Background

What was AFem2014?

AFem2014 was the first of what we hope will be a series of international anarcha-feminist conferences.

The day consisted of intersecting themed meetings, with outcomes at the end of the conference to take away and build on. These strands were self-organised by people of colour, queer and trans people, sex workers, and disabled people, survivors/victims of sexual violence, and others.

The focus in the first year was mainly, but not exclusively, on the anarchist movement itself and our place within it. Barriers to our full political participation remain intact and are reinforced by our own movement. We face oppression even in our own groups and organisations. Efforts to shut us down, belittle our ideas, and physically assault and abuse us have led to our anger. Both feminist and anti-oppressive ideas are facing a backlash.

We held this event because our anarchist movement is not truly ‘anarchist’. We didn’t want to tolerate it any longer.

The organising team

We are a group of anarcha-feminists of varying genders, backgrounds and histories, who came together to organise an anarcha-feminist event. We wanted to use it to build concretely towards the transformation of our own experience, and towards toppling the institutions and ideas which oppress us.