by Artemis

On Nov. 12, about 200 students protested plans by Dongduk Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea, to become co-ed. The student council and feminist student club Siren formed an emergency committee, conducted discussions, had more protests, and boycotted classes while sharing class materials online. They co-wrote in a statement: “We are wholly against the coeducational transition that contradicts the founding purpose of the university, which was established with the goal of empowering women.” Students stated they are more comfortable discussing feminism and “challenges unique to women in male-dominated fields like economics and engineering” at a women’s school. They cited higher employment rates of graduates and protection from rising sexual harassment and assaults including “un-consensual filming.” The persistence of social inequality and counterprotests by a “men’s rights” group also show the need to protect South Korea’s seven remaining women’s universities.

***

On Nov. 9, Nordic Model Now! held a London conference titled “Women for Sale: Private Matter or Public Crisis?” subtitled “Selling Our Bodies at What Cost?” The secular, grassroots feminist organization supports the Nordic (aka Equality) model of decriminalizing victims of prostitution while prosecuting pimps and customers. The UK-based organization hosted international speakers debunking claims of the sex industry that “sex work” is a normal job. Survivors described the trauma of prostitution and how girls are groomed over social media. The continuum of sexual exploitation includes surrogacy. Valerie Tender stated, “All these practices call for women to be dissociated from themselves. When I was in the sex trade, I would have said “sex work is work” because we need to tell ourselves a lot of things in order to do it…to pull through and survive, and something that I see among all women who claim to be sex workers is they just can’t stand the thought of seeing themselves as victims.” Olivia Maurel, born from surrogacy, described the profound, lifelong alienation of being treated as a commodity. Marie-Anne Isabelle explained her experience of being an “altruistic surrogate” for a family member only to be treated as property as not unusual. Speakers explained that commodification of women damages all relationships. The talks are available on YouTube.

***

On Nov. 23, over 150,000 people demonstrated in Rome, Italy, against violence against women, holding banners saying “Disarm the Patriarchy!” This is the second annual march after last year’s mass protests against the murder of 22-year-old engineering student Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend. These were ignited by her sister Elena’s response to the media’s sympathetic portrayal of the murderer and victim-blaming. In interviews and on social media, Elena described his controlling, possessive behavior as stemming from “a patriarchal society steeped in rape culture.” She said, “Giulia didn’t want to feel responsible for him killing himself…She was being manipulated and tended to minimize the problem. This is why psychological abuse is underestimated—sometimes the victim doesn’t even recognize themselves as a victim, and as a society, we always tend to blame the victim.” This year, Italy’s Education Minister claimed “patriarchy no longer exists,” blaming the rise in sexual violence on “illegal immigration.” However, statistics show 80% of femicides are by Italian citizens, often the victim’s partner or family member as was Giulia’s. Elena called for a “cultural revolution” with men becoming part of the solution. Her father Giuseppe Valditara created the Giulia Cecchettin Foundation to “educate in order to create change.”