It was held in Brussels March 4-8, 1976. Over 2,000 women gathered together to share experiences and discuss the possibility of solution. They weren't elected to represent any particular nation, even though they came from 40 countries. They came representing themselves and their experiences. The first two days were given over to testimony from survivors. This included:

Forced Motherhood
Compulsory Non-Motherhood
Persecution of Non-Virgins and Unwed Mothers
Crimes by the Medical Professions
Compulsory Heterosexuality
Rape
Battery
Murder (called Femicide)
Genital Mutilation
Prostitution
Pornography

The next two days were spent making plans for the future. Women from particular nations to form to new groups for raising awareness and fighting for protection within their countries. All the attendees pledged to form worldwide bonds of female solidarity.

The concept of the tribunal was to give victims a voice and to raise the awareness of those who were fortunate enough to escape violence. It was not a gathering of "feminazis" who were planning the downfall of all men everywhere.

The countries included in the Tribunal were: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, West Germany, Greece, Guinea, Holland, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxemburg, Mexico, Mozambique, the Netherlands Antilles, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, the United States of America, Vietnam, and Yemen.*


A good reference for those who wish to learn more about the tribunal is The proceedings of the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women, compiled by Diana E.H. Russel and Nicole Van de Ven. It contains all the testimony given at the tribunal along with commentary, critisms, pictures, and a full history of the event. Unfortunately, its currently out of print and so can only be picked up at second-hand and radical bookstores (like where i got my copy). ( If you REALLY want to read it and can't find it, let me know and we'll see if you can borrow it :) ). I used the book to check my facts on the Tribunal, so if it sounds familiar (read: i did not copy from it) that's why.

*Listed in the Preface of the above book

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