Amnesty International Statement on FiLiA

LobsterNapkin
"they clearly don't believe that citizens should be free to make all kinds of political arguments. So maybe it seems less relevant."

In Ireland where there are "no problems"

housed in the female prison in Limerick
Capacity 28 females
i) a male serving for sex offences/child abuse convictions
ii) a male with conviction from violent attack on female social worker (had been placed in care at about 10 after attacking mother) currently out on bail pending trial for plotting to kill 2 people
With only around 500 self ID gender recognition certs issued do date to (male and/or female applicants) we should all agree "the policy has had absolutely no impact on anyone other than trans people, making their lives easier."

And Amnesty Ireland signed the letter TLDR if you don't Believe / "repent MotherF...er"
you should be denied political representation

And I am Marie of Romania.

[quote NCBlossom]**@foxgoosefinch* and @LobsterNapkin*

What really angers and saddens me is, who is fighting for those being tortured, imprisoned, threatened, losing their jobs etc just for speaking up? Now that Amnesty have decided to spend all their charitable funds on people wanted to use a woman’s changing room?

Who now is writing letters, like I used to, for gay prisoners, rights activists or people being tortured for opposing a regime? What is happening to those people now that people just don’t seem to care? Those student activists - are they all just writing placards with sexually violent threats to feminists instead?

Woe is me, is this really the world and what it cares about now?[/quote]
Equating using opposite sex change rooms with being a political prisoner is completely alternate dimension in scope.

But I would say that even if we were talking about something that we might have more sympathy for, it was a mistake for Amnesty to try and combine rights for political prisoners with these other issues.

What would in a regime where people were being imprisoned for speaking out against some policy or belief that AI approved of, or were lobbying for?

Sometimes it's important to have organisations with a focused remit. Similarly for the various civil liberties orgs.

'We recognise that the FiLiA conference was attended by a number of women who have been the victims of violence and harassment. Amnesty International UK believes there should have been absolutely no place for the use of any threatening or aggressive language or imagery towards any of the attendees of that conference, or indeed towards any women."'

But approaching them (to say what?) is fine.

Rightyho!

Edit; “we supplied our placards for people to use to protest the Conference”

'The organiser of the Fly the Flag event stated that their protest would be respectful and celebratory and that she would seek dialogue with delegates to the conference. '

That should be a no.

Women many of whom will be on their own. Attending a conference about women's issues around the world. Things that are outrageous, horrific. And for some will have personal reasons for attending ie experience of MVAWG.

Approaching them to start a dialogue... ???? About trans rights presumably. When that's not at all what the conference is about.

That's surely a no-no?

The assumption that all the women going have the same view on that? Why????

It's a feminist conference FFS. Not a rally for evil witches to plot on a single topic!

That in itself is a terrible look for amnesty and it's in their 'wasn't me' response!!!

I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone when Amnesty International feel it's ok to picket a feminist conference and people have absolutely no shame rallying against a gay and lesbian event.

Theyre all absolutely proud of it no less.

Bollocks.

Take bloody responsibility.

The signs they did send were awful and meaningless.

Lesson in not affiliating yourself with unofficial protests here?

Perhaps stick to your original charter? Fighting for the rights of people who are actually oppressed, rather than those that identify as such (for which there is no empirical data to support such oppression).

I cannot fathom why so many organisations/institutions/charities who have been captured are STILL not smelling the coffee.

The sunlight is upon them but they keep slathering on factor 50 thinking it will protect them whilst simultaneously standing in the midday sun.

@foxgoosefinch so true, and so deeply saddening, a more uncaring world? I despair as well: you hear such awful news coming out of Afghanistan, for example, and then our university student societies and feminist societies are sending round Facebook notices about “terf ideology” and “sex work positive” events and pronouns, and nothing at all about any actual issues like this

The signs amnesty gave-

Love is love, I am who I say I am. Whatever the wordings were. Are they the only amnesty placards sent? If so. I'm not sure that they were accurately informed of what was being protested. The love one is totally irrelevant to the situation.

If so, surely they would have said so though?

Hmmmm.

www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/portsmouth-council-flies-trans-and-other-inclusive-flags-outside-offices-3421367

Googled fly the flag Portsmouth ^

'Flagpoles in Guildhall Square are currently flying the colours of trans, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people, as well as suffragettes.'

Note- not items provided by amnesty.

'It comes ahead of a two-day ‘peaceful’ protest in support of trans rights that has been organised over the weekend (October 16-17).'

Peaceful in scare quotes is interesting! Sounds that the fly the flag thing BY THE COUNCIL was explicitly linked to protest FILIA...

'Attendees of the Standing Against Transphobia will meet as a conference hosted by women’s liberation group Filia – which is accused of being ‘transphobic’ – will be held inside the Guildhall.

One of the protest’s organisers, Councillor Claire Udy, said: ‘This is a clear message from the council that trans and non binary lives are valid.'

**COUNCIL felt demo at FILIA was a good thing... Wonderful...

'It also sends a message that it is time to reclaim the women’s suffrage flag, which has been co-opted by a transphobic movement.’

FUCK OFF

'Steph – who runs the Steph’s Place blog, said: ‘All the team at Steph’s Place are very grateful to the city council before the “fly the flag” event this weekend.

‘This has been a multi-group effort, working with stakeholders across the city and even in other countries. The massive support of Amnesty International, in particular, has been very welcome and humbling.'

Looks like was always explicit about FILIA demo. Council, amnesty etc.

'Just last month a peaceful trans rights protest was held outside a University of Portsmouth building as a talk on single-sex spaces by Woman’s Place UK took place inside.'

Was it peaceful? No idea. Have doubts based on repeated patterns of protester behaviour...

Single sex rights eh? Women? You don't say!!!

@NCBlossom I completely agree

[quote NCBlossom]**@foxgoosefinch* and @LobsterNapkin*

What really angers and saddens me is, who is fighting for those being tortured, imprisoned, threatened, losing their jobs etc just for speaking up? Now that Amnesty have decided to spend all their charitable funds on people wanted to use a woman’s changing room?

Who now is writing letters, like I used to, for gay prisoners, rights activists or people being tortured for opposing a regime? What is happening to those people now that people just don’t seem to care? Those student activists - are they all just writing placards with sexually violent threats to feminists instead?

Woe is me, is this really the world and what it cares about now?[/quote]
I don’t know - I despair as well: you hear such awful news coming out of Afghanistan, for example, and then our university student societies and feminist societies are sending round Facebook notices about “terf ideology” and “sex work positive” events and pronouns, and nothing at all about any actual issues like this, and I just think why are none of you bothered about actual real, horrible harms being done to people instead of this rubbish about how mentioning that women have cervixes is “causing harm to trans people”?

@foxgoosefinch 100% agree with you. I feel like I’ve just lifted the lid on a casket of monsters, Amnesty being one of them.

I cancelled my membership, specifically because of the sexually violent threats. I did not mention trans issues at all. Yet I received an exact same email with the ‘lecture’ on trans rights, even though I had not even mentioned trans issues as a reason. I think their reply is horrific if I’m honest. There is zero justification of sexual threats to women who were bravely talking about their sexual abuse - and Amnesty should be absolutely ashamed and reviewing their whole stance on this.

However they are obviously not. So I quickly googled what Amnesty’s stance was, and how much energy was going into their backing of trans preferences to be able to go into all women’s spaces. It’s a real eye opener. They are all over it, they have commissioned weird research into sex at birth, they are full of anti safeguarding rhetoric, they have so lost their way that I do not think they will ever find it again. Such a waste. I”m sorry but someone being tortured just for being gay or opposing a regime is what we should care about, and they obviously don’t anymore.

Surely the right to tell the truth is a human right too?

I can't get my head around "Love is a human right" Maybe if it said "love is a human responsibility"

But a right? who has the responsibility for giving this love ...we all know the answer to that. so fucking sick of the world treating women as some sort of support human for the real humans. And so fucking sick of women la-la-laing along to this tune.

Amnesty has no place in a philosophical debate on trans preference. No trans person is being tortured or imprisoned by being denied using a woman’s changing room.

Yes, exactly this and absolutely to all of your post.

No responsible person or organisation should be lending credence to this ghastly hyperbole of TRAs, which equates not getting to go in a changing room with “fascism” or “denying someone’s right to exist” or “wanting to erase trans people”; nor should anyone be going along with this ridiculous assertion that speech is “literal violence”.

It’s astonishingly offensive to equate torture and political oppression under genuine fascism with all of this stuff. I’m amazed that Amnesty can’t see this, to be honest.

@foxgoosefinch and @LobsterNapkin

What really angers and saddens me is, who is fighting for those being tortured, imprisoned, threatened, losing their jobs etc just for speaking up? Now that Amnesty have decided to spend all their charitable funds on people wanted to use a woman’s changing room?

Who now is writing letters, like I used to, for gay prisoners, rights activists or people being tortured for opposing a regime? What is happening to those people now that people just don’t seem to care? Those student activists - are they all just writing placards with sexually violent threats to feminists instead?

Woe is me, is this really the world and what it cares about now?

Some sleepy typos above, but the gist is clear I hope!

Well, well, well. Interesting almost reverse ferret.

But I expect it won’t go as far as that. Because International. And mindful of that…being The Issue is our times, they might think, listening to youth.

So sad to see them loose their way. The thing is, TRUST, once gone, is gone. I cannot ever give them a minute or a penny again.

As a lifelong supporter, this makes me very sad. But they have chosen their bedfellows, and made their bed.

I have been a committed supporter and member of Amnesty for many, many years.

I am a great believer in basic human rights worldwide. I am devastated that Amnesty have completely lost their compass and thrown so much energy into a lobby for preferences.

Rather than protecting those who are tortured, imprisoned, beaten and killed for just voicing their beliefs.

So much wrong with this

• you don’t ‘send placards’ - a name such as Amnesty is either completely part of a demonstration or not. There is no fudging middle where you can hide behind. They knowingly gave their name and support to people who called for violence, sexual violence against women whilst ironically FiLiA were supporting women from sexual violence.
• Amnesty should have been supporting FiLiA to speak out without fear or violent threats
• Amnesty has no place in a philosophical debate on trans preference. No trans person is being tortured or imprisoned by being denied using a woman’s changing room.

They'll take anything but responsibility. As usual.

How offensive to the disabled community on top of everything else! What an utter shit show from Amnesty.