The International Feminist Network was proposed at the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Brussels in March 1976. Its purpose is to mobilize support and solidarity among the women's movement on an international scale when needed. International mobilization of feminist support has taken place, for example, in the case of the Three Marias in Portugal, of rape victims in Australia and Italy, of political prisoners in Argentina and Chile, and of the domestic workers' struggle in Portugal. This international solidarity of women has been demonstrated through letters, telegrams, publicity, demonstrations and fund-raising.

The International Feminist Network (IFN) is being built up because women throughout the world have felt the need for concrete expressions of support and solidarity in their particular struggles and actions. Often these expressions of support are needed rapidly - as in the cases of trials or strikes of women. The women's movement has also felt the need for channels of communication for the rapid spreading of information about international feminist actions, demonstrations and conferences. The IFN will enable this kind of information to be disseminated among the women's movement in each country.

How the IFN works

At the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women, it was proposed that the IFN be set up with a coordinator who would receive all information and requests for support and pass these on to two or more contact women in each country who volunteer to take the responsibility to inform all the feminist groups in their country,

ISIS - Women's International Information and Communication Service - has recently been asked to take the responsibility for coordinating the IFN. Women needing international support should write or telephone the ISIS Collectives in Geneva or Rome giving the details of the case and the ways women in other countries can help them. Information about international  conferences and actions should also be sent to ISIS. All requests for support will be passed along to the women who have volunteered to inform the women's movement in their countries. It is up to each women's group to decide whether and how they respond to the requests for support.

Building up the IFN

The IFN is still in the process of being set up. This is slow work but the IFN has already begun to work. The ISIS Collectives are sending out requests for support as soon as they are received, to contact women around the world. In urgent cases we have telephoned feminist groups throughout Europe. There has been very good response in several instances.

Whenever possible, the IFN is working through existing feminist networks in the various countries. But in order for requests for support to reach the women's movement as widely as possible in each country, more women are needed to take responsibility for building up and maintaining the network in their countries, for distributing the requests throughout this network, and for relaying requests to the IFN coordinators in Rome and Geneva. Please let us know if you are willing to work on the IFN.

Financing the IFN

The editors of the book on the proceedings of the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women, Diana Russell and Nicole Van de Ven, are donating any profits from the book to the IFN. We are also looking for other sources of money to cover the expenses of duplicating materials, postage and telephone for the network.

The IFN coordinators (ISIS in Geneva and Rome) will publish regular reports about the IFN in the Isis International Bulletin

SISTERHOOD IS POWERFUL AND INTERNATIONAL SISTERHOOD IS EVEN MORE POWERFUL!!

Isis/IFN Geneva: tel: 022/43 40 22

Isis/IFN Rome: tel: 06/58 08 231