Diana E. H. Russell
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Diana E. H. Russell (6 November 1938 – 28 July 2020) was a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
writer and activist. Born and raised in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa, she moved to England in 1957, and then to the United States in 1961. For the past 45 years she was engaged in research on
sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
against women and girls. She wrote numerous books and articles on rape, including
marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...
,
femicide Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russel ...
,
incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
,
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
murders of women, and
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
. For ''The Secret Trauma'', she was co-recipient of the 1986
C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills (August 28, 1916 – March 20, 1962) was an American Sociology, sociologist, and a professor of sociology at Columbia University from 1946 until his death in 1962. Mills published widely in both popular and intellectual journ ...
Award. She was also the recipient of the 2001 Humanist Heroine Award from the
American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defend the constitutiona ...
. She was also an organizer of the First
International Tribunal on Crimes against Women The International Tribunal on Crimes against Women was a people's tribunal which took place on March 4–8, 1976 in Brussels.Doughty, Frances. ''lesbians and International Women's Year: A Report on Three Conferences'', in ''Our Right to Love: A Les ...
, in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in March 1976.


Early life

Russell was born and raised in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa, a twin and the fourth of the six children of a South African father, James Hamilton Russell, and a British mother, Kathleen Mary (née Gibson) Russell. She attended
Herschel Girls' School ("To the Glory of God") , established = , type = All-girls private school , religion = Anglican , district = District 9 , number = 021 650 7500 , locale ...
, an Anglican boarding school for girls. After completing her Bachelor's degree in psychology from the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
, at the age of 19, Russell left for Britain. In Britain, she enrolled in a Post-Graduate Diploma in Social Science and Administration at the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
and Political Science. In 1961, she passed the Diploma with Distinction and also received the prize for the best student in the program. She moved to the United States, in 1963 where she had been accepted into an interdisciplinary PhD program at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Her research focused on sociology and the study of revolution. Russell's radical activism began with her involvement in the
anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...
in South Africa. In 1963, Russell had joined the
Liberal Party of South Africa The Liberal Party of South Africa was a South African political party from 1953 to 1968. Founding The party was founded on 9 May 1953 at a meeting of the South African Liberal Association in Cape Town. Essentially it grew out of a belief that ...
that had been founded by
Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''. Family Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...
, the author of '' Cry the Beloved Country''. While participating in a peaceful protest in Cape Town, Russell was arrested with other party members. She came to the conclusion that
non-violent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
strategies were futile against the brutal violence and repression of the white
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
police state. Thereafter, she joined the
African Resistance Movement The African Resistance Movement (ARM) was a militant anti-apartheid resistance movement, which operated in South Africa during the early and mid-1960s. It was founded in 1960, as the National Committee of Liberation (NCL), by members of South Af ...
(ARM), an underground
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
movement fighting
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa. The principal strategy of the ARM was to bomb and sabotage government property, and though Russell was only a peripheral member of the ARM, she still risked a 10-year incarceration if caught. Russell's analysis of strategies and tactics for social and political change is detailed in her book, ''Rebellion, Revolution, and Armed Force: A Comparative Study of Fifteen Countries with Special Emphasis on Cuba and South Africa'' (1974).


Research and writings on rape and sexual abuse

Rape and other forms of men's
sexual exploitation Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...
and abuse of women was one of the primary focuses of Russell's research and writings. In her book, ''The Politics of Rape'' (1975), Russell suggested that rape was a display of socially defined perceptions of
masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...
instead of deviant social behavior. Her other books in this area are ''Rape in Marriage'' (1982), ''Sexual Exploitation: Rape, Child Sexual Abuse, and Workplace Harassment'' (1984). In 1986, Russell published ''The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women'' (1986). It was one of the first scientific research studies of incestuous sexual abuse to be published. For it she received the C.Wright Mills Award in 1986. In 1993, she edited an anthology on pornography, ''Making Violence Sexy: Feminist Views on Pornography''. Her 1994 book, ''Against Pornography: The Evidence of Harm'', which includes 100 pornographic photos, was a study establishing how pornography encourages men to rape and leads to increased incidents of rape.


Organizing the First International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women

Russell lobbied other feminists for two years and eventually was successful in organizing the first
International Tribunal on Crimes against Women The International Tribunal on Crimes against Women was a people's tribunal which took place on March 4–8, 1976 in Brussels.Doughty, Frances. ''lesbians and International Women's Year: A Report on Three Conferences'', in ''Our Right to Love: A Les ...
in
Brussels, Belgium Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, in 1976. The conference which lasted for four days, in which individual women from different countries testified to their personal experiences of various forms of violence and oppressions because of their gender, was attended by 2,000 women from 40 countries. By the second day it had dissolved into disaster, as "radical activists were storming the stage one after another in an improvised free-for-fall".
Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...
in her introductory speech to the Tribunal said: "I salute the International Tribunal as the beginning of the radical decolonization of women." Later, Belgian feminist Nicole Van de Ven documented the event in a book
''Crimes Against Women: The Proceedings of the International Tribunal''
(1976).


Redefining and politicizing "femicide"

In 1976 Russell redefined '
femicide Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russel ...
', as "the killing of females by males because they are female." At the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women, she testified to numerous examples of lethal forms of male violence against women and girls from different cultures around the world. Russell's intention was to politicize the term, and bring attention to the
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
driving these lethal crimes against women, which she said
gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...
terms like murder don’t do. Russell who was puzzled about the lack of response of women's groups in the United States to the use of the term 'femicide' continued to advocate the use of 'femicide' to women's groups in the United States and around the world. She explained that in order to deal with these extreme crimes against women, it is necessary to recognize that like race based
hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
, "Femicides are lsolethal hate crimes", and that most killings of women by men are "extreme manifestations of male dominance and
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
." In 1993, Russell initiated an organization called Women United Against Incest, which supports incest survivors with legal assistance against their perpetrators. Similarly, she created the first TV program in South Africa where incest survivors talk in person about their experiences.
Feminist movements The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such i ...
in many countries in Latin America, as in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
among others, have adopted the use of Russell's politicized 'Femicide' and have successfully used it socially, politically and legally to address lethal violence against women in their respective countries. In 1992, she co-edited an anthology
''Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing''


Other

In 1977, Russell became an associate of the
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic infor ...
(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media.


Works


Books

* * * Conference proceedings. * * * * * * *
Front cover.
* * * * * *


Chapters in books

* *
Pdf.
::See also: :
"''The incredible case of the Stack o' Wheat prints''"
by
Nikki Craft Nikki Craft (born 1949) is an American radical feminist activist and writer. Activism 1970s In 1975, Craft presented the Rockwell International board of directors with "...naked doll splashed with blood-colored paint" to protest their B-1 bo ...
pp. 327-331. :
"''The evidence of pain''"
by
D. A. Clarke D. A. Clarke (also known as De Clarke and DeAnander) is an American radical feminist essayist and activist, notable for her development of feminist theory, and for the anonymous poem ''privilege''. Career Much of Clarke's writing addresses the ...
pp. 331–336. :
"''The rampage against Penthouse''"
by
Melissa Farley Melissa Farley (born 1942) is an American clinical psychologist, researcher: "''Dr. Melissa Farley, a psychologist and researcher at the Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco who directed the study with colleagues from Turkey and Af ...
pp. 339–345. * Series editors: Mary E. Odom and Jody Clay-Warner. *


References


External links


HomepageDiana Russell
on web radio, 26 June 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Diana E.H. White South African anti-apartheid activists Anti-pornography feminists Anti-prostitution feminists Feminist studies scholars 1938 births 2020 deaths Radical feminists Sexual abuse victim advocates South African expatriates in the United Kingdom South African expatriates in the United States South African feminists South African people of British descent South African sociologists South African women sociologists South African women writers South African women's rights activists South African non-fiction writers Harvard University alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of Herschel Girls' School