by Artemis
In April, in Paris, France, the Coalition Against Prostitution International (CAP intl.) in partnership with Le Mouvement du Nid and the Fondation Scelles organized a three-day celebration of the tenth anniversary of the French Abolitionist Law. On April 12, over 800 demonstrators from 12 countries, including Germany, the U.S., Colombia, and South Korea, attended the World March of Survivors and Allies for the Abolition of the Prostitution System. Signs read: “To Survivors Who Are Rising Up, Your Sisters are Grateful,” “Buying Me = Raping Me,” “My Body, His Choice,” “Listen to Survivors,” “The Future Is Feminist,” “Not for Sale,” and “There Is No Free Choice.” Marchers chanted “Abolitionist! Feministe!” On April 13, activists and politicians attended a conference, Abolition in Action, in Parliament with 49 speakers across eight panels. Numerous topics included the successes of the law, backlash, online exploitation, and the vital importance of the leadership and testimonies of survivors. Many discussed challenges implementing the Nordic model (aka Equality model) in their own countries. The U.S. documentary “The Right Track” by Janet Jensen was shown. The next day, La Cité Audacieuse hosted the “EXIT” event. Speakers from Nepal, Colombia, India, Lebanon, and Mongolia discussed the effects of prostitution on their countries, support for exiting, and protection for populations vulnerable to grooming.
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La Cité Audacieuse (aka. The Audacious City or The Bold City) in Paris, France, is a “feminist third space.” The idea was launched by the city of Paris in 2001 and revived in 2016 by Anne-Cécile Mailfert. She created the Fondation des Femmes (the Women’s Foundation) with the motto “Liberty, Equality, Sisterhood.” In 2019, she converted an old elementary school building into offices for 38 feminist organizations. It also houses a café with a library of over 200 feminist books. There is a podcast studio, a childcare area, and spaces for meetings, debates, conferences, and art exhibitions. There are support groups and a drop-in center for victims of violence. In 2024, the Fondation des Femmes created a network of seven similar places across France.
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In April, England and Wales decriminalized all women having abortions. The Crime and Policing Act does away with the 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act and the 1926 Infant Life Preservation Act. Both allowed women and girls to be arrested, investigated, or prosecuted for procuring an abortion for themselves or self-aborting. The 1967 Abortion Act legalized doctors performing most abortions. The older laws, still on the books, were mostly no longer enforced until three years ago. Then, police made almost 100 demands for medical records, with six women prosecuted. Most UK abortions are performed by medication, and police often accused women of aborting past the legal gestation limit. They also investigated miscarriages. UK anti-abortion groups and the Reform party had received funding and advice on tactics from U.S. Christian Nationalist groups. Medical organizations including the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and over 20 feminist groups as well as “Cosmopolitan UK” magazine fought for the new law. BPAS Chief Executive Heidi Stewart said, “After years of women facing police investigations, arrests from hospital wards, home searches and even prosecution under Victorian-era abortion laws, this is a profound and long-overdue change. This is a decisive step towards a system that treats abortion as healthcare, not a criminal matter, and one that finally begins to address the harm caused by these outdated laws.”