Africa

AAWORD - Association of African Women for Research and Development, c/o B.P. 11007, C.D. Annexe, Dakar, Senegal. A group of African women researchers now formed into an association in order to do women's research from an African perspective. Their first official meeting was held in Dakar in December 1977, and a report of that seminar, entitled " African Women and Development : The Decolonization of Research" will be available shortly from the above address.

The seminar dealt with women in rural development, the psychocultural aspects of women's condition, the legal status of women, women in urban development, with concrete proposals for research/areas for research.

MAURITIUS

Muvman Liberation Fam c/o Tabagie Capucines Arcades Abassakoor Guatre-Bornes, Mauritius 

Manifesto of Muvman Liberasion Fam The liberation of women means the liberation of humanity. When women struggle against their domination and exploitation, they free not only themselves but men as well, who are trapped in their own "show off" role. In this sense, women are similar to the working class which struggles for its own liberation, and which also has a historical role in freeing not only its class but also humanity. 

Muvman Liberasion Fam thinks that:

1. Every woman has the right to work. Women have the right to join the trade union. Everybody should get equal pay. If women only ask for "equal pay for equal work", the manager reclassifies the work and the salary of women will stay the same. The only way to achieve the equality of women is to struggle for a socialist society.

2. Women have the right to control their own bodies. They have the right to contraception and abortion . Women can choose to stay unmarried, or not to have children if they do not want any. A struggle against false propaganda is necessary. 

3. Women have the right to protection from any kind of violence: physical and legal protection against personal and collective violence which is inflicted on women and especially against rape and forced prostitution. 

4. Looking after children, cooking food and washing clothes must become socialized work - not individual work. Day nurseries and canteens in places of work should be available. Laundries must be available in every neighborhood. 

5. Women must have freedom to go where they want, do what they want and meet who they want. 

6. Women must struggle against the "object" role, whether it is in arranged marriages, in publicity, in beauty contests, in the streets or through fashion . It is necessary to remove all insults to women in our culture, remove all prejudice against women in school books, remove all anti-feminist curses, remove all songs which disgrace women.

7. All discriminatory laws against women must be repealed.

8. Women should have independent social identities from men. 

9. All education, especially in the technical field, must be opened to women. 

10. In the struggle for the liberation of women, women must be in the vanguard. Progressive men can help. The women in the MLF in Mauritius are working on a campaign to legalize abortion and on the revision of laws on rape, prostitution and divorce. Other areas of activity are day care centers, home for battered women, literacy course, contraception, women's bodies and health.

asia and  pacific

The Asian and Pacific Centre for Women and Development (APCWD), Box 1555, Teheran, Iran. 

The APCWD is a training and research institution of the United Nations' regional commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Set up in February 1977, its aim is to work with and for the women of the region towards a more equitable distribution of resources and of the opportunities for effective participation in the decision making process, and to take a lead in assisting the development community towards a better understanding of the effect development strategies have on women. Specifically it will provide training, technical and advisory services, and research, and will act as a clearing house for information and dissemination. All these activities will be continuously linked with women's groups and organizations, and with existing and planning projects and policies in order for the needs and desires of women to be taken into account.

The Critical Needs of Women, UN Asian and Pacific Centre for Women and Development (APCWD), Teheran, Iran, December 1977, 51 pages. 

This is part one of a report on an expert group meeting on  the identification of the basic needs of women of Asia and the Pacific and on the formulation of a programme of work. It is an extremely well -written report giving a sound basis and at times detailed analysis of women's oppression in Asia and the Pacific. Rejecting the "basic needs approach" as formulated by the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, the report identifies rather the critical needs of women, which include : provision of basic goods and services, conscientization, attitudinal change, mobilization, and structural change (i.e. political) . Goes on to analyse the cultural, social and religious factors of women's oppression, needing attitudinal change; their lack of participation in decision-making, needing mobilization; and employment structure, needing structural change. There is a special section on the Pacific sub-region, and a final part on the functions of the Centre (APCWD). Excellent paper.

ISRAEL

Israel Feminist Movement, 228 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv (tel: 03/220420). 

The Israel Feminist Movement has opened a rape  crisis center in Tel Aviv, to deal with the immediate psychological and physical trauma after rape. The center will be housed in Movement headquarters and be staffed on a 24 hour basis by volunteers. Visiting feminists are welcomed to use the headquarters's library reading room and facilities and participate in other activities at the center.

HONG KONG

War-On-Rape Campaign R.C. Box 201 Shantin, N.T., Hong Kong 

"This is a summary of the history of the campaign which was a direct result of the workshop "Women and Violence" held during the International Woman's Year Conference in 1975. Since August 1977, rape victims can use a 24-hour hotline provided by the Samaritans and the Hong Kong Family Planning Association. The 26 centres of the FPA which are within reach of most of the population can be approached by victims even if they do not wish to report to the police; they are given a "morning-after-pill" if indicated, and tested for venereal disease. Follow-up is arranged with a team consisting of a doctor, a counsellor and nurse . An abortion can be arranged. Psychological and social problems are recognized and the method of "anticipatory counselling" has been found useful. The victims are very young, 90% of victims are in their teens, 50% of them below 16 years. Only 15% are married . The traditional emphasis on chastity in the Chinese community results in shame and fear, and a stigma on the whole family . Counsellors have found that only 25% of victims approaching them have reported to the police; their main worries are over telling their parents and boyfriends, about pregnancy and loss of virginity

The main emphasis of the campaign has been to raise the consciousness of the community to the problem of rape, which is grossly under-reported; to emphasize the violent nature of the crime. 60% of rapes occur out of the blue, the rapist being unknown, 40% are accompanied by robbery and in 50% the assault is violent, mostly a knife being used to threaten and intimidate the victim; about 10 % of rape are gang rapes. The media have been very helpful in providing the opportunity for women working on the campaign to appear on many panels, interviews and discussion programmes. Two films have been made - one by the Police "Dangerous Stranger" which is freely available to schools and other groups; one by the Government Controlled television station in a very popular series " Beneath the Lion Rock" depicting in simple story form the fate of two young girls who have been raped. The rapes occurred as is the fact in 80% of rapes in Hong Kong - indoors, in daylight hours, in tenements and public areas of housing states (lifts, stairs, rooftops). The violent nature of the crime and the serious aftermath both in psychological and social terms, and in resulting pregnancy, were emphasized.

Posters and pamphlets have been printed and widely distributed. All the medical profession has been informed of the service. A 30 second "spot" on television appears regularly to advertise the 24-hour hotline.

Most recently, the Government has gazetted legal changes in the existing rape laws, which will now be brought in line with the recently reformed rape laws in the United Kingdom, most importantly safeguarding the anonymity of the victim, and rendering her previous sexual history inadmissible in court.

The first group of about 50 young Chinese "volunteers" has now received training to accompany victims to police station, casualty hospital department and court, and to offer support. 

Soon a resource manual for counsellors will be available in both Chinese and English. 

We would be glad to liaise with any other groups particularly in this region for exchange of information and resources

Latin America

Features Service and Audio-visual Bank on Women and Population

This is a UNESCO/UNFPA (UN Fund for Population Activities) project initiated in January 1978 in Latin America. The intention is to create a network of national coordinator/ correspondents throughout Latin America who will produce some 200 articles a year regarding women's role and status in the family and society and their participation in the development process. The service is linked to Inter-Press Service (IPS) in Rome and will use their circuit for distribution of the features. IPS circuit covers Latin America, certain countries in East and Western Europe, Africa and the Arab States.

The contributions to the service will mainly come from Latin American women journalists writing about problems and developments in their own countries, but regional comparative studies will also be prepared and issued from Rome to the national coordinators. This material can also be made available to women's publications which request it and all inquiries or suggestions for exchanges or subscriptions should be 

addressed to :

Mabel ltzcovitch,

IPS, Via Panisperna 207,

Rome, Italy.

North America

CANADA

Women Against Violence Against Women - WA VAW P.O. Box 928 Station Q Toronto, Ontario Canada

Set up after the national day of women against violence against women (November 5, 1977) this action group will support any women on the issues listed in their demands.

- decriminalization of prostitution

- that rape is a crime based on hate and not on sex, and intended to confirm men's power over all women

- that police and court respond to wife and child beating as they would (or should) to any assault

- the elimination of female job ghettos and the growing wage gap between men and women

 - the right of any woman to bear and raise children in dignity and freedom from economic want, i.e. adequate support for single mothers, and no separation of children
from mothers because of their lesbianism

- the decriminalization of abortion and the provision of women-run clinics where good healthcare, birth control information and safe abortions will be available free to
all women

- dignified treatment of women in prisons and so called correctional institutions

- the right of women to express themselves sexually - no harassment or discrimination for lesbian sexual orientation

- that forced sterilization of immigrant and native women be stopped

- an end to violence against women in mental health institutions and the offices of private psychotherapists

Canadian Newsletter of Research on Women/Recherches sur la Femme - Bulletin d'lnformation Canadien,  Department of Sociology,
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

This interdisciplinary, international periodical on women and sex-roles, published three times a year, is an invaluable re source. Gives annotated listings of on-going research and publications both in Canada and internationally, special issues of periodicals, feminist publications and bibliographies. The same team also produces A Bibliography of Special Periodical Issues (ed . Jennifer Newton and Carol Zavitz), a hefty volume which covers a wide number of periodicals which have devoted special issues to women. Both highly recommended resource and reference material.

Shadd : The life and times of Mary Shadd Cary, Jim Bearden and Linda Jean Butler, NC Press, 1978. 250 pages. $ 7.95 papaerback, from : Belford Books, 78 Broadview Avenue, Toronto, Canada.

Chronicles the turbulent career of the 19th century black activist and feminist, an early lecturer on Anti-Slavery, Black Pride, and Women's Rights. A valuable resource book especially for women's studies programmes.

USA

Quest : a feminist quarterly 2000 P Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20036, USA. 

"International feminism" is the theme of Vol. IV, No. 2 (Winter 1978) of this important and well-produced quarterly . Includes articles on Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Cuba, Brazil, France, Israel and the United Nations, and several analytical pieces on international feminism (e .g. "Can feminism be a global ideology" by Devaki Jain) . Lists feminists and women's resources and publications, and includes commentary on the Wellesley conference and the Brussels International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women.

Women and everybody, Box 26354, San Francisco, Ca. 94126, USA 

A newly formed hooker's lobby for the passage of ERA  (Equal Rights Amendment) by 1979. It is urging all "working women" intimate with anti -ERA legislators, to send in the names of these gentlemen for the SCHMUCK OF THE YEAR AWARD to Margo St. James, publisher of Coyote Howls and founder of Coyote, a prostitutes rights group based in San Francisco.

Working on Wife Abuse, Betsy Warrior, USA, 1978. US$ 3.50 from : Betsy Warrior, 46 Pleasant Street, Cambridge, Ma. 02139, USA. 

A directory of shelters, services, coalitions, task forces and individuals working to end women abuse. Covers all 50 states in the USA plus some other countries Lists publications pertinent to the issue including books, films, pamphlets, posters, research, statistical reports, etc. Section on funding. Introduction examining history and purposes of refuges. Articles on "how to" start hot lines, support groups and shelter procedures. 6th Edition - expanded and revised.

Europe

SPAIN

Feminist Vindication,  Naples 105 4 ° C, Barcelona-13, Spain. 

As well as their monthly feminist magazine (highly recommended), Vindicaci6n is now starting to publish a series of monographs, the first of which is on Abortion, published in April 1978. The monographs will appear quarterly, dedicated to a specific theme for women. 75 pesetas per copy, 240 pesetas for a set of four. In Spanish.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Women's Action Belfast Women' Collective, 52 Broadway, Belfast BT12, Northern Ireland.

The May/June issue of the Belfast collective contains articles on women's aid in Northern Ireland, a dental nurses' strike, the first sex discrimination act test in Northern Ireland, childcare, contraception and abortion, women in South Africa, the freeing of Noreen Winchester and more. Price 10 pence plus postage.

BELGIUM

ASBL Collective for battered women, Brussels, tel: 02/512 61 96.

A new refuge for battered women in Brussels has been established by a collective of women. They have published a helpful little brochure called "Sache que tu peux partir" (know you can leave).

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

Women Against Misery Violence, Frauenhaus Berlin, April 1978. DM 14.80 from: Frauenbuchvertrieb, Mehringdamm 34, 1000 Berlin 61, West Germany.

The experiences of the first year of the Berlin refuge for battered women and children (more than 900 women and 1000 children) are recounted and set into a political analysis, showing that standard psychological or biological explanation for women beating simply reinforce man brutality. Also examines the liberating process of the work within the refuge

IRELAND

Arlen House: The Women's Press, 28 Claredon Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. A feminist publishing company owned and managed by women which aims to encourage the work of new women writers as well as publishing books by established authors. Publishers source material for women's studies, biography, education, and reprints of established classics. Also, practical books, reference, and guidebooks for women, reflecting current social and legal injustices and they plan to launch a new fiction list and children's series. Titles include: - 

The Essential Guide for Women in Ireland, Janet Martin. First comprehensive reference book for women covering work, money, children's right, cancer, contraception, abortion, marriage, divorce, rape, violence, etc. Lists women's organisations. Also available in braille. 144 pages. 1.95 pound.

The Change of Life, Mollie Loyd. A self-help book on menopause. 164 pages. 1.00 pound.

Constance Markievicz, Jacqueline Van Voris. Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British Parliament. She served as first Minister for Labour in the Irish Dail and was the first woman cabinet minister in Western Europe. 144 pages. 1.65 pound.

The Female Experience, Catherine Rose. An introduction t~ the history of the women's movement in Ireland. 110 pages. 90 p.

Women in Irish Society, the historical dimension, ed. Margaret MacCurtain and Donncha 0 Corrain. Collection of studies on the posit ion of women in Irish life from the sixth century to the present.

UNITED KINGDOM

Gemma, B.M . Box 5700, London WC1V 6XX, England.

Gemma is a group for disabled homosexual women with without partners. It exists particularly to lessen the isolation of those disabled gay women who haven't access to gay publications or groups, who, for various reasons do not wish to "come out" to family. heterosexual friends or residential staff. Self-help supportive group to disabled and non-disabled alike

What should I do for Battered Women Information Kit for Agencies

What should I do for battered women ? This question is very much in the minds of many people who come into contact with women who have been mentally or physically maltreated by the men with whom they live. The National Women's Aid Federation of England, representing about one hundred women's aid groups providing refuge for battered women and children, have drawn up an Information Kit for Agencies which contains useful facts and suggestions which should help answer this question. The kit contains leaflets on : battered women and refuges; unhelpful myths and stereotypes about battered women; battered women demand control over their lives; National Women's Aid Federation - how we work. It also contains leaflets directed at various agencies : social workers, police, clergy, doctors. This kit should be useful for groups and agencies dealing with battered women . Copies of the kit are available from The National Aid Federation, 51 Chalcot Road, London NW1 , UK. Tel. 01-586-0104/5192
Price : 15 pence each .

Virago 5 Wardour Street, London W1V 3HE, England.

Entering its second year as an independent company, is now publishing a wide variety of books on all aspects of women's lives, including novels, handbooks, histories, (herstories) and biographies. Especially concentrating on reprinting modern classic works by women which have been out of print for decades. New titles include :

Bombers and Mash, the domestic front 1939-45, Raynes Minns. 3.50 pounds (May 1979) .

Old Wives Tales, their cures, remedies and spells, Mary Chamberlain. 2.50 pounds (April 1979).

Finding a Voice, Asian women in Britain, Amrit Wilson. 2.95 pounds (October 1978).

The Spirit of the Valley, Androgyn and Chinese Thought, Sukie Colegrave. 2.95 pounds (June ·1 979) .

Marie Stopes, a biography, Ruth Hall. 3.50 pounds (October 1978) .

My Own Story, Emmeline Pankhurst, new introduction by Hill Craigie. 3.50 pounds (February 1979).

A Literature of their own, British women novelists from Bronte to Lessing, Elaine Showalter. 3.50 pounds (April 1978) .

(all prices quoted are for paperback editions)

Child Poverty Action Group

1 Macklin Street,

Drury Lane London WC28 5NH,

England tel: (01) 242 3225/9149

"We are planning to hold a conference here in London on women and social security in November. This will be in cooperation with the National Council for Civil Liberties and the Women's Liberation Campaign for Legal and Financial lndependence. One of the reasons we decided to hold the conference is the draft EEC Directive on Equal Treatment for Men and Women in Matters of Social Security. This directive has got a lot of holes in it and our own Government is trying to get it watered down still further.

We would like to hear from women in other EEC countries. We would also like to hear from any women in other countries (including non-EEC countries) who are active on the issue of women and social security and who might be interested to come to speak at our conference in London. We hope to be able to pay expenses for speakers".

Women against Rape, ed. Ruth Hall , Falling Wall Press, Bristol, 1978. $1 .60 from : Falling Wall Press Ltd ., 79 Richmond Road, Bristol 6, England.

" In July 1977, hundreds of women gathered in Trafalgar Square, London, to form a Women's Court, calling to trial all those responsible for rape. The charges were rape, conspiracy to rape and perpetrate violence against women. The defendents : Judges who had set free a rapist so that he could continue his army career; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 'enforcer of the economic crisis which increases our financial dependence on men making us vulnerable to their demands'; the Home Secretary, responsible for laws which legalise rape in marriage; the Head of the Department of Social Security, whose cohabitation ruling forces women into financial dependence on men, so encouraging rape. The prosecution, witnesses and jury : women". First-hand accounts of rape in Britain, and how to end it. Includes songs and photographs from the trial.

Other Falling Wall Press publications include:

Motherhood, Lesbianism and Child Custody, Francie Wyland, July 1977.

All Work and No Pay, Women, housework and the wages due, ed. Wendy Edmond and Suzie Fleming, September 1975.

Women, the Unions and Work, and the perspective of winning, Selma James, May 1976.

Shrew Lynn Blackmore, Some Friends Community, 128 Bethnal Green Road, London E 2, U.K.

The summer 1978 issue of Shrew is a special issue on women and nonviolence produced by a collective of women from the women's liberation movement and the nonviolent movement. They see this as an attempt to open up debate in some areas of political activity to which a feminist nonviolent analysis might be applied covering topics as varied as women and the military, street hassles, nuclear power, how boys learn their role in the cult of violence, Northern Ireland, patriarchal justice and much much more. Price : 40 pence.

INTERNATIONAL

Donna - Femme - Frau - Woman - Mujer c/o Emilia de Besi Via C. Battisti 25 Bologna, Italy

An international newsletter on repression against women, this is published every two months in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It arose out of the international Paris meeting, preparatory to and following up the May 1977 international feminist meeting in Paris and contains information and news on campaigns such as for women political prisoners in Latin America and West Germany, oppression of women in Northern Ireland, rape and abortion .

Feminism and Nonviolence Newsletter c/o Jenny Jacobs and Lesley Merryfinch 2 Mentor Street Mancheder13,England

Published in English, French and German, six times a year, the first mimeographed issue of this newsletter appeared in May 1978 with news and addresses of feminist and
nonviolence groups in various countries; resource listings of periodicals, books and articles; articles on nuclear power etc.

Of Woman Born, Adrienne Rich, Bantam Books, USA, 1977. Also published by Virago (feminist publishers). United Kingdom, 1977.

This fine book is an examination of the experience and institution of motherhood. Drawing on an enormous wealth of history, psychology, health theories and her own experience, the author examines every aspect of what motherhood means in women's lives. "Motherhood - unmentioned in the histories of conquest and serfdom, wars and treaties, exploration and imperialism - has a history, it has an ideology, it is more fundamental than tribalism or nationalism. My individual, seemingly private pains as a mother, the individual, seemingly private pains of the mothers around me and before me, whatever our class or color, the regulation of women's reproductive power by men in every totalitarian system and every socialist revolution, the legal and technical control by men of contraception, fertility, abortion, obstetrics, gynecology, and extra uterine reproductive experiments - all are essential to the patriarcal system, as is the negative or suspect status of women who are not mothers." As the author says, this is not an attack on the family or on mothering, except as defined and restricted under patriarchy. An exciting and readable book. Highly recommended.

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR ABORTION RIGHTS

An International Campaign for Abortion Rights is being set in motion, focusing on an international day of action in early April 1979. The idea was born at the
Paris "Women and Socialism" meeting in June 1977 (see ISIS Bulletin No.5), and a recent coordination meeting took place in London to discuss the campaign. Women from France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, USA, Switzerland, Italy and Colombia were present, and they decided that a first planning meeting for this international action would take place on 23rd September 1978 in Brussels, Belgium.

This planning meeting will be organized and coordinated by the National Abortion Campaign (NAC), Great Britain. Details of the international day of action will
be planned and discussed: the exact date, slogans, coordinated action in each country, specific actions etc. All representatives of women's groups are invited
to attend. Those who cannot attend are invited to send their ideas to the NAC. NAC will send out further information of times and place of the meeting in the
near future.

Slogans for the day were decided upon at the June meeting in London as follows:

"Contraception and Abortion are Women's Rights"

"No Forced Sterilization"

Send your suggestions and ideas, and write for more details to:

National Abortion Campaign,

30 Camden Road,

LONDON NWl

England.