Posts by Cath Elliott

The real elephant in the room in the Rochdale rape case

Cath Elliott

Posted on May 12th, 2012

This is the text of the speech I delivered last night at the Cambridge Reclaim the Night rally in King’s Chapel: Good evening everyone; and can I just congratulate Ruth and the organisers for yet another great turnout. As some of you may remember, I came and spoke at the anti-Strauss-Kahn event, and there was a really impressive turnout for that one as well. Speaking of which, I take it you’ve all heard the latest about the eminent former International Monetary Fund chief? I take it you’ve all heard that not only has his claim for diplomatic immunity over the alleged sexual assault of Nafissatou Diallo in New York been rejected so the civil case can now proceed to trial; not only is he…

Categories: angry? what me?, campaigning, cynical? what me?, feminism, gender, misogyny, rape, sexism, stalking, the meeja, trafficking, violence against women, what?, you really couldn't make this shit up

Is Cameron becoming a liability for the Tories?

Cath Elliott

Posted on April 30th, 2012

Anyone who’s been watching the exchanges in the House of Commons recently can’t fail to have been struck by Cameron’s increasing inability to deal with those who oppose him with anything approaching equanimity. In fact he’s becoming so bad tempered, red-faced and shouty just lately I’m beginning to think, his odious politics aside, that he really is becoming a liability for the Tory party. Seriously, who could possibly want a rude obnoxious bully for a leader? This time last year I was convinced Cameron’s shitty attitude towards others was a simple case of sexism, as he appeared to treat female MPs with even less respect and more disdain than he treated others. But after his embarrassing performance today, I’m starting to think there’s more…

Categories: a bit of politics, angry? what me?, ConDems, FFS!, sexism, the boy's club, what?, you really couldn't make this shit up

Justice for Survivors

Cath Elliott

Posted on April 22nd, 2012

Last Friday Wales and Sheffield United striker Ched Evans was convicted of rape and given a five year sentence. By Sunday lunchtime the hashtag #justiceforched had started trending on Twitter, and not only had the victim in the case been subjected to some of the most heinous misogynist abuse imaginable, she’d also, in complete contempt of UK law which grants lifetime anonymity for rape survivors, been publicly named. A quick glance through the hashtag feed (if you can stomach it) shows how rape culture is alive and well in this country. It also shows how completely ignorant so many people are of the laws on rape, specifically the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and the statutory definition of consent that’s contained within it: “Section 74…

Categories: angry? what me?, campaigning, crime, cynical? what me?, feminism, FFS!, I read crap so you don't have to, misogyny, rape, sexism, the big P, the Internet, the meeja, the police, violence against women, what?, you really couldn't make this shit up

Ken, Boris and me

Cath Elliott

Posted on April 20th, 2012

I realise it’s nowhere near as important or as newsworthy as the London mayoral race, but I too have been involved in an election recently, and guess what? I won! Yep, I am now the Regional Convenor for UNISON Eastern region. I’ve been trying to find an explanation of what the post is, because I suspect the title Regional Convenor is probably pretty meaningless to anyone outside of the trade union movement. The best I could come up with is this, from what I suspect is now an out of date UNISON document entitled Partnership working at Regional Level – A Best Practice Guide: Key tasks of regional convenor The regional convenor is elected by regional council delegates and is the senior lay member…

Categories: campaigning, local politics, me, public services, the cuts, trade unions, UNISON

Lies, distortions, or fiction?

Cath Elliott

Posted on April 6th, 2012

After already admitting that 70% of what she writes is fiction, it looks as though Nadine Dorries has even managed to confuse herself now about where she stands on abortion. For instance, here’s an exchange we had on Twitter the other night: Randeep Ramesh just described me as anti choice in the Guardian. In the style of Boris, you are a liar Randeep and a disgrace to journalism— Nadine Dorries MP (@NadineDorriesMP) April 04, 2012 Very anti post 20 weeks, very anti gender selection abortion, very anti illegal abortion, but I am not anti choice. #guardianemploysliars— Nadine Dorries MP (@NadineDorriesMP) April 04, 2012 @NadineDorriesMP So are you saying you support abortion up to 20 weeks?— (@CathElliott) April 04, 2012 @CathElliott I will never,…

Categories: abortion, campaigning, feminism, FFS!, Pro-life nutjobs, what?