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Month: January 2010

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More turning to AWARE for help

By Kerry Wilcock

Demand for AWARE’s direct services jumped sharply last year. Calls to the Helpline grew by 40%, while the number of counselling cases increased by more than 200%.

The increases were undoubtedly due to the extensive publicity for AWARE following the attempted takeover in April last year by a faith-based group.

With all the media coverage, many became aware not only of the association’s many achievements  over the past 24 yrs but also of the services offered to women through our helpline, counselling, legal clinic and court assistance services.

The AWARE Helpline was launched in 1990. It is the first point of contact for any woman needing help or wanting to find out about our services.  Trained volunteers handle Helpline calls and provide support, information and encouragement. If callers need additional assistance, they are referred to the counselling, legal clinic or court assistance services.

Why do women call the AWARE Helpline? Last year I heard many people say “I didn’t know that you offered these services”, and “We wanted to come for counselling somewhere neutral and secular”.

What was also noticeable was that women calling AWARE expect that we will ‘fight for their cause’.

While AWARE is sympathetic to and supportive of all who call, the approach we take in our direct services is based on the belief that change takes time and part of the change is empower the individual.

Rina, who has been an AWARE Helpliner for the past 5½ years and has taken calls from hundreds if not thousands of women, explains: “Women need to be informed about their choices and, as a Helpliner, it’s my job to ensure they are empowered to do so.”

The increased demand for our direct services means we need a bigger pool of volunteers. The next Helpline Training Programme starts on 2 March and we look forward to welcoming more members to the Helpline team. This will be our 37th intake of volunteers.

The AWARE Helpline Training Programme is conducted over a period of 3 to 4 months in 3 different phases, each phase building upon the one before. Trainees will be assessed throughout the programme, as well as at the end of Phase I and II, for their suitability to be an AWARE Helpliner.

Helpliners need to be AWARE members and are required to pay a non-refundable training fee of $80. Those who complete the training will be equipped to handle calls not just at the AWARE Helpline but similar services anywhere.

Prospective Helpliners need to:

  • Be women above 23 years of age
  • Have a self-reliant and proactive attitude
  • Agree to the values of the organisation
  • Be able to commit to two 3-hour slots per month for a minimum of a year after completion of basic training
  • Attend refresher training sessions and work under the supervision of our professional staff
  • Support the Helpline and/or AWARE in other ways.

If you would like to become an AWARE Helpliner or find out more about our activities, please send email to  kerry@aware.org.sg or call 67797137.

Kerry Wilcock is AWARE’s Direct Services Manager.

So what is Feminism all about anyway?

 

By Priyanka Awasthi

If you’re reading this you’re likely to be an AWARE member or someone with an interest in women’s or gender issues. But just what are women’s and gender issues? What is the whole ‘women’s movement’ or ‘feminism’ all about, really?

It is to answer questions such as these that AWARE has put together a crash course on gender sensitization for members and volunteers. Many members have asked for information about feminism and the history of the women’s movement and related matters, so the AWARE Training Institute (ATI) will soon launch the Gender Core Curriculum programme.

The programme, which will cover topics such as the women’s movement, feminism, and awareness of gender issues, aims to stimulate thought and discussion on issues like gender equality, relationships between women and men in family, the workplace and society and the rights and responsibilities of women and men.

ATI will be conducting some test runs of the programme in late February and early March and would like to invite members to sign up for these sessions. Details of how you can sign up are at the bottom of this article.

There will be three parts to the programme:

History of Feminism

Industrialisation brought economic prosperity but it also gave rise to a growing awareness of the inequalities in society based on gender.  Women began to ask “Why are we not allowed to vote?’ and the suffragette movement was born. This part of the programme runs through the key points to date  the fight for women’s rights.

Debunking the Myths

This session offers enlightenment on the myths around feminism. How did these myths or fairy tales come about and get transferred from one generation to the other?  One example, why is it that passive women get the handsome and debonair Prince while the active women are mostly wicked step mothers and witches?

What does a feminist look like?

This is a hands-on workshop that will explore the four tenets of feminism: Woman and Body, Women at Home, Women in the Public Sphere, and Women and Culture.

This workshop will aim to unravel participants’ relationship with the term “feminist” using images, questions and participants’ personal experiences as departure points.  And it will seek to answer three questions:

  • What does it mean to be a feminist today in Singapore?
  • What are feminist values for you?
  • What contributions to the feminist cause can be made today in globalised, economy-driven Singapore?

If you would like to take part in the test runs of the programme or have any questions,please send email to priyanka@aware.org.sg or call 6779-7137.

Priyanka is a Programme Executive with AWARE.

The High Cost of Free Drinks

Booze for BoobsLocal nightspot Overeasy made news sites and blogs the world over with its recent ‘Fill My Cups’ marketing ploy. It offered free drinks to women based on their bra size – and it was rewarded with a full house.

Reactions to the gimmick were mixed, with some defending it as a bit of fun and others decrying it as demeaning women.
AWARE has sent this letter to the Straits Times Forum:

“We refer to the “Fills My Cups” event organized by Overeasy at One Fullerton (ST, 18/01/2010). Overeasy is run by Lo & Behold which also runs “Loof” and the “White Rabbit”.

The bar invited women to enjoy free alcohol based on the size of their breasts. The event was reportedly well-attended and women who had bigger breasts received more “free” drinks.

There is nothing free about letting a room of people gawk at your breasts. Even if a woman is willing to pay the personal price of loss of dignity, there is still a cost suffered by other women. The women who participated in the event have contributed to the objectification of women, to reducing a woman’s value to her breast size and have helped reinforce the belief amongst men that this is not only acceptable but welcome.

Staging this event in itself is extremely distasteful. Just because sexism is profitable does not make it right. For the organisers to say that this is just “good fun and not sexist or sleazy” (New Paper, 17/01/2010) is insincere. The indignity is suffered only by one gender.

It is unfortunate there are women willing to make this choice so lightheartedly. The individual woman may view her participation as an act of empowerment. Perhaps she feels she should use whatever assets she has to secure favours for herself. In our sex and youth obsessed culture it is not surprising some women would grow to be so cynical.

Yes, women have the right to choose, but individual choices are made in a social context. And in our current social context, women have a much harder time being esteemed as individuals above and beyond their value as sex objects.

This event perpetuates the notion of women as sex objects and makes it that much more difficult for each woman who wants to be valued for her character and contribution rather than how she stacks up to a distorted image of the ideal body.

The personal choice (for the participants) and the private choice (for the corporation) has had a detrimental social impact.

Choice works both ways. The organisers may have successfully packed their venue on the evening, but they may well have lost future business at Overeasy and their sister establishments.”

What do you think about the Fill My Cups marketing gimmick, and the stand taken by AWARE?

Share your thoughts.

“As a woman, I would feel ashamed to go there and reveal my cup size, just for a free drink. Why is it whenever somebody comes up with a sexy idea for a publicity stunt, it’s always women who become the bait? It makes us women look so cheap, revealing our private assets for the pleasure of lusty men, just to get free drinks.”
   – boobytrap @STOMP
“And before some random person decides to come by and say that it’s sexual empowerment, that women can decide where and when they want to show their bodies in whatever context they like: yes, it’s their body. Yes, it’s their life. But this entire thing is reducing women to the size of their breasts.”
   – Fiona on Dog-matic
The perks of having boobs in a sex-sells-society. Why do we complain though? Tell me, which alcohol taste better than proper vodka which does not cost a cent?
   – Doranne on The girlfriends

Not OK to say boys will be boys and girls must beware

The alleged groping of a woman by four men at the Siloso Beach Countdown Party on New Year’s Eve sparked much debate in the media in the first two weeks of January.

AWARE was asked by RazorTV to comment on the matter. We did not think that it was appropriate to comment on the incident itself since the facts are not clear, but the public reaction to the incident was disturbing. This is the statement we made:

“The photos show a woman being groped and molested by four men. It is difficult to give a good analysis of this event because we do not know what led up to it and what ensued. But what we can clearly analyse is the public reaction as expressed on RazorTV.

The majority of interviewees focused on the woman’s behaviour instead of that of the men. Many essentially said that she deserved it. It has been suggested that both her actions and her clothing invited this behaviour.

We find this reaction both incredible and disappointing.

A woman who attends a beach party in a bikini is not “asking for it”. Wearing a bikini to a beach party is not an invitation to be molested.

Likewise, flirting with a guy is not an invitation to be groped or raped by a gang of his friends.

Nor is a woman getting drunk consent to letting a stranger put his hands down her pants.

A woman has the right to be safe in a crowd whether she is alone or with her friends, whether she is drunk or sober, whether she is in a bikini or ski suit. To suggest that a woman is obliged to modify her behaviour to assure her safety is to accept that men are sexual predators and do not need to take responsibility for their actions.

We don’t accept or believe this. We don’t think it is ok to simply say that boys will be boys and girls must beware.

We aspire to a society where men and women respect each other. This is not a world devoid of sex and sexuality but one in which people treat each other with dignity and consideration.”

Do you have another point of view? Tell us.

A Feminist at Fifteen

Like many other 15 year olds, Iris Jin juggles school-work with her hobbies like reading, drawing and chess. Iris, however, is also making time to volunteer at AWARE. She is doing so because she’s concerned that society is still so steeped in patriarchal beliefs and gender stereotypes. She wants to do her part to promote awareness of the need for gender equality. Here is an essay Iris wrote about the ongoing fight for women’s rights.

feminist iconMen and women used to have very distinct roles in life.  The man was the head of the household whereas the woman was supposed to be submissive and nurturing.

However, in the 19th century, feminists began to challenge these views, and women gradually gained rights such as the right to vote. Women’s rights have come a long way since, but close inspection shows that women are still in a less preferable position.

The world is still, to a very large extent, ingrained in patriarchal beliefs and practices. Discrimination against and abuse of women   are, frighteningly, still rife in the developing world. The majority of the millions of poor and illiterate people around the world are female.

Enforced prostitution, female genital mutilation (FGM) and honour killing, which completely strip women and girls of any rights or self-respect, are still rampant in many parts of Africa and Asia.

Amnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have undergone some form of FGM, whereas another over 2 million are at risk every year.  Poorly educated, or totally uneducated, these women have no way to defend themselves and to break the vicious cycle.

In the developed world, the situation is strikingly better.  But bigotry, albeit less overt, is still a problem.  In Singapore, for example, we have had a number of cases of women being fired or encouraged to leave their jobs because they got pregnant.

In Europe, a fierce controversy raged when German chancellor Angela Merkel was pictured in a political poster in a low-cut gown.  People seemed more concerned about her cleavage than her capabilities as their leader.

There is still a long way to gender equality in society, and all the more so in the developing world. Concrete action is needed to bridge the disparity between the world we have now and the world we desire.


As we begin a new decade

Last year was an extraordinary year for women and Singapore, with our women adventurers reaching the top of Everest and the South Pole. AWARE, meanwhile, went through its own crisis and emerged all the stronger and clearer about its role. As we begin a new decade, says  Dana Lam, let’s make 2010 a year of celebration and affirmation.

As 2009 drew to a close, Sophia Pang became the first Singapore woman to reach the South Pole.

Sophia Pang sets out for the South Pole
Sophia Pang set out for the South Pole to show her young daughter, and other women, that it is good to pursue their dreams

The 37 year-old  IT consultant and fitness trainer, a mother of three, had trekked some 900 km and climbed close to 12,000 feet in subzero temperatures to get there. She had been selected from more than 800 applicants to be on the 7-woman Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition.

Earlier in the year, in May, five Singapore women – Esther Tan, Joanne Soo, Jane Lee, Lee Peh Gee, and Lee Li Hui  – got to the top of Everest. A sixth member of the Singapore Women’s Everest Team, Sim Yi Hui, unfortunately had to pull out of the final ascent because of chest pains. The team’s sense of achievement was all the greater because they had struggled for five years to find the funds for their expedition.

These were extraordinary successes in an extraordinary year for women and Singapore.

Sophia’s determination to get to the South Pole was made stronger because her little daughter had said to her that “it would be a miracle if she were selected”. Sophia wanted to show her little girl that it is good to dare to dream and to try, and that ‘miracles’ do happen. She also wanted to show other women that it is okay to make time for themselves and pursue their own dreams, and that they are    better able to help others when they help themselves stay happy and healthy.

We couldn’t agree more.

As we begin a new year and a new decade, we invite you to make this a year of celebration and affirmation of your lives.

This is the 25th anniversary year of AWARE and it is a good time to remember and honour the women in years past whose daring and imagination in much harder times opened doors and created new pathways for us. Those who will come after us will need to help keep these paths open and to add new ones.

Apart from the 25th anniversary celebrations, we will continue with our research and outreach programmes and our direct services.

We need researchers, communicators, and trainers; and writers, graphic designers, creative directors, event organisers.  We need bilingual volunteers for community outreach.  AWARE also needs ambassadors who will speak for us and help open doors to donors and sponsors to ensure our viability. If you can help in any of these areas, please get in touch.

In the months ahead, the AWARE Training Institute (ATI) will roll out two new programmes. The   Workplace Sexual Harassment (WSH) workshop had a pilot run in December with very encouraging feedback from the participants.

Meanwhile, a Gender Core Curriculum has been developed for members in response to calls for information about feminism, the history of the women’s movement, and gender issues. Details will be announced soon.

The Singles Sub-committee has started its work, and the Legal Clinic lawyers have been looking at expanding the service. The AWARE Helpline & related direct services have continued to offer information and solace to women in distress. We received 2,200 calls between January and November last year, a 20% increase from the 1,829 calls received during all of 2008. Between April and November, AWARE counsellors clocked 304 sessions with clients, more than double the 125 sessions for the same period in 2008.

On behalf of the Executive Committee and staff at the AWARE Centre, I’d like to thank all members and the many others for the immense goodwill and unprecedented support of the past year.  We look forward to your continued support for a secular AWARE committed to equality and inclusiveness.

All the best for 2010!