(Glasgow)
(Lab):...However, there is still a lot more
work to be done, which brings me to my second point. It is
important to recognise that the fight against all forms of
prejudice, including sexism and misogyny, cannot be left to
individual communities. As men, we must stand shoulder to
shoulder with the sisters in this fight. We must amplify their
cause, but we must recognise that we, too, need to change. I hope
that every man has reflected on his behaviour following the
#MeToo campaign. The same principle that applies to women’s fight
against sexism applies to the fight against all other forms of
prejudice and hate. We cannot just leave it to our ethnic
minority communities to challenge racism. We cannot just leave it
to our Muslim communities to challenge Islamophobia. We cannot
just leave it to our Jewish communities to challenge
antisemitism. We cannot just leave it to the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender community to challenge homophobia. Each
of those challenges must be seen as a fight for every single one
of us. Only if we genuinely see them as our own fight will we
defeat prejudice and hate in all their forms.
That brings me to my third point and
the focus of my speech, which is the need to recognise the
intersectionality of prejudice and hate. I have mentioned
homophobia, racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism. A person is
twice as likely to be the victim of a racist, Islamophobic or
antisemitic attack if she is a woman. That is not a coincidence;
that is deliberate, because people see women as an easier target.
That leads to circumstances that I have seen myself, such as
women having their headscarves pulled off their heads at train
stations and women being sworn at or assaulted on our underground
system. There is a particular challenge around how people are
victimised on our public transport system. Therefore, my
challenge again is to ask how we can work alongside those women
and amplify their voices so that we can allow Jewish, Muslim and ethnic minority women to
come forward and speak about their own challenges and
experiences...
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