Sex Attacks in Cologne and other European Cities Part VII

[januarybrown1998]

part 6

part 5

part 4

part 3

part 2

part 1

The events of NYE were shocking enough; the subsequent minimising and under-reporting were an affront to women's rights to equality across Europe.

It's a testament to the tenacity and commitment of this community that we are at thread VII; do join the discussion and feel free to share the links and letters to anyone you think may wish to be part of this important debate.

We are currently awaiting the approval of a petition to parliament.

Shortly we will post links for those who want to take a proactive part in safeguarding the rights of all UK women to live in freedom from the fear of mass sexual assault as we sadly saw in NYE and reports of which are finally seeing daylight across Europe.

www.express.co.uk/news/world/636537/Cologne-police-ignored-200-migrant-sex-attacks-four-hours-respond-rape-reports

www.dw.com/en/convictions-unlikely-in-cologne-nye-incidents/a-18963856 Interview in DW.

821 women. How many of them will have to go through the trauma of an abortion as well as the trauma of the attack

Thankfully, the number of actual rapes was small compared to the groping, theft, digital penetration--"only" a couple of cases of rape, I believe. The scale of the attacks overall remains jaw-dropping, however.

Agree. Its the sheer scale of it that has left me reeling.

Everyone, we have the required number of supporters! Well done. I am delighted. I have to be away from my computer probably most of the day. Might be back for 2pm, may not. if the latter, then I will set up the petition early evening. However, we still may not hv the best version for the wording.

In the meantime, here is the email from the Petitions Committee with suggestions:

"As promised some suggestions for you. The title of the petition needs to be a clear request (80 Characters long) which asks for something that the UK Government and/ or UK Parliament can do.

You could for example, ask the Government to bring forward proposals for extra safety measures to ensure Women’s safety in the UK in light of the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Europe.

Or ask the Government to bring forward proposals to ensure the safety of women in the UK and British women travelling abroad in light of the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Europe.
Or ask the Government to bring forward proposals to ensure that attacks on women such as though seen in the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Europe do not happen in the UK.

I hope this is helpful. Please do get in touch if you have any further questions.

Best wishes,

Petitions and Engagement Officer | Petitions Committee |
House of Commons | London | SW1A 0AA

Sorry, one para was repeated when cutting & pasting.

One more try from me. A bit more punchy, I think.

On New Year’s Eve, women across the EU were subjected to mass sex assaults previously unknown in Europe. Women in UK must be free from intimidation or sexual violence. We ask Government to bring forward proposals to ensure that women’s safety & freedom are upheld against a misogynistic phenomenon.
298

Well done Help, I am off too in a minute.

How about this wording:
On New Year’s Eve, women across the EU were subjected to mass sexual assaults previously unknown in Europe. We demand that Government bring forward proposals for extra measures to protect women's rights, safety and freedom in light of these attacks and to deal with potential offenders

Back later

'We need it to be in layman's terms so that every man and his dog can grasp the issue - not just pontificating to the "professional" academics/feminists.'

Grace I think you might be right there.

Calm- I like it. Can we mention that groups of migrants or not ?

Help - not sure about 'misogynist phenomenon' - although those words are very succinct and I personally like those words.

Can we dispense with the on New Year's Eve bit now? That was relevant at first, less so now as it has (after shameful delay) been reported widely. That may give more characters to play with. On dying phone so can't help with re working at mo.

Can we dispense with the on New Year's Eve bit now? This references the unusual nature of these assaults in case this is not made clear in the rest of the proposal.

people I do not know this no.

How are we supposed to know it if it hasnt happened to us either?

NOW the government may be forced to take 90.00 migrants a year ( DM figures not had a chance to check elsewhere) perhaps, something about what they are planning to do to keep women of Uk safe in unprecedented times?

HELP AND CALM i like both your last ideas but although I agree with misogynist I am not sure about it...

Calm, I think your last idea was very good.
and very relavant surely if we are going to be forced to take in young male migrants?

We ask/demand the Government to bring forward proposals to ensure that attacks on women such as though seen in the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Europe do not happen in the UK.

^ this is from petitions officer so why not use it?

its all encompassing to me....

*We ask/demand the Government to bring forward proposals to ensure that attacks on women such as though seen in the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Europe do not happen in the UK.

^ this is from petitions officer so why not use it? * Good idea to use it if it's been recommended

fourmumy it was in this post from Help below.

HelpTheAnimalsFirst Thu 21-Jan-16 08:32:03

am also thinking it a) cant get rejected as its their own words, and b) if it does, this person office may give even more help because their own words were rejected...

I agree Will.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/video-show-iranian-women-laughing-in-face-of-oppressive-driving-hijab-laws-a6823751.html

^ wonderful!! sorry dont want to de rail in anyway....just thought this was great....

Women in Iran are protesting laws that require them to wear full hijab while driving by filming themselves laughing as they throw off the “visible symbol of oppression”.

The Independent reported in December on a state crackdown on women failing to wear “proper” Islamic dress while at the wheel, which saw 40,000 vehicles impounded in 10 months.

Since May 2014, Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad has been encouraging women to share pictures of themselves flouting strict rules requiring women to remain covered up in public.

Her Facebook page “My Stealthy Freedom” has since ballooned to near a million followers, and from her exile in New York she told The Independent the use of new laws to impound cars exposed just how big the issue of the hijab remains.

Will The laughing reminds me of the statement by the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister last year who said women shouldn't laugh in public. And that's in a country campaigning for EU membership.

www.huffingtonpost.com/harut-sassounian/turkish-deputy-prime-mini_b_5656807.html

I feel it is best sticking with the suggestions in the email.
What about this:

On New Year’s Eve, women across the EU were subjected to mass sexual assaults previously unknown in Europe. We ask the Government to bring forward proposals to ensure that attacks on women such as though seen in the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Europe do not happen in the UK.

230 characters.

We can attach this article as well to the petition.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/finland/12088332/Unprecedented-sex-harassment-in-Helsinki-at-New-Year-Finnish-police-report.html

We can add the word unprecedented to the suggested text above.

The laughing reminds me of the statement by the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister last year who said women shouldn't laugh in public. Wtf? Am I living in a parallel universe?