Women

VISIBILITY The Issues Sexual minority women, whether they define themselves as lesbian, bisexual or queer or defy labels altogether, are affected by a double whammy of prejudice. They are women invisibilised by a sexist society as well as a sexual minority invisibilised by a homophobic society. They are exponentially discriminated against, both in the straight world and within the LGBT community.

Women are likely to be poorer and to crack their heads on glass ceilings. In terms of getting on at work, 25% of male primary school teachers are heads, compared to only 7% of women. Of particular relevance to the Green Party, only 18% of MPs and 28% of local councillors are women.

Within the LGBT community, sexual minority women are invisible. There is much less research about women's experiences compared to gay men's. What there is, shows they find it harder to come out and their concerns are marginalised.

Women are taught to care for other people's needs, not their own and this is reflected in the political arena. Sexual minority women have fought hard for their brothers. For example, many lesbians worked to equalise the age of consent and it is, of course, a very important issue - for everyone who wants to sleep with men. Not for those who do not. Lesbianism has never been illegal.

Similarly, lesbians have often campaigned and worked with people with HIV/AIDS. Of course it is a vitally important issue, but it directly affects lesbians less than any other group. By contrast, specific issues such as adoption and parenting rights, having to pay for donor insemination and breast cancer, which affect sexual minority women more than other groups, have been much lower on the agenda. Then there are the issues that are seen as predominantly affecting men in our community, but which also affect women. For example, there is a stereotype that says gay men are the natural and most frequent targets of homophobic hate crime. But sexual minority women are also extremely vulnerable.

A recent Diva poll of around 500 bisexual and lesbian women showed that only 31% have never experienced anti-gay abuse. Another stereotype is that domestic violence is not an issue between women. Sadly, this is also not true. Research shows that up to 45% of relationships between women include intimate partner violence, including threats, pushing, physical assault, stalking and rape.

These are issues that the Green Party will address. What the LGBT Working Group is doing to help At its planning meeting in December 2004, the LGBT Working Group recognised that it needs to become more diverse if it is to include all members of our community, including women. Practical ways we can achieve this include:

• Encouraging women to join the party and to participate, particularly as candidates.
• Aligning with women's issues in general to ensure their concerns are addressed whatever aspect of policy is under discussion, e.g. foreign policy, economics, health and education
• Making strong links with those focusing on race and disability issues.
• Keeping conscious that, although we share a lot, we need to honour our differences and recognise we may have different priorities. Being women together was not enough. We were different. Being gay-girls together was not enough. We were different. Being Black together was not enough. We were different Being Black dykes together was not enough. We were different... It was a while before we came to realise that our place was the very house of difference rather than any one particular difference. From Zami by Audre Lorde

The Green Party is working to become a 'house of difference' creating a vibrant and effective force for change.