Sexual Abuse in the Left

[jojojamhead]

Recently I've been browsing the web and keep coming upon multiple articles and statements by people who have been either at a protest or event in the left wing community and then have been raped and when reported it have been told to hush up and that they are lying .
I think this should be more widely published and people should recognise that this is a rising problem .
Thoughts on the topic ?

[Futility Personified]

Any "comrade" who is so important to the struggle that they can get a break from rape should be liquidated. As in, put into a blender and made into a horrible goo.

I don't know if it's a rising problem but the comrade delta event was certainly a landmark example of this occurring, it would seem that it's a no-brainer, anyone who behaves in such a way needs to be excluded. I remember the SWP were talking about not trusting the bourgeois courts, but to me that reeks of trying to cover ass there. The haemorraging of membership they have since experienced would seem to say that the consensus is that any organisation who collaborates with rapists has nary a leg to stand on, so hopefully in future all groups will be paying more attention to anything of this nature.

[Quail]

While I can understand the lack of trust in the bourgeois courts, the way that the SWP handled the comrade delta business was utterly despicable.

Unfortunately I don't think that sexual abuse on the left is a recent phenomenon, it's just been under the spotlight more recently. Women in particular have been organising against sexism on the left, including serious cases like abuse, for years and years. What we need are:
a) People to take responsibility for educating themselves about consent, power dynamics and the way that the structure of society may have affected the way they see those things.
b) An organisational structure which does not allow for hierarchies which allow abuse to take place and be covered up.
c) A way of dealing with perpetrators of abuse, which keeps their victims and other people safe, while also making reparations where possible and allowing the perpetrator to work on and change their behaviour patterns.

I think that's easier said than done though.

You might be interested in this (http://www.revleft.com/vb/dealing-problematic-behaviour-t186144/index.html?t=186144&highlight=sexism+left) thread from a few months ago.

[Slavic]

While I can understand the lack of trust in the bourgeois courts, the way that the SWP handled the comrade delta business was utterly despicable.

Unfortunately I don't think that sexual abuse on the left is a recent phenomenon, it's just been under the spotlight more recently. Women in particular have been organising against sexism on the left, including serious cases like abuse, for years and years. What we need are:
a) People to take responsibility for educating themselves about consent, power dynamics and the way that the structure of society may have affected the way they see those things.
b) An organisational structure which does not allow for hierarchies which allow abuse to take place and be covered up.
c) A way of dealing with perpetrators of abuse, which keeps their victims and other people safe, while also making reparations where possible and allowing the perpetrator to work on and change their behaviour patterns.

I think that's easier said than done though.

You might be interested in this (http://www.revleft.com/vb/dealing-problematic-behaviour-t186144/index.html?t=186144&highlight=sexism+left) thread from a few months ago.

Read through your link a bit,

I'm unsure of how the SWP is organized, but would a HR-like section of the SWP be beneficial for providing education on consent and what constitutes inappropriate sexual behaviors. As well as providing a safe environment for discussion of any sexual assaults and arbitration.

This type of inner organization would have to act out of its own interests and not be beholden to party leadership in order to prevent party leaders from meddling with assault cases.

IDK, I'm spit-balling ideas.

[PhoenixAsh]

I remember the SWP were talking about not trusting the bourgeois courts, but to me that reeks of trying to cover ass there.

Specific case aside. I think the reality of sexual abuse on the left is more complex than dismissing whether or not to use the current judicial system as a means to cop out and "cover ass".

There is a real substantial problem with dependency on bourgeois institutions and these represent a slippery slope. Not in the least because these institutions are both operating within a culture of rape and patriarchy and are not known for being supportive to rape victims but also because these institutions are representatives of the system we are actively opposing and are in fact actively opposing the revolutionary left in their own rights.

I prefer solving these issues decisively within our own communities although I recognize, and have no quick solution for, the reality that any actions we impose in our own communities lack legality and are harder to enforce because of it or could lead to vigilantism (although there is something to be said for this too). In this respect it should also be mentioned that our communities are a sub set of society in general and we also have an obligation outside our own communities/groups to warn and protect against rapists and sexual abusers from our own ranks. This is made more difficult if we act outside the current legal system.


**

This debate aside.

Sexism and, as a result, sexual abuse and rape are and have, unfortunately and regrettable, been happening within the revolutionary left in all times. These are, to our shame, not new issues but situations we have failed to resolve because we are not adequately fighting sexism in our own ranks. In failing to do so we do not only fail protect members against sexism but also fail to create an environment in which people can feel safe actively fight sexism.

Perhaps this is because of a belligerent mentality which comes with fighting the system and being actively prosecuted and opposed but we have been in denial of these situations for as long as we have existed as part of our defensive nature to criticism and lack of self criticism (fe. we are not sexist...because we are the left and fight against patriarchy). But also because of the proximity of this happening. It is easier to condemn somebody we don't know than somebody we associate with on a day to day basis (fe. But he is such a nice person).

Whatever the cause this situation is worrying and should be resolved.

As Quail argued


What we need are:
a) People to take responsibility for educating themselves about consent, power dynamics and the way that the structure of society may have affected the way they see those things.
b) An organisational structure which does not allow for hierarchies which allow abuse to take place and be covered up.
c) A way of dealing with perpetrators of abuse, which keeps their victims and other people safe, while also making reparations where possible and allowing the perpetrator to work on and change their behaviour patterns.

I think that's easier said than done though.

We need this.

But we also need people to be vigilant and not afraid to speak out against sexism, confrontational and non confrontational...and this is, imo, one of the basic necessities if all this is going to be implemented. It is absent in many organisations and groups or...at another extreme...done in an accusing and judging atmosphere.

We also need in our organizations somebody who is independent from party/group hierarchy who should act as a confidence mediator whose sole role is to be available for people who need to address issues like sexual abuse, sexism and who can act, with the consent of the individual involved, in reporting the issue to the community/group/party and act on this.

When it comes to actual rape and abuse I do however think C is extremely depending on the actual context. I wouldn't rule out, in extremely specific individual cases, that somebody should be able to get a second chance...but by and large I am not entire+y sure in which circumstances this would be.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

While I can understand the lack of trust in the bourgeois courts, the way that the SWP handled the comrade delta business was utterly despicable.

Unfortunately I don't think that sexual abuse on the left is a recent phenomenon, it's just been under the spotlight more recently. Women in particular have been organising against sexism on the left, including serious cases like abuse, for years and years. What we need are:
a) People to take responsibility for educating themselves about consent, power dynamics and the way that the structure of society may have affected the way they see those things.
b) An organisational structure which does not allow for hierarchies which allow abuse to take place and be covered up.
c) A way of dealing with perpetrators of abuse, which keeps their victims and other people safe, while also making reparations where possible and allowing the perpetrator to work on and change their behaviour patterns.

I think that's easier said than done though.

I'm not sure hierarchies are part of the problem - in fact I would say a strong, central control commission should be part of the solution. The problem with the SWP was the practice of packing party organs with friends, associates and proteges of the central leadership. I sort of like what the Spartacist League did when they tried Bill Logan - they had E. Samarakkody, who was broadly sympathetic to the SL's politics but had no organisational or personal contact with the SL leadership, oversee the trial (he eventually left because he thought the SL was soft on Logan, who was expelled).

I think free communication between branches and comrades is also important - of course, today this is almost given, but it isn't unheard of people to be expelled for communication that wasn't approved by the leadership. The Hansen-era American SWP was particularly bad in this regard.

[Rafiq]

Those guilty of sexual abuse should not be protected from the state, the very fact that the state does more in the condemnation of rapists than such organizations means a lot. Organizations should not isolate themselves and make themselves a seperate community, which is petite bourgeois in nature.

[synthesis]

I'm not sure hierarchies are part of the problem - in fact I would say a strong, central control commission should be part of the solution. The problem with the SWP was the practice of packing party organs with friends, associates and proteges of the central leadership. I sort of like what the Spartacist League did when they tried Bill Logan - they had E. Samarakkody, who was broadly sympathetic to the SL's politics but had no organisational or personal contact with the SL leadership, oversee the trial (he eventually left because he thought the SL was soft on Logan, who was expelled).

I don't understand how the second half of this paragraph doesn't completely contradict the first half. So the problem is that the party elite are too soft on their own, and a good solution was when the Sparts brought in someone to address this flaw, then that person eventually left because the party elite was too soft on their own? I feel like there's more to the story (which I just researched a little) that you haven't said here and which would make the reasons for your support a little clearer.

[consuming negativity]

Recently I've been browsing the web and keep coming upon multiple articles and statements by people who have been either at a protest or event in the left wing community and then have been raped and when reported it have been told to hush up and that they are lying .
I think this should be more widely published and people should recognise that this is a rising problem .
Thoughts on the topic ?

This is a very interesting first post. Nobody here is going to agree with keeping sexual predators, rapists, or any other scum of the earth from getting what they deserve (see: I really liked "liquidation" :P)

[blake 3:17]

Kinda hesitant to get into this. Been through before here, but a guy from the anarchist scene sexually assaulted my then girlfriend in my bed during a party at my house on June 26 1999 (ah the adrenaline!) -- I caught in the act, was totally shocked, and chased him down the street. I'd had some very very vague warnings about this guy before, eg "He's kind of creepy", but nobody said anything specific and I don't buy into vague rumours, though I learned a lesson.

We found out he had a history of this, and did a name and shame campaign, which was a pretty scary and weird experience. I and my partner were given some great support, and were also criticized from all angles -- I took the public face and was called a slanderer, vigilante, judge jury executioner on one side, and attacked for not being more of a vigilante. I was worried I'd go out and kill the guy. He's now dead.

I was very unimpressed by how most of the leftists I was working closely with dealt with it. I know I wasn't in a very good frame of mind and was pretty emotional, but some folks could deal with that and respect it and others were dismissive.

In the past few years, there've been a number of sex assaults in the Toronto Left that I know of and in one case the perpetrator owned up and hasn't re-offended and that's cool. In another case, it sounded like there was very fucked up situation and a lot of rumours spread and it was very unhealthy all around.

I think a number of PhoenixAsh's comments are right on. There's a kind of all or nothing thinking that comes into play on this and it can silence people about speaking out abusive behaviour as it starts to escalate. The guy who assaulted my girlfriend had done all this really crazy stuff to both men and women who were pretty close personal friends of mine, but for whatever reason, nobody felt like talking about, because he was a "nice guy".

A comrade, now deceased, who suffered from mental health issues and AIDS, started checking himself and quit drinking because he realized he would get sexually aggressive and had a terror of infecting someone, which was good on him, but speaks to a problem of a lack of social stability.

I'm not suggesting we go around and police our friends sexual behaviour, but sometimes a bit of a reality check or building those friendships where we can talk about difficult issues in a meaningful way would be a good idea.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

I don't understand how the second half of this paragraph doesn't completely contradict the first half. So the problem is that the party elite are too soft on their own, and a good solution was when the Sparts brought in someone to address this flaw, then that person eventually left because the party elite was too soft on their own? I feel like there's more to the story (which I just researched a little) that you haven't said here and which would make the reasons for your support a little clearer.

I said it was a good idea - or that's what I had meant to say, at least - not that it was implemented flawlessly. Ultimately I don't think the iSt was too soft on Logan - he and Adaire were expelled and a long document outlining their abuses was compiled and published. I don't know what the Sparts could have done in addition to that - take them out and shoot them? Anyway, the point was that independent monitors are, I think, a good idea.