Feminism: chat
Oxfam training document blames women for "the root causes of sexual violence"
ChristinaXYZ · 09/06/2021 22:18
Original thread was deleted. Reposting according to advice received from MNHQ
The article below from the Telegraph appears to be from an Oxfam training document called Learning About Trans Rights and Inclusion
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/09/oxfam-training-guide-blames-privileged-white-women-root-causes/
An Oxfam staff training document says “privileged white women” are supporting the root causes of sexual violence by wanting "bad men" imprisoned.
ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 09/06/2021 22:21
Short excerpt:
In the wake of sex scandals that have rocked the charity, Oxfam has produced guidance which states that: “Mainstream feminism centres on privileged white women and demands that ‘bad men’ be fired or imprisoned”.
Accompanied by a cartoon of a crying white woman, it adds that this “legitimises criminal punishment, harming black and other marginalised people”.
It advises staff to read a controversial book which concludes: “Mainstream feminism is supporting, not undoing, the root causes of sexual violence.”
Oxfam said that the training was voluntary, and the views are not presented as its own but designed to help staff understand the issues.
However, the charity was warned on Wednesday night that the document, compiled by its LGBT network and seen by The Telegraph, could breach equality laws as it suggests reporting rape is "contemptible""
ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 09/06/2021 22:23
@AssassinatedBeauty
(Can't read the article, is there another source?)
MNHQ, if this is not allowed please delete this post and not the whole thread!
Article archived here: archive.li/itpqA
PaleGreenGhost · 09/06/2021 22:23
Is this related to the fallacy that women "weaponise their trauma"?
The woeful statistics for how few of their rapes women even report to the police show that this supremely misogynist viewpoint has no basis in reality or truth.
What about the rapists Oxfam paid to deliver Aid in Haiti? Weren't they white? Did they ever go to jail?
ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 09/06/2021 22:25
Another short excerpt:
"The training manual was written after the charity’s LGBT+ network wrote to the leadership team demanding that they publicly support trans people and suggested that any debate about rights was part of a “patriarchal and white supremacist narrative” used by the far right.
The letter called for specific resources to be made available, adding: “To argue that trans-inclusivity would undermine the vital work we do for women and girls is not only transphobic, but also perpetuates the white saviour complex that assumes that we know best for the people we work with."
It says that it is “transphobic” to question whether men who identify as women could pose a threat to women and the fact that debates around identity continue among staff is exposing queer employees to “harm"."
ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 09/06/2021 22:26
[quote AssassinatedBeauty]@ItsAllGoingToBeFine shit, is that a verboten term?? Sorry. [/quote]
No, that's not it! The last thread was deleted because the full text of the article was posted. I was worried MNHQ would delete.my post as it bypasses the paywall using an archive.
Sorry for being so unclear 
EmbarrassingAdmissions · 09/06/2021 22:27
This is the "carceral" feminism nonsense, isn't it?
Of course. And it ties in with the recent "women aren't good people" theme on social media.
And none of it, of course, addresses the toxicity of Oxfam and what it has tolerated from its workers who've exploited some of the most vulnerable people in the most wretched of circumstances.
Forgotthebins · 09/06/2021 22:28
In the article it said the book that the Oxfam LGBT+ network recommended to staff was by Alison Phipps from the University of Sussex, not by Oxfam itself. So I went on their website to look at some official info to reassure myself they are not batshit, but I am not entirely reassured.
policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/feminist-principles-621064/~ “feminism is for everyone” - um, maybe some more than others? But I am willing to find out more and debate that, Oxfam.
But their gender pay gap is not good. www.oxfam.org.uk/about-us/plans-reports-and-policies/oxfam-gbs-gender-pay-gap/
This makes it hard to believe they have really dealt with their record of not acting on allegations of sexual abuse.
I really want to hear Oxfam explain this in a way that makes sense. Telling women off for reporting rape should be 180 degrees away from what they say, even if it is just a staff training where people chuck ideas about.
ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 09/06/2021 22:35
And yet in April this year ...
"The UK has suspended aid funding for Oxfam again after fresh allegations of sexual exploitation and bullying were made against staff.
Two Oxfam workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were suspended last week following the latest claims.
The charity had only been allowed to start reapplying for aid funds in March.'
www.bbc.com/news/health-56670162.amp
EmbarrassingAdmissions · 09/06/2021 22:36
Oddly enough, I'd been hoping to learn more about carceral feminism and alternatives to prison sentences from the Prison Abolition conference that was forced into cancelling because of opposition.
www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/news/conference-cancellation-prison-abolition-uk
NB: you might recall how much flak Richard Garside attracted (CCJS) for tackling the issue of Karen White and similar in women's prison estate.
www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/news/centres-director-richard-garside-bbc
PaleGreenGhost · 09/06/2021 22:36
Hmm. So saying that males should stay out of female single sex spaces = white saviour complex.
But Oxfam staff in Haiti - who could literally be described as White Saviours - hiring 13 year old girls for rape orgies in the aftermath of a humanitarian crisis is super cool and progressive.
A white woman wishing for her rapist to be behind bars is abusing her privilege.
A white man in a country decimated by disaster paying to rape a child is definitely not abusing his multiple privileges of race /sex/status though.
Got it, thanks Oxfam.
BTW I've a tenner a month going spare to a genuine, preferably female led, good cause as of tomorrow.
Zinco · 09/06/2021 22:38
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manatsu · 09/06/2021 22:42
When I saw the title of this thread I thought wtf how exactly, by having vaginas?!
I can't read the article as not a subscriber so not sure if it's somehow explained, but I should say that it's fine to want rapists off the street. Yes, I would like rapists to be imprisoned. I don't want them wandering around with impunity and doing it again. Privileged white woman? Well, I'm one of those three. I'd wager most other WOC I know want rapists to receive punishment and be kept away from potential victims too
manatsu · 09/06/2021 22:46
And having concerns about 'TWAW no debate' is not white supremacy. Go to Lipstick Alley or any Korean feminist forum, for one thing. There's a movement in Japan too, though Japan is shit for trans rights (and not great for women's rights!) so I'm not holding it up as a bastion of GC-ness or anything.
Or do they argue that any POC with questions or concerns have them from a place of white supremacy too? We can't think for ourselves and go along with what our white overlords want? Nah.
Makes me angry.
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