Summer 2019
In: Red Pepper, 2019, pp. 35-45
A series of articles exploring the implications of a Green New Deal. These include the importance of the international implications; climate change as a form of systemic racism; and an 'Open letter to Extinction Rebellion' from the grass roots collective Wretched of the Earth.
In: Guardian Weekly, 2018, pp. 8-8
Describes a new generation of student activists who are waging a struggle against harassment and sexual discrimination in universities through strikes, occupations and protests. When the article was published many university buildings were still being occupied. Polls showed public support and the government promised to meet some (but not all) of the students’ demands.
In: LatinAmericanPost, 2018
Under the slogan "Now is the time: Rural and urban activists transform the lives of women", UN Women draw attention to the work of the movement of women activists in Colombia and the circumstances they have to face on a daily basis.
In: African Feminism, 2019
Narrates the background of the #AbujaPoliceraidOnWomen campaign, in response to the violent arrest of 70 women in two clubs on the accusation of prostitution. The police allegedly raped those women who couldn’t afford the bail.
See also the interview on this campaign with Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, founder of the Stand To End Rape (STER) initiative http://africanfeminism.com/police-brutality-against-nigerian-women-an-interview-with-oluwaseun-ayodeji-osowobi/ and http://africanfeminism.com/protests-arent-tea-parties-dont-expect-women-to-be-civil/
http://africanfeminism.com/nigerian-women-protest-against-abuja-police-raid-and-rape/
In: Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC), 2019
This blog post received criticisms for the failure to include the voices of migrants, people of colour, trans and non-binary people in the Irish referendum campaign. The original blog post is preserved for transparency and accountability. It includes, however, a more recent response acknowledging the criticisms that have been made against it. It is a good source of information for activists on how to establish a more inclusive type of communication on issues related to abortion rights.
https://www.abortionrightscampaign.ie/2019/05/27/where-we-are-together-we-are-strongest/
In: The Elders, 2019
The writer, educator and environmentalist Katharine Wilkinson illustrates the need for climate leadership that is 'more conventionally feminine and more faithfully feminist'.
In: Peace News, No 2535-2536, 2011
Notes that the Faslane Peace Camp has existed for 29 years 'on the frontline against Britain's nuclear weapons', has been home to hundreds over the years, and has been a centre for direct action against nuclear weapons.
https://www.peacenews.info/node/6228/faslane-peace-camp-needs-you
In: TeleSur, 2018
Massive demonstration in the Peruvian capital, Lima, organized by the Assembly of Women and Diversities and the NGO Ni Una Menos (Not One More), which involved 20 human rights groups demanding justice for women, following the acquittal of a man accused of rape who negotiated with the authorities for his release.
In: UN Women, 2018
Highlights the initiative ‘Guatemala Safe City’ as part of the UN Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Initiative to tackle sexual harassment in Guatemala.
UN Women2017
Discusses the deadly forms of violence against women in Latin America, developments since the launching of the Latin America Model Protocol in 2014 by UN Women and the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and the most recent updates on the legislation by Latin American countries.
To access the last Survey on gender-based violence in Latin America, please see http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/about-us/highlights/2016/highlight-rn63.html
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/2/take-five-adriana-quinones-femicide-in-latin-america
In: MADRE, 2018
Afro-Colombian women are documenting testimonies for use by the new online observatory, VigiaAfro, created to report on and raise awareness about sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against Afro-descendants. MADRE is an international women's human rights organization working in partnership with community-based women's organizations worldwide in contexts of conflict, disasters, and their aftermath. It operates within the framework of a project entitled, Afro-Colombian Community Initiative for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace in Colombia.
See also http://aapf.org/historical-invisibility-of-afrocolombian-women-english.
In: Abortion Rights Campaign, 2018
A submission advocating the need for the people of Northern Ireland to access free, safe and legal local abortions facilities regardless of their ability, ethnicity, income level, migration status, or geographic location.
In: TeleSur, 2018
Report on the first sentencing of a man to prison and to payment of damages to the victim for a case of aggravated sexual harassment toward a 15-year old young woman. It also recalls one controversial case that motivated the rise of the movement NiUnaMenos.
In: Amnesty International, 2019
In the aftermath of Jair Bolsonaro’s election on an openly anti-human rights agenda, a climate of fear remains in Brazil. Yet, young people are rising up and making their voices heard. Amnesty International met seven human rights activists who reveal what life is like in Salvador, Brazil, and how they’re tackling violence against women, racism and homophobia.
YouTube Video
UCLA Latin American Institute
In Brazil, which has the second largest Black population in the world, Brazilian police kill at least six times more people annually than the US police, and most of those dying are young Black men. In the video an interdisciplinary panels of Brazilian and US scholars examine the development of Black Brazilian mobilization against police violence, and compare police violence in Brazil with the position in the US and South Africa. The video then focuses on how Black LGBTQ+ Brazilians are affected by police violence.
See also: https://www.thedialogue.org/events/online-event-race-and-policing-in-the-us-and-brazil/
Reports on Inter-American Dialogue event 'Race and Policing in the US and Brazil' examining what recent cases of police violence revealed about systemic racism in both countries.
In: Red Pepper, 2018, pp. 14-34
Analysis of the new small unions that are mobilizing workers not previously organized, such as domestic workers (often migrants), and older unions extending their reach to cover young workers in fast food chains, delivering food or driving for Uber. The contributors discuss what is distinctive about the style of the unionism - for example its decentralised leadership and willingness to en gage in occupations, and its support from other campaigning groups. The focus is on the UK but within a context of global solidarity with similar campaigns. There is also a timeline from 2008 to 2018 highlighting key struggles including by the long established major unions.
In: amnesty International, 2019
Amnesty International pays tribute to the Irish campaigners that led to the revolutionary referendum that repealed the Eight Amendment (25-26 May 2018), thus legalising abortion. It also highlights the human rights violation that women in Northern Ireland faced because of the harsh and restrictive anti-abortion law then applicable.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/05/ireland-one-year-since-vote-to-end-abortion-ban/
In: New Internationalist, 2019
This article, drawing on material from the online socialist publication Notes from Below, focuses on the increasing reliance of capitalism today, with the growth of internet retail and the 'gig' economy, on transnational supply chains, and migrant workers. It starts by noting the disruptive effects of the French 'Yellow Vests' demonstrations blocking roundabouts on such chains. It also comments on how Italian grass roots unions Si Cobas and ADL have since 2008 used strikes and blockades to target the chain of distribution centres., leading to the arrest of the national coordinator of Si Cobas in 2017, and how workers in Amazon distribution centres in Italy, Spain and Germany have coordinated strike action. Concludes by noting how Uber drivers, mostly migrants, communicating via mobile phones have coordinated resistance. (See 'The wave of worker resistance in European food platforms 2016-7', Notes from Below, Jan 2018, nin.tl/FoodPlatforms)
https://newint.org/features/2019/02/11/uber-drivers-world-unite
In: The Guardian, 2019
In response to the rising murder and rape of women in South Africa (41,000 rapes and 2,700 murders between March 2018 and March 2019), and the rape and killing of university student Uyinene Mrwetyana by a Cape Town post office employee, women all over the country responded by blocking the entrance to the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, launching the #AmINext movement and the #SandtonShutdown (or #TheTotalShutDown) protest. They rallied outside Johnnesburg Stock Exchange on 13 September 2019, forcing South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa to cancel a trip to the UN world leaders’ gathering.
See also https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-09-13/south-african-leader-drops-un-visit-as-women-protest-attacks, https://www.africanews.com/2019/09/13/south-africa-activists-protest-gender-based-violence// and https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/protest-against-gender-based-violence-emerge-in-sa/
In: Amnesty International, 2019
This link includes some of the campaigns and articles on abortion advocacy by Amnesty International. The most interesting articles have been selected to give a sense of how the campaigns developed since 2017. But users should keep accessing it to look for further material Amnesty International will upload in the future.
See a poll conducted by Amnesty International on whether Northern Ireland should change its abortion law published on 30 November 2018
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/northern-ireland-abortion-law-poll.
See also https://www.amnesty.org.uk/abortion-poll-research-majority-people-northern-ireland-want-decriminalise for a poll conducted in May 2017 on the same issue.
See the open letter to Prime minister Theresa May to change ‘cruel’ Northern Ireland abortion law published on 21 November 2018
Link to pro-abortion campaigns led by Amnesty International, including links to the 2019 campaign #NowForNI, a campaign organised on the occasion of the celebration of the first anniversary of the repeal of the Eight Amendment in Ireland which led to the legalisation of abortion in the Irish Republic.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/safe-abortions-northern-ireland
See the petition for obtaining the legalisation of abortion in Ireland published on 16 February 2017.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/ireland-abortion-laws-repeal-eighth-amendment
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/Abortion-in-Ireland-and-Northern-Ireland