ARTEMIS
Women and Law
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2.Editor’s Note 3.Page 3 4.Women doing wonderful things 5-6.Fight against Rape Myth 7-8.Underepresentation of women 9-10.Removed by Mistake 11-13.Why Wonder Woman 14.Events
Front Cover Photography by Don Sniegowski
contents
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Editor’s note Hello and welcome to the latest issue of Artemis! The focus of this issue is ‘Women and the Law’. One can argue that our society is dictated by law and order. However while these laws are in place to protect us, sometimes they merely restrain us. This issue explores a range of topics within women and the law, from an article exploring why Wonder Woman was chosen as a UN Ambassador for Empowerment of Women and Girls, to an artist fighting Instagram’s censorship rules. Continuing the campaign from the previous year, lawyer Ellen Godbey Carson was chosen as your page 3 girl and you can read about her amazing career (not surprisingly) on page 3! From women who have championed equality using the law to those who have fought the law and won, this issue is a celebration of the amazing strides women have taken in the field of law and you can read about just a few of these women within these pages. Thank you to all the contributors who researched and submitted articles and art which helped make this issue on Women and the Law engaging. A special thank you to Philippa who did a terrific work designing the artwork and graphics. All of our contact details are listed on the back cover so if you want to get involved in the next issue released in the New Year then get in touch and join our great team!
Faye
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Reclaim Page 3
Ellen Godbey Carson successfully represented Americans of Japanese Ancestry who were exiled from their homes and interred in racial war camps by the American Gov- Action Centre in Hawaii, a nonernment during World War II. profit organization which aims to educate and provide help to She took the case against the the victims of domestic violence. American Government and won! The resulting bill, called The When talking about her inspiJapanese- American Redress ration to become a lawyer, ElBill stated that the imprison- len Godbey Carson says she ment of Japanese Americans was influenced by her childwas the result of racial intol- hood in Tennessee, where raerance not military prudence. cial prejudice and sexism was One of the provisions of the bill rarely challenged. As a rewas that the surviving intern- sult, she decided to become ees receive compensation and a a lawyer in order to change presidential apology. Addition- and address these attitudes. ally that congress must estab- In recognition of her work, lish an educational trust fund to she was awarded the Mareducate the American people on garet Brent Award in 2006, the dangers of racial prejudice. given to only five women each year who have made maIn addition, Ellen Godbey Carson jor contributions toward secreated the Domestic Violence curing equality for women.
By the Aretmis Team
Ellen Godbey Carson
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Women doing wonderful things Written by Artemis Team
Martina Vandenberg
Martina Vandenberg has spent the last two decades fighting human trafficking, forced labour, violence women and getting rape declared as a war crime. She founded one of Russia’s first rape crisis centres and is the founder and president of The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Centre.
Anita L. Allen
Anita L. Allen is both a professor of Law and professor of Philosophy and was the first African American woman to hold both a PhD in philosophy and a law degree. Recognised for her scholarship on legal philosophy, women’s rights and race relations, her most widely known books on legal philosophy include, ‘Uneasy Access: Privacy for women in a free society’, and ‘Why Privacy isn’t everything: Feminist reflections on Personal Accountability’. In 2010, Barack Obama appointed Anita L. Allen to presidential commission for study of Bioethical issues.
Mukhtaran Mai
Following being gang raped on the orders of a tribal council as a form of honour revenge, Mukhtaran Mai defied expectation and challenged her attackers in court. Her case brought huge media coverage and awareness of women’s rights in Pakistan. From her work with educating the community on the importance of women’s right, the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organisation was founded. The organisation has now founded a school, providing free, education, books and uniform to over 550 girls.
Theresa Kachindamoto
Though in 2015, Malawi passed a law prohibiting marriages before the age of 18, children can still marry with the consent of their parents. Due to the financial strain of having another mouth to feed in one of the world poorest countries, child marriages often occur. Theresa Kachindamoto, the paramount chief of Dedza District in Malawi, was distressed upon seeing the amount of child brides in her district however and as of 2016 has terminated over 330 customary child marriages where either the husband or wife were below 18.
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The Fight against Rape Myths
For example, the woman who made allegations against Ched Evans saw him walk free and unpunished because statements taken from her previous sexual partners on her sexual history and preferences had been accept-
ed as evidence that she was likely lying. This interrogative procedures are a further deterrent for sexual violence survivors seeking justice. This is clearly a grave situation but it can be improved. This year saw the passing of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Act in Scotland, which requires the judge of a sexual violence case to advise the jury to consider two common ‘rape myths’ when coming to a verdict. These myths are based on research carried out by Dr Nina Burrowes, psychologist and author of Responding to the Challenge of Rape Myths in Court. A guide for Prosecutors, published in 2013. In this guide, Burrowes identified numerous inaccurate assumptions that people make about rape, including the myth that ‘Rape occurs between strangers in dark alleys’ (in reality, it has been found that in around two thirds of cases, the perpetrator was a person that the
By Natasha Bednall
Justice for rape survivors remains a major priority for feminists today. In 2013, the Ministry of Justice), Office for National Statistic, and Home Office collaborated on a report which estimated that only 15% of people who experience sexual violence report it to the police, a figure that sadly isn’t surprising when you consider that conviction rates for reported rapes have been estimated to be as low as 5.7%. People who report sexual violence have often been further victimised by a system which assumes that they’re lying, and therefore puts them through invasive procedures because their own experiences aren’t taken seriously. The victim is disproportionately interrogated.
6 victim knew), and the myth that ‘Prostitutes can’t be raped’. The two myths selected for the Scottish act were the following:
1) ’If she didn’t scream, fight or get injured, it was not rape’ In actual fact, it is very common for a victim’s body to react by seizing up or going limp, thus preventing them from fighting back. Furthermore, victims might understandably be afraid that fighting back might put them in even more danger.
2) ‘If the victim didn’t complain immediately then it was not rape’ Around 90% of rape victims don’t report the offence at all, and there are a number of reasons for not doing so; they might feel ashamed, traumatised, or be afraid of the consequences of going to the police. Burrowes’s research showed that many people believe these rape myths to be true, and that such myths have an impact on the decision the jury comes to. This means the jury need to be given a clear narrative on the issue, especially considering that sexual offence cases had the lowest conviction rate of all crimes that went to court in 2012.
UoN Feminists hope that this research will also be applied in England and Wales. We have teamed up with Citizens UK, who have brought together various other groups from around Nottingham’s community to campaign for our courts to adopt this procedure too. This campaign will be a long term struggle, with estimates that it could take a couple of years before we’re successful. However, there’s plenty to be optimistic about: firstly, we can use the Scottish example to demonstrate that this is an effective system for increasing conviction rates and secondly, there is a vast range of different organisations prepared to join the fight for a legal system that gets justice for rape victims more effectively. In Nottingham, organisations such as Rape Crisis, Nottingham Women’s Centre, our own Students’ Union, Nottingham Trent University and many others, are all willing to get involved in this campaign. The culture of victim-blaming has been something that feminists have been trying to tackle for years, and whilst this won’t completely solve the issue, now we have something to fight for!
Join Natasha Bednall and the UON Feminist Campaign!
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The Underrepresentation
In England and Wales, things aren’t so different. Every single Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has been male. The Presidents of the Queen’s Bench division consists of all men – yes, there is one female VP, appointed in 2016, which is still poor. The Masters of the Rolls? All men. Chancellors of the High Court? All men. A small beacon of light shining through the overwhelming numbers of male domination in the judiciary system is that at least within the High Court judges, 22 out of 106 are women, and that out of 38 Lord Justices of Appeal, 8 of them are Lady Justices of Appeal. If the Oxford Dictionary defines the law as:
“The system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties” …then why is there such a lack of representation of each part of the country’s community in the
judiciary system? 67% of UK students accepted to a university law degree are female. However, the average percentage of female partners at global law firms is only 24%. What happened in between those two points? Does the Law undergraduate higher education system not encourage women and minority students to pursue prominent roles upholding and enforcing the law? Let’s look at female leadership in elite academic environments… Columbia Law School, one of the world’s best law schools, has to date only had 2 female Deans – in 1986 and 2015 (hurray, Gillian Lester). In 1986, Barbara Aronstein Black, Dean of Columbia Law School, was the first ever female to head an Ivy League law school. In addition, Drew Gilpin Faust, the first woman to serve as Harvard University’s President, was only appointed in 2007. The total number of female Deans in the US at ABA-accredited law schools has risen to 30% and hopefully this number will only increase.
Written by Flora Maier
In the United States, President Obama appointed Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court Justice in 2010. She is the fourth ever female Supreme Court Justice in a system that has existed since the 18th century. Before this, Elena Kagan was also the first woman to be the Solicitor General (3rd highest post in the US justice system) to date (aside from acting Solicitor General Barbara Underwood).
of Women in Law Oxford University’s “notable alumni list” from its law school continsmostly men. For every one woman mentioned, roughly 10 more men get recognition. Is the bar set so immensely high in terms of what achievements constitute, that women’s achievements are overlooked?
How can people feel protected by the law, when the people enforcing and upholding it are primarily from a single demographic group? How can people feel protected by the law, when the people enforcing and upholding it are primarily from
a single demographic group? The aforementioned Elena Kagan was also only the 8th Jewish American to hold the post of justice. This may be a coincidence, but by having predominantly only one type of person in the most powerful position, an unspoken hierarchy and power dynamic is established, affecting all intersections of minorities. If role models are the key to encouraging women to pursue their goals and feeling supported in their career choices, then we have to speak up and attempt to shed light on this situation. While the US Elections have taught us that the unthinkable is possible, perhaps the antique stigma associated with the judiciary being a “men only” club can be overhauled too…
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Removed by Mistake Instagram and the Censorship of Women
However, there seems to be a flaw in this system. Anyone can place a report, and just one report can lead to an image being removed. You don’t need to follow the person or even be a member of Instagram, if the account is public. And while Instagram insists that it reviews all the reports to see if they do indeed violate their guidelines, they seem to be having some issues deciding what constitutes a violation. Instagram prohibits: “photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipple.” It also states: “but photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding are allowed. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is ok, too.” So artistic expression is ok, and we can also see that if you aren’t fully
nude you should be fine. Simple right? Perhaps not. Take, for example Rupi Kaur, who posted an image of herself fully clothed, with a small amount of period blood visible, leaking through her clothes, as part of a photography project on menstruation. She is fully clothed in the image, so this shouldn’t violate the guidelines, yet it was removed 2 times, before a social media campaign finally elicited an apology and the reinstatement of the image. Or look at Meaghan Tonjes, a blogger, who posted an image of her pant-clad bottom on the site, as a shout out to body positivity. Again, not “fully-nude buttocks” so it should be fine. Nope. The image, and her account, were both removed, before being reinstated after another public outcry. What about art, that should be safe, right? British artist Paloma Smith (@octoplum) creates artwork, particularly paintings and sculpture, that addresses the free the nipple campaign, transgender rights, and fat shaming, among other topics. Under Instagram’s guidelines, artwork is protected, and so nudity can be shown, yet her work is regularly removed.
Artwork by Paloma Smith
Since its conception, Instagram, like many other social media sites, has maintained community guidelines to control its content. Instagram is a business so it needs to cater to its clients, which means making sure it monitors mature content . In fact, it allows you to report images that go against its guidelines, and can remove pictures, and even accounts that it feels violate them.
Written by Philippa Stazicker
Feeling body positive today? Want to post a selfie to show it? Better check Instagram’s guidelines first.
10 On one image that was removed several times, she writes: “This was removed again. Someone just doesn’t like me. Also my page is private again which means whoever is reporting me is also following me” (…) “This is a sculpture and therefore follows Instagram’s guidelines. I mean I know people say it’s because it looks so real... but I mean it doesn’t really.” Not only does she face censorship, Smith has to continually monitor her work, thinking about how it may be removed. She writes: “Once I have set up a proper website I will probably stop posting images of my sculptures like this on here, and censor more.” “Having it on private has helped me not get reports constantly but also totally stopped my followers from building. “ She says that instead of having to censor her work, people should unfollow her: “Unfollow me if you don’t like what you see please. A lot of people get great happiness and peace from my art that promotes self-love and body positivity, don’t take that away, simply remove yourself.” How can artists exploring feminist topics fully investigate issues when they face continual silencing and censorship? The reporting system relies on the public to report problems, but it also allows the public to report things they don’t agree with. While this shouldn’t be an issue, the fact that images get removed when they are clearly within the rules, shows an implicit agreement in this censorship.
These images are almost always women and linked to the body positivity, and feminist movement. While Instagram may say it caters to a diverse community, its actions suggest that it fits into a wider censorship of women. Women are told to fit into a slim, racially profiled, quiet box, and anyone who steps out of it faces public censorship. By disregarding their own rules, Instagram is implicit in the silencing of women’s bodies, voices, and minds.
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WHY Do a simple Wikipedia search of Wonder Woman and you will find she is a ‘fictional superhero appearing in the American comic books published by DC Comics…a founding member of the Justice League, demigoddess, United Nations Executive Ambassador, and warrior princess of the Amazonian people’. Sounds rather like a game of two truths one lie but sadly it is not, because on the 21st of October 2016, Wonder Woman was appointed United Nations Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. So my question for you is, how empowered do you feel when you hear that?
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WONDER WOMAN?
Wonder Woman was designed to endorse feminism. However this was a feminism of the 1940s, which hasn’t quite survived the transition into the feminism of today, where beauty and breasts shouldn’t be (and I wish I could say are not) necessary to get the attention of popular society. Thus, for every stereotype she dispels, Wonder Woman has endorsed another one. She is white, beautiful, has large breasts and a tiny waist; essentially she endorses a long clichéd image of the female body and the racial profiling of beauty. You can just look at her costume to deduce that she was never meant to be a multi-national advocate for anything; stars and stripes are so glaring American that it is shocking the UN thought she could be an advocate for something other
than ‘the land the free and the home of the brave’. Moreover, Wonder Woman has long been, in my eyes, a spinoff of Superman; debuting 3 years after her male counterpart. Some may argue that at least she is given some kind of independence, her name is not as inextricably linked to Superman’s as Batgirl’s is to Batman, however the connections are still glaring; the costume she wears alone is enough to associate the two. So, if she was just created to be the token female alternative, what kind of empowerment is she really demonstrating to our gender? Wonder Woman rarely stands alone as a female presence, when not with Superman or in the male dominated Justice League, her secret identity Diana (who in classic DC style was just Wonder Woman wearing glasses) works as a secretary for her love interest Steve Trevor. Whilst Trevor initially ignores the pining affections of Diana, he is truly taken by Wonder Woman, thus epitomising the not so empowering story line
Written by Jessica Pack Photography by Michael Powers
Initially, this news did make me feel empowered. Wonder Woman has dispelled a whole host of female stereotypes and has been doing so since World War Two; at a time when female independence was just a budding concept, never mind one that would be actively advocated in society. She helped to pave the way for a strong feminine image in comic books and on TV.
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that ‘men will find you attractive if you take your glasses off and shake your hair out’. If we were looking for a fictional character to empower women, what about resident leader of the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller? She is African American, presented with varying body shapes and most importantly is a high ranking government agent who despite being ruthless is known for getting the job done. Yes, she is portrayed as scary and forceful, but she’s also independent and strong minded and demonstrates more accurately the struggle that real women today encounter in their careers; if women act as ruthlessly as men in the work place, men are commended for their business acumen and women are seen as hardnosed tyrants.
We shouldn’t be looking for an empowering fictional character at all, we should be looking for a real life one
Despite, considering Waller a preferable alternative to Wonder Woman, the main issue here is that we shouldn’t be looking for an empowering fictional character at all, we should be looking for a real life one. I know I can’t be a warrior princess and will never be a member of the Justice League, things which I am more than willing to accept, but this appointment makes me feel as though becoming a UN ambassador is an equally fictional aspiration, something which I refuse to accept. Some of the inspirational women who were pipped to the post by Wonder Woman were; Michelle Obama, first lady, globally acknowledged independent woman and founder of Let Girls Learn; Malala Yousafzai, Noble Peace Prize winner and survivor of the Taliban; and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and firm advocate of female participation in all levels of society. I consider all of these people to be inspirational regardless of a UN ambassador title, but surely that is the point; we should not have chosen a fictional figure and decided to allocate them with the role of empowerment but rather have chosen someone who is already empowering us. Someone who has motivated our gender, someone who has devoted their life to this cause and most importantly someone who isn’t fictional.
Agree? Sign the petition at www.thepetitionsite.comom
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Upcoming Events Body Confidence week is happening in February! Hosted by The Women’s Network, UoN Feminists, Student Minds, LGBT and many other great communities, it’s not a week to be missed! UoN Feminist Society hold their meeting every week at 5-7 on Wednesdays. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about feminism and to become part of their current campaigns. Additionally The Women’s Network invite guest lecturers from around the country to talk about their experiences in their chosen careers. Look out for the talk in February with MP Lillian Greenwood with more to come in the New Year. Don’t forget to look out for details of the Artemis Workshop where you have the chance to design the front cover of our next issue! Head to our Facebook page now to vote on what topic YOU want our next issue to focus on!
COntact us wnzine@outlook.com @uonzine @WNUoNFems_Zine ARTEMIS @WNZINE Women’s Network and Uon Feminists Zine Design by Philippa Stazicker Edited by Faye Griffin