Honour Killing Relatives Guilty

Excellent news that relatives who killed a woman for refusing to marry the woman they wanted her to, have been found guilty of murder.

Protect Anonymity in Rape Cases

Thanks to The F Word for this information:

MP Harry Cohen has introduced an Early Day Motion (1082) pressing the government to protect anonymity in rape cases. So far there are only 16 signatures from other MPs (see list below). You can use this site to lobby your MP to sign up to it.

EDM Signed by:

Labour - Diane Abbot, Harry Cohen, Bill Etherington, Patrick Hall, Glenda Jackson, Lynne Jones, John McDonnell, Alan Simpson and Rudi Vis
Lib Dem - Lorely Burt, Lynne Featherstone, Andrew George, Greg Mulholland, Sarah Teather, Roger Williams
SDLP - Alasdair McDonnell

The EDM text:

That this House notes the extremely low rate of convictions for rape of 5.3 per cent. of prosecutions brought; It further notes, while recognising that in a few recent cases women who have reported rape have been convicted of perverting the course of justice, that at present victims of rape face the unwarranted ordeal of exposure and trial by public opinion in the media;

It believes that the hard-won anonymity for victims of sexual offences is all to fragile in the face of media reporting of facts revealed, for example, under the protection of parliamentary privilege or the impunity of the internet; It further notes the Attorney General’s view that the media share parliamentary privilege to report details otherwise restricted in law if done `in good faith and without malice’;

It considers the Daily Mail to have acted with extreme malice in recent cases and to be conducting a campaign to force a change in the law on anonymity by continually flouting it;

And calls for the Attorney General to restate the gravity of committing contempts of court to the media, directly and via the various media regulators including the Press Complaints Commission, and to take action to back up his words;

And further believes that the public interest in an effective criminal justice system is best served by the preservation of anonymity for the victims of sexual offences, most particularly rape, and thereby the removal of a significant disincentive for such victims to report the crime.

Official listing.

Stand Up 4 Women

In November, Eaves, (a London based feminist charity providing supported housing to vulnerable women, women trafficked into prostitution, and those who have experienced domestic violence) will host Stand Up 4 Women at London’s Congress Centre – a special night of comedy, great food and the chance to bid for some exclusive lots in a charity auction.

Featuring talented comics Lucy Porter, Sue Perkins and Amy Lame among others, Stand Up 4 Women will highlight the continued need for support services for women affected by trafficking, homelessness and violence and hopefully, will help us raise much-needed funds for the charity.

Could YOU help to make this event a success?

Eaves are looking for individuals and organisations interested in supporting the Stand Up 4 Women event. Support could mean sponsorship or the donation of items or services to auction or raffle on the night. Do YOU have contacts that could help Eaves? Do YOU have anything that you could donate?

If you're interested then send us an email at thismasculineambush@yahoo.co.uk and I'll forward the correct details for you to get in touch with Eaves.

Take the pledge

Either clicking here or scrolling down this page will lead you to a further post entitled 'Take the pledge'. This is the main area of our work at the moment - encouraging men to sign up to a pledge which acknowledges our role in violence against women and commits us to standing up and working to stop this violence.

FGM

Here's a tough but fascinating video about female genital mutilation and t's practice around the world. FGM is practiced by both men and women however the societies which condone it are often held up by men and the practice encouraged by the male leaders who are the ones with the power to allow or stop it.

http://www.irinnews.org/audiofiles/071220067.wmv

There's also an article on this page discussing what can be done about the problem.

A new focus in anti-rape work?

There's been an ongoing discussion for quite some time now in the feminist blogsphere concerning the way we tackle rape and other related violence against women. Many women are tired of anti-rape work that only focuses on warning the women and asking her in some way to change her actions eg walking a different way home and so on. Instead campaigns should focus on the men who commit such acts and those who contribute to the society which encourages them to happen. This article by Jaclyn Friedman sets out the argument quite well.

So what I'm asking is how do we do this? What do we about those men who commit violence against women, in particular rape, and how do we move this focus from attempting to change the victim's behaviour onto changing that of the criminal?

Take the pledge

Either clicking here or scrolling down this page will lead you to a further post entitled 'Take the pledge'. This is the main area of our work at the moment - encouraging men to sign up to a pledge which acknowledges our role in violence against women and commits us to standing up and working to stop this violence.

Amy's story

Thanks to Women's Aid for this story of domestic abuse which shows how serious domestic violence is.

How the abuse started...

I met my ex when I was 28. He was charming, lively, always the life and soul of the party. The abuse started with the odd comment, but I was assertive and strong. This waned however as time went on. Five months into the relationship he went abroad on a working holiday; the day he was due to return I had a call from him to say that he had had his tickets and money stolen – I went to him, to help and it was the worst four days of my life. He wanted to know who I’d seen whilst he’d been away, called me a whore in the street, told passers by they were welcome to me and smashed me into a shop front. I was really confused and thought I’d done something wrong but couldn’t remember – now of course I know that I wasn’t at fault

I stayed in the relationship for one year. He had a drug and alcohol problem but I owned the house and let him move in thinking I could help him to get better. His character was very Jekyll and Hyde. I was subjected to emotional abuse daily - he became obsessive and it then led to violent physical abuse.

I couldn’t talk to anyone, as he was very paranoid. His alcohol and drug misuse, coupled with his aggressive nature fuelled the paranoia. Things were really bad. I didn’t even realise it was domestic violence until someone called it that at the A & E department.

Time for change...

He would disappear for days on end, but come back and make me feel guilty about what I’d been up to whilst he’d been away. I had been thinking about what was going to happen in the future and a few days into the new millennium, I’d had enough. He’d been away a few days, and I decided that enough was enough, and then one morning as I was getting ready to go to work the doorbell rang. Totally off guard, I opened the door without thinking to check who it was. He had no key and as I opened the door he burst past me; it ended up in a struggle out in the street, where passers by and my neighbours saw what was happening.

Hope for the future...

He now has a criminal record and I’m living in a different area to my ex now. I have no contact with him. My life has changed unbelievably since the relationship ended, and I’ve had a lot of help from my local Women’s Aid outreach service. I now play saxophone in a local band which has really helped to restore my self-confidence. I’m really looking forward to the future and eventually hope to find a new, loving relationship with someone who respects me.

*Name has been changed to protect the individual involved.

1 in 2

1 in 2 women murdered are killed by their male partners.

Take the pledge

The main thrust of our work at the moment here at this masculine ambush is our 'non violence pledge'. We're encourgaing all men to sign up to the pledge and by doing so accepting that men carry out the vast majority of attacks against women, and thus committing to take a stand against this violence in both our local and global societies.

Please read the pledge and add your name, and rough location using the comment button at the bottom.

The Pledge:

'I acknowldege

- that the majority of violence carried out in this world is carried out by people of my own gender and a substantial proportion of that violence is directed against women.

- that this violence is totally unacceptable.

- that this violence can take the form of rape, genetalia mutalation, domestic violence, assault, gender specififc infanticide, psychological and emotional abuse, sex trafficking, and many others

- that simple things such as the words I use contribute towards a society where this violence is acceptable

- that this violence is not simply a women's issue but is an issue for all men too

- that i as a man have the power to encourage or discourage this abuse

- that it is only when men play their part, that this violence will be stopped.

Therefore I pledge

- to stand against the violence men commit against women in all it's forms

- to work towards eradicating the world of this violence and of the social conditioning that contributes towards it

- that i will challenge other men to take this pledge.'

Thank you.

Why?

Because 1 in 4 women in the UK will be a victim of domestic violence and one incident of domestic violence is reported to the British police every minute.

Because domestic violence has been shown to have a higher rate of repeat victimisation than any other crime and over 80% of reported domestic violence is against women.

Because in the UK around 170 women are raped every day.

Because at least one in every 3 women globally has been abused, beaten or raped in their lifetime.

And because the vast, vast majority of these crimes are carried out by men.

It is time that we men stood up and acknowledged our role as a gender and our complicity through silence, in all violence against women. And through our standing we accept that this is not simply a women's issue but that it is our problem too.