One month ago, on the 28th of August, took place the first event organized by the new captains of Feminist Chapter. It is now time to come back to this sunny and activist picnic in Square Saint Roch and to discover our future projects and engagements.
First, who is this “we”?
This year, the feminist club of your campus will be led by four incredible persons (yes, I am trying very hard to be incredible too): Léonie, Maud, Kriti and I, Carlotta. We have very different personalities, passions, feminist experiences and visions of how this movement should be but we all are very motivated to create a feminist community in our campus and to raise awareiness on gender inequalities, especially on gender-based and sexual violences. We all know that this is very necessary! We will try our best, this year, to organize a great variety of events and feminist actions, on a regular basis, all year-long. To sum up, Feminist Chapter is in amazing hands this year, the hands of the cheerful and inspired Léonie, of the kind and tolerant Kriti, of the energic and determined Maud and… in my hands too! We hope that you will enjoy spending this year with us and our events. But before teasing you these future events, let’s go back on our first one: “What the feminist!”!
What the feminist!
For our first event, we wanted to raise awareness on the most important topic for the fourth of us: sexual violences. The goals of the event were to learn about consent, gender-based violences and the French laws while having fun and sharing a lunch together. It was indeed a huge challenge but I think that we achieved it! During the blindfolded quizz, many important issues were raised and information shared. Here are some of the questions asked during the games:
- Can a police officer refuse your complaint?
- What is the “rape culture”?
- Is a forced kiss a sexual assault?
- Can an unconscious person be consenting?
- Is sending a naked picture of yourself to someone without her/his consent called “sexual harassment” in French law?
If you do not know the answers to these questions, then you need to review the subject, right now! Fortunately for you, you will find the link to all the questions asked during the events (and even bonus ones) and the answers to them, at the end of the article. For now, what you need to retain are the following sentences: It is never the fault of the victim. Everything that is not a clear, well thought out and free yes is a no, and you must stop there. A survivor of sexual violence can do whatever she needs to heal or just survive. For instance, she does not have to make a complaint, it is not obligatory. Finally, there are phone numbers and French associations that can inform, help and guide you if you need it. You will also find a link to a list of useful websites and numbers at the end of this article.
It’s time for the teaser!
First, if you want to receive all the information on our future events, join our WhatsApp group (here is the link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gyk1cy3gtD48bZN6WXdKTY). There will be three events in total, in October. The first session of our feminist bookclub was on the 1st of October and it was about pop culture and feminist writings (join this groupchat if you are interested: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Fodn61HLuxaHaTPXCCJhQx). It was awesome, thanks to all those who came! The next session will be in November, and it will be on gender! Before that, October will be dedicated to topics related to SexEd (pleasure, bodies, sexualities, methods of contraception…). You will be able to take a coffee with Martin Winckler and ask him your questions on the 14th of October, at 5pm. And, finally, a SexEd game night will be organized on the 26th of October. Come take a break from your midterms to have fun and learn new stuff! Calendars with all our events will be published each month on our Instagram account so check them to be sure to not miss anything.
You can also already sign up to participate in our art exhibition called “Being a woman” which will take place after the fall break. Again, all the info are shared on our group chat. All forms of art and ideas are welcome. You can create an artwork with your friends, your favorite club or just by yourself! You can also get involved in Kalyani’s wonderful project called “Feminism, A to Z” which is a feminist alphabet where events, Instagram posts, articles and projects are hidden behind each letter. The first ones will be “An introduction”, “Bitch!” and “Catcalled”. Finally, this article is inaugurating our new partnership with LDD! This year, a dedicated column will be created for Feminist Chapter so do not hesitate to send me a text if you want to write something (article, interview, poem, fictional story…). We will soon organize a meeting dedicated to this new project. If you already have ideas for a project or an article, you can fill the form at the end of the article.
And during the rest of the year, other fun and interesting events will happen: a partnership with a French association called Nous Toutes, screenings, speakers, talking groups, debates, a secret santa, a self defense class, games, etc… So stay tuned and see you soon!
Carlotta Facchini
- Link of to the Google doc with the questions, answers and important information about sexual and gender-based violences: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13A0NMPSvAw6OtRKtDkRwSOKA7AOWdxGW_qBCqa_5MwU/edit?usp=drivesdk
- Useful phone numbers, websites and associations in France: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lAa25mqVYlPWnkOwb2xJUyrqT1VCwZdR9kV1FVVbkqE/edit
- Link of Feminist Chapter’s WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gyk1cy3gtD48bZN6WXdKTY
- Link of the Feminist bookclub’s WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Fodn61HLuxaHaTPXCCJhQx
- Link of the Google Form to put all your ideas of projects and articles: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y9EOwbe1EvF0g4md7PNzEzpt10yHTdGaHPBDQ6JVbKI/edit?usp=drivesdk
Le Dragon Déchaîné 