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Speak Up!...
... is a European wide project of Community Radio Stations.
... is a campaign to highlight the issue of violence against migrant, refugee
and ethnic minority women in the media.
... is an attempt to sensitise and NOT sensationalise the manner in which
violence is portrayed in the media.
... intends to provide Community Radio Stations and programme producers with
the tools and guidelines they require in dealing with this sensitive issue.
... is a project which aims to encourage minority women to Speak Up! and voice
their opinions and views through the medium of Community Radio.
... encourages you to Speak Up! and make your voice be heard. Get involved by
contacting!
- Violence against women is a violation of women’s human rights and occurs
across all political, economic, cultural and social divides.
- It causes physical and psychological damage to women and children.
- It is a grave social problem that threatens the safety, equality and
bodily integrity of every woman.
Different factors make migrant women more exposed to danger than female
nationals of the country in which they are living:
- linguistic and cultural barriers can contibute to the isolation of the
family and also make it more difficult for women to seek the help of the
police.
- in cases where the legal residence status of the migrant woman derives
from her husband, this increases her dependance on him, thus making it
more difficult for her to achieve independence.
- Some cultures emphasise the partriarchal structure of the family more
strongly than is the case in the Member States of the European Union so
that this, too, makes it more difficult for the affected woman to defend
herself against a violent member of the family.
- Women from Muslim states, in particular, have no possibility of
returning to their home countries because, as women who have left their
husbands, they cannot count on any understanding; rather, they will be
rejected by their family as having disgraced them.
- Migrant Women are not only suffering with domestic Violence, they also
have to cope with structural, institutional, social and verbal violence.
- It is often the case that the legislators act as acomplice to the
abusers crime.
- The helplessness, dispair and fear for survival of these women is
oftened viewed and treated with little compansion and in a clincial
manner, from a male point of view.
- The social and economic dependancy of these women is inforced by legislation.
- Lack of understanding and translation of legislation.
- Inadequate living and working conditions.
- Lack of acceptance, with little opportunity to integrate into society at large.
- Women are dutybound as chief child carers.
The women's lack of protection strengthens the power of her abuser!
- Their Lives are controled by opposing power structures e.g North/South,
Black/White, Rich/Poor, Men/Women.......
- In Austria migrant women can in the majority of cases enter the country
alone if they in tend to become students, prostitutes or marry an EU
citizen.
- The issue of divorce: In the Rep of Ireland migrant women do not have
access to the legal process in order to attain such a right.
- In Germany and other european countries mutilation of migrant women is
still widely practised.
- Many migrant women are economically dependant and morally committed to
their husbands and families, which makes it difficult for them and makes
them reluctant to leave a violent situation.
- We all take part in verbal violence through our ignorance, prejudice,
generalisations and overall lack of information and awareness of the
problems that are rife in our society.
Globalisation inforces a patriarchal and capitalist society where migrant
women are seen as a low budget, cheap labour force and hence are resigned to
low status, low paid and demeaning jobs, e.g. cleaning, prostitution, factory
workers etc...
Finally violence can be very silent, and is not only evident from trademark
bruises!
As a result of these denials of migrant women's Human Rights several proposals
were put forward at The Beijing Conference (1995) Below are a number of there
key demands which are of key concern to migrant women:
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Supported by the wisdom of our elders, inspired by indigenous peoples,
energized by youth, and sustained by our sisterhood, we call for an end to
these conditions and refuse to accept them as inevitable for the future of
humanity. WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.
We call on all governments:
- To recognize and ensure women's equal rights to a decent standard of
living, health, clean water and air, adequate food, clothing, and
sanitation, safe and accessible housing, adequate social security and
social insurance, education and legal aid as agreed in the International
Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
- To encourage, not hinder, the free expression, full participation and
full access for women with disabilities in non-governmental and
governmental organisations locally, nationally and internationally.
- To recognise and implement initiatives taken by poor and grassroots
women, including them, as full participants in the planning and
distribution of resources.
- Not to misinterpret or impose religious beliefs or traditional practices
on women in ways that deny their inalienable human rights. We also call
for an end to all laws and customary practices which deny girls and women
their equal rights, and deny their equal access to succession and
inheritance.
- To amend their intellectual property laws so as to make indigenous women
the primary beneficiaries of the commercial use of their knowledge.
- We demand that our governments work together to solve conflicts without
using violence, and that they fully include women in peacemaking and
conflict resolution initiatives.
- To implement their commitments to measure and value women's unwaged work
and to include it in the accounting of each nation's GDP.
- All development projects must take into account their effects on women,
including the additional workload imposed on women by unsustainable and
inappropriate technology.
- NGO women of the world call upon all peoples and all governments to
radically reconsider and transform concepts, assumptions and structures
governing social and economic life, and to take action on our
recommendations. This process will require the full and equal
participation of women of all races, ethnic backgrounds, religions,
classes, languages, girls, young women, older women, indigenous women,
grassroots women, rural women, urban women, women with disabilities,
immigrant women, migrant women, refugee women, internally and other
displaced women, women of different sexual orientation, and all other
marginalized women.
We call for:
- access for women to political structures at all levels, and equal
political empowerment at all decision-making levels. Accountable,
transparent and participatory national and international institutions must
be created.
- Women must have free access to diversified and pluralistic information
sources and media which are culturally and linguistically appropriate for
receiving and communicating information. Governments must support NGOs and
ensure their full participation in planning and implementing all programs
and policies.
- Recognition, protection, compensation, financial and other assistance
and full legal status for the millions of women and children, and the
victims of nuclear and other environmental catastrophes, many of them
widows or orphans, who have been forced to become immigrants, migrants,
refugees, internally and other displaced persons or forced into sexual
slavery as a result of war, foreign occupation and political and
socio-economic injustices. Every effort should be made to protect civilian
populations from the adverse effects of economic sanctions, which impair
their economic human rights.
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Development and sustained use of affirmative action by both the private
and public sectors of society to ensure the equality of women.
- All the media to change the present negative, exploitative and
sexualized images of women and children to positive ones respecting us in
all our dignity and diversity.
WE DEMAND AN END TO RAPE, AND TO ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE,SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND
HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. WE FURTHER DEMAND AN END TO THE TRAFFICKING
OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN AS WELL AS SEX TOURISM.
WE REAFFIRM THAT WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
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Be not longer still, Speak Up!
- Speak Up! and Community Radios stations all over Europe invite you to
Speak Up! and get involved in our radio campaign from November 4th - 10th
2002.
- You can get involved in making radio programmes surrounding the issue of
violence against minority women, by doing interviews, features, production
work or any other way you can think of getting migrant women involved in
Community radio and help them express their views in any way.
- Making contacts with various migrant women, support organisations,
Community radios and other local media.
- Musicians, artists, journalists, people of all professions and interests
we invite you to SPEAK UP! and get involved in what ever way you can.
- There is an opportunity for all your efforts be broadcasted not only
locally but on a European level in Community radio stations all over
Europe.
- All support in what ever form will be gratefully received!
- All submissions should be made by October 20th.
- So contact one of the Community Radio Stations listed below NOW!
- no sensational, but sensitive way of reporting
- silent violence - silent help
- biographical style of feature
- mediator (person of trust) at the interview with migrant women
- no emotionalising texts or music, women shall bring their own music
- don't push the interview
- leave your problems at home (beware projection!)
- stay neutral: feel with them, don't suffer with them (who knows, what's
good or bad?)
- let the women talk, don't interrupt them, allow pauses
- don't generalise ("all migrant women are poor women")
- work with positive examples
Our main aim is to inform and encourage migrant women to stand up for their
rights and to watch out for every kind of help, they can get.
- Non Govermental Organisations.
- Public access (available for all to express their views).
- Serve the needs of minority groups in the community.
- Important alternative to Mass Media (general concensus, political
influences, free of capitalist ideology).
- Form of empowerment for minority groups.
- Medium for integration of minority groups.
- Freedom of expresion (not bound by strong censorship laws).
- Free from Commericalisation(no advertising), no given agenda.
- Authentic realistic reporting, which is true to its subject (not
sensation or entertainment based).
- A medium to influence society and inforce real change.
- Highlights awareness of and respect for all members of society.
- Operates in the sphere of realism and true nature of human beings and
not in the accepted perceptions of society.
Any ideas or suggestions or any other contact can be made through the
following addresses;
Radio Robin Hood
Itäinen Rantakatu 64
20810 TURKU
Tel: +358 2 2773 666
Fax: + 358 2 2500 905
info@radiorobinhood.fi
www.radiorobinhood.fi
Wired Fm,
Mary Immaculate Collage,
South Circular Road,
Limerick, Rep of Ireland.
Tel: +353 61 315773
Fax: +353 61 325776
wiredfm@mic.ul.ie
listen.to/wiredFM
Radio Orange 94.0
Schubertgasse 10
1090 Wien, Austria
Tel: +43 1 309 09 99-7
office@orange.or.at
www.orange.or.at
Radio Helsinki
Schörgelgasse 27
8010 Graz, Austria
Tel.: +43 316 830880-85
Fax: +43 316 830880-84
helsinki@helsinki.mur.at
www.helsinki.at
Freies Radio Wueste Welle
Hechinger Strasse 203
D-72072 Tuebingen
Tel.: +49(0)7071-760337
frauenfunken@wueste-welle.de
www.wueste-welle.de
amarc europe
www.amarc.org/europe
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