Violence against women has many faces – may it be violence in marriage and partnership, sexual harassment or rape, stalking, women trafficking, violence experienced in prostitution or genital mutilation. It starts with ordinary flirting, with misogynous language, supposed jokes or slurs. When women are restricted in there freedom, whenever they have to avoid certain spaces, places or situations to guard against harassment and threats, that is a form of violence against women. One thing is common for all facets of violence against women: Their aim is to gain and secure power over women.
Society often fails to see psychological violence and it is even more often not taken seriously, since it does not cause bruises, fractures or other visible wounds. Nevertheless, it is a form of violence that is being performed. It is our task to acknowledge this violence as such and to oppose it wherever we are confronted with it.
Physical abuse is being detected more often. Albeit only when there are physical blemishes. For example, a women „being pushed over in a fight“ by a man is often belittled and not perceived as what it is: violence against women.
There are countless methods to secure dominance and exercise control over a situation or a woman. It is clear to us that we will fight such situations. Be it psychological violence or provoking violence to then be enabled to answer with further violence, be it the threat or execution of physical or sexual violence. All of these behaviors can not be tolerated in our ranks and consequences must follow.
It is obvious to us as communists that we take women seriously when they expose patriarchal behavior to us. We cannot play down such situations and must support the woman with our solidarity. The women comrades will discuss and perform the consequential handling and demands. We want to create an atmosphere in which women can report their fears and experiences without having to fear that their emotions or experiences are being questioned. It is our task to give these discussions, which are often led in an emotional manner, a political perspective.
It is obvious to us that we measure people by their deeds and consciousness. In any case there has to be a handling that is appropriate to shown behavior, such handling could reach from critique to punishments in form of exclusion from our organization and structures. There has to be a stricter handling when dealing with a comrade that has been active for many years , we have to apply a different measuring to him than to men who are simply acquainted to our organization.
It is not only the womens task to take women and their demands seriously and defend them. It is a duty of the organization and the entire revolutionary movement to do so. Conflicts can only be solved when the most conscious comrades lead the way and represent the political handling unitary to the outside. Friendship, loyalty or solidarity with offenders must not matter in this debate!
When handling patriarchal violence it is of utter importance that the issue is not spoken about everywhere and with everybody. Our requirement is a political, ideological dispute. We can only meet this claim when we focus on an organized debate and prevent unorganized discussions from happening.
No matter where we are, let it be in political work, in the family, in school, at the workplace or at home – no woman is alone!
A threat to one is a threat to all of us!
Fighting violence against women organized and with dedication!
