@prefix ns0: . @prefix edm: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix dc: . @prefix skos: . ns0:identifierAIP "574b21cb-0cc5-4f9c-8540-5c27e6f461f0"@en ; edm:dataProvider "CONTENTdm"@en ; dcterms:isReferencedBy "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1213576"@en ; dcterms:isPartOf "Kinesis"@en ; dcterms:issued "2013-08-15"@en, "1997-04-01"@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/kinesis/items/1.0045620/source.json"@en ; dc:format "application/pdf"@en ; skos:note " sj APRIL 1997 Peace in Guatemala... pg8 CMPA$2.25 Inside KINESIS #309-877 E. Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6A 3Y1 Tel: (604)255-5499 Fax:(604)255-5511 Kinesis welcomes volunteers to work on all aspects of the paper. Our next Writers' Meeting is Tues Apr 2 and Mon May 5 at our new office, 309-877 E. Hastings St. Production for the May issue is from Apr 16-22. All women welcome even if you don't have experience. Kinesis is published ten times a year by the Vancouver Status of Women. Its objectives are to be a non- sectarian feminist voice for women and to work actively for social change, specifically combatting sexism, racism,classism, homophobia, ableism, and imperialism. Views expressed in Kinesis are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect VSW policy. All unsigned material is the responsibility of the Kinesis Editorial Board. EDITORIAL BOARD Fatima Jaffer, Lissa Geller (on leave), wendy lee kenward, Agnes Huang, Sook C. Kong, Rachel Rosen PRODUCTION THIS ISSUE Rachel Rosen, Judy Miller, Caitlin Byrne, Fatima Jaffer, Andrea Imada, Jehn Starr, Wendy Frost, Faith Jones, Winnifred Tovey, Dana Putnam, Leanne Keltie, Meh Najak, Doroth; Elias, Catherine Munn, Cei Zeleke, Eileen Kage, Jenniff Advertising: Sur Mehat Circulation: Audrey Johnson, Fowler Distribution: Fatima Jaff( Production Cc-ordinator: Swee Sim Tan Typesetter: Sur Mehat FRONT COVER Angela McDougali of Batten Women's Support Services at the SUBSCRIPTIONS Individual: $20 per year (+$1.40 GST) or what you can afford Institutions/Groups: $45 per year (+$3.15 GST) VSW Membership (includes 1 year Kinesis subscription): $30 per year (+$1.40 GST) SUBMISSIONS Women and girls are welcome to make submissions. We reserve the right to edit and submission does not guarantee publication. If possible, submissions should be typed, double spaced and must be signed and include an address, telephone number and SASE. Kinesis does not accept poetry or fiction. Editorial guidelines are available upon request. DEADLINES All submissions must be received in the month preceding publication. Note: Jul/Aug and Dec/Jan are double issues. Features and reviews: 10th News: 15th Letters and Bulletin Board: 18th Display advertising (camera ready): 18th (design required): 16th Printing by Horizon Publications. Kinesis is indexed in the Canadian Women's Periodicals Index, the Alternative Press Index, member of the Canadian Ms Publishers Association. ISSN 0317-9095 Publications mail registration # News Aboriginal women launch court case 3 by Agnes Huang BCTF passes anti-homophobia resolution 4 by Smita Patil Commemorating the Vernon massacre 5 by Fatima Jaffer No! to APEC launches campaign 5 Jane Gottfriedson and Sharon Mclvor. Features Women and the peace process in Guatemala by Sandra Moran as told to Carmen Miranda The Canadian government sells women short 12 by Sunera Thobani Centrespread IWD '97 in Vancouver 9 photo essay by Agnes Huang, Fatima Jaffer, Jehn Starr, Michelle Sylliboy and Swee Sim Tan Arts National day of action against arts cutbacks 14 by Leanne Johnson Review of Bringing It Home 15 by Cathy Stonehouse Critiquing The People vs. Larry Flynt 16 by Karen Sawatsky Regulars As Kinesis Goes to Press 2 Inside Kinesis 2 Movement Matters by Anne Webb, Caitlin Byrne and Andrea Imada Whafs News 7 Sunera Thobanj compiled by Andrea Imada and Rachel Rosen Bulletin Board 17 compiled by Anne Webb and Caitlin Byrne L Don't forget Kfnesfsand the Vancouver Status of Women have moved. Our new address is: Suite 309-877 East Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6A 3Y1 Our telephone and fax numbers will remain the same: Kinesis; (604) 255-5499 VSW public line: (604) 255-5511 Fax: (604) 255-5511 Bringing it Home April is springtime in the women's movement in a very special way. It's not just about the daffodils and looking at the ground beneath our feet (look, no snow!); it's also a time when many of us renew our commitment to bringing us closer to a feminist vision of the world we want to live in. April is a time when there always seems to be new projects springing up in every corner of the women's movement, when we always seem to meet new women and make new connections with issues, movements, strategies, peoples. Perhaps, this is because April follows International Women Day. IWD is a time when we look around at the ground on more than a physical sense. It becomes clearer than ever that our local organizing meshes with what women are doing nationally...no, internationally. That line \"Think globally, act locally\" may sound hokey but it rings truer at this time of the year. For example, in Vancouver, the Feminist Networking Group is seeing a comeback. Women from some of the 65 women's organizations in the Lower Mainland have been attending the monthly meetings to share information, strategize and take action. Top on their list this spring is the upcoming federal election and developing a feminist action plan to ensure women's voices are heard. (The latest rumour has it that the election will happen on June 9th.) What's exciting this year is the creative burst of energy coming from women in the group. Women are very clear that it is a waste of time to merely focus on convincing politicians—who rarely live up to their promises—or the mainstream media—who increasingly trivialize our issues. The last meeting saw an incredible flow of ideas on how to share the expertise of the women's movement with women in their homes, in neighbourhood houses, in schools, in malls, on the streets. Remember the old kitchen table that women used to sit around and share ideas? It's coming back-on the back of a truck that will make the rounds come election time. Imagine, a truckload of women equipped with the unique knowledge that comes with working with women as well as pamphlets explaining feminist positions on different election issues showing up at your community fair, the big sale at the mall, at Vaisakhi (a Sikh festival)! This is just one example of the kind of plans this group has for mobilizing women around the election. Also new in Vancouver is an initiative that will bring Vancouver's feminist groups together to talk about joint fundraising strategies. Word has it the sky's the limit on the kind of projects a group like this might take on. Think feminist telemarketing, think of a feminist telethon...better still, think of San Francisco's Women's Building. Now imagine this happening on Commercial Drive...Bernard Avenue in Kelowna...Cornwall Street in Regina...the corner of Bloor and Yonge in Toronto...in Yeoville in Johannesburg ...Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur. Hey, any- thing's possible. There are so many projects to speak of. There's an unprecedented Anti-racism gathering happening in Vancouver in mid- April to look at the various stages of anti- racism work being done in women's organizations locally. We'll be drawing on work we know is happening elsewhere, nationally, in the US, in Europe, in the south. We heard Angela Davis was just in Toronto with-some heavy inspirational mes-> sages. We also heard she was a bit inconsistent, challenging sexism one minute, then saying some pretty nationalistic things the next. Still, it seems this was a much needed boost to the Toronto feminist scene. There's lots, lots more going at all levels, in all towns, cities, nations. Oh yeah, we cannot forget April 4th, 1996, when a woman and her family were brutally murdered because they would not accept violence against women. We cannot forget that the cops fucked up, and nine people died because of it. We're referring to the Vernon massacre, of course [see page 5], but it goes beyond Vernon. Our appreciation to the following supporters who became members, renewed their subscriptions or donated to Vancouver Staus of Women in March. Charlene Brisson * Shauna Butterwick * Patricia Charter * Valerie Embree * Sidney Foran * Mary Frey * Julia Goulden * Hugh Herbison * Jim & Christie Lee * Bonnie Klein * Sandra Moe * Catherine Russell * Hospital Employees' Union A special thanks to our donors who give every month. Monthly donations assist VSW in establishing a reliable funding base to carry out our programs, services and Kinesis throughout the year. Thanks to: Wendy Baker * Nancy Duff * Jody Gordon * Erin Graham * Barbara Karmazyn * Barbara Lebrasseur *Lolani Maar *Elizabeth Whynot Thanks to the following lawyers or law firms who gave their support to VSW or who joined our Lawyer Referral list. Tara Britnell * Claudia Fuchs * Margaret A. Johnson * Mary Ann MacKenzie * Karen F. Nordlinger & Associates * Shelly Tratch * Marney Stevenson April 4th joins December 6th as yet another day that brings home, in a powerful way, what every woman potentially or actually has to live with in daily life. It's a day when we renew our commitment to fighting for, no, not zero tolerance...zero violence. We urge women to organize in their own communities around \"Vernon.\" Because the killer and those murdered were SouthAsian doesn't make this an \"ethnic\" issue as the mainstream media would have us believe, it's clearly an issue of violence against women and stands next to the Montreal massacre as an example of how far men will go to keep women down. This reminds us of a call we had today from a woman who was enraged by the incredibly callousness of our justice system when it comes to violence against women. She had just heard that the BC Court of Appeal had upheld the four-year sentence of a man who had stabbed his wife 46 times and dumped her body. A vigil in Vancouver is being held on April 4th to commemorate the lives of women who have been murdered by partners or ex-partners, [see page 5 for details.] We hate to end on this note, so we'll remind you that there's lots of organizing going on. It's springtime. Let's get those creative juices going. Make sure you're part of the local feminist organizing in your area. And remember: \"Act globally, think locally.\" Happy April showers. Looking forward to May flowers. See you next month. It's the strangest feeling, working in near empty offices as we produce the last issue of Kinesis to be published out of our off-Commercial Drive offices. The furniture and resources atKznesrs/the Vancouver Status of Women are nearly all gone, packed away by amazing womanpower [see ad, page 4] over several weekends in March. It's been distracting and trauma tic...and is why this issue of Kinesis is four pages thinner than usual. About all that's left in the near empty rooms and hallways of the VSW/Kinesis is the photocopier, a couple of computers, a production table or two, overflowing boxes—found to contain the indispensible blue pencils and Xacto knives needed for Kinesis production—and...memories galore! Editors past and present have paced the hallways of these offices; production coordinators have constructed hundreds of Kinder-egg toys and displayed them on the window sills; countless volunteers have made this space their home and pored over typos in the shaggy-carpeted lounge; and many many more women have used the crowded VSW resource centre over the years. It's a sad feeling to let all that go and move on. But Kinesis means \"movement,\" as we have always touted, and that sometimes includes physical movement. So we move, slowly but surely, letting go of the old, moving in with the new. While we are still in our old space, we'd like to say thank you to all the women who have worked on Kinesis and at VSW in this space. We'd also like to welcome you—new and old volunteers, staff and friends—to visit our new space and make it your own: carve a niche, make your mark, admire our paint job, whatever! The Kinesis Editorial Board wants to ensure Kinesis will always be a comfortable, accessible home to women committed to helping produce news-about-women-that's-not-in-the- dailies! If you can't come by soon, VSW /Kinesis' formal welcome to our space will be on Thursday, June 5th. We'll be throwing the party of the year—an open-house barbeque—from 2-8 pm. The address is 309-877 East Hastings Street (between Campbell and Hawks.] Hope to see you there!! Meanwhile, back at the (empty) ranch...we got a few things wrong in our lippy, zippy intros of new editorial board members so to set the record straight: Sook C. Kong is doing her interdisciplinary dissertion at UVic off-campus...and that's why we have managed to hold her captive (almost literally) on the Editorial Board. Welcome again, Sook. Great to have you on board! Also new to Kinesis are the graphic/ drawing abilities of production volunteer Catherine Munn. Catherine is the wiz behind the fabulous springtime surprise on the back cover this issue. We hope Kinesis can showcase more of her zippy talent in upcoming issues. Thanks Catherine. Thanks also to new production volunteer Jennifer Scott for helping produce Kinesis under such sparse [furniture wise], zippy circumstances. Welcome and thanks to new Kinesis writers/voices this issue: Sandra Moran and Karen Sawatzky. If you'd like to be a part of production next issue, you're welcome to come on by to our new offices—imagine walls in shades of salmon, peach, teal and mango!—for our next Story Meeting on Tuesday, April 2nd at 7 pm. If you miss that one, the next will be held on Monday, May 5th at 7 pm. If you're interested in being able to tell zippy tales of zippy production-of-Kwesz's times to your friends, fans and families (and guess which room has the mango walls?!), call Agnes at 255-5499 for the volunteer schedules. Oh, and did we tell you about our luscious lime green bathroom, painted especially to keep Kinesis volunteers awake on those late-late press nights?! Check it out! (Until you do, we might keep going on and on and on about our new offices!) Have a great month and enjoy the issue. We'll be back, 24-pages-strong next month. News Aboriginal women and matrimonial properties: Fighting for fairness by Agnes Huang \"We can't seem to get the government's attention without a writ in our back pocket,\" says Jane Gottfriedson, president of the BC Native Women's Society (BCNWS). Gottsfriedson made that comment on March 19th at a press conference in Vancouver announcing a federal court action against the minister of Indian Affairs for discrimination against women over the issue of the division of matrimonial properties. The court challenge, launched jointly by the BCNWS, Gottfriedson of the Lower Similkameen band and Theressa Nahanee of the Squamish band, argues that the equality rights of Aboriginal women, as well as their right to life, liberty and the security of the person, are being violated by provisions in the Indian Act which deny women living on reserves access to matrimonial properties upon the breakdown of their marriages. Currently, married women living on reserve who divorce from their husbands cannot get a share in the matrimonial home (or the land it is on), or an order for \"exclusive possession\" of the matrimonial home which would enable them to stay in the home until their children are grown. The BCNWS says the federal government is discriminating against Aboriginal women living on reserve on the basis of sex, ancestry race, marital status and /or place of origin because men and other women (non-Aboriginal women and Aboriginal women living off-reserve) are not subject to those same provisions. All other women fall under provincial legislation, which allows them to claim half of the matrimonial properties and apply for \"exclusive possession\" when they divorce from their spouses. Sharon Mclvor, a lawyer and member of the BCNWS, says that most Aboriginal women who marry Aboriginal men and live on reserve move to the home communities of their husbands. This means that if their marriage breaks down, the women are left with no protection and few rights. \"Because many married women leave their reserves to go to their husband's reserves when they get married, they often have to leave the community they have lived for many years with their husband and children when their marriages break up,\" says Viola Thomas, president of the United Native Nations, an organization that represents off-reserve Aboriginal people in BC. She adds that \"[the Indian Act] has forced our cultures to not always act in ways that value or pay homage to Aboriginal women.\" The BCNWS says it has conducted a study showing that, on certain reserves, at least 80 percent of the land held through a Certificate of Possession is registered in the man's name only. The BCNWS says the clauses in the Indian Act ensure that even fewer Aboriginal women have access to on- reserve homes and land. Mclvor says that Aboriginal women in BC decided to pursue a court case because they had tried all other avenues to address this issue, but to no avail. Jane Gottfriedson adds that Aboriginal women have been asking the government to remedy the discrimination against women in the Indian Act and have even helped by drafting amendments to the legislation for them. However, Ron Irwin, the Minister of Indian Affairs, has refused to accept amendments on the issue of matrimonial properties put to him by the BCNWS. During the press conference, when Mclvor was asked why the Minister of Indian Affairs would not accept the BCNWS's amendments, she replied: \"Ron Irwin listens to the people with the most power, and Aboriginal women don't have power.\" The BCNWS says it has never even gotten a response from Irwin acknowledging or explaining his decison not to include its amendments in proposed changes to the Indian Act. As part of its court case, the BCNWS is also challenging the federal government participation in the First Nations Land Managament Agreement (the Framework Agreement.) The agreement, known as Bill C-75, was introduced into the House of Commons last December. According to the federal government, \"the bill will enable the 14 participating First Nations to opt out of the land management sections of the Indian Act and to establish their own regimes to manage their lands and resources.\" The 14 First Nations are: Westbank, Musqueam, Lheit-Lit'en, N'Quatqua and Squamish in British Columbia; Siksika inAlberta; Muskoday and Cowessess in Saskatchewan; Opaskwayak Cree in Manitoba; and Nipissing, Mississaugas of Seugog Island, Chippewas of Georgina Island and Chippewas of Mnjikaning in Ontario. The BCNWS says by engaging in the land management agreement with the bands, the federal government is off-loading its fiduciary responsibility under the Indian Act to all Aboriginal people, and in particular to Aboriginal women. In their statement of claim, BCNWS says that the failure of the federal government to include into the Framework Agreement a requirement that bands \"develop a process with respect to the occupancy and division of the matrimonial property on reserves on matrimonial breakdown\" is a continuation of the government's unfair and inequitable treatment of Aboriginal women. \"At the end of the day, not only will Canada no longer have a responsibility to administer First Nations land, but also those people who administer the lands will have the ability to expropriate lands from individuals and families,\" says UNN's Jane Gottfriedson (centre) and Sharon Mclvor (right) of the B.C. Native Women's Society, with Leonie Rivers from the Aboriginal Women's Council. Thomas. \"When you don't have a land base, you can't talk about issues of sovereignty, nationhood and having treaty negotiations with Canada.\" Thomas adds that band Chiefs and Council will have the full authority over the allocation of properties on reserve, and \"we know how democratically elected Chiefs are.\" The BCNWS says it had asked the federal government for a hearing during the consultations on the land management agreement, but the government did not respond to the Society's request until several months later and when there was only one day left of hearings. \"The high handed way the government treated its consultation process-we understand they have had virtually no input from Aboriginal women's groups-reflects their generally dismissive attitude to Aboriginal women,\" says Gottsfriedson. The BCNWS is asking the federal court to rule in its favour and halt the passing of Framework Agreement. However, given that scenario is unlikely, Mclvor says the BCNWS would be happy if its court challenge would stall the passing of Bill C-75 until at least the federal election. Then, she says, there is more hope that Aboriginal women can pressure the government to make amendments to the legislation before it is re-introduced into parliament. In terms of response of Aboriginal people to their court challenge, Sharon Mclvor says that people at the community level are very supportive of BCNWS's action, but that organizations, including the Native Women's Association of Canada, are not supportive. The leader of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Ovide Mercredi, says he and other national Chiefs do not support BCNWS's demand for amendments to the Indian Act, adding that they are not in agreement with provincial legislation being applied to reserves. And the Union of BC Indian Chiefs says it supports BCNWS's position to a certain degree. In a letter read out at the press conference, Saul Terry states that the UBCIC supports the issue of fairer treatment of Aboriginal women in the matrimonial properties issue, but also does not agree that tinkering with the Indian Act is the way to resolve the matter. Viola Thomas says a good opportunity will arise in July to lobby Aboriginal leaders for their support of the BCNWS's position when the AFN holds their annual assembly in Vancouver. \"We should take direct action because all the national Chiefs will be here,\" says Thomas. The BCNWS is asking women who have had a bad deal with the matrimonial property and transfer of property issues to send in their stories to be included as affidavits in their court case. (Women can submit stories anonymously.) Send stories to the BCNWS's lawyer barbara findlay, Dahl findlay Connors, #620- 1033 Davie St, Vancouver, BC, V6E lM7;fax: (604) 687-7686. For more information about BCNWS's case, call barbara findlay toll free: 1-888-442-9529. Agnes Huang is a Chinese feminist activist working in community media. She spoke at the BCNWS press conference on behalf of the Vancouver Status of Women. APRIL 1997 News Homophobia in BC schools: Teachers approve resolution _ by Smita Patil \"Two, four, six, eight; how do you know your kids are straight?!\" was among many chants by over 150 demonstrators outside the BC Teacher's Federation annual general meeting in downtown Vancouver on a cold Sunday morning in March [see photos]. The demonstrators—mostly gay and lesbian youth, parents of gays and lesbians, and feminist, anti-racist and gay and lesbian rights activists—were rallying in support of a resolution that 700 delegates to the BCTF AGM were to vote on: a resolution to form a panel to \"create a program to eliminate homophobia and heterosexism within the BC public school system.\" Protestors were given cards on which to write out their stories of harassment, isolation and abuse experienced at BC high schools as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth. The cards were handed to teachers breaking for lunch as they left the hotel where the AGM was being held. Most teachers were sympathetic to the message, seeming to agree that homophobia and heterosexism in schools are endangering youth. However, rally speakers asked demonstrators to stay vigilant and not take the teachers' support for granted, reminding them that in February, the Coquitlam [a Vancouver suburb] school board unanimously rejected a motion to study disCTimination against gay and lesbian students in their district. Among the speakers, most of them were the youth who had organized the demonstration. One young speaker, Carol Wagner, told the crowd \"The suicide rate for queer youth is exceptionally high. Like racism and sexism, the way to stop [homophobia] is through education.\" Others told personal stories of gay bashings, name calling, low self-esteem and dropping out of high school. There were also a sizeable number of parents of gays and lesbians and older people in the crowd. Barbara findlay, a lesbian feminist activist and lawyer, said, \"Speaking as an oldster in this crowd, it is really, really moving for me to see the adults who are out in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered youth. Us guys who are over 40 and 50 and 60 have for too long ignored the young ones and we are finally facing our responsibilities and passing on our joy.\" The day after the demonstration, after an hour of debate, the resolution passed by an overwhelming majority. The BCTF has defined heterosexism as \"the assumption that everyone is heterosexual and that being heterosexual is inherently better or more moral than being lesbian, gay or bisexual.\" Most encouraging are reports from within the convention that, of the 700 teachers at the AGM, no more than 25 hands were counted opposing the resolution. The Youth Services of the Gay and Lesbian Centre in Vancouver circulated a fact sheet at the demonstration from which we excerpted the following: • According to a study by the University of Calgary, over 60 percent of attempted suicides are by lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered youth, who are 14 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth. • The McCreary Foundation estimates that 25-40 percent of homeless youth living in the West End, Granville and Downtown Eastside areas of Vancouver are lesbian or gay. • Twenty-eight percent of lesbian and gay youth do not finish high school, primarily due to diminished self-esteem, harassment and lack of visible role models. • Lesbian and gay youth are at high risk for alcohol, drugs or other chemical dependancies, and of contracting HIV/AIDS. It's official: Kinesisand the Vancouver Status of Women have moved! Painting the office teal, peach, salmon, mango... Standing: Mary Logan, Nancy Pang, Erin Graham and Audrey Johnson. Kneeling: Agnes Huang, Raven Courtenay, Melina Udy and Jehn Starr. Photo by Fatima Jaffer. KINESIS And we wouldn't have been able to do it without all the incredible help—packing, painting, moving, cleaning, unpacking, driving around—from the following people: Shannon e. Ash * Balbi Basran Kalia * Charlene Brisson * Heather Commodore * Pat Currie * Deepa * Marlene del Hoyo * Erin Graham * Mary Henderson * Agnes Huang * Alex Hudson * Fatima Jaffer * Audrey Johnson * Jennifer Johnstone * Sook C. Kong * Leanne Keltie * Alice Kendall * Xochital Leal * Diane Leclaire * Mary Logan * Jane Loop * Andy Marshall * Albrecht Meyer * Rachel Malloy * Melanie Nicols King * June Pang * Nancy Pang * Amrit Pannun * Nancy Pollak * Sayuri * Michelle Sylliboy * Jehn Starr * Swee Sim Tan * Melina Udy * Cathy Vigneron * Celeste Wincapaw Thank you to all who lent VSW their time, resources and energy to make this move possible. We could not have done it without you. © © © Many thanks also to the local businesses that made donations to us of building materials, supplies, paint and labour. Your support was critical in ensuring we'd be able to move into our new space. Ashley House Decorating * Coast Decorating A Paint Supplies * The Handi-Babes * Home Depot —Terminal Avenue store * Manufacturers Outlet Limited © © © VSW and Kines/swiW be having an open house on Thursday, June 5th from 2-8pm. Please come by and check out our snazzy new office at #309-877 E. Hastings St. (with its luscious lime green bathroom) and join us for a BBQ on our back (and front) balconies. See you there. News The Vernon massacre: A year after \"the worst outcome\" by Fatima Jaffer A man walked into his estranged wife's home and shot her and the eight members of her family who had stood by her when she left him. He also wounded her grandmother and a six-year-old niece. Later that day, he shot himself. In the days following the killing spree, the mainstream media and seemingly much of Canadian society explained the massacre, the second largest in Canadian history, less as an act of violence against women and more as a result of cultural influences— such as arranged marriage—because the killer and his targets were SouthAsian. Shortly after, the Vancouver Coalition of South Asian Women Against Violence came together to put the media's racist assumptions to rest. Together with feminist organizations such as the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), Vancouver Status of Women, WAVAW (Women Against Violence Against Women) Rape Crisis Centre and the Philippine Women Centre, the Coalition firmly placed the massacre as an act of male violence against women [see Kinesis, May 1996.] One year later, the scenario is being repeated. To commemorate the anniversary of the Vernon massacre, which took place on April 4th, mainstream media plan to highlight \"cultural tendencies\"that could \"lead\" to violence. Meanwhile across the country, Canadians and many women's organizations seem to have forgotten about the Vernon massacre. The Coalition has regrouped to take leadership in the Vancouver women's movement to jointly counter the media's racist assumptions and remind people about the pervasiveness of violence against women in Canada. More importantly, women's organizations want to highlight the fact that not much has changed in a year. The Vernon massacre could happen again today. The Coalition met in mid-March to discuss the likeliness of another \"Vernon.\" The women at the meeting—South Asian women from various women's and immigrant organizations—examined the summary of a Coroner's inquest on the roles of police and other agencies in the Vernon massacre. The Coalition also looked at resulting changes to the BC Attorney General's Policy on Violence in Intimate Relationships (AG's Policy). [Ed. note: The AG's Policy sets out procedures to direct police and the justice system in BC on how to respond in cases of violence against women by their partners.] The Coalition's primary conclusion is that Canadians should not be allowed to forget those who were killed in Vernon nor why. \"The Ghakal family was killed because male violence against women is pervasive in Canada and will be as long as it is not recognized as an issue of male power in Canadian society,\" says Prem Gill, a Coalition member. To this end, a commemorative event—much along the lines of the vigil held across Canada on December 6th to remember the 14 women killed in the Montreal massacre—will be held on April 4th every year across this country \"until there is an end to male violence against women,\" says Gill. The Coalition also plans to highlight the fact that the Vernon massacre happened despite the fact that the RCMP in Vernon could possibly have prevented it. The Coroner's inquest into the murders found that the RCMP knew what the killer, Mark Chahal, was capable of, did not follow their own policies and procedures to stop him They also ignored letters in their files from Chahal's estranged wife, Rajwar Ghakal, who had repeatedly complained to Vernon police of his harassment and threats. The police excused their inaction by saying they had been afraid of provoking Chahal into committing violence, and did not want to interfere with \"cultural\" influences. That is also why, according to RCMP officers, the RCMP gave Chahal a permit to buy a gun, despite knowing Rajwar Ghakal's complaints and fears. \"How could the police have caused anything worse than what happened? Chahal shot nine people, including Rajwar. What worse outcome were police trying to prevent?\" savs Kulbir Johal, another Coalition member. Shortly after the Vernon massacre, the mainstream media learned that Rajwar Ghakal was not the only one to find her compaints being ignored by Vernon RCMP Sharon Velisek came forward and told how she had filed repeated complaints with Vernon RCMP about her former boyfriend, Larry Scott, who was stalking and harassing her. Scott eventually shot Velisek twice, then killed himself. Velisek survived the shooting. Velisek's charges, coupled with the Coalition's demands for a public inquiry, prompted the BC Attorney General to call coroner's inquests into inaction by Vernon RCMP. [The Coalition demanded a public inquiry because an inquiry can lay criminal charges where it finds negligence; coroner's inquests can only make broad recommendations to the Attorney General.] Last October, the Coroner's inquest into the Vernon massacre came up with 29 recommendations, mostly involving improving police response and firearm regulations [see Kinesis, Nov. 1996.] The final report of the inquest stands several volumes thick and costs about $200, more than most women's organizations can afford to pay. Some of the recommendations were incorporated into the AG's Policy. Yasmin Jiwani of FREDA (Feminist Research, Education, Development and Action Centre) says that a summary to the inquest report, available free, gives a pretty good idea of the full proceedings of the inquest, and it is not necessarily good news for women. \"It's written very much from the perspective of a man, from Mark Chahal's perspective, going into emotional justifications for why he might have committed this crime—describing him as 'sad and lonely',\" says Jiwani, who is also a Coalition mem- \"Continuing the Resistance to Imperialist Globalization\" About 65 people showed up at the Kalayaan Centre in Vancouver on March 20th for a press conference held by the NO! To APEC Coalition to announce further actions in its campaign against APEC (the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) and the Canadian government's hosting of the APEC Leaders' Summit in Vancouver this November.The Coalition says it will host an international People's Conference Against Imperialist Globalization to counter the APEC Leaders'Summit, as well as continue to organize and educate people against APEC. Among the press conference speakers was Luningning Alcuitas- Imperial, who participated in a similar anti-imperialism conference in the Philippines, where last year's Leaders' Summit was held. She said the People's Conference and the People's Caravan (a march of more than 10,000 people to the site of the Leaders' Summit) were of great historical significance. \"For the first time, there was organized and systematic resistance to APEC on the basis of anti-imperialist unity.\" Supporters of NO! To APEC say that rather than trying to \"reform\" APEC, they are resolved to \"junk APEC, NAFTA, the European Union and the WTO.\" To join the NO! To APEC coalition or to find out more about its anti- imperialism campaigns, call 215-1103. Photo: Billie Moon of Environmental Youth Alliance and Elsie Pang of No! to APEC (left) talk with Native Youth Movement's Traci Humchitt ber. \"In comparison, there is almost nothing sympathetic to Rajwar Ghakal, nothing about women's organizations, about feminist shelters, rape crisis lines, and so on.\" The inquest also raised questions about the unevenness in the implementation of the AG's policies by the RCMP. Jiwani points out that discrepancies could partly be due to the fact that municipal police (such as in Vancouver) are directly under theAG's jurisdiction and are therefore more likely to follow the Policy, while the RCMP (such as in Vernon) are under federal jurisdiction and only under contract to theAG's office. A key controversy raised by the inquest and by women's groups is the AG's policy of mandatory arrest. This means that, even if a woman does not want to lay criminal charges against her abuser, once the police have been called in, they are compelled to lay charges on behalf of the woman and must arrest the man. Following the Coalition's advocacy on this issue in the Vernon and Velisek cases, FREDA launched a study, endorsed by the Coalition, to evaluate the effectiveness of the mandatory arrest policy. FREDA has already elicited several responses across BC from women working within rape crisis centres, transition houses, shelters and other violence against women organizations. Early results indicate that mandatory arrest is being implemented unevenly across the province and is being conducted in a \"gender neutral\" way, where a woman is often arrested if she strikes back in self- defence. FREDA is also hearing from women that mandatory arrest only works where women are offered secondary supports, such as transition houses, safe shelters, emergency aid, counselling, and police follow-up. \"We've found that mandatory arrest, in some cases, is causing women to stay silent and to remain in violent relationships because there is nothing in place to ensure men who are released from jails don't come back and avenge themselves on the women,\" says Jiwani. She adds that there is often no place women can go because the shelters have waiting lists and \"more than likely, women have little choice but to be economically dependent on their male partners.\" Jiwani and other Coalition members say it is more critical than ever to raise awareness of how endemic violence against women is and to support feminist advocacy. \"[So many in society still think] there are justifications for why Mark Chahal killed his wife and those who supported her leaving him. It all comes back to being an issue of fighting for women's equality,\" says Jiwani. The Coalition is launching a series of campaigns, including a press conference to release the findings of the FREDA study in early April, sponsored by the member groups of the Coalition and NAC-BC's Anti-Violence Committee. As well, a public vigil will be held on Thursday, April 4th in Vancouver at the main branch of the Public Library (Robson at Homer) at 7 pm. For more information on the vigil, other Coalition activities or for a speakers list of Coalition members for your vigil or commemorative event, call the South Asian Women's Centre at 325-6637; WAVAW at 255-6228 or FREDA at 291-5197. Fatima Jaffer is a regular writer for Kinesis, works at the South Asian Women's Centre and is a member of the Coalition of South Asian Women Against Violence. APRIL 1997 Movement Matters listings information Movement Matters is designed to be a network of news, updates and information of special interest to the women's movement. Submissions to Movement Matters should be no more than 500 words, typed, double spaced and may be edited for length. Deadline is the 18th of the month preceding publication. compiled by Anne Webb, Andrea Imada and Caitlin Byrne Anti-racism work in women's organizations The Vancouver Status of Women is hosting a two-part series—Looking Within to Reach Out—to address anti-racism work in women's organizations in the Lower Mainland. For the first part of the series, on April 12th and 13th, VSW invites women of colour and Aboriginal women to participate in a gathering to assess and build on anti- racism work that has been taking place in the women's movement since the late 1980s. The purpose of the two-day gathering is to provide Aboriginal women and women of colour with an opportunity to come together to talk about, review, analyze and celebrate different anti-racism strategies, policies and experiences. The gathering will include plenaries on anti-racism versus multiculturalism, and on ways for Aboriginal women and women of colour to come together and support each others' struggles. As well, there will be workshops on the issues of: employment policies; why women of colour organize as women of colour; challenges for Aboriginal women speaking out in the workplace; women's research and appropriation of voice; the agendas shaping the structures of women's organizations; and the impact of racism in the delivery of services. A key outcome of the gathering will be the production of a document evaluating anti-racism strategies and policies in women's organizations in the Lower Mainland, and presenting recommendations for changes and action. The document will be circulated to women's organizations for discussion and implementation. A follow- up gathering, open to all staff and volunteers with women's organizations, will be held in June to allow women's organizations an opportunity to further explore and discuss anti-racism work in the women's movement and the contents of the document. The Anti-Racism Gathering is free to aboriginal women and women of colour working in or volunteering with women's organizations. Lunch will be provided both days. On-site child care will be available. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Also, some arrangements can be made to meet women's special needs. Registration deadline is April 7. For more information about the Anti-racism Gathering and Looking Within to Reach Out, contact Ema Oropeza at the Vancouver Status of Women, (604) 255-6554. Voices From the Backyard Voices From the Backyard is a one-day writing workshop for women to be held on Sunday, April 6 from 10:00am to 4:30pm at the Vancouver Status of Women's new office (309-877 E. Hastings St). Many women think they can't write, but everyone has a story to tell. Voices is a workshop for women who have stories to tell about living and /or working in Grandview Woodland and don't know how to get them onto paper. The workshop is sponsored by Our Own Backyard, a community mapping project which is working with community groups and individuals in the Commercial Drive neighborhood. The project is inviting people who live and/or work in the community to share what they value about our neighborhood, using a variety of forms. Voices From the Backyard will help women who live or work in the Commercial Drive area to tell the stories they think are important about this neighborhood. Workshop participants should arrive with ideas, photos, objects, children's drawings, or anything that reminds them of their lives in Grandview Woodland. During the day, participants will use easy and fun techniques to shape these ideas into text, and will leave with a finished story ready for inclusion with Our Own Backyard's other collected materials. The workshop leader is Faith Jones, a widely published journalist, essayist and short fiction writer. She has lived in Grandview Woodland for 14 years. The cost of the workshop is free. To register, call 254-9276. Childcare cost reimbursements are available. VCN committed to public internet access How many times has someone said to you, \"are you online?\" or \"have you got email?\" Well, the Vancouver Community- Net (VCN, formerly FreeNet) can help women interested in getting hooked up to e-mail and to the internet. The VCN is non-profit and community oriented, providing users with a community-based alternative to commercial internet service providers. It is committed to providing public access to the internet, especially to organizations, community groups and individuals who do not have the resources to access the fast lanes of the information highway. Users support the VCN with memberships and donations rather than paying for access. The VCN supports over 70 Public Access Service Sites (PASS) in libraries and community centres in Greater Vancouver. It provides online help and helpPAGES at PASS locations and phone-in help to get people started, as well as cheap manuals to help members learn. The network also works with institutions, colleges, libraries and other partners to provide access to students, job seekers, library users and others. First time user introductions are held every Monday at 11 am. Membership rates range from $15 for people on low incomes to $40 for families. The VCN is currently seeking 10 to 15 volunteers for its community outreach and training departments to work with community groups interested in getting online and to conduct basic internet introductory workshops about the VCN, email and the internet. For more information about the Vancouver CommunityNet or to volunteers, call Katherine at (604) 257-3811, or drop by the VCN office at 411 Dunsmuir St. Challenging the equality myth \"A painful reality check,\" is how Nancy Riche, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) vice president, describes the Report on Women's Work just released by the CLC The 100-page report shows that the vast majority of women remain stuck in low-paying jobs with little hope of advancement. Job losses in manufacturing and cutbacks in public sectors have been replace by so- called \"growth\" in part-time, temporary, contract, domestic and home-based work. The report challenges the myth that equality for women has been attained in the work force. It is full of useful observations and statistics about the state of women's work, such as: • only 20 percent of women have full- time, full-year jobs that pay more than $30,000 per year, compared to 40 percent of men; • women account for less than 20 percent of those in the top ten paying jobs, but they represent more than 70 percent in the lowest-paying j obs; • in less than 20 years, the number of women part-time workers has increased by 200 percent; over 15 years the number of women working more than one job increased by 372 percent. \"Still, women's fighting spirits are very much alive,\" according to Riche. \"This report and the Women's March Against Poverty (last May) showed that women across the country want to work with women in the labour movement for a change.\" Women and Work provides a detailed approach for taking on the challenges posed by current restructuring. It unabashedly calls on unions to act now to embrace new strategies for these times. The report is available at no charge from the CLC. To receive more information on the report or the report itself, contact the CLC's Women and Human Rights Department: 2841 Riverside Dr, Ottawa, Ontario, Kl V 8X7; tel: (613) 521-3400 ext. 259/262; fax: (613) 521-3113. Sexual assault handbook revised and updated A new edition of Sexual Assault has been released by the Montreal Health Press. This handbook is unique, as it provides guidance on dealing with sexual assault as a private and personal experience, and examines the social context in which it occurs. The Montreal Health Press is a women's collective which has been producing quality books of health and sexualtiy for over 25 years. In the new edition, statistics have been completely updated and changes to the criminal code as it pertains to sexual assault are included. In the 1997 edition, sections on partner assault, dating violence and abuse of people with disabilities have been extensively revised, and information on pregnancy and STDs resulting from an assault has been updated. The new edition also includes an in-depth examination of the social effects of sexual assault in relation to racism, warfare, gender relations and the marginalization of people with disabilities. The handbook, first published in 1978, is a clearly written, well-illustrated, highly accessible resource available in both English and French (L'agression sexuelle.) According to the Women's Health Clinic in Winnipeg, \"No other resource offers the combination of personal and practical information, an understanding of why sexual assault happens and ways to work for positive change.\" Single copies of Sexual Assault and L'agression sexuelle are available for $4 a single copy, or at discounted rate for bulk orders. To obtain copies of this handbook and information on the other books on health and sexuality produced by the Montreal Health Press/Les Presses de la Sante de Montreal, write to Montreal Health Press Inc, PO Box 1000, Station Place du Pare, Montreal, Quebec H2W 2N1. Tel: (514) 282-1171. Fax: (514) 282-0262. E-mail: mhpmontreal@msn.com. Web site: http://www.worldsfinest.com/mhp. UN women's resources online Three United Nations women's organizations marked International Women's Day by launching sites on the information superhighway under a gateway named Women Watch. WomenWatch can be found at http://www.un.org/womenwatch, through email at womenwatch@un.org, or via a gopher, gopher://gopher.un.org. Once at the site, users can access the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). The site hopes to provide a forum for global women's issues following on 1995's Fourth World Conference on Women, as well as an information source for the UN's work on women. Women, Ink, UN distributors of books about women and development, has also announced its web site at http:// www.womenink.org. Kinesis We hear you're moving! Best of luck in your new location. We'll miss you on the Drive. Vancouver Photo 1523 Commercial Drive 253-7501 What's News compiled by Andrea Imada and Rachel Rosen Turkish women fight fundamentalist laws \"We are women; we are strong; we are against Sharia [Islamic legal code].\" These were the words of over 8,000 women who gathered in the streets of Ankara, Turkey's capital, on February 15 to protest plans by Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to increase the role of Islamic law in the nation. Women's organizations in Turkey accuse the premier and his Welfare Party of trying to end official secularism and erode women's rights by imposing parts of this Islamic code onto the daily lives of women. At the protest, many of the women carried posters of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of secular modern Turkey, who allowed women the vote in the 1920s. Tansu Ciller, the leader of the conservative True Path Party and Turkey's first woman premier, was also criticized by the women at the rally for supporting the new sexist proposals. \"We are here, where is Tansu Ciller?\" the protestors shouted, challenging her decision to side with prime minister Erbakan and her role in supporting the marginalization of Turkish women. If the government does increase the role of Islamic law in public life, there are fears that secular forces in the military and the judicial wing of the government will stage a coup. A military overthrow of the government would not improve women's lives in Turkey, say the protesters. Women workers win class action suit Over 200 women employees of Publix Super Market Inc. in Florida have won $81.5 million in a class action suit they filed against their employers. The women had initially filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Later, a few of the women followed up this action by launching a civil suit against Publix. As publicity of their case grew, more women became involved in the lawsuit. In 1995, the EECC joined the women in their class action suit against the company. In their lawsuit, the women claimed they were unfairly denied promotion. The suit covers 150,000 current and former women employees from 1991 until the present. The EEOC has complaints against Publix in its files dating back to 1986. Because the settlement for the class action suit was made out of court, Publix can still say that \"there has never been...nor will there be in the future, any pattern or practice\" of discrimination. However, Publix did agree to internal changes which the EEOC felt should improve the promotion prospects of women employees. The EEOC has been involved with other successful cases recently: a settlement between Black employees and Texaco Inc, and between older employees and the military contractor Lockheed-Martin. As well, the EEOC has filed a lawsuit on behalf of women assembly line workers who are employees of Mitsubishi. Yukon women's groups call for justice Women's groups and other residents in the Yukon are outraged at a recent sentence given to a Yukon man for strangling his wife. On January 17, a jury found Ralph Klassen not guilty of second degree murder, for which he was originally charged, but guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter. He was sentenced to just five years imprisonment for strangling his estranged wife, Susan Klassen, to death on November 2, 1995 at her home in Lake Lebarge. Since the sentencing, friends and family of Susan Klassen have initiated letter writing campaigns and protest rallies challenging Justice Minister Allan Rock to reverse the decision. As well, organizers are calling on the minister to change the \"provocation defense,\" used in the Klassen case, which allows that \"a man's jealousy about his partner or anger in any way reduces his responsibility for a crime of violence against his partner.\" In their letter to Rock, feminists in the Yukon say, \"the provocation defence as it is currently used ... inappropriately and unjustly changes the focus of the criminal trial from the behaviour of the accused and his intention to murder to the behaviour of the victim who from then on is identified as the one responsible for the accused's violence.\" The letter writing campaign resulted in the Crown Attorney's office reversing its initial decision to not appeal the sentencing. Meanwhile women's organizations continue to demand: that amendments be made to the defense of provocation; the enactment of a new offence of \"wife slaughter\" with a minimum sentence; consistent national standards; and sentencing that fits the crime. To call on Rock to make the proposed changes to the Criminal Code, send letters to the Honourable Allan Rock, Minister of Justice, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6. Lesbian mom denied custody A Florida judge has been accused of violating the judicial canon prohibited bias based on sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, national origin, disability, and class. Judge Joseph Q. Tarbuck gained notoriety in August 1995 when he awarded custody of an 11-year old girl to her father because her mother was a lesbian...even though her father had been convicted of killing his first wife. Tarbuck said his decision was based partly on his feeling that the child \"should be given the opportunity ...to live in a non- lesbian world.\" (The young girl lived in a household with her mother, Mary Ward, her mother's partner, her older sister who is also a lesbian and her sister's partner.) The complaint against the judge is being filed by Allan H. Terl, a retired lawyer and gay rights advocate. [Mary Ward died last January of unrelated circumstances, so an appeal of the custody decision is irrelevant.] Federal government stalls review The Canadian federal government says it does not know what action it will take even after a federal review recommended that five incarcerated women who had killed their abusive partners or guardians should be released. The recommendations were submitted to Solicitor General Herb Gray and Justice Minister Allan Rock by Judge Lynn Ratushny of the Ontario Court in February. The establishment of a special review headed by Ratushny came after several years of pressure from women's groups after a landmark 1990 Supreme Court of Canada ruling recognizing \"battered women's syndrome\" as a legal defense for women accused of killing their abusive male partners. Initially, the federal government expected that only a dozen or so women would apply to have their cases re-considered, but since the announcement of the review, 98 women have asked Ratushny to review their cases. Of the 55 cases she did review, Ratushny recommended that six women's cases be reopened. In her report, the judge stated that two women acted in self defense and should have been acquitted, three others were actually guilty of manslaughter as they were provoked by the abusive men, and a sixth woman should get an appeal based on whether she should have been convicted of first degree murder. Government officials have still not decided whether to act on Ratushny's recommendations or not. The National Association of Women and the Law is concerned that the women will not be released before a federal election. \"We've always been in disagreement [with] the government kowtowing to the crime agenda,\" said the Association spokesperson Louise Shaughnessy \"In these cases, these women are not a threat to the community and there's a big difference between talking about somebody like them and somebody like [serial killer] Clifford Olson.\" The federal government has currently formed a committee to look at the review's recommendations. Residency requirement in BC lifted Following an agreement by the federal government to transfer tens of millions of dollars to the provincial coffers, the BC government finally lifted its notorious three-month residency requirement for welfare eligibility. On March 6, Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced the federal government will be giving BC approximately $60 million over the next three years to cope with the costs of settling new immigrants. In return, BC has agreed to drop its residency requirement and its $47 million lawsuit against the federal government. When the BC government set up the residency requirement, then social services minister, Joy MacPhail, claimed that it was needed because of cuts by the federal government in transfer payments to the provinces. She also claimed slashing of welfare rates in other provinces was forcing people to move to BC. Many women's and anti-poverty groups have said the residency requirement violated mobility rights under the Constitution and Canada Assistance Plan (CAP). Women leaving abusive situations were particularly at risk. Women's and anti- poverty groups also say the residency requirement's alleged savings, were a \"savings\" gained on the backs of people on welfare and non-profit support agencies. (BC Premier Glen Clark says that BC had been saving $15 million a year because of the requirement.) Protecting equality rights Many organizations have been granted intervenor status in the Winnipeg Family Services v. the Queen case at the Supreme Court of Canada—a case considered critical in upholding women's reproductive rights.The court is anticipated to convene in June. Last August, Winnipeg Family Services obtained a court order to force a pregnant Aboriginal woman into treatment for solvent abuse. The order for compulsory treatment was overturned by the Manitoba Court of Appeal/See Kinesis, October 1996]. Now, although the woman has already given birth to the baby, the case has been appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The status of a foetus as a \"person\" emerged as a key issue in the case and has ensured the participation of groups opposed to a woman's right to reproductive choice. Among the intervenors opposed to compulsory treatment are the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), and a coalition which includes the Women's Health Centre in Winnipeg, the Native Women's Transition Centre, the Metis Women's Association and the Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties. LEAF'S position is that treatment orders infringe on women's equality rights under the Charter and have a \"disproportionately severe impact on women who already endure aggravated discrimination due to stigmatization and disadvantage by reason of their race, religion, poverty, disability and/or Aboriginal origin.\" The Winnipeg Women's Health Clinic says the Manitoba-based coalition opposes mandatory treatment and will focus their court intervention on \"the government's obligation to provide appropriate and effective supports, services and resources to ensure the health and well being of pregnant women and their foetuses.\" [Sources for What's News include: The Optimist, Sojourner, Ms. Magazine, The Militant, LEAFlet, the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and the Women's Health Clinic in Winnipeg]. Andrea Imada and Rachel Rosen are regular contributors to Kinesis. In, Are you an 11 lUStratOl*? \\% contribute your skills to Kinesis 255-5499 Feature Women and the peace process in Guatemala: The time has come by Sandra Moran as told to Carmen Miranda On December 29,1996, the Guatemalan government and army and the URNG (Guatemala National Revolutionary Union) signed a series of peace accords, signalling the end to more than 30 years of civil war. The process towards peace in Guatemala started more than a decade ago; formal negotiations on the accords began in 1991. Most people in Guatemala had no participation at the peace negotiation table until 1994 when the Assembly of Civilian Society (ASC) was formed to facilitate input from the civilian population. Within ASC, a number of sectors, including a women's sector, were set up to bring forward specific proposals of concern to the various segments of society to the negotiating table. Sandra Moran is a member of Nuestra Voz, a Vancouver-based organization working in support of women in Guatemala. She currently lives and is working in the gender and women's program with CIEP, a research and popular education centre, facilitating workshops for students, unions and Mayan women. For the past three years, Moran has been involved with the women's sector of ASC. Carmen Miranda recently had the opportunity to speak with Moran about women and the peace process in Guatemala while Moran was in Vancouver for a short speaking tour. Miranda is also a member of Nuestra Voz. Carmen Miranda: What is the meaning of the peace in Guatamala? Sandra Moran: For us, peace is a process that we can build, that can result in social justice in Guatemala. The peace accords are just the basis for change. The challenge for us is to get the accords implemented, to try and force a building of a different kind of government and a different distribution of resources in Guatemala. We are trying to fight for changes that are for the good of the majority of the people, not just a few. Miranda: Can you explain the role women have been playing in this process? Moran: Women have been participating in all the struggles in Guatemala [for decades,] but women's organizations started to actively mobilize about 12 years ago. Since 1988, many different women's organizations have been trying to propose changes [to improve the situation of women in Guatemala] and work for those changes. In 1994 when the Assembly of Civil Society (ASC) was formed, women from different organizations asked for the formation of a women's sector as one of the 14 sectors making up the ASC. Since then, we have discussed the socioeconomic problems of women and tried to propose resolutions for these problems. We then pulled together a position paper [on women's issues] that was discussed with the other sectors of the Assembly. The women's sector made a number of proposals in each of the five theme areas of discussion: the right of displaced people to go back to Guatemala; the rights of indigenous people; the socio-economic and land reforms; the strengthening of civil power and the role of the army in Guatemalan society; and the Truth Commission. Those five areas form the main accords of the peace process. Under each theme, we raised specific issues about women. With the signing of the peace accords, we now have new tools to use to change laws and attitudes which discriminate against women. The women's sector was successful in gaining recognition of the work women do for the good of the whole society. Miranda: How have women been working as a movement in Guatemala? Moran: The important part of the movement has been the women's sector of the ASC. The women's sector was formed by 45 different organizations. Right now, it is made up of 27 groups. Some of the organizations left because of the tasks we were doing—putting together proposals, lobbying the peace negotiations table, and trying to engage in political discussions. Many women's organizations don't want to do that kind of work because they are trying to resolve the problems women have at a grassroots level. Many don't have enough time to do the local work, and also do the broader political work. The women's sector is just one part of the women's movement in Guatemala. We also have a network of organizations that work against violence against women, a network of organizations working on changing laws, and another network which is following up on the Beijing conference (the 4th World Conference on Women held in September 1995.) These networks form the women's movement, along with other organizations that are not part of any network but which are women's organizations working to improve the lives of women. Now that the peace process is beginning, the mechanisms are there to ensure the implementation of the accords and, particularly, the parts of the accords that address women's issues. We now have ways to define how those parts are going to be implemented, who is going to do it, when it's going to happen, how it's going to include our participation, and how we can ensure the money set aside for implementation is used appropriately. To do all of this work, we are forming a women's forum, with participants from the women's movement and the government. We need to organize the women's forum between now and April 15~within the 90 days set aside for the first phase of the implementation. Then from April 15 until the end of this year, we will define a schedule of implementation of those parts of the accords that talk about women. And then in 1998, we will start implementing the accords. We will plan from 1998 until the year 2000, and then from the year 2000 to 2005. The task and challenge is for us in the women's movement to work together for the implementation of the accords. It is a challenge because we are a society that has been divided. It's a challenge because all of us don't have the skills needed to work at the level of talking with the government and trying to implement things. And it's a challenge, too, because a lot of us don't Sandra Moran (far right) facilitating a workshop with Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn), a women's group in Villa Lobos, Guatemala work together on a permanent basis, only time to time. I hope the implementation of the accords will give us women the opportunity to at least start changing our situation in society. That is going to be the point we can all share, and from there I hope we can work together. Miranda: What is the impact of the lesbian movement in Guatemala? Moran: The gay and lesbian movement in Guatemala is new. For the last three years, there has been an organization called Oasis that has been talking to people about AIDS. It's mainly a group for men. We women decided to form an organization that we felt we belonged to. That happened last January. The organization is called Mujeres Somos (We are Women.) It's the first lesbian organization in Guatemala and it's still really small. Right now, Mujeres Somos has representatives in the women's sector, and last year, on November 25-the international day of action against violence against women-the organization held a forum called, \"The invisibility of lesbians is also violence against women.\" It was the first public presentation for the group. It was held especially as a presentation for the women's movement to try and open discussion about lesbianism. That discussion wasn't present at the peace negotiation table because many of us who are lesbians didn't feel it was the right time. We were discussing a lot of other issues. Now we hope it's time because we are at a moment where we are redefining our country, our country's laws, and our country's way of seeing life. It's time for us to talk openly, or at least try to, because there's still fear [in speaking out as a lesbian.] I feel there are more and more possibilities to discuss the issues of lesbians and gay men, and to try to break all the barriers and taboos in society [around homosexuality.] That is also part of the process of building peace in Guatemala. Miranda: What do you think is the role of the solidarity now with the peace process in place? Moran: Solidarity has been really useful for us, supporting our struggles in all kind of ways. My feeling is that solidarity is still important and needed, not just for us to feel we have more support, but to help to rebuild the country. Coming out of a war, we have a lot of needs, but we also have a lot of ideas. We need people with new skills, with different ideas and resources that they can share with us. We also need to make links between the south and north. Links that can help us resolve some of the problems we all face because of the globalization of the economy and the structural adjustment programs. Links that can help us to find our way to connect the struggles. I think for Nuestra Voz, the work we have been trying to do for the past three years is to link communities in Canada with communities in Guatemala. Because we are here in Vancouver and also in Guatamala, we can do that kind of bridge building. I hope the solidarity movement is going to continue helping us, helping women, and helping the gay and lesbian movement, the indigenous movement, and all the different struggles. We still need help in terms of new skills and resources, and people who can go down to Guatemala and work for a few months or people who can come here and be trained. We need concrete things that can help us rebuild the country. Miranda: Is there anything else you would like to add? Moran: Yes, I would like to finish by saying that we women are willing, and have the commitment, to continue working in the society and in every kind of organization we can for the implementation of the accords. We believe that this is the moment we have to start changing the society. If we don't do it now, it's going to be difficult to do at another moment. We are trying to organize ourselves and find the best ways to work for change and to ensure women's participation at the grasroots level, the local and regional levels, and at the national level in the political parties. There's one political party, the new Guatemala Democratic Front (FDNG,) where women have been guaranteed 30 percent participation in all the structures of the party. It's just a beginning because the FDNG is the only party which has agreed to ensuring women's participation in the political process. We hope women from other countries can share their own experiences with us and help us continue that work. We can also share with other women how we have done the work and how we will keep doing that work, and all the dreams we still have. APRIL 1997 Feature International Women's Day in Vancouver: 66 * Women moving forward together\" by Agnes Huang A lot of things could have rained on this year's International Women's Day parade in Vancouver—like the rain (which weather forecasters predicted lots of) or the anti-choice protesters (who came out to crash the celebration). The rain didn't show —it was a beautiful, cool, almost-Spring day. And the anti-choicers did show up, but there weren't enough of them to dampen the spirit and strength of the more than 1000 women, men and children who came out to celebrate feminist struggles everywhere. Organizing for this year's Vancouver IWD March 8th rally and march involved the largest number of women ever—more than 40 individual women and women's organizations sat on the ad-hoc planning committee. Part of the reason for the increase in participation was the resolve to ensure attempted anti-choice sabotage of IWD Vancouver would not succeed. But perhaps the biggest reason for the large and consistent turnout of women at organizing meetings was an even stronger resolve to actively confront the backlash against feminism and the women's movement and to press forward the particular issues of their communities. (Almost all of the women returned to the evaluation meeting following IWD to re-affirm their commitment to organizing future IWD activities.) The result of such a large and dynamic organizing committee meant a packed schedule of almost 40 speakers and performers. Throughout the day (before and after the march,) women addressed a multitude of issues — violence against women, the failure of the provincial NDP government improve the situation of women, the protection of women's choice, the growing poverty of women and children, the need to confront fundamentalism in all its forms, and building support for women in Afghanistan and East Timor. The theme of this year's march was \"Women moving forward together.\" The theme was chosen to acknowledge the critical need for women to work together to end the oppressions, in all their forms, otherwise, women cannot move forward. Over the course of many meetings, IWD committee members established a collective vision—a vision which includes the end of capitalism, poverty, violence, heterosexism, and so on. One of the more hotly debated issues concerned abortion and women's right to make decisions about their own reproductive processes. It was reiterated that the autonomy of women cannot be compromised and that the right to safe abortion is fundamental to the freedom of women. Since last year's IWD, a number of anti-choice protesters have continually tried to disrupt IWD organizing and harass women and women's organizations who support a pro-choice, feminist stance. On the day of this year's IWD event, about a dozen anti-choicers took up a position next to the speakers' area at the Vancouver Public Library about an hour before the rally was even to begin. Some tried to preach to women; others displayed their anti-choice signs and jockeyed with pro-choice women for visible placard positioning. Every time the anti-choice protesters tried to engage in confrontational actions, pro-choice women would peacefully respond by singing: \"My body's nobody's body but mine...\" From almost all of the IWD participants, a very clear message was sent out: women (and \"not the church, not the state,\") have the right to control our bodies, [see cover photo] After over an hour of speeches, performances and rallying chants, the exuberant and boisterous crowd were anxious to continued on next page... International Women's Day in Vancouver: Continued from previous page hit the streets. The crowd moved through the downtown core of the city, following a contingent of Aboriginal women, who led the march drumming and displaying their newly created Aboriginal Women's Flag [see page 9.] Following the march, the crowd reassembled inside the public library for an information fair—with tables full of stuff from various women's and community organizations—and more speeches and performances. The march and rally at the public library were not the only IWD events on March 8th. Other IWD events included several activities at the Kalayaan Centre, hosted by the Philippine Women Centre, Nuestra Voz, the Grassroots Women's Discussion Group and other women of colour groups. The groups hosted a creative grassroots strategies session to get women thinking about ways to challenge imperialist globalization. About 40 women, mostly women of colour, joined quilting and theatre workshop, and many more came out for the evening potluck gathering. In the evening, a number of dances, fundraising benefits and comedic performances were held at varioous venues around the city to cap off the March 8th day of celebrations. For many of us in Vancouver, they were able to get a good dose of feminist IWD events this year. «CE l.gSftoB !^?_. \" and ts^Ess^ the pr°- choice oundU^) ]%^m& m R*'iaaeSSfrancouverR' Committee 0TMn'ShelteraT\"WD / m m ^ Tl+Sl s°ngweavers I\", ,$?°rk' (Lefl>TMe Sapphic 'songs j/Mmm W\" fa-Vf-* S*~ -\"fao- mm \"Women united will never be defeated!\" TY\\e 90NNeV o^e< && kcefl '1 I fTMS-^m m. mm. w o m I MPt R i A LIST ^LODALli ATlOf .IPPMEi mm® lENTER Feature Feature The Canadian government and the imperialist economic agenda: Undermining women glob ally by Sunera Thobani To celebrate International Women's Day, Sunera Thobani gave a special talk on March 5th to over 200 people crammed into a lecture hall at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre Campus in Vancouver, BC. Thobani, the Ruth Wynn Woodward Endowed Chair of Women's Studies at SFU, spoke on the topic, \"Selling women short: How the Canadian government is undermining women globally,\" addressing the role of the Canadian government in the continued oppression and exploitation of women in Canada and around the world. Thobani is the past-president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, and a longtime activist in the women's and anti-racism movements. Below, Kinesis presents excerpts from her speech. Global restructuring is really intensifying the relations of exploitation that have tied the north and the south together. In the 1970s, the debt crisis escalated in the countries of the south, and many were trapped in a cycle in which new loans had to be acquired to service old debts. The effects of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) [economic programs imposed on countries of the south by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank] are devastating, and they have been well-documented by women. [These effects] were the main focus of discussions that took place at the NGO Women's Forum in Beijing (in September 1995). Beijing gave women from the north an opportunity to look at the experiences of restructuring. For the majority of women globally, SAPs are resulting in the destruction of women's livelihoods, and, in many cases, women's lives. Canada's approach to both national and global issues is from a free market ideology based on the notion that the private sector should be leading economic growth—economic growth is then equated with development. Of course, the question women from the south are asking is, \"development for whom?\" If you leave it up to the free market and the private sector, what happens to the rights women have fought a very long time for? Canada's approach also focuses on making Canadian businesses more \"competitive\" [internationally and] at home. Canada plays an important role in maintaining the international order which protects international financial institutions, ensuring the north-south power structure remains as it is. North-south relations have been fundamentally structured through the process of colonization and imperialism, and globalization is, in effect, strengthening those exploitative and unequal relations. The popular perception around SAPs, and the development model underlying them, are exemplified by an article which appeared in the Vancouver Sun today. The title of the article was \"How To Share Our Wealth With the Planet's Poor.\" The writer, a Quebec politician, diplomat and entrepreneur, says development is a code word for our efforts to encourage third world countries to become more like \"us.\" Development projects encourage them to adopt our democratic political institutions, legal systems, fiscal policies, our market economies, our respect for human rights and our social values. He further says, the purpose of development is partly altruistic: what could be more decent than sharing the secrets of our success with less fortunate countries? This seems to be the popular perception: that Canada is the Boy Scouts of the international community, that we play the role of peacekeeper, and that we really want other countries to follow the same path to development. Of course, the \"success\" of countries like Canada lies in the history of colonization, in appropriating land and resources from the First Nations. This success is founded on a global system, based on a profit-driven economic model which benefits from internal exploitations based on class, race, gender, and the extremely unequal relationship between countries of the north and the south. This—what I would call, a bloodstained path to development—is not an option for peoples who have been colonized, and who have been integrated into the global system where the global system is de- SuneraThobani speaking at a plenary on the \"Rise of Conservatism\" during the NGO Women's Forum pendent on their underdevelopment and continued exploitation. This development model just doesn't hold true. It was never true that the \"unique values and institutions\" promoted by Canada were the source of wealth and prosperity for the development of countries in the north. Consequently, this model is even less true for the countries of the south. In the women's movement, we have talked about the feminization of poverty. The feminization of poverty is not an adequate analysis [for examining the effects of globalization and the development model;] it has to be broadened. What came out of conferences like the one in Beijing is an understanding of the increasing racialization of poverty. Women are working harder and longer, and getting poorer in the process. This reality was echoed in country after country. Inequalities between countries are great, but there are also inequalities among people in the same country. The status of women may vary in different countries, but the one thing that is common everywhere is that there is not one country where women have equal access to resources, an equal role in decision making or sharing power—this is true right across the globe. The \"success\" of countries like Canada lies in the history of colonization, in appropriating land and resources from the First Nations. Gita Sen and Karen Grown from the Development Alternatives for Women in a New Era (DAWN), a network of women in the south, say the most uniform conclusion from the international women's decade research shows, with few exceptions, that women's relative access to economic resources, incomes and employment has worsened. Our burdens of work have increased, and our relative and even absolute health, nutritional and educational status has declined. Most of us are probably familiar with the United Nation's 1980 statistics that say: women make up half of the world's population, do two-thirds of the world's work hours, get one-fifth of the world's income, and own one percent of the world's property. This is a 1980 statistic. Since then, SAPs have created greater polarization between the situations of men and women. In Canada, the debt and deficit have been used by our federal government to destroy social programs. Who benefits from this? There are people who have become extremely rich from the debt and the deficit. Canada, as a member of the G-7 [the group of seven most industrialized countries], is deeply implicated in the imposition of SAPs on countries of the south. For example, when SAPs were imposed in Zambia, food subsidies were cut back and prices rose dramatically, and riots occurred against this. (These riots are being called IMF riots.) The Zambian government tried to get out of the SAPs, but northern countries, including Canada, made Zambia agree to accept the IMF's terms as a condi tion to receiving foreign aid. Canada was also successful in lobbying to get a vice president of the Bank of Canada to serve as a governor of the Bank of Zambia. This is the level of complicity on which Canada continues to work. One thing that was very evident at the Beijing conference, and that has become much more visible in Canada recently, is the concern around human rights violations, particularly the record of certain governments. SAPs are creating the conditions for increased repression and increased barbarism and human rights violations, and the Canadian government is right in the middle of implementing these policies. You cannot take food away from people, dispossess them of their lands, their livelihoods and communities, force misery and poverty onto them, and expect them to continue living with it. People will fight back and they are fighting back, and women are at the forefront of these fights. A current example is the Busan gold mine in Indonesia. We all have seen the spectacle of Canadian corporations fighting to control that mine, being forced into partnership with US corporations who want to control the mine in partnership with a very reactionary regime in Indonesia. When 60 percent of the largest gold mine is going to be in the hands of American corporations, you cannot expect people in Indonesia not to fight back. And when people fight back, reactionary governments are responding by intensifying terror and violence to put down these movements. I use Indonesia as an example, not because I want to suggest that it's the only country where human rights violations are occurring. If you look at Canada's record at home, we can hardly call Canada a champion of human rights. Year after year, the human rights commission cites the violation of the rights of Aboriginal people's as the worst human rights violations in the country. The Canadian government does not have a sterling record. What can we say about what the Canadian government does to women here in Canada? We've seen the dismantling of social programs and the welfare state. The welfare state is something feminists have criticized for having limited effectiveness in dealing with women's poverty. However, social programs unquestionably represent a significant step forward for many women. What we've seen particularly escalating in the last three years is the implementation of policies which have greatly eroded the gains women in Canada have made. The Canadian government is also increasing restrictions on immigration and citizenship in this country. In the 1995 federal budget, [federal finance minister] Paul Martin reintroduced the head tax on immigrants (a $975 landing fee.) Now, the federal government is trying to build support for its position on what it calls \"passport babies.\" There is a panic being created around passport babies, and the Canadian government is now proposing to amend the Citizenship Act so children born in Canada will not automatically become citizens. It will depend on where their parents were born and where their grandparents were born. The government says it's basing immigration policy on what [immigration minister Lucienne Robillard] calls misperceptions and myths that exist in society. The Liberal government had promised to set the number of immigrants allowed into the country at 300,000. Yet, the minister announced just two months ago that they were only going to allow 200,000. Robillard said this was necessary because there's a real concern among \"Canadians\" that Canada is accepting too many immigrants. Although she claims to recognize that these are myths and misperceptions, she nevertheless says those sentiments are strong enough on which to base government policy. The Canadian government is part of creating an international situation where poverty is increasing, where people's livelihoods are being destroyed, where people are being dispossessed of their land and their resources, and where migration has become an inevitable and integral part of this phase of globalization. The way the Canadian government is responding is by putting more restrictions on immigration and actually taking away rights immigrants and refugees have been able to win in this country. We also see a similar pattern in destroying democracy in Canada. In the 1995 budget, the Canadian government introduced the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST), which essentially meant the end of social assistance, because those rights NAC organized a demo against the G-7 nations at the NGO Women's Forum government's current global and national priorities. In November, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit is taking place here in Vancouver. APEC is a grouping of 18 countries in the Asia Pacific region, and its main objective is to abolish barriers to trade and investment, and to further trade liberalization in this region. APEC has not turned into a trade agreement like NAFTA, but there are countries that would want to push it in that direction. At the moment, APEC operates through meetings of national leaders and government ministers. It operates through resolutions which are \"voluntarily\" adopted by governments at these meetings. What's interesting for women is that a business forum has been created to advise the The women's movement needs to become more radical, more militant, and Beijing was a place where you could see the coming together and the vibrancy of international networking and organizing in the women's movement. had been contained in the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP). [CAP sets out five national standards related to access to welfare. The Liberals did away with all but one of those guarantees of rights.] Without any public debate, the federal government went ahead and made these changes, effectively destroying one of the most important programs in this country. In short, the Canadian government is implementing policies which will increase inequalities, increase racism, sexism, homophobia, and poor bashing, ensuring that poor people will become more and more targeted as social programs are destroyed. November is going to be a very significant month, and I think it's important during International Women's Week to make the connections between the Canadian leaders on APEC. The APEC grouping relies heavily on research and input from business officials and from an academic organization called Pacific Economic Organization Conference. Another significant driving force behind APEC is the \"eminent persons\" group, which is made up of prominent academics, financiers and business people. In the way it is being formulated right now, APEC is not accountable to parliament; there has been no public debate. When Jean Chretien went to the Philippines for the last APEC summit (in November 1996,) his official designation was as the \"leader of the Canadian economy.\" The impact of APEC on women will be the same as SAPs. APEC will benefit those who have power, but for those who do not, their survival will become even tougher, poverty will increase. The environmental devastation, the large numbers of people being displaced, and the migration and growth of refugees, are almost guaranteed to increase through the kind of model the APEC grouping is pushing. The Canadian government has already made itself clear on its position on human rights issues: they remain off the APEC agenda. This was stated by Raymond Chan, Secretary of State for Asia Pacific, who says the government decided to keep human rights issues off the agenda because \"some issues like human rights and social development might impede the progress on economic and trade issues.\" The message: human rights are dispensable. APEC has not received the same kind of attention in terms of [anti-APEC] organizing that the free trade agreement or NAFTA had. The women's movement needs to become more radical, more militant, and Beijing was a place where you could see the coming together and the vibrancy of international networking and organizing in the women's movement. The networks we have been building since then are going to serve us well in fighting against the APEC agenda. As we look at the negative impacts the current phase of globalization is having on the rights and lives of women, I think the important question to ask, particularly on IWD, is \"what can we do?\" IWD has always been a day for a call to action. Beijing also showed us the real necessity to transform north-south relationships between women's movements and to actively reject participating in the pattern of relating where women from the north feel we have all the answers, that we can go in and teach women from the south about feminism, about how to liberate themselves. Although these notions were challenged at the previous UN conference in Nairobi (in 1985,) there was a split around these issues. In Beijing, however, there was a real recognition that women from the south have been organizing [against globalization] for a long time. The debt and the deficit crisis is something new that has been used here in Canada to erode the gains women have made. Women in the south have been fight ing against the debt crisis for a long time; this is something that women in the north need to learn about. I think what's really important for the women's movement to realize today is that our organizing is attempting to make democracy real. It has not been real. Even the limited form of democracy that has been available to some women is being radically transformed today. The challenges we face inside the women's movement are great because we are having to deal with issues of racism, with the marginalization of women with disabilities, with the issue of sexual orientation, with issues of class—these are issues which women's movements, women's organizations everywhere are having to struggle with. Some women's movements and women's organizations are struggling successfully; some not quite so successfully. It's really only inside the women's movement that you can see these struggles being fought out. I think it's very important to recognize that the women's movement is going to become a bankrupt movement unless it is able to come to terms with the issues that divide us. The women's movement will not be able to effectively confront the challenges women are facing as a result of the current phase of globalization. Consequently, transformation of the women's movement is not a choice; it's not something that some women should support out of the goodness of their hearts because they want to share power. It is absolutely necessary because the issues the women's movement is dealing with, both in Canada and globally, represent the fundamental questions we're dealing with as a larger society. For IWD, I think transformation is the most important thing we're trying to do inside our movement. But we need to transform it while meeting the challenges globalization is making us face. I must say I feel optimistic. Beijing certainly created a lot of optimism among the women who were there. What we need to do now is to ensure the vision that existed at the Beijing conference is realized. There is no way it is going to be realized except through the mobilizing of the women's movement. 12 APRIL 1997 APRIL 1997 Arts Funding the arts in Canada: Cuts killing culture by Leanne Johnson There is no fat in arts funding (or meat or bone for that matter). Yet all levels of government continue to wield the axe, and the situation is getting critical. This year has seen some of the worst cuts to funding in Canada's history. Once a world class funding agency, the Canada Council [a national arts funding agency], enters its 40th anniversary with a $15 million dollar budget cut. (Its funding has been reduced to 1988 levels.) By the time you read this, the CBC (radio and television) will have just instituted its latest budget cuts. In response to cuts to the National Film Board (NFB) and Telefilm Canada, the Independent Film and Video Alliance/Alliance De La Video et Du Cinema Independent (IFVA/AVCI) has called for a National Day of Action Against Arts Cutbacks. Across Canada, an alliance of arts and cultural organizations have been coordinating actions in order to protest these cuts and future cuts. From this activity, the Cultural Emergency Coalition was formed by interested art groups and individuals. Arts activities in a number of cities are being planned for the April 26th Day of Action. The Coalition hopes to raise awareness of arts cutbacks and plans to make arts funding an election issue. If enough voices are raised in protest, funding cuts may be forestalled. It has happened in the past. In 1985, a national protest against arts and cultural funding cutbacks helped to stave off some of the proposed cuts. Since this time, arts and cultural funding has been cut by 40 percent. It seems the time is right for another national protest. Many Canadians do not realize the implications of all these funding cuts. Emerging artists venturing into mainstream projects still often need training or funding to get projects off the ground. The latest round of Canada Council cuts will result in cuts to exploration grants [for projects by emerging artists], which will seriously limit opportunities for emerging artists. We need to ensure access for these voices now so we will have them in the future. Decades of uneven funding damage the evolution of our cultural voice and our cultural identity. New artists are trained, then disappear when sources of funding dry up. Hardest hit in this economic climate is the independent art and cultural sector. This sector cannot rely on corporate sponsorship to fill funding gaps, nor should we want it to. Corporate funding creates its own problems when it comes to artistic expression, especially expression of voices outside the mainstream culture. Traditionally lesbophobic, homophobic and xenophobic, corporate funding is no friend to the voices of those outside the dominant culture. These voices need to be heard and have traditionally been served well through art. A case in point...the NFB Film Lab in Vancouver was shut down over a year ago. Up until then, that lab had provided services to hundreds of independent filmmakers. According to the general survey, approximately 90 percent of independent film makers used the NFB's program. The experience of Vancouver-based lesbian filmmaker, writer, and one of the organizers of the National Day of Action, Marusya Bociurkiw, reveals how unstable funding for those speaking outside of the margins is, and how easily these voices could be lost. Bociurkiw's film was about to go to the lab for film services when the cuts were made. Forced to go to mainstream broadcast venues, she says that trying to obtain production space and equipment was a slow and frustrating process. She received letters from broadcasters saying her work was too depressing and critical of Canadian history. In other words, corporate censorship. Many Canadians perceive arts funding as a luxury that should be jettisoned as soon In 1985, a national' protest against arts and ^k cultural funding cutbacks ^^ helped to stave off some of f the proposed cuts. Since this time, arts and cultural fund- <-- ^ i ing has been cut by 40 ^ percent. It seems the time is right for another national protest. . as hard times hit Mainstream media contributed to this complacency towards arts funding. Most of the media calls Bociurkiw has received for the April 26 event are around the question of how arts and culture funding can compete with funding of social services and Medicare. This approach creates a false \"either or\" situation, says Bociurkiw. Deficit arguments against arts funding are unfair. Arts funding has never been more than one percent of the federal budget and according to the Cultural Emergency Coalition, Canadian arts funding is the lowest per capita among countries of the north. Arts funding is not a luxury; it is a responsibility we hold for future generations of Canadians to hear our voices and to add theirs to the Canadian cultural identity. After years of donating their work and time to support activist groups, artists are becoming activists themselves. On April 26, artists and interested parties will bring together a diverse range of talent in support of this day of action. Vancouver will have a parade (starting at noon from the Vancouver Art Gallery); Regina has organized a prairie- wide postcard campaign; Kamloops (BC) will host a night of protest readings; Ottawa is holding a press conference at the Canadian Conference on the Arts; Toronto will have street performances at Queen's Park; St. John is having a party; and Halifax will protest outside of MP Mary Clancy's home. The organizers of action are asking for all supporters of Canadian art and culture to come out and support arts funding before it's too late. To add your voice to the voices of others, contact your local IFVA/AVCI or the national office in Montreal at (514)522-8240 or email ©cam.org. For more details about the action in Vancouver, call Marusya Bociurkiw at 875-1054. Leanne Johnson is a Vancouver-based writer who hates statistics or anything to do with numbers, but likes to surround herself with friends who do. APRIL MADNESS 5 APRIL MADNESS S/ Be A Star At Kinesis Your horoscope shows your personal qualities make you a perfect volunteer for Kinesis. T Aries: Have big visions. Q Libra: Good at handling Work in circulation—and stressful situations. visualize Kinesis on every Deadlines don't faze you. newsstand in the country! 1) Scorpio: Outer calm, inner ft Taurus: Stubborn. passion. As a newswriter, you won't give Makes a fair and discriminating up until you've gotten that all- reviewer. important quote. ^Sagittarius: Restless and II Gemini: See all sides of the optimistic. issue. You won't be satisfied until The most important quality in a you've thought up the perfect reporter (but tends to slow down headline. the collective process). V3 Capricorn: Steady and reliable. ©Cancer: Creative. Experience the glow of moral You'll really care what colour is superiority that comes from being on the cover each month. a regular Kinesis contributor. cflLeo: Love to be in the limelight. *w Aquarius: Eccentric. See your name in Kinesisl You think you're eccentric? Try working at Kinesis. TOVirgo: Detail-oriented. Proof-reading your forte. KPisces: Flexible. You can do it all—writing editing, proofreading and production! Call 255-5499 to find out how to volunteer at Kinesis. /feirWtf/Bringing it home; Personalized feminism by Cathy Stonehouse BRINGING IT HOME: Women talk about their lives Edited by Brenda Lea Brown Arsenal Pulp Press Vancouver, BC, 1996 Bringing It Home is described by its back cover blurb as \"a collection of intensely personal essays by women... on the role of feminism in their lives\". In the book's introduction, editor Brenda Lea Brown presents as her starting point a desire to \"hear from women who are not regular spokespeople for feminism\", to produce a book \"through which [women] can discover interconnectedness...and even call it feminism.\" Brown describes feminism as an \"impenetrable monolith\" that consists of a \"faceless body of censorious women\" berating her for not being oppressed enough. It is not surprising, therefore, that the majority of the book's contributors match all or part of Brown's demographic profile— white, middle-class, heterosexual mothers, members of the \"baby boom\" generation. Set against this dominant perspective, essays by women such as Joan Meister, who discusses her experience as a disabled woman and activist, and Fay Blaney, who describes her journey toward feminism as a First Nations woman growing up through poverty and abuse, appear unnaturally isolated, and the small minority of essays by lesbians and women of colour reflects a tokenism that Brown, as editor, chooses not to address. Given, therefore, that this book is a collection of \"personal\" writings, the life experiences of its contributors necessarily dictate much of the content, as well as the overall analysis and point of view. The collection consists of 24 essays by 25 different women (two women write in collaboration) that discuss everything from voluntary childlessness to women in science and sport. Despite Brown's implication that her chosen contributors are \"ordinary\" (non- feminist?) women, many of the writers included here either are or have been outstanding Canadian feminists and pioneers in their fields. Consequently, the book also presents a herstory of Canadian feminist activism and infrastructure which cuts across the individualizing framework of \"personal,\" or separate, life stories. Scientist Ursula Franklin writes a moving and powerful letter to an aspiring feminist scientist: \"don't check your feminism at the laboratory door...you will depend for your sanity on an ongoing rootedness in the women's community.\" Raminder Dosanjh describes her struggles and triumphs in establishing the India Mahila Association, \"the first South Asian Women's organization of its kind in Canada.\" Meg Hickling and Jerilynn Prior describe their battles to overturn damaging medicalized stereotypes of women—Hickling as a sexual health educator and Prior as a researcher into sport and women's reproductive potential. Lyndsay Green and Dorothy and Suzanne Todd Henault describe their experiences as feminist filmmakers, addressing some of the ironies inherent in the demise of certain feminist organisations—for example, the National Film Board's Studio D—when coupled with the rise of the corporate career woman: \"Margaret Thatcher was always an embarrassment, but when carbon copies of the Iron Maiden take over your own institution, it's devastating.\" For many of the contributors, an early desire to become \"liberated\" leads them toward parenting while simultaneously pursuing a career. For others, the need to survive economically while raising children is more of a necessity than a choice. Balancing competing demands of work and family, community and self emerges as one of the major conflicts in women's lives. Rachel Farahbakhsh, a Baha'i mother and peace campaigner, decides, like many women, to combine her responsibilities and work from home. \"My favourite question asked was, 'Is your office still open?' as the callers would be subjected to the sound of the washing machine, or dishwasher, or supper cooking.\" Filmmaker Green, another self-employed mother, writes \"I am able... to have a career, raise two children, keep my marriage intact, and maintain some connections with family and friends only by forming partnerships with others.\" These \"partnerships\" are in fact with her husband, business partner and housekeeper/nanny. The choices that Green's position in society brings contrast markedly with Fay Blaney's isolation as a mother of two struggling with scars left by poverty and abuse, battling racism in the women's movement while simultaneously healing herself: \"I am spread too thin. I am drowning. The only thing that saves me is the drive to prevent this suffering from happening to my children.\" Throughout the entire book, issues of choice, personal autonomy and freedom sit uneasily beside a recognition of the very real limitations imposed on many women's lives. Many contributors provide a welcome implicit critique of the insanity of \"having it all,\" and the ultimate inadequacy of Western, capitalist notions of personal freedom that reject community and the reality of interdependence. At one end, Cynthia Minden experiences autonomy through voluntary childlessness, while Val Paape discovers through meditation and the experience of breast cancer that \"one could be totally dependent physically and economically and still be self-reliant in one's own mind and being.\" Larissa Lai chronicles her awakening to racism in the women's movement, and her desire to strengthen community and a lesbian notion of family, despite her awareness that \"the sisterhood of feminism is a strange one because it offers the illusion of safe spaces when in reality there are none,\" and that \"we live in a cynical age and find ourselves with little choice but to adopt the individualist mode of operating that global capitalism offers us.\" The best writing in this collection comes from a place of uncompromising honesty, wry humour and visionary truth. The deepest layers of privilege and oppression lie below each testimony like geological strata, surfacing in moments of profound insight and occasional ignorance. Feminist insights into the responsibilities that accompany privilege arise from many different perspectives, implicitly challenging some of the editorial limitations of the book itself. Denise Nadeau, a feminist popular educator, describes her process of descending into a deeper, more personally integrated political stance: \"I think every white middle-class feminist who is involved with women's movements in all their plurality and diversity has tcrcome to terms with her race and class privilege.\" Women who do not approach feminism from the mainstream raise other, still more challenging, questions. Blaney, an educator and a vice-president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, asks herself: \"How can I remain true to my heritage while working within a mainstream feminist framework?\" Shirley Turcotte, a Metis counsellor and trainer on issues of childhood trauma, raises the issue of men's need to be involved and included in the struggle for equality, challenging the feminist movement to \"have the courage, the heart and the wisdom to adopt all the world's children, to love them, to nurture them and to protect them.\" Women come to feminism through many different doors, some through motherhood, others through becoming educators, others through a process of recovery from betrayals and abuse. Many describe feminist epiphanies, turning points on which their evolution as feminists hinged. For example, writer and construction worker Kate Braid explains: \"One night, just before I fell asleep, I felt what it must be like to feel like a traditional man. It was a moment of utter confidence that the world was as it should be and that my place in it was splendidly clear... When I slipped back into my woman's consciousness, the space was vast.\" Others describe a more gradual process of change. Pamela Dos Ramos, a counselor, educator and immigrant from Guyana, chronicles her progression from a place of unfamiliarity with feminism to a life in which feminist analysis has become central: \"As a forty-three- year-old married for seventeen years with sons aged sixteen and thirteen, I began my quest.\" Some of the stories in this book describe a familiar if disheartening path: women achieve success, burn out, then focus on building houses, running businesses and doing therapy—a life path which meshes all too well with the isolationism of the overworked nineties. Others (some of them the same stories) describe breathtaking pioneer lives that continue to flourish despite the recent rise of the Right. Perhaps this mirrors a shift in feminist constituencies over time, a \"changing of the guard\" during which different women and different issues have risen to prominence in a movement that has expanded and diversi- fied beyond Everywoman's wildest dreams. Brenda Lea Brown A theme that recurs with uncanny frequency throughout this collection is the equation of feminism with integration. In the words of Jerilynn Prior, \"Where science is typically dedicated to dissecting things into smaller and smaller details, my instinct has always been to fit the small pieces into a congruent whole.\" This holistic impulse radiates out from the scientific theories of Maggie Benston as quoted by Ursula Franklin, through the efforts of contributors such as Margaret Dragu, mother, performance artist and ex-stripper, to reconcile her multiple identities, and into the intimate lives of Linda Uyehara Hoffmann, \"my entire family has grown into feminism\" and Patty Osborne, \"I never suspected that feminism would hold the key to a cohesive and harmonizing view of the world.\" It is this inclusive feminist vision that moved and inspired me most—the dialogue that transcends the apparent separation of the contributors' separately-narrated lives. My experience as a reader of Bringing It Home is, by necessity, highly personal and reflective of my perspective and circumstance. I would recommend the collection to any woman interested in Canadian feminism, with the hopes that she might feel re- inspired to step out of her isolation and join in the feminist dance. I would suggest that she not be put off by the anti-feminist marketing spin of the back cover blurb, or the apologetic editorial stance. Despite its packaging, and certain glaring omissions, Bringing It Home provides the feminist reader with intelligent sustenance for mind and soul. In the words of Ursula Franklin: \"Please keep in touch and remember, you are not alone.\" Cathy Stonehouse approaches feminism through the back door; her demographics look best in profile. She is white, bisexual, not a baby boomer and not a parent, and writes poetry, fiction, essays and reviews in between aberrational episodes of paid employment. APRIL 1997 Arts Pornography, freedom of speech and violence against women: Feminists vs. Larry Flynt by Karen Sawatzky A mass circulation pornographic magazine, Hustler has been known to publish a great number of extreme and sexually violent images. Because of this, Hustler's founder and publisher, Larry Flynt has found himself in court on many occasions facing obscenity charges. He has hired lawyers to defend himself in these court battles, using the free speech protection of the US Constitution's first amendment. The People vs. Larry Flynt is a mainstream Hollywood movie about Flynt, produced by Oliver Stone and directed by Milos Forman. It depicts Flynt's rural poor upbringing, his rise to notoriety and wealth gained from pornography, and the paralysis he suffers from a sniper shooting. Many reviewers have said The People vs. Larry Flynt is a movie which treats seriously the issues of defending free speech, through its chronicling of Flynt's life and legal battles. I think it does a major disservice to the complexity of free speech issues by obscuring the real history and harm for which Flynt is responsible. Between 1978 and 1982, feminist resistance to misogynist publications like Hustler was especially active. Groups such as San Francisco's Women Against Violence and Pornography in the Media organized feminist anti-porn demonstrations with more than 5000 women attending. They held an international conference on the issue, formed action groups and conducted consciousness-raising tours of the porn district in San Francisco, New York and Washington, DC. Women organized together under names like The Preying Mantis Women's Brigade and WHCH, the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell. Here in Vancouver, there was the Wimmin's Fire Brigade. To challenge the proliferation of pornography, these groups used tactics from spray painting, to minor destruction of property, right up to fire bombing. Feminist activist and academic Diana Russell conducted research showing that pornography does affect the degree and quantity of male violence against women. US author Andrea Dworkin and lawyer Catherine MacKinnon drafted a municipal ordinance that would make harm done to an individual woman by pornography an actionable cause for a civil suit. Countless individual feminists debated the definition of pornography and the solutions to misogynist images. Many women attempted to hold the men in their lives accountable for their endorsement or use of what some people call \"hate literature\" against women. Many of these actions were controversial at the time and remain the subject of tactical debates among feminists today. They form part of the rich and creative herstory of feminist resistance to male defined sexuality. However, Stone and Forman chose not to include these details in the Larry Flynt story, even though Flynt himself has invested considerable energy and funds in attempts to trivialize, humiliate and ridicule leaders of the feminist opposition to pornography. These efforts in clude publishing sexually mutilated images of Gloria Steinem and Andrea Dworkin characters in cut and paste photo spreads. In 1985, Dworkin slapped Flynt with a $150 million libel suit in response to a series of Hustler caricatures of her in sexually humiliating poses. She didn't win, but she did give him trouble. The movie does not include this episode of Flynt's court battles. Hollywood filmmakers like Stone and Forman, with the luxury of clout and creative decision-making power, have yet to make a movie that honours Dworkin's activism on behalf of women harmed by pornography. She is certainly the equally controversial and reviled feminist anti-porn counterpart to Flynt. Instead of telling the whole story, the filmmakers chose to glorify Flynt by focussing on his US Supreme Court battle with Jerry Falwell, the Christian evangelist and leader of the pro-Reagan Moral Majority. Flynt comes off as a sexual liberator and free-speech freedom-fighter when he is played off against the hypocritical and repressed Falwell. The court battle sets the audience up to be sympathetic to Flynt. We are led to think that though Flynt is vulgar, he's at least honest about it and has a sense of humour, if a twisted one at that. When I saw the film, the biggest cheers from the audience came when Flynt decides to pursue a countersuit against Falwell for photocopying the slanderous spoof ad published in Hustler. The ad claimed that Falwell's first sexual experience was with his mother in an outhouse. What the movie sets up as a pitched battle between archenemies is really only a petty skirmish between one misogynist and another. Should women care who wins? Flynt is portrayed as a class hero and the underdog, on a mission to bring hardcore pornography to the masses and rescue them from Hugh Hefner's snooty porn monopoly, Playboy, which Flynt says talks over the heads of the working-class Joes who just want to see more miles of wide-angle pussy. In the movie, Flynt is shown being \"persecuted\" for his pornographic lampoons of Santa Claus and the Wizard of Oz: \"All I'm guilty of,\" he protests, \"is bad taste.\" Larry Flynt can come off as a defender of free speech only because the movie doesn't show what he actually publishes. Despite five Golden Globe awards nominations, including Best Picture and laudatory reviews in the Georgia Straight, The Globe and Mail and the Vancouver Courier that call The People vs. Larry Flynt an \"important\" film and a balanced portrayal, the movie completely glosses over the racism and misogyny that Hustler magazine has continually promoted. Viewers or sympathizers of the movie should remind themselves of some of the material Hustler has published and question whether or not it qualifies as \"speech.\" Probably most notoriously, Hustler once featured a cover picture of a woman's body being fed into a meat grinder. Only her naked legs are visible and ground meat is coming out of the grinder's other end. This cover sparked a What the movie sets up as a pitched battle between arch-enemies is really only a petty skirmish between one misogynist and another. Should women care who wins? lot of public outrage, many column inches in various newspapers and magazines, and an episode of Donahue. The movie spends all of ten seconds on it. Other Hustler features include a photo spread of a pool table gang rape published a few months before the 1983 pool table gang rape of a young woman in a bar in Massachusetts. In response to accusations that the Hustler photospread might have contributed to the crime, Flynt printed postcards of a nude woman on a pool table with the caption \"Greetings from New Bedford, Massachusetts: Portuguese Gang Rape Capital of America.\" Hustler also gained notoriety for its cartoon serial \"Chester the Molester.\" The story line consists of the protagonist, Chester, stalking and raping pubescent girls. In the 1990, the cartoonist, Dwayne Tirney was convicted of sexually molesting his daughter. Hustler also published a photograph of a naked woman spread-eagled and tied to the hood of a jeep, her crotch centred in the photo. Two men in hunting attire holding guns sit inside the vehicle. The caption reads \"Beaver hunters—these two told Hustler that they stuffed and mounted their trophy as soon as they got her home.\"Hustler has run contests offering prizes to male readers who send in the most pornographic photos of their wives, sisters or girlfriends. Hustler is also known for its racist depictions. In 1987, the magazine ran a full page cartoon of a Black shoe-shiner kneeling in front of a white businessman. There is a surprised expression on the Black man's face as he polishes a gigantic white penis. Apart from Hustler, Flynt publishes 28 other magazines. One of these is called Chic magazine. In 1979, Chic published a photo essay called \"Columbine Cuts Up.\" It featured a blonde woman with an ecstatic expression on her face as she plunges a large kitchen knife up her vagina. Blood spurts everywhere. Flynt defends these images under the guise of free speech. The movie certainly does not question the belief that unqualified free speech is the highest value in a democratic society, and that everything and anything can be called speech. No ifs, ands, buts, qualifications, or power analysis. Stone and Forman cowardly shrink from accurately depicting the content oiHustler and what Flynt is actually crusading to protect—that is, his \"freedom\" to profit handsomely from the depiction of maimed, tortured, bloodied, tied up, whipped and beaten women. After he gets out of jail for contempt of court, Flynt forms a front organization called Americans for a Free Press, thereby lending himself some semblance of journalistic credibility. In one scene in the movie, Flynt presents a slide show for the media. Portraying himself as a celebrator of women's bodies and sexuality, he juxtaposes pictures of massacres and battle scenes with images of conventional heterosexual intercourse. He asks his audience \"Which is more obscene? Why is it legal to show pictures of killing when killing is a crime, but illegal to show pictures of love-making when sex is a beautiful and natural thing?\" By highlighting this supposed societal contradiction, Flynt and the filmmakers conveniently side-step the fact that pictures of missionary position sex have never been the main fare of Hustler. (Why didn't the filmmakers choose to show the Hustler photo of a woman being forced to suck the barrel of a gun?) The whole point of the film seems to be to depict Flynt as an irascible, but endearing, rebel low-life. The message: \"we need more rugged libertarian individualists like him. They are what makes this country great.\" In the film, Flynt trumpets to reporters: \"The first amendment has to be strong enough to protect scumbags like me. If it will protect me, then it will protect all of you, 'cause I'm the worst.\" Part of the movie's attempt at presenting a balanced characterization is the depiction of Flynf s relationship with his (now deceased) wife, Althea. They are portrayed as a mutually loving and tenderly devoted couple throughout the film, despite the fact that they both are heavy drug addicts for most of their relationship. According to the movie, Althea could barely stand by herself for the last several years of her life. Interestingly, the film doesn't even make reference to the fact that Flynt has three children. All of them are adults now. One of his daughters, Tonya, has publicly accused Flynt of child sexual abuse. She joined a feminist protest at the film's opening in San Francisco and stated that, \"I'm upset about this film because it supports my dad's argument that pornography does no harm. If you want to see a victim of pornography, just look at me.\" Karen Sawatzky is a volunteer programmer on Vancouver's Co-op Radio CFRO 102.7FM. A version of this article was previously published in Canadian Dimension, March 1997. Many of the images from Hustler depicted here are taken from their description in three books: Take Back the Night: Women against pornography, an anthology edited by Laura Ledrer; Against Pornography: The evidence of harm by Diana Russell; and Pornography: Men possessing women by Andrea Dworkin. 16 APRIL 1997 Bulletin Board t h i s I INVOLVEMENT EVENTS EVENTS Bulletin Board listings have a maximum of 50 words. Groups, organizations and individuals eligible for free space in the Bulletin Board must be, or have, non-profit objectives. Other free notices will be items of general public interest and will appear at the discretion of Kinesis. Classifieds are $8 (+$0.56 GST) for the first 50 words or portion thereof, $4 (+$0.28 GST) for each additional 25 words or portion thereof and must be prepaid. Deadline for all submissions is the 18th of the month preceding publication. Note: Kinesis is published ten times a year. Jul/Aug and Dec/Jan are double issues. All submissions should include a contact name and telephone number for any clarification that may be required. Listings will not be accepted over the telephone. Kinesis encourages readers to research the goods and services advertised in Bulletin Board. Kinesis cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or the safety and effectiveness of the services and products listed. Send submissions to Bulletin Board, Kinesis, #309-877 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 3Y1, or fax: (604) 255-5511. For more information call (604) 255-5499. INVOLVEMENT WANNA GET INVOLVED? With Kinesis?? We want to get involved with you too. Help plan our next issue. All women interested in what goes into Kinesis—whether it's news, features or arts—are invited to our next Story Meetings Tues Apr 2 and Mon May 5 at 7 pm at our new office, 309-877 E. Hastings St. For more information or if you can't make the meeting, but still want to find out about writing for Kinesis, give Agnes a call at (604) 255-5499. No experience is necessary. Childcare subsidies available. CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS Are you interested in finding out how Kinesis is put together? Well...just drop by during our next production dates and help us design and lay out Canada's national feminist newspaper. Production for the May 1997 issue is from Apr 16-22. No experience is necessary. Training and support will be provided. If this notice intrigues you, call us at 255-5499. Childcare subsidies available. Please note that we will be producing the April issue at our office at #301-1720 Grant St. VSW WANTS YOU! Want to get more involved but not sure where to begin? Join us-become a volunteer at Vancouver Status of Women. VSW volunteers plan events, lead groups, raise funds, answer the phone lines, organize the library, help connect women with the community resources they need, and get involved in other exciting jobs! The next volunteer orientation will be on Thurs Apr 17 at 7pm at VSW, 309-877 E. Hastings St. For more info, call 255-5511. Please call before the orientation to confirm attendance. Childcare subsidies available. VSWKINESIS' NEW HOME As of March 27, 1997, the Vancouver Status of Women and Kinesis will be housed at a new location, #309-877 E. Hastings St, Vancouver, BC, V6A 3Y1. Our telephone and fax numbers will remain the same. We will re-open at our new location on April 1, but from Apr 1-3, our office will only be open from 1-5pm. Starting on Apr 7, we will once again be open during our regular office hours, Mon-Thurs, 9:30-5pm. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Come see us at our new space! FUNDRAISING FOR VSW VSW's Fundraising Committee invites the participation of women interested in raising funds and planning events for a non-profit, feminist organization. The next meeting is Tues Apr 15 at 6pm at VSW, 309-877 E. Hastings St. Please call or fax Audrey at 255-5511 to confirm your attendance or for info. VSW PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE The Vancouver Status of Women is looking for women of colour and Aboriginal women interested in training to be facilitators for our communications skills and awareness program. Come and join us and share with us your thoughts on women's issues and community organizing. For more info about the program call Ema at 255-5511. SINGLE MOMS' DAY The Vancouver Status of Women invites women to come and participate in the organizing of our annual Single Mothers' Day in the Park event to be held on Sun May 11. It's fun and it's cool. If you are interested in helping out, call Ema at 255-5511. Bed & Breakfast A Beautiful Place Centre yourself in the comfort and tranquility of B.C.'s Super Natural Gulf Islands. Healthy Breakfasts Hot Tub & Sauna 5 acres of forested foot paths with ponds ocean and mountain views A Memorable Escape (604) 537-9344 1207 Beddis Road, Salt Spring Island, B.C V8K 2C8 VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN Yasmin Jiwani, director of FREDA, the Feminist Research, Education, Development and Action Centre, will speak on the issue of violence against women on Tues Apr 29, 7:30pm at Women in Print, 3566 W 4th Ave, Vancouver. Jiwani will address the ongoing feminist effort to bring the facts to light and to reform the social and legal values that have allowed the violence to continue. Admission is free. For more info call (604) 732-4128. ANTI-RACISM WORKSHOP The Vancouver Status of Women is hosting a two-part Anti-Racism Workshop series over the next few months for women working in women's organizations. Aboriginal women and women of colour, who are working or volunteering in women's organizations are invited to participate in the first part of this series, scheduled for Apr 12-13. The two-day session will provide Aboriginal women and women of colour an opportunity to come together to talk about, review and analyze different anti-racism strategies, policies and experiences. Women interested in participating or finding out more info call Ema at VSW, 255- 5511. MARILYN DUMONT Marilyn Dumont will read from her latest collection of poems, A Really Good Brown Girt, Tues Apr 15 at 7:30pm at Women in Print, 3566 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver. In a voice that is fierce, direct and true, Dumont explores the challenges—and celebrates the joys—of her Metis heritage, and transcends the multiple boundaries imposed by society on the self. Admission is free. For more info call (604) 732-4128. SHANI MOOTOO Writer and video-maker Shani Mootoo will read from her new novel, Cereus Blooms at Night, on Tues Apr 22 at 7:30pm at Women in Print, 3566 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver. Admission is free. For more info call (604) 732-4128. DYKEWORDS Dykewords, readings by local lesbian writers, is held every second Thursday at 9pm at The Lotus, 455 Abbott St, Vancouver. Thurs Apr 3 features readings and performances by Terrie Hamazaki, Tia Mitchell and Irit Shimrat. On Thurs Apr 17 there will be readings by local writers featuring Janine Fuller, Tonya Yaremko and Dorothy Seaton. Thurs May 1 will feature readings and performances by Persimmon Blackbridge, Karen Woodman and Elaine Hung. Admission is sliding scale $1-4. Everyone welcome. Call 685-7777 for more info. GUATEMALAN THEATRE The Grupo Caleli production of Ixquic: History Repeats Itself, a play depicting the current plight of Guatemalan refugees as well as the long history of other uprooted Guatemalans, will be presented at the Havana Restaurant Gallery and Theatre, 1212 Commercial Drive, Sun Apr 13 at 6pm. Using the unique theatre-forum technique, the play is derived from traditional Mayan literature. A discussion period follows the play. For more info contact Stephanie Brook at 222-4115 or Miriam WOMEN IN PRINT BOOKS & OTHER MEDIA Discounts for book clubs 3566 West 4th Avenue + Vancouver BC ■ Spetiai orders Voice 604 752-4128 welcome ■ ■ Fax 604 732^1129 10-* Daily ♦ 12-5 Sunday Palacios, OXFAM Program Co-ordinator, at 736-7678. Presented by Project Accompaniment and OXFAM-Canada. DYKE ART RETREAT The eighth annual Dyke Art Retreat Encampment (DARE) will be held June 29- July 5 at Rootworks, near Sunny Valley in southern Oregon. DARE offers a week of focused group and individual self-initiated art projects in a supportive environment. Rustic cabins, tenting space and meals provided. Limited registration, $160-185. For info and registration brochure send SASE to DARE, 2000 King Mountain Trail, Sunny Valley, Oregon, USA 97497. MICHIGAN WOMYN'S FESTIVAL The 22nd Michigan Womyn's Music Festival will be held Aug 12-17. Situated on 650 acres, the festival offers plenty of camping in a village-like setting. The schedule includes a 6-day women's film festival, 300 workshops and 3 performance stages featuring 40 sets of music, dance, comedy and theatre. For info write to WWTMC, PO Box 22, Walhalla, Ml, USA 49458 or call (616) 757-4766. CELEBRATING CLOWNING Clownwise is holding a conference, Nobody's Fool: But Everybody's Laughing, A Celebration of Canadian Clowning, May 31-June 3 at Gas Station Theatre, Winnipeg. The conference will examine the roots of clowning in community and culture, explore the healing power of humour in regards to physical, emotional and mental illness, encourage clowning as a tool in education and celebrate the skill of Canada's talented commedic artists. For more info call (204) 786-1499. CATHERINE BENNETT Vancouver author Catherine Bennett will read from her latest work, Sub-Rosa & Other Fiction, a wonderful hybrid of conventional and genre-bending narrative, at Women in Print, 3566 W. 4th Ave, on Tues Apr 8 at 7:30pm. Admission is free. For more info call 732-4128. EASTTIMOR FILM Vancouver filmmaker Elaine Briere will screen her latest production, Bitter Paradise: The Sellout of East TimorIn Victoria on Tues Apr 8 at 7pm at the Victoria Public Library, Main Branch. The screening is open to the public and free of charge. There will also be a display of Briere's award-winning photographs of life in a Timorese village. For more info call Terry Wolfwood at (250) 595-7519. BCTF CONFERENCE BCTF is holding a public conference on Children, Schools, and Poverty, on Sat Apr 12. Speakers will address child poverty issues—schools, strategies and the role of government, and there will be a panel discussion on The Real Face of Poverty.\" The conference is open to everyone. Registration fee is $50, free to students (secondary or post-secondary), unemployed and low income participants. For information, contact Pat Balango at BCTF, 100-500 W. 6th Ave, Vancouver, phone 871-1872, or fax 871-2289. ARTS DAY OF ACTION To protest cuts to arts funding, artists, art groups and interested parties are organizing a National Day of Action Against Arts Cutbacks on Sat Apr 26. In Vancouver, a parade will start at noon from the Vancouver Art Gallery. Activities are also planned in Regina, Kamloops, Ottawa, Toronto, St. John and Halifax (see story on page 14). For details about the action in Vancouver, call Marusya Bociurkiw at 875-1054. In other areas, call your local arts organization. Bulletin Board GROUPS GROUPS SUBMISSIONS SUBMISSIONS SLED Touchstone Theatre's 21st season continues with its presentation of Sled, a darkly humorous and disturbing world, where seemingly disparate tragedies are intimately connected, written by Judith Thompson. Sled opens Thurs Apr 3 at 8pm and runs until Apr 20 at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 1895 Venables Street. A free reading /discussion with Thompson will be held on Sat Apr 12 at 6pm at VECC. For show times and ticket info, call the VECC box office at 254-9578. For group tickets (10+) call Kathleen Oliver at 215-3853. BUILDING WORKSHOPS FOR WOMEN Groundworks is holding its Women's Natural Building Symposium and Hands-on Extravaganza Jun 19-26 near Grants Pass, Oregon. Groundworks calls all women interested in creating homes and buildings out of earth, straw, wood, and stone, with homemade plasters, paints and floors. Particularly appealing to those concerned with environment, sustainability, and affordable housing. The cost of the Extravaganza, including three vegetarian/vegan- option meals a day plus camping, is $250- $350 sliding scale. Registration is limited to 45. A $20 late registration fee will be added after May 15. Limited half-tuition work scholarships available by letter request only (due by April 31). Girls are very welcome, but no child care is available. For more info contact Groundworks: PO Box 381, Murphy, OR, 97533, USA; tel: (541)471-3470. PWN BOARD The Positive Women's Network in Vancouver is seeking potential Board members to be elected at its annual general meeting in June. Women interested in joining the Board are expected to become familiar with PWN's mission statement, purposes, policies and services, and to sit on at least one of its committees. The priority areas for Board members this year are HIV-positive women, legal expertise, fundraising experience and public relations/communications experience. For more info call Diana Peabody at 681-2122, ext 200. SUPPORT FOR LESBIANS Battered Women's Support Services in Vancouver is offering a free, confidential support group for lesbians and bisexual women who have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused by their women partners. The group runs for 10 weeks beginning Tues Apr 8. Childcare subsidies and bus tickets available. For more info call Gail or Sarah at 687-1867. THEATRE WORKSHOP SUCCESS (the United Chinese Canadian Enrichment Society) and Headlines Theatre are looking for participants for a \"Theatre for Living\" workshop, exploring intergenerational issues inside families where the parents have come to Canada from another country and the children are growing up in Canada. The purpose of the project is to create a cross-cultural understanding around issues of resettlement. Participation is limited to people whose family have English as a second language. Workshops will be held May 15-19, rehearsal May 20-22, performances 23-25. For more info call Angelo at (604) 684-1628. LESBIANS AND BREAST CANCER The Vancouver Women's Health Collective is currently trying to assess the need for a facilitated support group for lesbians living with breast cancer. The group will be meeting at the VWHC, 219-1675 W. 8th Ave, and is targeted to start in March. Any woman interested in participating in this group please call or leave a message for Raine at 736-4234. 18 VCN VOLUNTEERS The Vancouver CommunityNet, a community-based Internet service provider, is looking for 10-15 community minded volunteers to work with community groups interested in getting online and to conduct basic internet introductions. Some internet and other skills training provided. Interpersonal communication skills a must. Call Katherine on Mondays at 257-3811 or Ian at other times at 257-3872. FEMINIST NETWORKING GROUP Vancouver feminists are invited to participate in the Feminist Networking Group (FNG). The group, comprised of individual feminists and feminists working in women's organizations, recently met to determine the structure, purpose and organizing work of the ad hoc group. The FNG has set as a priority area, organizing around the federal election. Feminists who are interested in analyzing issues and policies, and planning actions in order to ensure our voices are heard by federal candidates and political parties and by the larger society are invited to attend the next FNG meeting, Tues Apr 15, 6:30pm at the Vancouver Status of Women, 309-877 E. Hastings St. For more info call 255-5511. RAPE RELIEF Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter needs women who are interested in volunteering for their 24 Hour Crisis Line and their Transition House for women and children. Training sessions are on Tuesday evenings. For more info and for a training interview call 872-8212. LIBERTYTHRIFT Liberty Thrift is looking for volunteers to work at their store, located at 1035 Commercial Dr, Vancouver. The store is run by the WELL Society (Women Embracing Lives of Liberty), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing women and their children with resources to help them live lives of liberty and independence, free of violence. Various volunteer opportunities available to suit your interests and time schedule. For work on Saturdays, call Aldona at 255-3087. For work on week- days, call Lystra at 255-3087. QUEER MOMS A support and/or discussion group for queer moms is being planned for this spring by Eastside Family Place and the Vancouver Lesbian Connection. Interested women are asked to fill out a survey to let the organizers know what you want in a group. Surveys available at the VLC and Eastside Family Place. For more info, call Allison at the VLC, (604) 254-8458 or Janet at the Eastside Family Place, (604) 255-9841. ITALIAN WOMEN'S ANTHOLOGY An anthology by Italian and Sicilian women to reflect ourselves out to other Italian and Sicilian women and provide a forum for critical discourse about location and identity within Italian culture is in the works. Submissions of poetry, theory, oral history, fiction, drama, photography, artwork, autobiographical pieces, narratives about growing up/being Italian and Sicilian are being accepted. Deadline is Apr 30. For more info, call (416) 539-0535, fax (416) 651-5101 or write to Italian Women's Anthology, Women's Press, 517 College St #302, Toronto, ON, M6G 4A2. NATIVE YOUTH ZINE Redwire, a recently formed zine produced by and for Native youth, is putting the call out for submissions for their next issue. How sick are you of being shut out and shut down? How tired are you of having nowhere to speak? And how ready are you to speak out and speak proud? Then submit your non-oppressive, non-discriminatory work (stories/poetry/art/?) to Nena and Billie, PO Box 34097, Stn D, Vancover BC, V6J 4M1. For more info call 873-0616. HOT & BOTHERED Submissions are being accepted for Hot & Bothered, an international anthology of queer sex/desire-driven short short fiction. Stories must be 1000 words or less and can be funny, sad, hot, complicated, poignant, tragic, hilarious, lyrical, sensual... Deadline is extended to Apr 30. For guidelines, send self-addressed envelope with Canadian stamps or international reply coupon to: Hot & Bothered c/o PO Box 100, 1036 Odium Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3L6, or email to kxt@aol.com. POSTER COMPETITION The 4th International Conference of the Visual Arts is calling for submissions of poster designs for their upcoming conference to be held in Vancouver Aug 7-20. The conference includes an exhibition on the theme of \"Communication and Understanding,\" a creation of a public art work, and an Internet exchange. Submission deadline is Apr 30. Requirements: 11\"x17\" colour or black and white on paper. The selected designer will receive fame, glory, $200, and a free pass to the conference. For info call 263-2058. Send your proposal to: Arts in Action Society, 5570 Blenheim St, Vancouver, BC, V6N 1P5. TRAUMA CONFERENCE The Justice Institute of BC is calling for submissions of workshop proposals for its upcoming Trauma and Community Conference to be held in Vancouver Dec 4-6. The conference will reflect on the diversity of traumatic incidents, and the diversity of historical forces, social movements, community responses, clinical approaches and research. The call for submissions is intended to encourage a broad and diverse community to present at this conference. If interested, send a one-page proposal and a resume to: the Trauma and Community Conference, c/o Interdisciplinary Studies, Justice Institute of BC, 715 McBride Boulevard, New Westminster, BC or fax to: (604) 528-5640. Deadline is May 2. For more info and a proposal form, contact Cindy Bettcher, (604) 528-5627 and e-mail: cbettcher@jibc.bc.ca; or Patricia McNeill (604) 528-5623 and e-mail: pmcmeill@jibc.bc.ca. vecoimunieirM mg omen Vancouver Status of Women, in association with VanCity Credit Union, invites you to A gala benefit in honour of the Vancouver Status of Women Thursday, April 24, 1997, at 7:00 pm Keynote Speaker Mary Woo-Sims Silent and Live Auction of Women's Art The Arbutus Club 2001 Nanton Avenue, Vancouver Hors d'oeuvres & Cash Bar Music by the Musical Undergraduate Students' Association Tickets are $50. Tax receipts will be issued for $25. Call Audrey Johnson at 255-6554 teapots The Feminist Research, Education, Development and Action Centre (FREDA) is proud to present Broken Teapots, a book of poetry by A. Alexon, which offers a compelling look at one woman's journey of healing from abuse. For more information, please contact FREDA at (604) 291-5197. Relationship Therapy DANA L. JANSSEN, M.Ed. Reg. Clinical Counsellor Relationship Therapy Individual Counselling Integrative Body Work Oak & 8th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Tel: (604) 731-2867 IIHIIIIIHIIIIl^ Sangam Grant R.P.C. REGISTERED PR0EFESSI0NAL COUNSELLOR Private Practitioner, Workshop + Group Therapist phone (604) 253-5007 when the music changes se dees the dance... Bulletin Board VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN EXHIBIT The Surrey Art Gallery is focusing on violence against women in its two latest exhibitions running April 5-May 11. Anne Popperwell, a Saturna Island painter, presents Why Don't You Just Leave, an exhibit of her personal response to the issue of domestic violence, expressed in symbolic, abstract and figurative imagery and text. As well, the Women's Monument Project will present the process, proposals and final design for a national monument that will address violence against women. Anne Popperwell, Beth Alber and Women's Monument Project jurist, Haruko Okano, will hold a \"kitchen table\" discussion at the opening reception on Sunday April 6 at 2 pm. The gallery will co-host a reception with the BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses Sunday April 20 from 2-4 pm, marking the beginning of Prevention of Violence Against Women Week (April 20-26). And a panel discussion with various women's organizations will be held on Thursday, April 17 from 7-8:30pm. All events are free. For more information about the exhibits and accompanying programs at the Surrey Art Gallery, call (604) 501-5580.The Surrey Art Gallery is located in the Surrey Arts Centre in Bear Creek Park, 13750-88th Avenue, Surrey, BC. SUBMISSIONS UNDERTHEVOLCANO The 8th annual Under the Volcano Festival of Art and Social Change is calling for submissions from artists, musicians, poets and activists. This year's theme is \"Artists Resisting Globalization of Cultures.\" SUBMISSIONS Annual themes include Grrlapalooza and Decade of Indigenous Peoples. Submission deadline is May 12. Call 254-8782 for info or email volcano@netidea.com B.C.'s newest full-service law firm Dahl findlay Connors BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS ^fc ■ A full range of services to meet your business and personal legal needs » Free initial consultation • Lawyers experienced in protecting the interests and advancing the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities Suite 620, 1033 Davie (near Burrard), Vancouver, B.C. (604) 687-8752 • Toll Free 1 888 4 GAY LAW CLASSIFIEDS WANTEDTO RENT Woman and her well-behaved older dog, Ms. Jones, are looking for a long-term rental in Vancouver. A self-contained suite, preferably a two-bedroom or one-bedroom with den, full bath, fenced yard, small garden, view, fireplace, spacious, bright, cupboards and storage space in the Commercial Drive area. $600. Excellent references. Call 253-5007. COUNSELLING FOR WOMEN A feminist approach to sexual abuse, depression, grief and loss, sexual orientation issues and personal growth. Sliding fee scale. Free initial appointment. Call Susan Dales, RPC, at 255-9173. WOMEN'S SELF-DEFENSE Women Educating in Self-defense Training (WEST) teaches Wenlido. In Basic classes, you learn how to make the most of mental, physical and verbal skills to get away from assault situations. Continuing training builds on basic techniques to improve physical and mental strength. By women, for women. For more info call 876-6390. NRTS IN PLAIN LANGUAGE The Lower Mainland Community Based Services Society (LMCBSS) has written a plain language translation of Proceed with CLASSIFIEDS Care, the final report of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. The guide, New Reproductive Technologies: A Plain Language Translation, hopes to make this subject easier for women (especially women with disabilities) to understand. The guide costs $10, or less for self-advocates or unemployed people. To obtain a copy of the guide or for more info call Barb Goode at (604) 294-1230. WOMENFRIENDS WomenFriends Music Spring Fling: A weekend of creative inspiration for women of all ages, stages and styles will take place from Apr 11-13. Workshops, jamming, dance, singing, drumming with Loretta Joseph, or just relax in the hot tub! Fully catered! At Camp Alexandra, Crescent Beach. Cost is $150-260 sliding scale. For more info call Penny Sidor at (604) 251-4715. PACIFICWEST DRIVERTRAINING A woman-owned and operated business specializing in defensive driver training. Become a confident and safe driver with an experienced instructor. Learn to drive regardless of age or previous experience; overcome driving fears. Basic car maintenance (theory) upon request. Reasonable rates. Call El Apostol at (604) 691-1332. Feminist broadcasting on Co-op Radio Spring Marathon '97, April 11-27 Public affairs OBAA All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter. Mining, environmental and cultural collapse in B.C. and Guyana. April 22 / 7:00 to 8:00 Music specials Blue Monday The Women of R & B April 14 and 21 / 2:30 - 4:00 pm Collective Efforts Obaa, Broken Records and Claddagh Ring, bring us from Ani Di Franco to Zap Mama. April 11 / 8:00 - midnight Co-op Radio, Dig in, Join up. CFRO 102.7FM 684-8494 "@en, "Preceding title: Vancouver Status of Women. Newsletter.

Date of publication: 1974-2001.

Frequency: Monthly."@en ; edm:hasType "Periodicals"@en, "Newspapers"@en ; dcterms:identifier "HQ1101.V24 N49"@en, "HQ1101_V24_N49_1997_04"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0045620"@en ; dcterms:language "English"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "Vancouver : Vancouver Status of Women"@en ; dcterms:rights "Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the Digitization Centre: digitization.centre@ubc.ca"@en ; dcterms:source "Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HQ1101.V24 N49"@en ; dcterms:subject "Women--Social and moral questions"@en, "Feminism--Periodicals"@en ; dcterms:title "Kinesis"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; dcterms:description ""@en .