child sexual abuse; in lessness. USE certain trade umion leaderships, the com- position ofthe women's conference would have to be altered, in order to give The proposal from TWAG is that thie trade unions and socialist socieries have h NEC-sponsored review' of women in the Labour Party is not BARBARA GREEN suggests that the result of the A B themselves more power. CHILD without its dangers. -dismal. We huve been THERE is only one word to describe the past twelve months for women in the subjected to macho Neil strutting acroys Glenyy — the woman we should all strive our te screene always accompanied by Labour Party
constant feas Deranse the child is asumed to people are casbelieving when the abuse is The mal-dominared family is nevessary op labour force and for the ininial socialication of Childeen Into hourginis ideas: The power struentes within the mudear lamily divide Thr contence of the tamily allows sexual shese to happen and to rcan secret Sexual abuse is particularly damaging becanse it Happens in the family The fact that the factier-ligure has rotal access purs the child in father-figure, other disclosed; and because the child wants co be protected and loved by bim the abuse is a the inling rats and is delended by it. The existence of the family relieves tee state of chee respursibility for the production of the let they compound the problem. long lasting betraval of trist protecter by CT.Pr have the other 50 per conc. If the make the ciection of righr wing women to 50 percent bloc and women from the number of delegates: within the bloc for the unions Is tied to the number of women members in each anion, then some unions, like NURS, CONSH and GMH would get proportionally more than the This would While shis change should be supported. it is not a panacca — in the way that a see- non of the IWAC leadership believes. Ar the same time as putting lorward dus method of increasing the trade union vale, LWAC is also proposing to decrease the number of delegates from the CLIS Ir and making the women's conference argues this on the basis nE rationalising' AEL, EKTPU, and so lorth. the NEC less Likely cancelled, postponed ur just forgotten gur a promise of a women's ministry to fight for the interests ofwomen. Well Jo Shadow calner, as minister for women's lads droided we women organised in thc part tue workers" Did they propose we let up a campaign with black women's organisations to oppose rarise and sexist immigration laws? Did they ask us po work with Irish womeo to oppose strip to be lke. We have our conferenco about. At list scar's party conference ar Richardson has been allowed into that Also at last vear 3 parcy conference the Labour Party neoded shaking ap, Did they propose a joint campaign with the ssions to organise and defend women rights — unfortunately she is the only woman in the cabinet.
With die increase in heporter child soural chos smoot out the contradictions berween- for children, and acually turn the erwing The solution has been to inveat the misth sracture hasbroken down, Another piny has Fike mushrommg and spiderac, that the de- men from woren and adds frone chadren. and nis restrict wotch and children a dhcir rent to snore people. How Joes die rulng delendine the fonly and heng seen to rarr dioned families — when the thermal family been to give la impression, dongh yanie awarches of child sexual abuse to its advant abuse cascs, the inhorent dangers for chil dreis of living in families could become appe That sesal abuse only happens an dostuar abuse Somal Using -of child and aniles mushroming tual iridener ability to light. headlines does nor Joclade bolshy feminists having remains maclear ar the ame of wring what will happen at parry ron- tion that was supposed to have taken The national labour women's commines produeed a documt to facilitate discussion and win supposed to have held a conderence on 12 September to gods the results of the con- sultanion and make tecommendations to becanse mure respectable' This is a stab in the back to womet in the till's to placate cre- tain trade union leaders. We should not ignore the SEC's role in the review. They Jercuice un this question. The consulta- lerence, Kinnock's party fie to govern" also want to change lie women's con decided the NEC. This was nancelled place has not happener somewhere arsus in policy making. sonIchous: = active in the women organssations, bur Discursion un every CI.P were promised. Not exactly die kind pened, it has frustrated and demoralised Womep in the Labour Pariy and thur unkins do want to discuss changes to ci- courage more trade union women to be we also want to encourage more black Iristi to be organised as women to the Labour No. they propped ro review women s acction, trade umen branch ael of the ding deat would grab the sarronen you'd be night, especially in an Alerminn al women in struggle you might think — ve In so far as the discussion has hap women- women in all felds ofstruggle organisation and conference lesbians, women mont women
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 2 Seprember/October 19#7° Tucreasing, even thouch then is no was of knowing dis: Both these ideas moon that the ruling chus can blume child sexcal abuse co bes: at all rlasses bur branso he=sorial and back families, child sexual aliase cases ant discovered in these bombes and they and Part of thr upran abnor Cleveland has bcen that because some of the children are referred to social services by tile the accused father-figures an addie cion This i a tusth of the dysfune tional family Middie class father-ligures tre more able do allack cheorgents of the store. in thes -the creast We know that sexual abase happeis in latin- price inche mainly in workine lass in the notaber of dostncoonal lamilies rast social serviers departments the breakdown oil she hundy labelled dyslunctional" in the number of threat to the nOW No douhr some convement eveuse will be thought The not result of having the review foreed upon us has been regative. The EWAC leaders have based themseives prepared to talk co them. National and regional wanen's committees have had women's arranisation that is powerts) and representative: We will only achieve through constitutional games and desh rcorganis too postponed national con ference Of Labour women originally and ceorganised for Noverher. scheduled for best May with tic urion leaderships this thinugh struggle und their amwity thwarted. up tu cancil that as well! wheeling and dealing Jerence to ester that the women's con- spet, interesting and powerful organisa- NUTE were keen, a section of the Labour Sections 0f NUPE and LWAO are in- crested in getting labour Pity con- make decisions on our own terras, nor Party. To achieveithis we need an activr- tion. where we have discussions and those of the NEG and male dottinated The story of who supported the revinn Jeadership were extremely keen, and of coürse the ratiunal exceutive committee Jerence elect thic wornen's places on the NIC But for this to be worthwhile for and why is a tomplex and sordid one. thought it a good idea too! anion leaderships. 34
The practice of lurily therapy as an alter- knowlerec; and noce die case reaches coart: the hurden is placed on thc child to prove thar forces children into contart with their abuser. and therelore places them in danger of re- closun Hmily therapy silenoes the child, becauxe a lot of what the child wance to sas is about the rest of the bmily. It is univ a Teusible opron to use lamily therapy if you. believe du the ahutive family is a dystune: Although being taken into care removes peated abuse and punishment for their dix tional family which most he rebuilt. native to rcmoving theochild Lhey are inmocent oflving. closure Sexa abuse child
the child trom the power of the abuser, it another: The administration of the homes 1s all powerful in deciding who the children can Bo, and how much money they can have, for example: Living in a crowded dormitory continues the lack of privacy which is esperenced by victims of sexual abuse. The farr that the whole system what happens Anorher example if this in The Increasing awureness of the scale of the probican, aud tic growing realisation of the terrible offer it has had on the lives of replaces one poston of powerlessness by is under-resourced compounds these pro- blems. The common leanore of all these things is that the child has no control over Esther Ranizen't "Childline which reports NSPC:C withour die child requestng than they do so services or the so. where they can casee to she sprial socialists policy what for
35 do more than pruns out the shoreomings of These measures are ammod at restoring to caldren the power whuch has been denied to families of all social classes and in rimes of poverty, the breakdown of tie family', or the ruling cow to limir people's ability to the power scruture of the nuclear lamily in triarchy, because of the dependence of the Tease keep arricles to 500 aonds and submit by 12 to pa: millions of people, mean that socialists must the Dauly. The fundamental dervand that dren to make choice at every sage. The choice of whellict to go into care must be This Ineuns more cropores must be pur into thr care solent, to take in habitable for abused chikdren. Any decision to prosecute most thr made by the chuld, and the procedure mus he made as painicss as possible, with the child being in control of the legal decisions made. and with the burden of proof put on the father-figure. This would make it casier to remove thin father-figure from the family, in Child sexual abuse has existed as long as die lamily has exisced. Tr takes: place in prosperity as well as depression It is not simply parriarchy whuch causes child sexual abuse, bur the fact that the family ix used by fight. Empowering children would destroy capitalist society. Unlike radical feminists, wn believe that a chullenge to the tantly is a order thar the child could safely go home We meite reader to contribule do this discastion: socialists mast take is for the right of chil ruling class ou the nuclear family structure. mate a real and empowering option anly Drtober for pshfication in ar next cute. challenge to capitalism, not thent. taped or video-recurded withour their children. In Gleveland right wing Labour MP Smart Bell has waged:- child, am carried eat unnecessanly; children chattoos, Iris be no means certain that being taken into cacc meupy being reasoved trom Winger, One thing that is certain in that the For the victims of soxial abuse: power is someting which is always demied. by the charitable agencies, the police, conte, and the care system Because dealing with child arcual abase is contred on convicting the abriser, examinations intended to provide -ci- denice for prusertrion, rather than to heal the are subjecteu to harsh interviews which are Lamily. doctors, horpirals, incial workers. a witch hunt against social workers who, despite all the limitations of sexual abuse by adults and the arbitrary diktats of statutory agencies. Different socialist journals have developed different approaches their approach, at least have tried to intervene and disclose cases ol' initiate a discussion by arguing that socialists must concentrate on In recent months there has been a storm of publicity surrounding to this question. Here, DANI AHRENS and JUDITH PATON eeperiener is not an empowering one. the response of doctors and social workers to the sexual abuse of demands which empower children to detend them both against Dr Marietta Higgs on her way in to Middlesborough town hall he answered by amerin, the quesion of depurent who emplosise the need to act this really means 15 empoweries colorep ro poin out the many wavy in which the cam The question pf whether an defend the lolly against the wate dr vice vetsa can only haw to delend the child in cach co Whar Wittle wE delen those, like Dr Marietta Higg and the Cleveland social services quickly when sexual abuxe ofa chale has hoen disclosed or discovered. it & unportan fo sisten and the modical establishment Tail SOCIALIST OUTOOK a 7. Septamber/October 1987: child sexual abuse. defend themselves, amos sargmer
pre Cokenbian together wilh experiences ul the revolution Kavera constructed powerful history, recent, cofonial and socialist future and. latrerly: vivid panoramas of national workers and peasants, their the unligenous and popular and poetic narratives of the overday life of the massof In the murals he painted understanding of Mexican and his aspirations for a Gubism with an urt loris. Mexico between the two world movement which flouristed in was the result of the particular That mural painting was lo. Mexican revalution between DIEGO RIVERA was the best achievements of modern arr cultural, social and political ROGER SPENCER become Mexico's pertiliar cataclysmic events of the known of die artists who history of Mexico: The dominated the mural contribution to the Wall Street Banquet, 1928, Ministry of Education wars.
SOCIALIST OUTLDOK no 3 September/Ocober 1987 he received comprised not just "Man at the crossroads which In the thirries he worked on support of Trotsky and in fact living for the first two yoars in Alwavs a politically restless States, men lananasty on one Rockefeller discovered that it: would-be assassin, Siqueiros: prodigous. The commissions Rivera finally ended up back Rivera's Blue Hour' Two