Ensuring the momentum continues and things change

[Changemusthappen]

Does everyone agree that one of the key questions to come out of the current debate around the safety of women, sexual harassment etc is what happens next and what can be done in the short and long term to tackle this.

Short term - can be put in place/motion immediately:

• continued and increased awareness of the harassment and threats that women and girls receive on a daily basis. There have been many phone ins on the radio this week and newspaper articles, these need to continue/be revisited regularly
• immediate zero tolerance in schools regarding sexual harassment of girls and inclusion of this in PSHE (it may be already). Additionally the emphasis that it is 'everyone's responsibility' to call out this behaviour.
• more police presence on the streets, trains, tubes
• Immediate government action to stop self id and repeal/reform the GRA
• Protection of all women's single sex spaces including toilets, prisons, sport etc
• detailed logging and followup of every report to the police of harassment, sexual assault, threatening behaviour
• increased cctv on tubes and trains

Long term

• a complete review within the police force regarding how sexual abuse/harrasment, threats etc are logged and dealt with
• Better planning around facilities, street lighting etc to improve safety

Obviously this is just a starter but I am interested in other's views. I am planning to write to my MP about this, it is important it is kept in the public eye.

A great start would be getting a grip on the real issues and allies and not targeting another group.

@JackMunroe tweeted recently about safe spaces:

‘And trans women aren’t trying to ‘identify into’ them, for fucks sake. Trans women experience abuse, assault, harassment, sexual violence, ABH, they’re murdered, abused, and violated. My feminism is for ALL women. The men who abuse us don’t give a damn what our chromosomes are.’

I agree.

Good suggestions OP. Of course, all this is predicated on society being allowed to identify women and our sex based rights and identity, retain our sex based language and resist the demands to 'gender neutralise' everything as promoted by the queer theory advocates. Given the regulatory capture by Stonewall et al of the police and government it's going to be an uphill struggle to persuade them to refocus from their current obsessions with 'hate crimes' and rainbow stickers and irrelevant conferences focus on rape, sexual assault, women's safety and child safeguarding.

to focus that should say

Going to link this thread too OP because it's pertinent to a lot of what you've said in your post.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4191152-Should-misogyny-be-gender-neutral

“ A great start would be getting a grip on the real issues and allies and not targeting another group.

@JackMunroe tweeted recently about safe spaces:

‘And trans women aren’t trying to ‘identify into’ them, for fucks sake. Trans women experience abuse, assault, harassment, sexual violence, ABH, they’re murdered, abused, and violated. My feminism is for ALL women. The men who abuse us don’t give a damn what our chromosomes are.’”

I think it’s true that no transwomen have been murdered in the uk at least in the last year.

Very good list OP

Women & girls single sex spaces must be protected and equality act exceptions adhered too

A male person wearing female clothing doesn’t suddenly become less of a threat to women the same way I don’t suddenly become more of a threat to women because I’m wearing jeans, DMs and have short hair

@RobinMoiraWhite

A great start would be getting a grip on the real issues and allies and not targeting another group.

@JackMunroe tweeted recently about safe spaces:

‘And trans women aren’t trying to ‘identify into’ them, for fucks sake. Trans women experience abuse, assault, harassment, sexual violence, ABH, they’re murdered, abused, and violated. My feminism is for ALL women. The men who abuse us don’t give a damn what our chromosomes are.’

I agree.

Could we just centre women for once? (And trans men) Without having to include men? Is that too much to ask? I doubt a 6 foot heavily built trans woman gets as much daily abuse and harassment as women do you?

This is about the safety of women, adult human females. Many of the things that currently happen are ingrained behaviours supported by our patriarchal society. The move towards selfid through the back door posses the biggest and most immediate threat to womens safety. This now needs to be addressed and stopped as a matter or urgency by the government

I'd also include collecting accurate data both on women's experiences and counting violence against women by transwomen as male violence. Trans lesbians harassing a woman should not be counted as women for example.

I think there may be an ally with significant media coverage
look at her face
she gets it
news.sky.com/story/duchess-of-cambridge-pays-tribute-at-memorial-site-for-sarah-everard-12245021

You keep losing momentum because you can't resist a single chance to attack/make something about trans women...while tolerating people/groups who actually want to take your rights away because they share your baffling opinions on trans people.

Stop losing focus on the shit that actually matters.

Hibari
I can see that the 2nd poster on the thread raised the issue of trans women and has subsequently been quoted. The rest of us have remained totally focused on women's experiences.

Stop losing focus on the shit that actually matters.

Good idea...

@Hibari

You keep losing momentum because you can't resist a single chance to attack/make something about trans women...while tolerating people/groups who actually want to take your rights away because they share your baffling opinions on trans people.

Stop losing focus on the shit that actually matters.

We aren't losing momentum. Watch closely. We are gaining it.

I'm interested to hear more about snippets I've picked up around making misogyny a hate crime. Hate against the female sex.

This seems to be being dealt with separately to other hate crimes?

Better awareness of the micro aggressions, reporting etc may start to make a difference.

Though looking at news around how metpolice were sharing horrific pictures makes me thing we have an awful long way to go.

@persistentwoman

Hibari I can see that the 2nd poster on the thread raised the issue of trans women and has subsequently been quoted. The rest of us have remained totally focused on women's experiences.

It happens every thread. Every thread gets made about trans people.

Every. Thread. Someone pipes up with "what about the trans issue?" How do those of you who aren't obsessed tolerate it?

I admit I'm feeling despairing right now, but I don't know what we can do. I want to tackle porn and sexual harassment head on in schools but it isn't happening. I want to ensure every single woman is entitled to single sex space, but that isn't happening either. Sorry. Not a positive post. I try my best with the girls I teach but it's the boys that need educating, and while rape is essentially legal, and boys learn it from porn starting at about age 12. What can we do?

Every thread gets made about trans people.

I think you might want to check who first raised the issue of trans people on this thread.

The merailing is disgraceful.

Anyway keeping the thread about women

There’s something around design of public spaces. More lighting, fewer subways,

More train stations to be staffed - so many are unstaffed or only staffed part time

Hibari
You'd need to ask the poster who raised the issue of trans women why they felt this was the place to raise it? My concerns are women's rights, safety and child safeguarding.
What happened to Sarah Everard has touched on most women and our experiences. There's a growing awareness that women must be permitted to speak freely without monitoring and censorship and those organisations who should be protecting women and sanctioning those men who abuse and assault, must stick to this remit and uphold the law effectively dealing with the threats posed to women and children's safety.

@Biscuitsanddoombar

Anyway keeping the thread about women

There’s something around design of public spaces. More lighting, fewer subways,

More train stations to be staffed - so many are unstaffed or only staffed part time

Or just stop men assaulting women ??????????

Seriously.
The video I posted is of a lady who used to roam that area alone, at night, often while drunk.

Her eyes and body language spoke VOLUMES about how
WOMEN do not have to change
MEN do (whatever they are wearing)

There's a growing awareness that women must be permitted to speak freely without monitoring and censorship

I think this has to be one of the first things to tackle. Women aren't given the space to talk about their experiences and when we try we are accused of weaponising our trauma.

I was trying to keep the thread focused on women Listening rather than being merailed

Of course men should just stop assaulting women, that goes without saying. The question is how

I'm sick of hearing men in the past few days, saying that they understand the issues women face, then (a) showing that they don't & (b) resisting anything that might require them personally to make an effort or be willing to accept any restrictions.

(It's like those people who want the NHS to get more money but want tax reductions, or people who tut about children going hungry but won't donate to food banks or hold the government to account.)

They want to leave it up to women to sort out, while also telling us that nothing will ever change & that anything we propose won't work. In other words, leave me alone 'cos I'm alright, Jack, & the staus quo suits me just fine.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Thanks for listening.

@Biscuitsanddoombar

Anyway keeping the thread about women

There’s something around design of public spaces. More lighting, fewer subways,

More train stations to be staffed - so many are unstaffed or only staffed part time

It occurs to me that a contributing factor to not getting this sort of change is that physical public meetings for consultation are often in the evening... I don't knew what the participation ratios are but I'm going to guess that between women shouldering more childcare and also many being inhibited from going out alone that there's likely to be an imbalance.