Recently I have read a book called “Gender Medicine” by Marek Glezermann and I wanted to share the concept of “Gender Medicine”, as well as a few examples to better understand it.

Gender Medicine, or how it is properly called “Medicine related to sex and gender”, is a branch of medicine that analyses the different reactions on a disease or on a drug related to sex and gender.

To grasp this definition, the notion of “sex” and “gender” has to be clear.

Sex is a genetically determined characteristic. Every human being has 2 sexual chromosomes.

If both those chromosomes are so-called “X chromosomes”, then the person is of female sex.

If, however, one chromosome is an X chromosome and the other one a Y chromosome, the person is of male sex. This is already fixed before one’s birth and an individual has no influence whatsoever on its sex.

Gender, on the other hand, is dependent on a variety of factors, such as culture, tradition or sexual orientation. If we take the example of a transsexual woman, we can say that she is of male sex because she was born with a Y chromosome. But her gender would be a woman.

This difference between sex and gender is important to understand, as there are diseases that are influenced either by sex or gender.

Colour blindness is related to the male sex. It will appear if there is a problem on the X chromosome. As female beings have two X chromosomes, this means that they are protected. If there is a problem on one X chromosome and the other is functional, the body will simply use the chromosome that is normal. Thus for the disease to show up, both X chromosomes would have to be dysfunctional. Male beings, however, having only one X chromosome, do not have this security mechanism and will be more often affected by this disease.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition, where a hand nerve is compressed, thus reducing the mobility of the hand. This disease affects mostly women, since jobs that require repetitive use of hand and wrist are traditionally done by women. For example women are more commonly waitresses or secretaries than men.

An opposite example is malaria, which affects more men than women. This is related to the fact that in the countries where this disease exists, women have to be covered from head to toe due to cultural and religious beliefs.Malaria is transmitted by a mosquito, and as men show more skin than women, they are more likely to be stung.

Note: For the sake of simplicity, I will from now on refer to the words “man” and “woman” for both sex and gender.

While looking at these rather simple examples, one can see that there is a significant difference between diseases affecting men and women. How come it has taken this long notice and analyse these phenomena?

We live in a society where everything was built upon a male model. Up until last century, women were seen as second class citizens and the general concensus was, that women were merely a different type of man. One assumed that, apart from reproductive processes, a woman’s body was exactly the same as a man’s body.

However, just as children are not treated in the same way than adults in medicine, so women should not be medically treated in the same way than men.

Concerning drugs, women do not always react in the same way on a certain medicine than men.This is a consequence of the fact, that women are largely excluded from medical trials. Before a new drug can be released, it has to undergo several tests to assure that it will not mediate any negative effects. Yet those tests used to not include women because of the risk of fœtotoxicity. There was always a risk that a woman could be pregnant and that the drug would harm the unborn child.

Nowadays, women may be participating in these tests, but they are still outnumbered by men. There is always a lingering possibility that they will become pregnant during the trial. Those trials are long, months or sometimes years, and the organisers do not want to have to exclude a woman because she became pregnant during that time. Additionally, results are usually not analysed with respect to sex and gender. Adverse effects are mostly evaluated with regard to frequency. As there are more male participants than female, this means that the adverse effects experienced by men will logically also be more frequent.

There are many different examples on how sex and gender can influence our bodies’ reaction on the environment, a disease or a drug. First, I will mention circumstances that have an impact on children’s development during pregnancy and later on I will give examples on atypical responses in women and men.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a genetic disease, in which girls produce a lot more testosterone than what would be considered normal, and this even before their birth.

A Swedish study has found that these girls prefer playing with toys that are traditionally viewed as male, such as cars and trucks.

The following two examples regard diet. If a woman eats very little during her pregnancy, this will transmit a message to the baby, namely that food is scarce in its environment. This leads to the fact that this baby will need less food after its birth to grow normally than a baby which has not known this antenatal restriction.

The downside of this mechanism is, that those children will eat everything that is offered to them because their subconscious mind tells them that there is little food.

If one gives those children unlimited access to food, they will develop obesity.

A similar observation was made in the Netherlands. In 1944, during the so-called “Hongerwinter”, the Nazis established a blockade. This means that no goods could enter the Netherlands, thus also no food. Researchers compared the evolution of the children born during this winter (who did not have access to a lot of food during pregnancy) to that of children born later on.The “Hongerwinter” children were much more affected by obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure during adulthood than the children born both before and after this winter.

In medicine, women represent the population that is at a biggest disadvantage. This is so because most clinical observations are fitted to men.

The best known example is that of a heart attack.

The typical symptom of a heart attack is a brutal chest pain that radiates into the left arm and into the left little finger. However, this is a typical male symptom.In women, a heart attack can present itself in a completely different way: women experience mostly neck or back pain. Very often, they do not feel any pain, but a general sense of uneasiness.This leads to the fact, that if women describe these symptoms in an emergency service, doctors will not immediately think of a heart attack and might simply send these women home.

During a woman’s hormonal cycle, the body produces different hormones in different quantities.These hormones have an influence on different physiological processes, such as saliva production. Because saliva helps to digest food and also drugs, the difference in its composition will lead to a difference in absorption. A clinical case has been described, where a woman who was treated for epilepsy complained that her treatment worked less efficiently during the second half of her cycle. It turned out that progesterone, a hormone produced in big quantity during that part of the female cycle, inactivated the drug.

Another example where women react differently to a drug than men is the sleeping pill Ambien.

Women catabolize this drug much more slowly than men, they actually only need half the dosage required for men in order to witness the same effects.Women who took an Ambien pill adapted to the male metabolism still had a lot of active substance in their bodies the next morning. This means that they were drowsy, tired, their reflexes less developed. This was related to a lot of car accidents if those women drove to work for example. Nowadays, two different dosages for Ambien exist: one adapted to men and one adapted to women.

Pain is a characteristic often used to underline differences between men and women.

In our culture, we expect that men will not complain as much about pain and women, regardless of whom can tolerate it better.In emergency services, the consequence is that men who complain about pain will be taken care of earlier. One supposes that for a man to admit that he is in pain, it has to be extremely important. Because one expects women to complain more about pain than men, their pain is often taken less seriously.

Even if women are more at risk to be discriminated, there are some situations where men are at a disadvantage. This is particularly the case in diseases that affect more women than men.

For example, men who have breast cancer have to take medication that was developed for women. These drugs work in a less efficient way because of men’s high testosterone level when compared to women. This means that, additionally to the anti-cancer treatment, men are required to also undergo a hormonal treatment which lowers their testosterone secretion.

Furthermore, the criteria used to diagnose depression are based upon the symptoms which women express. Some examples are a troubled sleep rhythm or loss of energy.In men, more typical symptoms are aggressiveness or overworking. This means that men are not correctly diagnosed and will not undergo treatment even if they would need it.

These examples, whilst showing a big inequality in care and treatment, also demonstrate that Gender Medicine starts to attract more and more attention. If this were not so, we would not know about all those examples.

It will probably be a long time before there will be true equality concerning different sexes and genders in medicine. However, if we start talking more about Gender Medicine and what it entails, everyone can play its part in promoting change in this area.

“There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. “ -Kofi Annan

Amongst other missions, women empowerment is one of Project Why’s expanding projects that started in 2007 with the opening of a vocational center for women from underprivileged backgrounds. Women empowerment means the emancipation of women from the vicious grips of social, economic, political caste and gender-based discrimination. It means granting women the freedom to make their own life choices and replacing patriarchy with parity.

Gandhi’s vision was that women must play an equal and important role in national development. However, the movement for raising the socio-economic status of women had involved generally the middle-class educated women in urban centers while the great mass of rural women cannot yet enjoy the rights and privileges as referred to in the Constitution. This is even the case in some parts of New Delhi such as the area of Madanpur Khadar, which is still affected by a traditional mentality where women are supposed to stay at home and aren’t granted any education.

Since 2007, over thousand women have been trained by Project Whyas part of its women empowerment program.

This program was initiated with the belief that women were true agents of change and that giving them the means to earn a livelihood would go a long way in transforming the lives of their families. Project Why not only gives women the opportunity to gain new skills but by teaching them also how to read and write, they encourage these young women to become small entrepreneurs.

I have been wanting to volunteer in the context of women empowerment in India for about 10 years and I recently came back from 7 weeks spent at Project Whyin New Delhi. Amongst other projects, I did some case studies on Project Why’s impact on peoples’ life and more specifically on women. I had the chance to interview women who have now opened their beauty parlor or tailoring business. I was impressed by the influence Project Why had on their careers. One of them had marked me in particular. During the interview, the woman who had now opened her own beauty parlor, had started crying. I was concerned and worried I had upset her, but I then found out that she was crying out of happiness and proudness from what she had achieved. She used to clean houses and do the household chores but today she is working in her own beauty salon. Nobody had supported her but Project Why. Another woman also impressed me with her beautiful success story. She is left-handed and was having trouble to find stitching classes accepting her difference. Indeed, being left-handed is considered taboo in India. She then came to Project Why were she was welcomed with open arms and was able to follow their 6 months stitching class program. She has now opened her own stitching business in Madanpur Khadar.

Project Why’sMadanpur Khadar Centre has already made a difference for women who have now become independent small entrepreneurs, taking care of their own business and thus providing for their families. Project Why has truly changed these women’s life, who before joining the program were not allowed to work or were working in very bad conditions. Today, these women walk the streets of New Delhi with pride and confidence.

This non-profit organization not only supports women empowerment through its vocational programs but also by supporting girl’s education throughout its seven centers with after schooling and school programs for boys and girls. If Project Why wouldn’t support these young girls, they would be working in the streets, fields or in the household not being granted an education. The staff and teachers make sure that these young girls have the same rights and opportunities to an education and to success. I witnessed this dedication and solidarity from the teachers in one of the Centers during my stay.

Indeed, one day, one girl came crying to Pushpa, the person in charge of the Okhla Center. She was devastated because her parents didn’t want her to go to school anymore. She has to work at home and do the household chores. She wouldn’t stop crying because she loves going to school. The teachers then all gathered together and reassured her that they would speak to her parents and try to convince them that education was very important for a young teenage girl. After a talk with her parents, she can now go back to school and Project Why.

Knowing the importance and the impact of a woman’s education, this has become one of Project Why’s main concern in the last years. When I asked some of the Women in Khadar what the role of a woman was in the Indian society, they had answered: “A woman has the most important role in the family and by educating a woman, you educate the whole family”.As the African Proverb says: "If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation."

Note: This is an opinion blog post, and to be taken as such.

In the spirit of Orange Week let’s talk about one of the most talked about phenomenon of last year: the #metoo movement. The movement has been praised just as much as it has been criticized. It started with headlines like “Women unite in #MeToo” and ended in “Has the #metoo movement gone too far?”. So today, we will take #MeToo back to its roots. Away from Kavanaugh, Weinstein or House of Cards and back to the women of color who started it – and their message. In the light of its origins, these Hollywood scandals take a different shape. It is not about “kicking white men off their jobs” it is not even about them at all. It is about the survivors.

The #metoo movement was started by a civil rights activist Tarana Burke in 2006. Burke was working in a non-profit called “Just Be” that focused on the overall well-being of young women of color. Working there, she heard countless stories of sexual abuse that left her speechless. She learned to connect with the young victims by saying “You’re not alone. This happened to me too.” Burke saw the power of that little phrase and she kept using it for her life-long career of activism to help victims of sexual assault. In an interview with CNN she explained it like this: "On one side, it's a bold declarative statement that 'I'm not ashamed' and 'I'm not alone.' On the other side, it's a statement from survivor to survivor that says 'I see you, I hear you, I understand you and I'm here for you or I get it.'" This is the message, the only message that #metoo is about.

The founder of the movement has said in many interviews that she sometimes regrets the derailing of the movement that has become a Hollywood spectacle. She blames the media and our culture that always wants to fixate on drama. In 2018, she wants to move the attention away from the obsession with the perpetrators and back to what she originally envisioned: healing.

To me, it is important that we understand that boys too have their place in this healing process. Male victims should be taken seriously and be included in this movement. But we should also focus on all of the other men. The ones that feel threatened by the movement, the ones that say that they are scared to flirt with women or to even be alone with them.

I think that some of these insecurities come from the fact that many of us have had awkward sexual encounters in the past, and now men feel as if they were on trial for every single drunk kiss they ever had. First of all, you are not. But if you feel like you might have hurt somebody in the past, it is okay to reach out to them.

There are a lot of things that can cause sexual trauma, that do not necessarily fit the criminal justice definition of rape. Many of us have had such encounters but we do not dare to talk about them. I think one of the reasons is that the first words that come to mind are “rapist” and “victim” and neither of us want to be either of that.

The #metoo movement should encourage all of us to look back at our sexual history and talk to the people we might have made uncomfortable. There is no shame in learning to know better. We all grew up with the same incomplete sexual education. We all should have known more about consent before the #metoo movement and we all have a lot more to learn. Reach out to whoever you have in mind right now and talk it through. The #metoo movement is about connecting and about healing, you too have your place in this process.

Another reason why men feel uncomfortable in the times of #metoo is because they are scared of false accusations. Fake accusations are a serious crime and we should address them when they occur. But it is important to know that they are extremely rare, while male rape victims are not.

If you as a man only see the #metoo as a threat, then the movement has failed you. You are supposed to feel empowered and protected, just as much as the girls do. A 2010 study* said that about 2-10% of rape allegations are unfounded (the FBI thinks the real number lies around 8%**) while RAINN*** claims that 1 in 6 boys will experience sexual assault at some point of their lives. Let's tackle the real problem.

I want to encourage men to ask questions. To talk about #metoo without being scared of saying something "wrong" that could launch an avalanche of hate. The taboos around consent have brought us into this mess and now is the time for talking. #Metoo is about you, too.

*https://web.archive.org/web/20180101025446/https://icdv.idaho.gov/conference/handouts/False-Allegations.pdf

**https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1996/96sec2.pdf

***https://1in6.org/get-information/the-1-in-6-statistic/

During 4thyear of my social work studies in Glasgow, Scotland, I attended a domestic violence course. I found the course to be captivating, thought provoking and very engaging. At some point throughout the course we were asked to go up to the white board and write down key words describing how a victim of domestic violence feels during the abusive relationship. I wrote down the words ‘on edge’ and was subsequently asked to explain what I meant by those words. I clarified that I imagine a victim of domestic violence to be constantly wondering about when the abuser will lash out again, which must place them in a perpetual state of anxiety. This in return, must be excruciatingly exhausting for the victim. Following my answer, one of the course leaders proceeded to demonstrate this feeling of being ‘on edge’ all the time. However, this performance was carried out with no explanation. She blew up a balloon and walked around the room squeezing and rubbing it while continuing the course. The act itself was so simple and yet so significant. I cannot speak on behalf of the other students but for me the effect was immediate. My focus shifted to the balloon. I was distracted to the point I couldn’t listen to the course leaders. The fact that the balloon could burst at any given time was, truthfully, angst provoking for me. At that moment, I was able to understand, to a certain degree that is, what kind of stress and anxiety a person suffering domestic violence experiences.

Within the European Union, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg presents a unique stance against gender inequality. In fact, Luxembourg has a Ministry, which is specifically devoted to promoting gender equality in every domain of private and public life – the Ministry of Equal Opportunities (Ministère de l’Égalité des Chances).

Since 2006, Luxembourg has been actively reinforcing legislation in regards to domestic violence. For instance, the Domestic Violence Act 2003 has been amended and republished in 2013 (Loi du 30 juillet 2013 portant modification de la loi du 8 Septembre 2003 sur la violence domestique) and provides significant safety, care and support for victims of domestic violence. Safety is provided by an eviction order (with permission from the State Prosecutor) against the perpetrator for up to 14 days form the family home. The perpetrator is not allowed to approach or contact the victim in any form (oral, written or through a third person). Therefore, the police regularly monitor the victims and the perpetrators as a way of checking the bans are being respected and as a preventative measure. Care and support are provided by the highly specialised domestic violence victim support service (Service d’Assistance aux Victimes de Violence Domestique), which is responsible for aiding, guiding and advising victims, including the children who often witness the violence and become victims themselves.

Moreover, notable importance is also placed on supporting perpetrators. Hence, perpetrators are required to register with the Responsible Service For Perpetrators of Domestic Violence. The Luxembourgish Red Cross service ‘RIICHT ERAUS’, for example, is centred on counselling, advice and conflict/anger management.

To this day, domestic violence remains the most prevalent human rights violation in the world and yet, it is the least disclosed and talked about. It is a deep violation that affects women and girls in every country and does not discriminate against race, class, culture, ethnicity and age (McQuigg, 2011). Global estimates published by the World Health Organisation (2017) indicate that roughly 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, domestic violence is defined as ‘violent or aggressive behaviour within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner’ (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.).However, this definition is not enough to truly understand the nuances and complexity of domestic violence (Pitman, 2017).Violent behaviour can take on various forms and manifest as physical, psychological and emotional, sexual, verbal and economic abuse.

Pitman (2017, p.144) states that, within the field of domestic violence research, the ‘long-term negative impacts of domestic violence on women’s economic, physical and mental health and the consequences for children and their life chances are indisputable’. However, awareness of recoveries after separation from the perpetrator has been receiving more attention and gradually developing (Katz, 2015). Some researchers are beginning to change their views on the mothers’ weaknesses and failures (i.e. not leaving the abuser sooner) (Holt, 2017) as well as their understanding of children as passive and docile victims. Domestic violence does not affect every child in the same exact way (Hungerford et. al. 2012). Therefore, the focus is shifting on identifying and acknowledging children’s strengths and even desires to support their abused mothers in finding solutions to their situation (Katz, 2015). As a matter of fact, if children are exposed to effective parenting from their mother and possess good pro-social and emotion regulation skills, their resilience can be increased considerably (Hungerford et al. 2012)

In Luxembourg we have a great array of services that are specialised in supporting and empowering victims of domestic violence and their children. Here are the following:

In light of this, the Ministry of Equal Opportunities and the Luxembourg Zonta Club organise an annual event named ‘Orange Week’ in order to raise awareness around issues of domestic violence in Luxembourg. This event was first launched in 2008 from the United Nation’s General Secretary with the aim to raise awareness and work towards putting en end to gender-based violence. Luxembourg’s first ‘Orange Week’ took place from the 19thto the 26thof November 2017 andconsisted of a series of small events and manifestations (public and non-public buildings lit up in the colour orange, as a sign of solidarity). The end of the ‘Orange Week’ was marked by the ‘Orange March’.

Sources:

http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/domestic_violence

http://luxembourg.public.lu/en/vivre/egalite-chances/index.html

http://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/leg/memorial/2003/148

http://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/leg/loi/2013/07/30/n1/jo

https://gouvernement.lu/dam-assets/fr/actualites/communiques/2017/01-janvier/03-mutsch-violence-domestique/Brochure-_EN_-_pdf_.pdf

http://justice.public.lu/fr/famille/violences-domestiques/index.html

http://www.croix-rouge.lu/en/riichteraus/

http://mega.public.lu/fr/societe/orange-week/index.html

https://fed.lu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Rapport-annuel-2017-FED.pdf

Holt, S. (2017). Domestic Violence and the Paradox of

Post-Separation Mothering. British Journal of Social Work, 47, pp. 2049-2067

Hungerford, A., Wait, S. K., Fritz, A. M. and Clements, C. M. (2012). Exposure to intimate partner violence and children’s psychological adjustment, cognitive functioning, and social competence: A review. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 17(4), pp. 373–82

Katz, E. (2015). Recovery-Promoters: Ways in whichChildren and Mothers Support One Another’s Recoveries from DomesticViolence. British Journal of Social Work, 45, pp.153-169

McQuigg, R. (2011). International Human Rights Law and Domestic Violence: The Effectiveness of International Human Rights Law(1st ed.). Routeledge

Pitman, T. (2017). Living with Coercive Control: Trapped within a Complex Web of Double Standards, Double Binds and Boundary Violations. British Journal of Social Work, 47, pp.143-161

She’s beautiful when she’s angry is a history-documentary, directed by Mary Dore, which deals with the feminism movement in the United States of America from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s.

Birth control, abortion, sexual harassment, African American women, lesbians’ outtings and equal pay are just some major themes brought up in the movie.

It lets you recognize the battles that have been won by strong and fearless women and which inequalities still have to be fought.

She’s beautiful when she’s angry is a well-deserved appreciation of women and the remarkable way in which they changed the world to the better!

These days, many people still don’t understand that feminism isn’t about letting men and women compete or that the goal is not to let women be any better than men, but to let them cooperate and to have equal rights and possibilities.

Therefore this documentary is a great way to understand why feminism is essential and where it comes from.

So to everyone whose curious and wants to get to know the history and ideal of feminism a little bit better, switch to netflix and enjoy!

"Das Prestige des Lehrerberufs sinkt, deshalb interessieren sich immer weniger dafür. Ich weiß es klingt schräg, aber leider trägt die starke Feminisierung ebenfalls dazu bei, dass der Beruf abgewertet wird."

- Patrick Arendt, Präsident des Syndikats "Erzéiung a Wëssenchaft" im Land-Gespräch über Bildungsreformen und seine Sorge gegenüber einer Zersplitterung der Luxemburger Schullandschaft.

Nein Herr Arendt, es klingt nicht schräg. Es klingt sexistisch.

In der letzten Ausgabe des "Lëtzebuerger Land" spricht Patrick Arendt, der Präsident des Syndikats "Erzéiung a Wëssenschaft" über die Hürden und Probleme des Bildung Systems in Luxemburg. Eine der Facetten des Problems, die er anspricht, ist die "Feminisierung" des Berufs. Ihm nach verliert der Beruf an "Prestige" wegen der Prädominanz der Frauen in der Branche. Ehm, pardon?

Ich bin überzeugt davon, dass die meisten Bereiche am besten funktionieren, wenn Männer und Frauen zusammenarbeiten, deshalb wünsche ich mir mehr Frauen in der Politik und mehr Männer in den Schulen. In den Schulen ist dies von besonderer Bedeutung, weil die Lehrer die Kinder in ihrer Entwicklung begleiten und es für Kinder wichtig ist Vorbilder in ihrem Leben zu haben, mit denen sie sich identifizieren. Deshalb ja, GO BOYS für die Karriere als Lehrer.

Aber zu sagen, dass die harte Arbeit der Lehrerinnen den Beruf des Lehrers "abwertet", ist eine Frechheit und von Grund auf falsch. Meiner Erfahrung nach war die harte und liebevolle Arbeit der Frauen in den Schulen das "prestigeuste" am ganzen Schulsystem. Wie Sie es schon selber im Artikel darstellen, gibt es in unserem Bildungssystem so manches Problem. Frauen sind keines davon.

"Le viol est un crime. Mais la drague insistante ou maladroite n’est pas un délit, ni la galanterie une agression machiste."

Non, la drague maladroite n'est pas un crime. Mais elle n'a pas sa place dans un environnement professionnel. Comment vous imaginez-vous un monde où hommes et femmes ont les mêmes opportunités, si un sexe continue d'être vu comme un objet sexuel au lieu d'un collègue de travail à prendre au sérieux?

Et savez-vous ce qui est un crime par contre?

Masturbation en présence de personnes non-consentantes. Menaces ou agressions en réaction à un refus. Mensonges ou avantages promis en échange de faveurs sexuelles. Violer, rencogner, manipuler et abuser de personnes plus faibles.

Vous dites que le mouvement #MeToo "sert en réalité les intérêts des ennemis de la liberté sexuelle, des extrémistes religieux (et) des pires réactionnaires".

D'abord, si vous connaissez une religion qui prône le combat contre l'abus sexuel - hit me up. Deuxièmement, la liberté sexuelle des hommes va très bien, ne vous inquiétez pas. Le plus grand problème de la conception de la sexualité masculine dans notre société est que nous considérons que tous les hommes veulent à tout moment avoir des relations sexuelles avec quiconque. Ceci pose un très grand problème, surtout pour les victimes masculines.

La liberté sexuelle des femmes par contre nécessite encore de plus grands changements. Et notamment une conversation ouverte sur le consentement et la sexualisation permanente du corps féminin. Vous voulez la révolution sexuelle? Vous voulez que les femmes puissent vivre leurs désirs? Alors aidez-nous à créer une société où elles peuvent le faire sans devoir craindre le viol, la honte ou une autre atteinte à leur personnalité.

Finalement, tout cela se ramène à un même et unique combat : parlons du consentement, des désirs, des préférences, des orientations, des relations, des hommes et des femmes. Mais pas comme ça. Bas les pattes du victim blaming.

Voix de jeunes femmes vient de faire son début sur le plan international en intervenant à une conférence organisée par le Conseil national des femmes françaises à Paris. Une petite délégation de Voix de jeunes femmes a représenté le groupe devant leur homologue français dans un atelier qui visait à motiver les jeunes françaises et français à suivre leur exemple et de s'engager pour l'égalité des genres. En effet, lors des échanges entre les deux groupes, il est devenu clair que les combats dans les deux pays se ressemblent fortement. Espérons voir d'autres collaborations dans le futur.

Beaten. Pushed. Raped. Aggressed. Shamed. Silenced.

Every day millions of girls and women suffer from violence as a consequence of the toxic sense of male entitlement that our society teaches and allows. It's not because of a lack of our modesty or because of some inherent power dynamic. It's because of choices that violent men take. Every slap, every touch, every push is a choice. Today is the international day to end violence against women and girls.

So today have the guts, have the moral integrity to break the silence and stand with women everywhere.

Let's choose love.

Fuck you.

Fuck you for the days I spent crying.

Fuck you for the days I spent planning my suicide.

Fuck you for the disgust I felt for myself.

Fuck you for the panic I had when a man stood less than three meters away from me.

Fuck you for the unease I had, even with my own father, only because he’s a man.

Fuck you for my anxiety.

Fuck you for my panic attacks that hit me when I least expect it.

Fuck you for the disgust I have in sex.

Fuck you for the worries I have, whenever I wear something I feel sexy in, because I think it might make a man want to rape me.

Fuck you for the terror I have of going out of the house, because I’m afraid I might meet you.

Fuck you for the inability of being naked without thinking what you’ve done to me.

Fuck you for the nights I still lay awake crying.

Fuck you for every morning I wake up, thinking that today will be better, but it isn’t.

Fuck you for every day I spend at home because I can’t build up the motivation to get dressed or even shower.

Fuck you for the frustration I feel because talking to my psychologist doesn’t make everything better.

Fuck you for the dread I await the court date with.

Fuck you for ruining my self-confidence.

Fuck you for making my parents cry.

Fuck you for doing this to me 1 month before my exams.

Fuck you for being the reason I failed my exams.

Fuck you for the anxiousness I still feel around boys. Fuck you for the inability I have to laugh at sexual jokes.

Fuck you for being my every second thought every day. Fuck you for the sense of panic I feel every time I smell your perfume anywhere.

Fuck you for the anger I feel, because my life isn’t the same anymore.

Fuck you for the endless meds I had to take, to make sure I didn’t have HIV.

Fuck you for holding me back and kissing me before you let me run.

Fuck you for shushing me when I started crying.

Fuck you for not stopping when I clearly said no.

Fuck you for scarring me for life.

#MeToo

Me too. Them too. Most of us. Most of us have experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault. While I am so glad that survivors are speaking up, at the same time my heart was breaking when I saw the amount of people participating in the ‘Me too’ movement. My heart aches knowing how much pain they have been through.

I personally became aware of sexual assault, harassment and rape when I hit puberty and ‘turned into a woman’. I suddenly noticed very different treatment and rules because I was a girl. I was being told to ‘not walk alone’, ‘better take a taxi’, to ‘cover up’ and avoid showing my body too much. I wasn’t supposed to stay out too late and most importantly I shouldn’t trust anyone with their intentions towards me.

Years later, when I was sexually assaulted indeed, even the ‘best advice’ couldn’t have helped me. I had no chance, I couldn’t escape. I wish that no person ever would have to go through this. I felt broken, empty and disgusted. How did he think he had the right?

The problem is that in many cases, rapists do have the right. Sexual assault is rarely punished, at least not severely. Millions of rapes go unreported as a result and thus rapists will never be punished. They run free and are a danger for so many other people.

I still think about it often. Sometimes it keeps me from sleeping. Sometimes I lose my appetite. Often, I have a hard time trusting people.

I did feel shame, but not anymore. I will never understand why it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist. While I don’t understand that thought pattern, I do understand where it comes from.

It’s institutions, it’s cultural beliefs, it’s society, it’s women’s position in society, it’s gender inequality, it’s the law system, it’s women’s sexualisation, it’s societal norms and values and so much more. The one good thing in all of this bad mess is that these are things that can be changed. It will take time, but I am hopeful. I am hopeful that through movements like ‘Me too’, we’ll manage to raise awareness and take the first step into a future, where sexual assault will always be unacceptable.

When my grandmother visited me, we went to a restaurant.

As I was tired and wanted to go, she jumped.

“You are not going home alone, are you?”

It was a Sunday evening, 10 o’clock.

I am lucky. I am one of those 3 out of 4 girls that has not been raped.

Isn’t there something wrong with that statement? I said I am lucky.

Not being raped should not be considered luck. It should simply be normal.

That doesn’t mean I am not scared.

I don’t like walking home alone when it’s dark.

I don’t feel comfortable entering a place solely populated by male strangers.

I panic when I think someone is following me.

Every girl has been taught how to behave.

Don’t wear something that might attract attention.

Don’t get drunk.

Don’t leave your drink unattended.

Don’t take any risk.

I wonder what we teach our boys.

One in four girls has been raped, statistics say.

Every girl has been sexually harassed. That is what I have to add.

I once read a sentence about consent:

“Consent is not the absence of no;

consent is an enthusiastic yes.”

Nothing happened when I walked home that night.

That doesn’t mean I stop being scared.

How can I feel save if I know friends who have been raped?

“There’s a time when the machine becomes so odious,

makes you so sick at heart,

that you can’t take part,

you can’t even passively take part,

and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels

upon the levers,

upon all the apparatus and you’ve got to make it stop.”

Wretches and Kings, Linkin Park, 2010

TVA et tampons - Le luxe d'être une femme

Est-il normal que l'alimentation animale, la restauration, le vin et les billets de cinéma soient tous taxés à un taux inférieur à celui appliqué aux tampons et serviettes hygiéniques?

Au Luxembourg, le taux de TVA normal s'applique à tous les produits d'hygiène féminine, à savoir les tampons, les serviettes hygiéniques et les coupes menstruelles. Ce taux s'élève actuellement à 17%.

La loi fiscale luxembourgeoise applique un taux super réduit de 3% aux produits alimentaires destinés à la consommation humaine, aux médicaments à usage humain et beaucoup d'autres biens et services nécessaires dans notre vie quotidienne, mais omet de l'appliquer aux produits d'hygiène féminine.

En effet, ceux-ci sont taxés au même taux que les cigarettes, l'essence, les bijoux et de nombreux autres produits n'étant pas considérés comme des produits de première nécessité. En d'autres mots, les tampons et serviettes hygiéniques sont considérés comme étant des produits de luxe, d'un point de vue fiscal.

Or, les produits d'hygiène féminine sont absolument indispensables pour les femmes, pendant environ 40 années de leur vie. En effet, dès la puberté, les femmes sont dépendantes des produits d'hygiène périodique pour mener une vie active pendant les jours de la menstruation. Ces produits ne sont donc nullement optionnels.

Les règles fiscales aboutissent à la création d'un état d'injustice à l'égard des femmes. Le fait d'appliquer le taux de TVA normal à ces produits qui leur sont absolument indispensables revient à obliger ces dernières à payer pour un fait naturel sur lequel elles n'ont strictement aucune influence. Cela revient à considérer que c'est un luxe d'être une femme.

Cette injustice a été reconnue et rectifiée dans plusieurs pays, dont notamment la France, qui a baissé le taux applicable à ces produits en 2015. Désormais, le droit fiscal français applique le taux intermédiaire et non plus le taux normal aux produits d'hygiène féminine, reconnaissant ainsi le caractère indispensable de ces produits pour les femmes.

En Belgique, le Conseil des ministres a approuvé un projet d'arrêté royal qui vise à baisser le taux s'appliquant aux produits d'hygiène féminine de 21% à 6%.

La baisse des impôts indirects sur ces produits est d'une importance primordiale d'un point de vue pécuniaire, mais également pour des raisons symboliques. Pouvoir mener une vie active et prendre soin de son corps et de son hygiène ne devrait pas être considéré comme un luxe.

Il est maintenant à nous de reconnaître cette injustice et de faire en sorte que la loi fiscale luxembourgeoise ne fasse pas payer aux femmes le prix de leurs règles.

J'espère que nous serons nombreux-ses à réunir nos forces contre cette injustice!

This is a story about rape.

This is a story about the 1 in 4 women and the 1 in 6 men who get sexually assaulted in their life. This is the story about untested rape kits and testimonies that no one believes. This is the story about the women that are imprisoned for being raped and the 97% of rapists that are never incarcerated.

This is a story about rape.

But more importantly, this is a story about survivors.

Thousands of survivors have come out this week with the #MeToo.

Every #MeToo is a story of injustice. Every #MeToo is strength. Every #MeToo is a reason to change the rape culture society we live in.

But what is rape culture?

Rape culture is everything from rape jokes to Donald Trump being the president of the United States. It's victim blaming, slut shaming, revenge-porn and questions like "What was she wearing?". It's teaching our girls to not get raped instead of teaching our boys not to rape.

It's omnipresent and it's much more powerful than you might dare to think.

Rape culture is what makes my heart race and my fingers tremble of fear to post this, 4 years later.

So here we go, #MeToo.

Who is today’s girl?

She’s tomorrow’s leader.

She’s president of her senior class and future president of the USA.

She’s the up-and-coming CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the brains behind the next breakthrough in medical science.

She’s a future gold medal Olympic athlete, an inventor, an entrepreneur, a philosopher. She is impacting her community – today and into the future.

Girls can do anything!

Happy International Girls day !

Je suis une femme et à onze ans, j’ai saigné.

Je n’avais rien demandé.

A ma naissance, le carnet rose m’attendait déjà.

« Tu viens de la planète Vénus, la planète qui tourne dans le sens contraire de toutes les autres.

Le changement de rotation va te bouleverser un peu, la notice indique une possibilité d’hémorragies répétitives comme effet secondaire à long terme. »

Je suis une fille et je dois payer le prix du sang.

Comme si les gouttes rouges devaient transformer ce carnet rose en bleu pour me rendre l’égale des garçons.

Et pour nettoyer cette souillure, je dois m’acquitter d’une dette.

Le prix du sang, je le paie une fois par mois.

Je le paie de façon physique, en douleurs et crampes.

Je le paie de façon psychologique, en honte et en contraintes.

Je le paie de façon économique, en tampons et serviettes hygiéniques surtaxés.

C’est la nouvelle trinité : la mère, la fille et le saint argent.

#NoTaxTampon

Alma Poulain

Run like a girl - Blogeintrag

" I run like a girl " est notre premier grand projet. Comme la commission jeune n'a été créée que très récemment, nous avons commencé avec un projet destiné à nous rendre plus visibles.

L'événement de l'ING Night Marathon nous a semblé être une opportunité à ne pas manquer.

Nous avons fait des bracelets et des T-Shirts avec le slogan "I run like a girl" pour propager le message. Le slogan est censé renverser les préjugés sexistes et encourager les femmes athlètes.

Nous avons été inspirés par un spot de la marque "Always" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs&t=107s

Plus de 1.750 bracelets avec notre slogan ont été distribués, et nous continuons à en vendre.

Si vous êtes intéressés commandez vos T-Shirts/Bracelets en écrivant un mail à lou.reckinger@hotmail.fr !

Nous tenons à remercier nos supporteurs et nos sponsors:

Ernst & Young Luxembourg Elvinger Hoss Prussen BGL (Luxembourg) Banque de Luxembourg Investments Your Future at Deloitte (Luxembourg) Cactus Group ADT-Center

Lou Reckinger