Pro Choice Activists marked International Women's Day by holding a protest outside a Rogue family planning agency on Dorset Street. The Agency, called "Women's Resource Agency" and also using the name "British Alternatives Pregnancy Services", was covered up with a brown sheeting - in an attempt to prevent their identity and location being exposed in the media.

Advertised as a pregnancy counselling agency, it subjects women in crisis pregnancies to psychological manipulation, misleading and deliberately lying about pregnancy and abortion services to prevent women from travelling for abortion services. The lies they tell clients are designed to force women to feel guilt and shame for even considering abortion as an option.

A newly formed pro-choice group in Dublin (yet to be named) has been working over the last few weeks to gather information about this place. This has included reports back from women who have been to see a 'counsellor' of the agency to get abortion information.

Also Read: Rogue Anti-Choice Agency, Dorset St. - A History of Lies and Deception

Related Links: Indymedia.ie Gender & Sexuality Articles — Pro-Choice Campaigning — RAG Dayschool on Sexual Violence — Alliance For Choice — BODY Launch Article — Irish Family Planning Agency

International Women's Day... The Unmanageables Protest and Blockade Min for Justice Michael McDowell's Office — In Co. Derry: Graffiti by Road and some interesting Sculpture Alterations — Audio: Class, Feminism and Revolution - Download and Discuss

Indymedia.ie contributor Seamus writes:
The BCI have pulled this ad, saying it is investigating complaints of it being 'too political'. Little other information has been made available.

At the most basic level, this is an act of censorship and is anti-women. This is made all the more visible given that tomorrow is International Women's Day, a day that, among other things, serves to highlight the radical inequality experienced by women globally.

Now, while Trocaire are a branch of one of the most anti-women organisations of the world, the Roman Catholic Church, they should be commended for thier campaign shift away from perpetuating the 'black baby' syndrome - the racialised representation of development in Irish society - and 'development as chairty' model of public relations.

Section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act, 1988: 'No advertisement shall be broadcast which is directed towards any religious or political end or which has any relation to an industrial dispute.'

Related Links: Trócaire warns of conspiracy of silence on International Women’s Day — BCI's stated reasons — RAR 2005 Demo Against Female Genital Mutilation

In June, the women members of the WSM hosted a dayschool on Women in Revolutionary Struggle. Following on from this RAG (Revolutionary Anarcho-Feminist Group) decide to host a women's only day-school on sexual violence. This was held in the in the new Seomra Spraoi space in Dublin.

I have to be honest; I wasn’t looking forward to it. Sexual violence is a difficult, emotional and disturbing issue. Spending a Saturday talking about it just wasn’t my idea of fun. It was something important, that had to be done, but not exactly a barrel of laughs.
But I was wrong, there were lots of laughs, and it was fun (who’d have thought it!). RAG are to be complimented for creating a relaxed and easy going environment in which to discuss this most difficult of issues.

The first thing we did was get to know the person sitting beside us – we asked them about what they liked and didn’t like, what they were good at and what they were bad at. Then we went around in a circle, each introducing the person we had been talking to everyone else. I discovered that Clair likes Organising and that Eve likes Rossport Solidarity Camp and hates Shell. I like cats and have a bad memory. It was an easy start to the day, but things were about to get more difficult.

How different are men and women? Very, according to some. John Gray’s book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” is based on the idea that there are fundamental differences between the genders. It may be just another self-help book on relationships, but it has also sold over 30 million copies and been translated into 40 languages.

Deborah Tannen’s book “You Just Don’t Understand: Men and Women in Conversation” was on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly four years and has been translated into 24 languages. Pope Benedict, when still a cardinal (and an obvious expert on gender) in a statement on the role of women wrote that women’s characteristics were “listening, welcoming, humility, faithfulness, praise and waiting” in the first statement published by the Catholic church on the role of women in a decade. In January 2005, the president of Harvard argued that women were underrepresented in science because biologically they weren’t as capable at scientific thinking as men. During his time as President the number of tenured jobs offered to women at Harvard fell from the low 36% to the even lower 13%.

The first report from Pride in Dublin this year came in from Madame K describing jubliantly how "despite the rain nothing could dampen the spirits of the 2,000 or so who took part. The diverse group was well catered for, with the event concluding in a free party held on public space...Dublin Pride has not yet become the commercial entity that has caused untold problems abroad, let`s hope it stays that way".

Just like last year Indymedia's home grown batch of photographers and contributers were on the ground for Dublin's Second, newly re-named, International Pride Festival. For a selection of our contributers work see Paula G's "Sing If You're Glad To Be Gay" series, R Whelan's Photo Story and Madame K's sequence of photos and commentary.

In Budapest, Redjade checked in with local events raising"recent reports about Poland and Russia's anti-gay policies and police repression against Gay Pride demos" and negative perceptions of Eastern Europe how "one might think such repression was universal on the Eastern Pale of the EU and in Eastern/Central Europe in general. But the Budapest Pride Parade went on, as planned, without much controversy or opposition and barely much notice in the media....." << continues here >>

Other Indy Coverage: Polish Equality Parade Attacked By Far Right | Cork's First Ever Pride Parade A Success | Dublin, June 2005 Gay Pride Parade | Gay Pride Weekend in Cork, 2004 | McDowell Attacked by Ancient Order of Hibernians and Mother and Child

Meanwhile our roving report Henry McWag reported from the dregs of his can on the Labour Party's bold new move in relation to public drinking.