by Rob Hallam March 19, 2013 in main, news, photos by Rob Hallam
And the results of our AGM are in!
President: Ruth Brown
Vice President: Debbie White
Secretary: Jana Sweeney
Treasurer: Duncan McNab
Publicity Officer: Nikola Cabanova
Fundraising Officer: Maisie Peebles
Campaigns Officer: Dominic Walsh
Website Convener: Robert Hallam
Remember we will be electing two ordinary board members next term so you still have a chance to join the committee of 2013-14!
March 18, 2013 in main by Martin Lennon
Martin
March 12, 2013 in main by Martin Lennon
Today at 5pm in QMU Committee Room 1 we’re going to focus on the attempts to secure and international Arms Trade Treaty. The trade in arms and especially in small arms has a devastating effect on human rights around the worlds as weapons are use to suppress populations and to prop up brutal regimes. We are hoping that talks next month can finally bring into force a treaty that would mean this brutal trade is afforded the same level of seriousness as countless others (including bananas) already have.
March 7, 2013 in actions, events, main, news by Martin Lennon
This week we held events focusing on gender based violence, harassment and assault. These are issues that we visit every International Women’s Day, but this year the talks on sexual harassment, assault and abuse as well as our workshops on taking action against it, felt particularly relevant on Glasgow University campus this year.
The treatment of the female debaters at this year’s ancients was shocking but unfortunately not at all surprising. The misogynistic abuse they received was part in part of a culture we live in where it is sometimes acceptable to judge women purely on appearance and where sexual and gender based harassment is normalised, where victims are told to expect it and where the perpetrators are excused.
For some reason this appears particularly acceptable within the Glasgow University Union. The incident this weekend was not an isolated incident; it is the result of a pattern of casual sexism and institutionalised condoning of sexism in the union – it didn’t start and end on Saturday night. The loyalty to the LAMB club, the bizarre pride of being the last single gender union in the UK, and the general aggressive laddish attitude that characterises many events at the union, have all had a part to play in the incident.
At the start of term we affiliated with the GUU because we wanted to try to be a presence across campus. We haven’t held any events there this term out of a mixture of practical concerns and because some of our members are very uncomfortable with this history and the culture at the union, but some among us maintained hope that the stories and image were exaggerated – the incident at the weekend convinced that last few that it hasn’t been.
GU Amnesty International is disaffiliating with the GUU, until we can see evidence of real change in the way it deals with attitudes to gender. After consulting our members, we do not feel we can credibly argue for respecting the human while having any relationship with a group so relaxed about disrespect and abuse towards women. We look forward to the day when we can campaign for human rights across campus and we hope the promised new code of conduct and equality training sessions can help change the culture of the GUU.
Until then, we urge anyone reading this to attend the demonstration tomorrow (Library Hill – 12pm) against all misogyny on campus, whether at the GUU, on bullying Facebook Pages or anywhere else.
March 4, 2013 in main by Martin Lennon
Hey everybody,
This week we are teaming up with the GU Feminist Society, GU Oxfam, Rape Crisis Scotland and Get SVAI to deliver two fantastic days of workshops, film screenings and talks. Since this Friday is International Women’s Day, there are events focusing on Women’s Rights across campus this week (you can find a full list here). Our events are on Thursday from *5 pm* onwards in *Room 230* and *222* of the *St Andrew’s Building* and, in our usual time and place, on *Tuesday* in *QMU Committee Room 1* at *5 pm*.
Amnesty and Women’s Rights Talk: Tuesday 5 pm – QMU Comm 1
Amnesty speaker Elena Soper will talk about Amnesty International UK’s work on violence against women in the UK as part of the End Violence Against Women Coalition. “The End Violence Against Women Coalition is a unique coalition of organisations and individuals campaigning to end all forms of violence against women. We were set up in 2005 when women’s organisations and others came together to lobby the government to take a more strategic approach to ending violence against women, including making a commitment to work which aims to prevent violence against women.”
Women in the Media Workshop: Tuesday 6 pm – QMU Comm 1
A workshop looking at how the gender-stereotyped content of magazines affects the image of women today? There will be a mini presentation looking at the portrayal of women in both men’s and women’s popular magazines. Following the presentation a selection of magazines will be available to make picture boards for a follow-up discussion.
Rape Crisis Scotland: Thursday 5 pm – St Andrew’s Building Room 230
Rape Crisis Scotland are going to present on the work that they carry out, current campaigns and volunteering opportunities. This is a great oppertunity to learn more about a fantastic organisation, who are making a real difference to the lives of rape survivors here in Glasgow every day.
“For over 30 years, we have been at the forefront of campaigning against sexual violence. We have been influential in changing attitudes and in changing laws. From a handful of women who wanted to “do something”, we are now represented at the heart of government on the National Group to tackle Violence Against Women as well as partners with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS).” http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/
Get SAVI: Thursday 6 pm – St Andrew’s Building Room 222
The Get SAVI bystander programme is designed to give participants the skills and confidence to challenge gender-based violence and harassment in everyday life. This session will be a short introduction to the programme, and will be a chance to learn more about gender-based violence and harassment, and what we can all do to stop it. http://togetherwecanstopit.org/get-savi/
‘How to Educate a Girl’: Thursday 7.15-8.30 pm Boyd Orr Theatre 222
FILM SCREENING:Â In 2000, 110 million children in the world were not in school—two thirds of them were girls. In 2010, filmmakers Frederick Rendina and Oren Rudavsky traveled to Nepal and Uganda, two countries emerging from conflict and struggling with poverty, to find the answer to one question: What does it take to educate a girl? Framed by the United Nations global initiative to provide equal access to education for girls by 2015, To Educate a Girl takes a ground-up and visually stunning view of that effort through the eyes of girls out of school, starting school or fighting against the odds to stay in school. http://www.ungei.org/
So there’s a lot on this week. We’ll keep the Facebook event (linked here) updated with details and I hope I see you all there.
Martin
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