*Trigger Warning – violence against women*

Collective Shout’s WA State coordinator was asked for comment about Chris Brown and Rihanna for OK magazine.

Despite R&B singer Chris Brown having brutally beaten pop star Rihanna in 2009, the pair appear to have resumed their relationship. Caitlin tells OK magazine that the emphasis needs to be on Chris Brown. He and other perpetrators of violent crime should be held accountable for their actions.

The night Chris Brown beat Rihanna, he punched her in the face to the point that her mouth filled with blood. He put her in a headlock causing her to begin to lose consciousness. He bit her. He screamed at her “I’m going to beat the shit out of you when we get home.” This was a vicious attack by an animal.

A few years on, Rihanna has forgiven him and continued a relationship with her abuser. Rihanna is a woman and should have the freedom to make her own relationship choices regardless of what anyone else things – however, given her large fan base, what she does means something. Whether or not Rihanna wants to be a role model for her young fans, it is undeniable that they look up to her to know how to be attractive, how to be sexy and how to be a woman.

Of course, survivors of violence have often been subjected to psychological pressure and can be vulnerable to returning to their abusers. The emphasis needs to be on the abuser, though – perpetrators need to be held responsible for their actions. Chris Brown is yet to accept responsibility for his behaviour, as showcased by his Twitter feed and incessant complaining about the public’s inability to forgive his brutal attack.

Caitlin Roper is WA’s State Co-ordinator for Collective Shout – campaigning for a world free of sexploitation

From Collective Shout

Gail Dines on ABC Big Ideas

Last month Collective Shout co-hosted with University of NSW, Spinifex Press and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, a standing room only address by Pornland author and US academic Gail Dines. An extract of her address at NSW State Parliament was broadcast this week by ABC Big Ideas. You can see it here:

The Hardcore Truth About Porn

Julie Bindel writes in The Guardian about the film Hardcore, the true story of what happens to a young single mum at the hands of porn producer Max Hardcore. Describing it as a horrifying look at the abuse of women in pornography, Bindel makes the point that while the film is shocking and  some women’s groups have objected to its screening, it helps strip away the myths about pornography being harmless.

‘Porn is used as a tool of degradation against me’

A US prisoner, Kyle Richards, 21, is suing the State of Michigan and Governor Rick Snyder claiming denial of porn magazines is a violation of his civil rights. According to Daily Beast, Richards argues denying him porn subjects him to a “poor standard of living” and “sexual and sensory deprivation.”

On July 7 on Feministing, ‘Lori’ wrote a piece defending Richard’s actions. She received many favourable responses. But not from a woman who actually works in a prison. Lawyer Kendall Krajicek wrote this:

… as a correctional caseworker who works in a prison housing unit, I can attest to the fact that porn (or “fuckbooks,” as the inmates refer to it) is definitely used directly and explicitly as a tool of degradation against me. It is not uncommon for an inmate to draw crass comparisons, knowingly within earshot, between a woman featured in a porno mag and what they imagine my body (“pussy,” to be precise) looks like. Inmates have purposely covered their walls with photos from porn magazines featuring redheaded women (like me), knowing that I am going to search their cell, and shared laughs and insulting comments while I am so engaged. So on and so forth.

Some such behavior is against the rules of conduct for prisoners at the facility where I work, and my male bosses have backed me up in the handful of instances I have reported by imposing institutional discipline (i.e. extra duty or a couple of days of room restriction). But so much of what happens is subtle, or done anonymously (by yelling from within the cell when all the inmates are “locked down,” such that I can’t be certain who said it), or just so dishearteningly common that if I consistently documented and reported such behavior, it would engulf a huge amount of my time. To be frank, I also worry that “making an issue out of it” every time would just make it more pervasive, as it would reveal a sensitivity that may be best left unrevealed in the staff-inmate interactive context, given my fiscal reality of needing to keep this job until I find something better.

The F Word ran a counter piece July 13 by Meghan Murphy titled ‘Of course pornography is a prisoners right because women aren’t actually human beings’. An extract:

Pornography limits our vision of sexuality. It prevents us from achieving true equality. It sexualizes, as Andrea Dwokin said, inequality.  It limits how we see women and how we see men. It perpetuates an objectifying male gaze. Pornography has very much structured the way in which we see female and male sexuality. These aren’t images that simply disappear from our minds once they are no longer in front of us. They stick. We are a culture that has been shaped by pornography. It isn’t just a fantasy, it is the lived realities of women (and of men). So I don’t think it is ‘anti-sex’ to desire something different, something that can be understood as real freedom. I would like freedom from these images, personally, but I would also like all women to be free from, not only these images, but from the reality of their lives inside a pornified culture. We know full well that images in advertising and on television impact our perceptions of reality and yet, for some reason, we continue to believe that watching sexist pornography won’t impact real people’s lives.

That’s my view too. Read the full article here

Caitlin Roper and Dr Michal Flood make compelling case against porn t.shirts

There is a seriously good interview with Collective Shout’s own Caitlin Roper and sociologist Dr Michael Flood. You really should listen to it. From Brianna Piazza’s blog :

Campaigners say no to porn t.shirts

THE UK Report on the Sexualisation of children made many recommendations – one of which was to put modesty sleeves on pornographic magazines for sale.

However, Caitlin Roper from Western Australia says Australians cannot do the same when porn t-shirts are worn in public.

Ms Roper and more than 50 national experts, activists and women’s groups are calling for action on porn t-shirts. In a statement recently published, the signatories say pornographic and images depicting violence towards women on t-shirts contribute to the sexualisation of children.

I spoke with Caitlin Roper and sociologist Dr Michael Flood to find out more about the campaign and the harmful effects such t-shirts have on young people and children.

Campaigners say no to porn t-shirts by briannapiazza