Jon Bright (London, OK): How do you set about changing a culture? A lot of debate in the feminist movement at the moment seems to be touching on this. Women have achieved a type of legal, theoretical equality in the UK that has yet to be fully realised in practice. Rape conviction is a case in point - despite legal precedent for convictions of marital rape and increases in the number of rapes reported, conviction stands at a lowly 5.7%. It's not much of a surprise that there is frustration with what can be achieved through legislation. Julie Bindel was in the Guardian yesterday arguing for massive public information campaigns - first change the culture, she says.
As the UK government plans a reform of rape law, over on openDemocracy's 16 Days section Sarah Campbell also has an article on the subject. She argues:
...the extent to which sexual coercion is a common and socially accepted fact points to a need for a wider debate on this issue, and a re-imagining of our understandings of masculinity, femininity and sexuality. We need to ask questions about how sexual coercion is tied up with current ideals of masculinity which are defined in terms of assertiveness, virility and sexual conquest. At the same time, its necessary to interrogate assumptions about women's sexual passivity and the lessons which women are being taught about having reduced rights to safety if they are seen to make themselves sexually available by engaging in relationships, drinking, flirting or walking alone at night.
It's hard to argue with her conclusions, even though she isn't disagreeing with David Cox nearly as much as she makes out (they are both essentially saying that the courts are an ineffective way of tackling the problem). But where are ideas about male and female gender roles generated, and how can they be changed? Cox's solution - they can't, so stay inside and lock the doors - isn't much good. But I think Bindel's public information campaigns, above, aren't too great either. People don't swallow government information campaigns uncritically (as Cox points out the millions spent on drug awareness and prosecution have had little noticeable effect) - I just don't think culture can be changed 'top-down'.
My solution, admittedly unproven, is something often posited on OurKingdom - empowerment, through devolution. Labour introduced all woman shortlists, which was a positive first step. Why not bring them in at the level of local councillors as well? And then, crucially, give these councils real power to change their local environment - including power over their local police systems. The national rate for rape conviction may only be 5.7%, but what are the local rates? If we had a genuine system of local democracy (which was genuinely representative) then people might actually be empowered to change their local surroundings. And if people were used to women occupying those positions of power - making decisions that obviously affected their lives - then perhaps that would be a step towards changing how men and women viewed themselves and each other, and a change in culture could grow upwards naturally.
