Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Supporting vulnerable women, not their exploiters
Women need access to meaningful and properly paid work, not coercion into the abusive and dangerous sex industry, write LUBA FEIN and HELEN O’CONNOR
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
THE 156th annual TUC Congress will take place this week in Brighton. This event is a pivotal celebration of the hard-won rights of workers, which are increasingly imperiled by the lasting impacts of Covid-19, economic uncertainties and the rise of neoliberal policies.
These challenges make trade unions more essential than ever. The feminist activists at FiLiA UK look with hope to the trade unions, expecting them to resist the growing effort among labour-related circles to promote what they call “the decriminalisation of sex work.”
The title of this policy may seem innocent to the layman, who interprets the “decriminalisation of sex work” as an effort to protect vulnerable women from legal persecution. However, this wording is manipulative and conceals three major falsehoods propagated by the global pimp lobby: that prostitution is simply a kind of work; that “decriminalisation of sex work” aims at helping people in prostitution; and that legalising the sex industry will improve their lives. None of those are true.
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ANNA FISHER explores what would it mean for women’s equality and public safety if Britain embraces full commercialisation of the sex trade
Legal frameworks designed to safeguard women are too often weaponised against them, reinforcing male power and entrenching injustice. The FiLiA Ending MVAWG Team highlight some of the issues
The legacy of socialist feminists such as Alexandra Kollontai challenges us today to confront an uncomfortable truth: framing prostitution as empowerment lets the abusers of the Epstein class off the hook, warns HELEN O’CONNOR
Susan Galloway talks to ASH REGAN MSP about her “Unbuyable” Bill, seeking to tackle the commercial sexual exploitation of women in Scotland