Corporate Violence Against Women: We need to keep talking about it

jankie / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

I have been following the horrific collapse of the textile factory in Bangladesh. As of today – 1127 people have died. Most of the employees in the garment industry are women. Many are mothers who have left children behind. It is back breaking, extremely low paying work.

It is corporate violence against women and we are all complicit.

As I have been getting dressed in the morning lately I have wondered if one of those women may have sewn what I am wearing that day and I feel sadness, guilt and powerlessness.

I read the accounts of survivors and families left behind and I clammer for information about what I can do. The power and force of globalization is overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable.

On the positive side, there have been actions taken in Bangladesh and by some corporations to address things like rights to unionize and agreements around factory conditions.  It is unclear of any of these processes have any weight or influence.

So what can we do?

Some say we should just buy North American made.

This to me is a admirable goal but I don’t see how that helps people working in Bangladesh. The reality we live in is that upwards of 90% of the garment industry exists outside of North America. It is unlikely that messages to seek out the 10% of North American made clothing will result in any changes for the lives of workers overseas. It is nearly impossible to find these items for the average person. Ultimately, I believe the burden should be on companies to change their practices – not the consumers.

Keep talking about it

The internet is aflutter with stories from the tragedy at the Boston Marathon and the women found in Cleveland. These are awful tragedies but I do believe we need to respect the enormous scale of the Bangladesh losses and keep sharing on Facebook and support the media spotlight to remain on labour issues and worker rights. These are not “sexy” issues like terrorism or as compelling as the horrific story of holding women captive in Cleveland but it has the potential to influence many millions of lives.

The tragedy is on a scale that is really unimaginable and it is mired in complex global economic and politics. It is a story that has the potential to influence changes that could make life better for millions of workers if people like us, who buy the products, keep talking about it and stay aware of who the companies are that are acting and not acting.

One place you can start: go to corporate Facebook pages and have your voice heard – send a message, post on their walls. Some of the companies doing business with Bangladeshi factories include (with links to their Facebook pages):

I think the violence against women movements should align more in response to these issues and name the situation in the garment industry what it is in many cases: corporate violence against women.

There are no easy answers, but millions of people deserve better and consumers do have power and a voice – more of us need to use it.

Two different responses

legacy of griefAs a mom of a daughter I have been following the Rehtaeh Parson’s case in Nova Scotia with a very heavy heart. Rehtaeh could very easily be my daughter. As an advocate for ending violence, I was impressed with how fast Rehtaeh’s family (with the help of media and advocates) was able to connect with political leaders including the Premier and Prime Minister.

It seems change may come in her name – which is how it should be.

It struck me when I read this story of a First Nations community declaring a state of emergency because of youth suicides, how the Nova Scotia family’s experience of political response has been so vastly different from First Nations communities. In particular, the families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, who continue to seek justice and ask for political leaders to act.

Aboriginal leaders and people have starved themselves and walked 1600 km try and meet with political leaders – to mostly no avail.

I am white. Rehtaeh looks to me like she could be my daughter. She looks like she could be the daughter of our Prime Minister too. Yet, the pain of her mother is no different from the pain of all of the mothers and family members who are missing their daughters, sisters and mothers from Aboriginal communities across Canada. Rehtaeh’s pain from assault and exclusion is probably not so different from the pain of the Aboriginal youth who die by suicide in Canada.

The situations on and off reserves are a result of a complex mix of colonialism, the lasting impacts of residential schools, poverty and exclusion. Female Aboriginal youth die by suicide 7 times that of non-Aboriginal females.  Inuit communities have among the highest rates of youth suicide in the world.

These women and girls don’t look like they could be my daughter, but these losses matter equally to me.

I wish I could say the same for out political leaders.

Interestingly, Aboriginal communities with self-governance have among the lowest rates of suicide; there is a clearly a role for the Canadian government to play here.

Photo credit: Renegade98 / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

I Am Angry

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We are sharing a fellow blogger’s post (with permission) in recognition of the importance of her voice and her strength – and to echo that we are angry too:

I am Angry

I’ve been reading about the Steubenville rape trial and I am angry. I am sick of reading about the judgement, humiliation and dehumanization endured as a result of being a victim. I want people to have at least some sense of the grossly unbalanced burden carried by victims of sexual assault.

5 years ago I was sexually assaulted. For 5 years I have felt anxiety, shame, self-blame and guilt about it – guilt that stems largely from how sexual assault is approached by the media, the law and society in general. Thanks to counseling, I have finally moved past the guilt and into anger. I am angry. Very very angry. So angry. And I should probably wait to write this until I have moved through this stage of grief, but right now I want to embrace this anger. Because I earned this anger. I deserve to be this angry.

To the read the rest of her post click here.

Photo credit: h.koppdelaney / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

An Open Letter to the Community from Family Transition Place

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An open letter to our community,
In response to recent cases of sexual violence, and the use of social media used to blame and shame victim-survivors, Family Transition Place reaches out to those affected by sexual violence in the Dufferin and Caledon areas.

The stories of young women who ended their lives – Rehtaeh Parsons, Audrie Pott, Amanda Todd – are too common. Rehtaeh, Audrie and Amanda’s stories are not just about bullying or the malicious use of social media: more, these young women’s stories speak of the impacts of sexual violence. These young women felt ashamed. The shame should not be theirs, but that of their aggressors – both those who perpetrated sexual
violence against them, and those who participated in the distribution of images.

To read the rest of the letter: click here.

In need of some compassion: victim blaming kills.

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April 3 was International Day Against Victim Blaming. Victim blaming has a face and it is the faces of women lost to suicide and despair. From India to Nova Scotia, we have lost young women to victim blaming.

Victim blaming is a place in which we all can intervene. Challenge people you know, media, your family and friends when they question and blame victims of violence. Challenge other parents. Challenge yourself. What are the messages you accept or spread in relation to women’s responsibility for sexual violence?

What are the parents of the young people that bullied Rehtaeh Parsons to death feeling right now? Do they know about the cyber attacks and taunting? The school officials and police? There is a lot of blame to go around.

Life after rape is difficult enough to manage as an individual. When society sends the messages over and over that you are to blame, it becomes too much.

We need to continue to talk about sexual violence and the importance of being accepting, compassionate and kind to victims. So much of this is linked to work around anti-bullying efforts that need to continue.

Rehtaeh and other like her need seemingly simple acts of compassion, not blame. Some days it is hard to get my head around why this seems to be so hard for so many of us. I feel just simple bewilderment. So many things could have been done by so many people.

And she is lost. A symbol of what is wrong with us.

My thoughts are with her mother and the painful and tragic path she walked with her daughter.

Photo credit: seyed mostafa zamani / Foter.com / CC BY