| NOTE: This is comment, not straight reporting. I am | | | | on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against |
| trying to faithfully report the ideas and attitudes of | | | | Women (CEDAW) (now there's a catchy name) |
| each speaker, but I have chosen many terms | | | | provides the only legal basis for Australian human |
| because they made better reading. Especially please | | | | rights law entering the 'private' areas of the market |
| do not assume that any speaker has seen, or | | | | and the home.The CEDAW committee at the UN is |
| approves of, this report, or what I have said about | | | | looking closely and radically at women's productive |
| them or their ideas.The Brisbane Social Forum 2006 | | | | and reproductive labour at the moment. Lambert's |
| was better than last year's, which was also | | | | work in New York was about pushing this further, |
| good.While there are some on-going faults that | | | | and especially encouraging the UN to not look just at |
| should be looked at, I heard a lot of people who | | | | the written law, but the practical, day-to-day effects |
| stood out because they were NOT just there to | | | | of policy. To take an extreme example, a woman's |
| parrot the same old conservative-left* line.The | | | | right to vote is meaningless if no girls ever go to |
| Saturday morning session I attended was about | | | | school.A woman who works at a shelter for female |
| human rights. I was skeptical, because I am not going | | | | victims of violence raised the same point that had |
| to give my energy to help to pass a law that I think | | | | been in my head - can words, laws and documents |
| will have little or no effect. But the people who | | | | really protect people? Kilroy replied that it was just |
| spoke, even the one who had spent a lot of time | | | | one more way to get abuse noticed, and solve a |
| with the UN human rights process, all seemed to not | | | | few real problems for people.Pate said that |
| be fooled by the idea that just passing a new law will | | | | sometimes you have to prove you have exhausted |
| solve any real problems.The first speaker was Kim | | | | the legal solutions before moving onto direct action - |
| Pate, from the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry | | | | and made the crucial point that people on the ground |
| Societies, who spoke mainly about the 20th | | | | need to know that someone is fighting for them. She |
| anniversary of equality provisions in the Canadian | | | | went on to describe the work her group is doing to |
| Human Rights Charter. Many, she said, were not | | | | teach female prisoners to be advocates for other |
| being protected by this law, even though the law | | | | prisoners.Lambert explained that while she sees the |
| says they are protected. She was skeptical of courts | | | | work with the UN as important, the most important |
| - she thought that 'half the time' they are not the | | | | thing is building a culture that produces 'rights-claiming |
| place to argue (for a start, lawyers are expensive, | | | | individuals', instead of human rights being something |
| and they don't like informed clients) - but still, they | | | | that activists 'do' to victims of abuse.After this |
| are often the only place to get even half a chance at | | | | discussion, the final programmed speaker, Serina |
| justice for the female prisoners she works for.And | | | | McDuff spoke briefly, but time was running out. I |
| she spoke very tellingly of the reaction from those | | | | only have brief notes on two comments that she |
| prisoners when she suggested that court challenges | | | | made: She'd like to see an expansive Bill of Rights |
| and so on were not the right way to go - THEY | | | | Human Rights Act in place now, and that the |
| insisted that she carry on with her legal work. | | | | Government is very good at using Human Rights law |
| Obviously the women she works for thinks it's | | | | to SAY it is doing good things, without actually doing |
| useful.Pate also spoke about pushing academics to do | | | | them. That was a pity, because her resume sounds |
| the sort of research that the powerless need, and | | | | interesting:"Serina McDuff is currently the Executive |
| about forming links with other organisations for | | | | Director of the YWCA of Brisbane and is the |
| nation-wide campaigns.Next to speak was Deb Kilroy | | | | youngest woman to lead the organisation. Since she |
| of Sisters Inside.She talked about a government | | | | began 18 months ago Serina has repositioned the Y |
| report on systematic discrimination against women | | | | in Brisbane to advocate and respond to women's |
| prisoners in Queensland that her organisation had to | | | | issues...Serina's activism is centred on ensuring |
| push hard for - in fact the Queensland | | | | women's and young' people's rights are on the |
| Anti-Discrimination Commission's first reaction was to | | | | agenda for action, and advocating for systemic |
| deny that there was any systematic discrimination. | | | | change."Well, time for lunch. The Student Union's pizza |
| The report finally got done, but the government has | | | | cafe was open, so I had a double-garlic, cheese, |
| disowned it. Sisters Inside is trying to get female | | | | cheese, cheese, cheese (mozzarella) and cheese |
| prisoners to lodge formal complaints about their | | | | (fetta) pizza, washed down with a small bottle of |
| treatment - but the fear of retaliation is a big rock in | | | | Beez Neez honey beer. Damn, we activists do it |
| their way.Kilroy was keen to see a Human Rights Act | | | | tough.Next in this series: The media workshop after |
| passed here in Australia, not because it will end any | | | | lunch, crammed with useful how-to |
| battles at all, but because it will give people like her | | | | information.*"Conservative-left" = a term I am using |
| one more tool to use when pushing for the rights of | | | | to describe those who are thought of as 'radical' by |
| female prisoners. She was quite prepared to wait for | | | | the average person. That is to say, 'Resistance' in |
| the right sort of law though. Apparently there is a | | | | Australia, the Socialist Workers Party in the UK, most |
| feeling among many who want a Bill of Rights, that 'if | | | | 'anti-globalists', and so on.I think these people are |
| we just pass any law we can even if it is not very | | | | conservative because their angry speeches are |
| good, we can amend it later'. Kilroy disagrees - if the | | | | usually about being 'anti' this or 'anti' that, and they |
| government will not do the right thing now, why | | | | personalise their opposition to the system (They |
| would they do it in the future?The third speaker, | | | | blame 'Howard', 'Bush', or whoever, instead of talking |
| Lillian Holt, a vice-chancellor's fellow at the University | | | | about what the ruling class is doing. They also often |
| of Melbourne, said much that I don't agree with, and | | | | talk as the ruling class as a conspiracy (which it is |
| also said many things that made me think that she is | | | | not)). There also appears to be an undying hatred of |
| very good at shocking people out of old, boring | | | | the USA, which means they fail to understand its |
| ways of thinking. She is Aboriginal, and my favourite | | | | motives, and a rejection of modern society.This sort |
| thing that she said was that over 30 years, the | | | | of thing encourages people to believe that the |
| 'empty rhetoric' of 'motherhood statements' about | | | | system cannot be changed at all.Radical-left thought, |
| self-determination had turned into 'motherf****r' | | | | the opposite of conservative-left thought, |
| statements.Holt went on to make the point that the | | | | encourages people to study the world as it really is, |
| rhetoric of tolerance is not about changing society, it | | | | coolly and clearly, and asks people to think about |
| is about getting the victims of discrimination to | | | | how they would solve the problems of taking over |
| accept the society that has victimised them. She is | | | | and then running society. The revolution will be the |
| also against political correctness - she wants to know | | | | easy bit - after that we actually have to run |
| if she is dealing with a racist, instead of having to | | | | things!Radical-left thought talks about the ruling class |
| guess. (And she said she may even get on well with | | | | as it is, not as some conspiracy that plans attacks on |
| the racist, once they get over that hurdle).Next up | | | | its own cities.Radical-left thought is proud of this |
| was Caroline Lambert of the Women's Rights Action | | | | modern world that workers have built with their own |
| Network of Australia (WRANA).She spoke about | | | | hands and skill and power. We are not going to |
| how she had lobbied the UN's human rights officials, | | | | destroy it, we are going to take it over and make it |
| and while she is brutally aware of the limitations of | | | | better. And it is now better than it has ever been |
| the system, still thinks that at least some work | | | | before. |
| needs to be done there. For instance, the Convention | | | | |