dealing with sexual harassment
and rape within our 'liberated' spaces

a process proposal from the escanda gender seminar
.

[this document was developed from a working group at the gender seminar in escanda. many participants had been in situations where they thought that such a specific framework would have been very useful, so these guidelines were collectively developed based on peoples past experiences of what has and hasn’t worked well in constructively confronting incidents of sexual harassment and rape within our spaces.]

.
we would not work with a racist - why work with a rapist?

the struggle against sexism is no less important than that against racism and other forms of violating people for who they are. but even in 'our' spaces sexism and sexist behaviour are accepted too easily, and the anti-sexist struggle has not been a political priority. we must change this!

this anti-harassment process can be one part of a broader attempt to make the creation of non-sexist environments a priority: developing clear anti-sexist principles and procedures which would form an explicit and specifically highlighted part of the organising platforms of events and spaces would show that the matter of sexist behaviour and sexual harassment is being taken seriously. it would also allow other important work to continue during the process of dealing with such events, and cut out a lot of the confusion, fears, and anger that always follow when cases of sexual harassment or rape become public in our spaces. this will make our spaces more open and safe.

the responsibility to create non-sexist spaces is shared by the whole collective. we want to create an environment where everyone who experiences cases of sexist behaviour or sexual harassment feels empowered to come forward and tell someone about what happened to them – and they will always be taken seriously.

our aim with this proposal is to find ways to deal with sexual harassment and rape in all our spaces. however, the opportunities to have a real process will be different if a case happens within a local scene/subculture, where people know each other and there is time to deal with the questions, or when it happens at a gathering lasting only some days. people will have to adapt this proposal to changing circumstances, but it might be a good idea, at larger gatherings within our spaces, to designate a person or group that anyone can turn to with concerns of sexist behaviour and in case of sexual harassment or rape. It is their responsibility to set these procedures in motion as quickly as possible, and feeding back information about the process to the plenary. this is in order to minimise gossip and misunderstandings about these very emotional issues.

we recognise that it is important to have an open and transparent process so that gendered conflicts are not dealt with behind closed doors, like they have been for so long - however, we must respect the privacy and confidentiality of the victim and find a balance between these two goals.

we have chosen to use gender-neutral language in this proposal, as we realise that anyone can become the victim of sexual harassment (which has led to occasionally awkward language). however, we are fully aware of the fact that the vast majority of victims of harassment are women, and the even greater majority of perpetrators are men.

the proposal below is largely inspired by, and in large parts copied from, the suggestion for an anti-harassment/rape action plan developed by people within the anti-fascist action in stockholm, sweden. we have made a few changes, but most of the real work was done in stockholm – and we want to acknowledge that. here, then, is a suggestion to use a process for how to deal with cases of sexual harassment or rape in our subculture and spaces - it is a set of suggested tools, not a dogma, it is not the only way to deal with harassment and rape, and others avenues should be explored as well, also outside our spaces. also, no process for dealing with such issues can be perfect: each way will be a compromise between important ideals such as justice, autonomy, or fairness - this is the balance we propose.

.
suggested process to deal with sexual harassment
and rape without involving state authorities

here are some suggested steps for us to take in case of sexual harassment and rape without involving state authorities. it is based on the premise that the victim always defines what counts as sexual harassment or rape - and will always be believed.

1) when a person talks about/reports an assault committed against her or him, or when rumours begin spreading that something has happened, the work of putting together groups should start as quickly as possible. a group can consist of two or more persons. while this is process is under way, the perpetrator is not welcome to the organisation’s activities and spaces, or, alternatively, the gathering at which the event occurred.

2) arrange a general meeting/plenary, if the victim wants this. spread the information and select the groups there. otherwise, do this in an informal way.

3) set up a group who talk to the victim. it’s good if these are people the victim trusts and who are close to him or her. the goal is to:

a) hear what he or she has to say.
b) give him or her support.
c) see whether he or she has any opinions on how the question is being dealt with, or if he or she has any demands.

4) set up a group of people who talk to the perpetrator. it’s good if these are people who know and are trusted by him or her, but who can deal with criticising him or her. the goal is to:

a) hear his or her version.
b) confront the victim with what he or she has said. get the perpetrator to try to do a ‘rôle-swap’, to go beyond him-/herself and try to understand why the victim experienced it in the way she or he did.
c) remember that it may be difficult for someone in our political spaces to publicly admit acts of sexual harassment, so some degree of confidentiality is important here to allow the aggressor to deal with his or her actions. however, in order to limit rumours, it is important to feed information about the process back to the larger collective.

5) the victim’s support group and the perpetrator’s contact group (and the victim, if he or she wants to be involved) develop a working plan. should the aggressor be excluded; will the aggressor be allowed to work in fora/contexts outside of the groups where the victim is involved; should the aggressor be allowed to rejoin if he or she works with the problem? the point is to create a basis for the aggressor to understand what has happened, and the goal is that he or she should not do it again. during the process, the support group stays in contact with the victim and tells her or him about what is happening, and follows up on how (s)he is feeling. When the problem is made visible and brought out in the open, the pain can often return, and (s)he needs even more support. the goal is to help the victim to put into words what has happened, and strengthen her or his self-confidence.

6) the support group and the contact group (and the victim, if she or he wants to be involved) decide whether the aggressor is welcome back into the group, or whether the contact with him or her has not produced any results. if it is the case that the aggressor does not want to participate in any process and acts arrogantly, then there is of course no point in keeping it up. it is pointless to take away all energy from a political group in order to figure out the attitudes of a sexist if he or she is not willing to cooperate. then it’s better to exclude the perpetrator and rather concentrate on the victim who has been assaulted.
.

finally....

first, one principle of this process should be the recognition that most people can change their sexist behaviour and sexist attitudes, that immediate and final exclusion ("one strike you're out") is not the perfect solution. reintegration and rehabilitation of the aggressor into our spaces should be the goal.

second, remember that few of us actually have the skills necessary to counsel a rape victim or a rapist. professional counselling may be a very important route to take.