PODCAST: A global feminist perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic is needed

04/30/20 • 54 min

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone. But imagine if you were impoverished, a migrant, or living in close quarters with no way to socially isolate. What if you were a prostituted woman? A domestic worker? What if you were trapped in an abusive relationship, with nowhere to go? How have the pandemic and the lockdowns impacted the most marginalized among us? And how have exploitative industries — like the porn industry — profited? How have women, in particular, been impacted? How could we better support these women? Can we really continue to pretend as though sex is a social construct, rather than a material reality, considering the different ways males and females are impacted by coronavirus?

This week, I talk to Anna Zobnina, coordinator of the European Network of Migrant Women, a migrant-women led platform of NGOs that works, in the spirit of intersectional feminism, for the rights of migrant women in Europe; a member of the executive committee of the European Women’s Lobby; a former research analyst with the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies; and a selected expert with the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Read her article, “Global Feminist Perspective on the Pandemic: What ‘normal’ do we expect when the crisis is over?” at migrantwomennetwork.org

Read her article, “Global Feminist Perspective on the Pandemic: What ‘normal’ do we expect when the crisis is over?” at migrantwomennetwork.org

Previous Episode

PODCAST: Michelle Mara on the truth about the decriminalized sex trade in New Zealand

Michelle Mara is a British-born survivor of the sex trade in New Zealand. She is a single mother of four who writes and speaks about her experiences in prostitution in New Zealand, including as a madam, during prohibition as well as after the trade was fully decriminalized. Michelle has been a refugee support worker for Somali women in Wellington, a foster parent for Native American (Lakota) children in South Dakota, a mental health and disability advocate, social support advisor for young families during the aftermath of 9/11 in the U.S Military, and has voluntarily housed numerous at risk teens. She advocates for the Equality/Nordic model and co-founded Wahine Toa Rising NZ, a survivor-led organization supporting sexually exploited women and girls, currently working towards establishing exit supports and services, as well as a refuge/safe house for vulnerable women wanting to exit prostitution.

I spoke with her from her home in New Zealand on March 25^th, 2020.

Next Episode

PODCAST: Women as ‘breeders’ — Renate Klein on the harms of surrogacy

Renate Klein, author of “Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation”

We hear about surrogacy routinely in the media, almost consistently in a celebratory way — a baby is gifted to a loving and deserving family. Celebrities announce they are “having a baby” via a surrogate and face almost no criticism. But what’s really behind the practice? Why are we so accepting of a clearly unethical and exploitative industry?

In this episode, I speak with Renate Klein to learn more about the multitude of harms caused by this practice around the world. Renate is a feminist health activist, an original signatory to Stop Surrogacy Now, a founder of FINRRAGE (Feminist International Network of Resistance to Reproductive and Genetic Engineering), co-founder of Spinifex Press, and author of Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation.