.

Especially important to me is the possibility of change for older men. I have been involved in an ‘Ageing Men’s Group’ since the 1990s. Our project is precisely to explore how ‘ageing men are changing men’. One conclusion is that retirement or semi-retirement from waged work– has allowed us to redefine relationships with partners in ways that are more equal and also enabled more caring relationships with children, grandchildren, male friends and others. We have also learned that it is possible to redefine relationships between men, in less competitive and anxious ways. Influenced again by feminist ideas and practices, we have constructed a small male public in which it is possible to be less secretive about life’s problems and more accepting about our differences. Around the group there is also a network of friendships, sustained by meetings, phone calls or the Internet. I have learned, perhaps for the first time to trust other men, even in a collective context.