GSG SOCIETY:'RED TO RECLAIM THE NIGHT'

The GSG is an all girls support group, created with the aim of making a safe, open space for the women of the International School of The Hague (ISH) to share their experiences of discrimination and sexual assault. The aim is to stir up a more open and honest conversation about these very prevalent issues that are often viewed as taboo, or uncomfortable. 

On Thursday 18th March, the GSG organised a day for students to wear red in order to ‘Reclaim the Night’, and show support for women who have been victims of sexual abuse. The day was a smash hit at the ISH, with a gorgeous sea of red on the plaza during the break and lunch times. It was extremely comforting to see that the people at ISH supported this initiative, especially in light of recent events. In the UK, the brutal murder of Sarah Everard sparked an international conversation, bringing forth issues that we have been refusing to address for far too long. 

We sat down with one of the founders of the GSG, Tara Tell, who seemed to have a lot to say about the reasons for starting the initiative, and how she plans to make a safe space for ALL women to share their own stories of discrimination and sexual assault. There was some weariness, prior to the event, about the initiative from members of the target audience. It stemmed from the fact that the women in charge of this initiative were not considered inherently intersectional feminists. There was concern as to whether or not there would be equal and sufficient support for all women, including trans women, women in the LGBTQ+ community, and women of colour. This is an area we addressed in our interview, in order to give the GSG the opportunity to express their intentions.

We opened the interview with the question; “What inspires you to do the work that you do with the GSG?”

Tara was very clear about her intentions with the GSG, stating that there is an issue with the school not having a safe environment for its female population. “A lot of the girls we know have common experiences with feeling uncomfortable at their own school. School is the place where you’re supposed to feel comfortable, and the fact that so many girls felt this way, that it is a recurring issue, it really is a problem. So, we really felt the need to take initiative and try and do something to resolve this.”

While the GSG initiative doubles as a school project for its’ leaders, Tara strongly expressed that the pressing issue of violence against women and sexual assaul goes beyond our school community. When asked about the bigger picture of the GSG, and where she sees the group going, she replied, “As of right now, the majority of our outreach is in the Netherlands. However, ideally, the goal would be to expand this. But, I think, even if we make this difference, or just make people at our school, or in The Hague feel more comfortable, I feel like that would be really rewarding to us...We would just love to make a difference.” However, Tara also makes it clear that, as a small group working within the school community, it is difficult to make change on a larger scale. “Obviously, as GSG, we cannot single handedly end this global issue, but, you know, it’s something that we really feel like it’s really important to touch on and make people aware of.” This highlights the importance of the GSG gaining support from ALL groups within the school, including the GSA and Anti-Racism/Discrimination group. It is  times like these when we must band together, in order to recognize that there is inequality and injustice within our own school, and that we must do something about it. As Tara says, the best we can do is make a positive difference in our community, and see it grow further from there.

The GSG claims to pride itself on the building up of women within the community, and reinforcing the importance of opening a conversation about discrimination against women at the ISH. When asked about her connection to other initiatives fighting to end violence against women on a global scale, Tara replied, “I think there is so much, because you know, feminism goes so much more beyond making women and men equal [...] ultimately, our goal is to touch on as much as we can. Because transgender women have really different struggles than cis gender women in society. The same goes for women of colour, and the same goes for women who are a part of he LGBTQ+ community.”  

The GSG focuses itself on giving and receiving concerns, testimonials, and support to and from the student body in order to stimulate a gradual social shift. By organizing events like ‘Red to Reclaim the Night’, they are simultaneously building up more safety and support for women, as well as creating more awareness about female issues to the rest of the school community. They’ve formed the opportunity to spark a lasting change, which is a very powerful thing. The only thing to hope for is that events like this will be remembered, and that the GSG will continue to stand by its statements. The community may have come together once, but in order to make a change there needs to be a more steady, deeply knowledgeable and active engagement that spans over a longer period of time. One success is brilliant, but there is always more to be done. 

This being said, we believe that the GSG is an initiative with good intentions. They have a clear, well thought out vision, and we cannot wait to see them grow and flourish into the amazing initiative we know they can be!

We would like to thank Tara Tell for taking the time to talk to us, and the GSG for taking initiative and striving for change at the ISH.