Manifest of Young Feminists of Europe - HTML version

This text is a work document written during the European Camp of Young Feminists
organized in July 2011 by the Youth Group of Paris of the French Coordination of the
World March of Women. During the 7 days of the camp, different workshops were held
about various thematic that had been synthesized in this text. This Manifesto have been
written together by about 70 young feminists, coming from France, Galicia, Bask
Country, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Armenia, Romania and Macedonia.
The objective of this text is to analyze lived situations and to work on answers and
common strategies for struggles in order to brave them in the future.

Women in Europe and in the world today face specific difficulties brought on
by a patriarchal system and sexist cultures. We believe new developments in the
post-crisis world today have worsened, and continue to worsen, the situation of
women, endangering their hard-won rights. We, young feminists of Europe,
have gathered together in the Young Feminists of Europe Camp in July 2011 to
debate and discuss the current situation of women and how to improve it. The
present Manifesto is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all the problems that
women face today or to prioritize a feminist agenda, but rather to offer
guidelines and a starting point towards a common Young European Feminist
Agenda.
The topics we chose to address were: Solidarity, Multiple Discriminations, the
Economy, the Environment, Violence, Health, Sexuality and the Promotion of
Feminism. We will continue to work together to build a world free of
patriarchal oppression and domination and to maintain and strengthen our
bonds.

SOLIDARITY

We commit to sharing information and experience about our struggles
in a European feminist network. Together, we stand by the following:
1. Solidarity must be a tool for fighting together against
patriarchal societies and any kind of oppression of women.
International solidarity gives strength to activist women.
2. Solidarity should avoid any kind of racism, imperialism or
classism in our struggles.
3. Solidarity should be based on the analyses and demands of
women in grassroots communities, including their
identification with a specific territory, culture and background.
4. Solidarity among women in countries involved in armed
conflicts is a tool of resistance against militarization, war and
conflict;
Here and now, we stand in solidarity with all young feminists across
Europe and we aim to increase solidarity with women worldwide.

MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATIONS

We wish to address the situation of women who face multiple forms of
discrimination, which render them more vulnerable. In particular, this
concerns migrant women, asylum-seekers, exiled women, incarcerated
women, women belonging to a cultural minority (religious, ethnic, linguistic
or other), women who are victims of human trafficking, and women facing
sexual exploitation. All these women share the fact that, apart from
belonging to a discriminated group, they face additional pressure due to their
status as women. Economic difficulties, racism, disdain and current
legislation are all factors that further aggravate their situations.
Few measures have been taken in Europe to protect these women from
violence. Sometimes States actually legitimize aggressive measures against
these women and enact hypocritical legislation to criminalize them. They
often live in a state of isolation and are rendered invisible, which reinforces
their dependence on people and institutions that take advantage of their
situation (poor knowledge of the official language, difficult economic and
social position, etc.). Mainstream political values and actions are Eurocentric
and based on a colonialist ideology which tends to present immigrants
coming to Europe as parasites and European emigrants as contributing to the
development of countries considered inferior.
With this context in mind, we will work to:
1. Deconstruct prejudices and fight against the racist, capitalist patriarchal
system that reinforces different forms of oppression.
2. Build a European network of solidarity to fight the discriminatory inter-State
networks that control migration.
3. Study and take account of the heterogeneity of groups and individual
uniqueness (e.g. situations of culture shock), and to bring an end to the
perception of immigrants and asylum-seekers as single, homogenous groups.
4. Put an end to isolation and to open up venues for self-expression and to
highlight the interests of discriminated women.
5. Reinforce solidarity between countries affected by human trafficking
(destination and supply).
6. Provide counseling for prostitutes, working towards increasing the visibility
of their rights and ensuring support for those who want a way out of this
situation.

ECONOMY

The current oppressive, globalized socioeconomic system gives rise to gender
inequalities, unequal access to rights and gender-based income gaps. Different
women, groups and countries face their own unique challenges, and we believe that
a broad approach to this global struggle is needed. The concepts of work and
poverty need to be questioned if we are to understand the difficulties facing us as
women. Poverty has become feminized and has many facets that lead to exclusion
and cumulative deprivation. Poor women have lesser access to community services
and culture, as well as less mobility and autonomy. Certain groups of women face
additional obstacles and discrimination in the labor market and in earning a decent
income: lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, queers, intersexes, Roma women, migrant
women, undocumented women, poor women, older women, women with
disabilities, single mothers, women from ethnic minorities, women who are victims
of violence, etc.
1. Care: People’s lives are interdependent, and societies depend on the care provided
by women. This work needs to be recognized, since many so people depend on it:
children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and more. In fact, other people,
such as husbands, fathers and male partners also depend on women’s care.
Although we recognize this interdependence, it cannot be allowed to keep women
from being autonomous, and care must be fairly divided between the genders (for
example, through State-funded care facilities and by encouraging men to take
care of people in need).
2. Labor market: In the labor market, women work in low-paid sectors, part-time
work and in lower positions, but also in the invisible and informal markets.
Women’s working rights should be respected and enforced, and women should be
encouraged and supported in reclaiming their work rights, for visible or invisible,
formal or informal work. It is also vital that women's invisible work be made
visible. Women face discrimination and harassment in the labor market. Women
are still paid less than men for the same work. Women who work in traditional,
male-dominated well-paid sectors should be supported, and men should be
encouraged to work in traditionally female sectors.
3. Social rights: Poverty and social exclusion are closely linked to the cumulative
deprivation of various resources, services and rights: education, healthcare,
unemployment benefits, pensions, etc. Through feminist struggles, women have
gained social rights that are now increasingly endangered, under the pretext of
resolving the economic crisis. All women should have access to resources,
services and rights. All of this needs to be ensured so that poor women can escape
the cycle of poverty, rather than sinking ever deeper into it. Developing women's
economic cooperation as an alternative model is an important step in this
direction.
Our demands are crucial if women are to be able to freely determine their lives and live them well.

ENVIRONMENT

Today we are facing an international food, energy, climate and
environmental crisis created by the globalized capitalist production system
in place. This system privatizes and commodifies our land, common goods
and biodiversity, destroying and exploiting our environment.
Women are often the first to be affected by this situation. We know that
women in the countryside are frequently responsible for food production,
in contrasts to the large-scale monoculture that is the dominant production
model today. In many countries, women are the first to suffer from
environmental damage since they are responsible for cooking, household
economics and domestic work and have less access to information, land
and services. Women and our peoples are not responsible and should not
pay for and suffer the consequences of this crisis. We do reject laws that
destroy peasant agriculture and our environment, like the European CAP,
and false solutions that continue to give priority to an out-dated
development model and to profit large corporations that impoverish the
lives of women and our peoples.
1. We want to promote solidarity and the exchange of information
between our peoples, to create a Europe by and for the people and
to fight against the Europe of institutions and big business.
2. We want to promote independent agriculture that is respectful of
the environment, to produce food for our peoples and to promote
food sovereignty.
3. We want to build alternative modes of consumption based on local
production, respect for our environment, biodiversity and the
seasons and that prioritize native products, and to provide visibility
and information to the public about the food production chain.
4. We want justice instead of the impunity enjoyed by States and
corporations that destroy and exploit our environment and local agriculture.
5. We want a new energy model that is sustainable and respectful of the
environment and accessible to the population

HEALTH

In the context of women's access to health services and products, we believe the
following points are essential:
1. All women should have free access to quality public healthcare; we oppose the
increasing commodification of health services and products.
2. Women must have absolute sovereignty over their bodies, and this should
always be respected. We must have the freedom to make choices concerning our
bodies (in terms of motherhood, abortion, contraception, etc.). We must fight
for free access to abortion and to maintain this right in places where it is under
attack.
3. The development of sex and health education programs is fundamental.
4. All healthcare systems should ensure that specific women’s health issues
receive full attention, support and resources for treatment, prevention and
research (e.g. breast cancer).

VIOLENCE

Women continue to be subjected to the most diverse forms of
violence, as a direct result of the patriarchal system. This system of
domination is structured in three axes of oppression – sex/gender,
ethnicity/race/culture and class – and is embedded into all domains of
collective and individual life, representing in and of itself a form of
violence against all women. The imposition of gender roles and
stereotypes is at the root of structural, economic, sexual,
psychological, verbal and physical violence against women.
Violence against women varies in degree, from body-image-related
self-violence, the negative representation of women in the media,
discrimination, harassment, anti-lesbian hate crimes, economic
dependence, forced marriage, domestic violence, genital mutilation,
rape and feminicide, putting women in a situation of constant fear and
affecting all of society. This situation is seriously aggravated for
women living in situations of armed conflict. Even when women try to
free themselves from violence, they continue to suffer new and
different forms at every step of the process.
We, young feminists of Europe, propose the following points of action to end violence against women:
1. Awareness-raising and education
· Raising the awareness of the general population and also of the people
involved in the legal process (police, judges, etc.)
· Educational programs about heterosexism, masculinity and feminist selfdefense
2. Prevention and total support for victims
· Open spaces for interaction and dialogue
· Women-only spaces for support and self-expression – without fear of
discrimination
· Counseling for victims
· Shelters (based on need) and social housing
· Economic and welfare subsidies for economically-dependent women
subject to violence
· Raising awareness among women about their rights (peer-to-peer
education, formal and informal education)
3. Institutional lobbying
· Campaigning for legislation covering all women's specific problems related
to violence (such as restraining orders against aggressors) and for proper
enforcement of the law
· Legislation criminalizing domestic rape and feminicide

SEXUALITY, LGBTQI AND SEXUAL EDUCATION

Regarding issues relating to women's sexuality, LGBTQI and sex education, we
propose the following points as guidelines for our future work:
1.Feminist points of view on sexuality, to break with the patriarchal, heterosexist
system that creates sex- and gender-based inequalities.
2.Reappropriation of our bodies as women, to control our sexuality.
3.Freedom to choose our sexual identity (lesbian, transsexual, queer, intersex,
etc.).
4.Promotion of women's right to pleasure and freedom of choice in all of their
sexual experiences: women must always be able to choose when, how and with
whom they engage in sexual activities.
5.Fight against lesbo-, homo- and transphobia.
6.Emancipation of women from religious institutions as patriarchal oppressors of
our sexuality.
7.Fight for equal rights for everyone, no matter their sexual orientation or identity.
8.Provision of sex education (in schools, through popular education, the media,
etc.).
9.Break with the media image of the hypersexualized woman used as an
instrument of pleasure for heterosexual men.
10.Reappropriation of pornography from a feminist perspective.
11.Creation of networks to share our experiences and good practices in terms of
feminist sexuality (actions, projects, programs, videos and so on)

PROMOTION OF FEMINISM

We believe that the following points are important to the promotion of feminism:
1. Building a world without stereotypes about feminism or gender and,
especially, portraying feminism in a positive light (to end anti-feminism).
2. Promoting feminism as a vision of society as a whole, to be included in
different domains: economics, environment, law, etc.
3. Promoting and facilitating active citizenship and feminist activism.
4. Promoting and facilitating access to women's contributions, particularly in
the creative, artistic and scientific realms.
5. Creating spaces for women to share their experiences, keeping in mind
feminist practices such as non-judgment, solidarity, and increased wellbeing
for women.
6. Promoting a form of feminism that is inclusive and open to every culture,
class and generation.
7. Encouraging a feminist reappropriation of culture by eliminating its
omnipresent sexist dimensions.
The objectives presented above can be categorized into three different
dimensions in which actions will be proposed: media, culture and education.
Naturally is not an exhaustive list; they are merely working guidelines. We
believe promoting feminism must be part of an ongoing effort, in all aspects of
our collective and individual lives

www.marchemondialedesfemmes.org
mmfjeunes@gmail.com