Violence against women as a men’s issue

On the 13th of June The Feminist Club Amsterdam is organizing a discussion night in collaboration with Emancipator. This night we will discuss violence against women as a men’s issue.

We will ask the question, should violence against women be seen as a men’s issue, and what kinds of activism we might be able to plan to engage more men in this topic.

Although we would like to focus the discussion on affirmative and constructive talks on the topic, we will inevitably be discussing issues which may be triggering. The articles and videos we ask you to read and watch in advance of the night also discuss various forms of violence against women. These articles and videos will be added to the event asap.

We’re sure no one here needs to be told that violence against women is a human rights problem of pandemic proportions. It affects women of all backgrounds, across all cultures, in all countries in both public and private spaces. It includes physical, sexual and psychological forms of abuse. Although the vast, vast majority of cases are perpetrated by men, the campaigns, media attention, debates and talks on violence against women rarely include a mention of men alongside the alarming statistics that usually accompany these discussions. Men, and the way they’re socialised in the world, are largely erased from the issue, and so it’s often considered a problem for women to solve.

Every year in November, there’s a 16 day UN campaign to end violence against women. We’d like to use this discussion night as a platform to start thinking about an action, activity or campaign that we could plan in the coming months and run in November.

This night is for anyone who is outraged by the countless injustices of violence against women. But we especially encourage men to attend, if you are willing to acknowledge that as a man, you enjoy privilege that largely protects you from being directly affected by the issues we will be discussing. And acknowledge that even the most loving, caring and kind men in the world are still socialized into a patriarchal world in which their existence can feel threatening to women. So come to listen, engage constructively, be respectful, and hopefully come up with some bad-ass activism against the world’s most pervasive and unjust human rights abuse.

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We look forward to seeing yo

Location: Atria
Drinks: tea and coffee are available
Cost: we suggest a €2 donation
Code of Conduct: www.thefeministclub.nl/coc Please read these rules if you wish to attend our meeting.

This venue is wheelchair accessible. If you need any assistance coming to our event, please send an e-mail to thefeministclub@autistici.org. We can for instance help you with paying for your public transport fair or with accessing the building if you have a disability.