Problematisk bånd mellom alkoholindustrien og kvinnedagen

Det skriver IOGT Internationals president, Kristina Sperkova, i et åpent brev til International Womens Day 2018 på vegne av medlemsorganisasjonene. I brevet peker hun på at samarbeidet med Diageo, som en en av verdens største alkoholprodusenter, representerer sterke interessekonflikter for kvinnedagen.

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Brevet kan du lese her:

Dear International Women’s Day organizers,
Dear Aurora Ventures (Europe) Limited,

I hope my mail finds you well and I hope this day, today, truly rocks. We, IOGT International, are certainly dedicated to contribute our part to lasting impact of International Women’s Day. I’m writing to you on behalf of a global movement whose members have been fighting for women’s rights literally since the very beginning of the struggle for women’s voting rights.

I’m addressing you today to express our grave concern about the fact that the alcohol industry seems to be supporting your endeavor, International Women’s Day. Diageo, the world’s second largest liquor producer, is listed among the “International Women’s Day 2018 Supporters” on your official website[1].

With all due respect, this is an appalling partnership. It’s an ill-advised partnership. And it is an incompatible partnership laden with conflicts of interest concerning the goals and objectives of International Women’s Day.

• A recent New York Times Op-Ed laid out how liquor makers were actively and ruthlessly working against women’s voting rights[2].
• Several decades of alcohol marketing have fueled a culture of sexualization, de-humanization and objectification of women[3].
• In recent years, the alcohol industry has discovered women and girls as “emerging market” to drive corporate profits and is aggressively targeting women to hook them on their products[4].
• The alcohol industry produces, distributes, sells and markets products that are extremely harmful to women and girls: addiction, breast cancer, gender-based violence, including domestic and sexual abuse, or HIV/ AIDS are just some of the alcohol-fueled problems massively affecting women[5].
• Evidence-based and cost-effective public health policies that would help address and solve these problems and thus advance gender equality are routinely blocked, derailed and undermined by the alcohol industry, including Diageo[6].

In my view, these five points give a quick overview of the vast conflict of interest at work in partnering with the alcohol industry. The evidence, examples and stories behind each of these points should make the case clear: the alcohol industry has no role to play in the feminist cause.

I’m painfully aware that Diageo and other alcohol producers are trying to rewrite history by pushing messages about their efforts for women. Diageo’s Jane Walker marketing stunt is just the latest example.

These efforts by the alcohol industry are nothing but cynical attempts to usurp positive values of women empowerment for corporate profits. It’s an outright attack on reality and history. As women fought more than a century ago to protect themselves, their families and communities from raging alcohol harm, so are they fighting today. Back then the struggle took place in the United States, Sweden, UK or Germany. These days similar campaigns are being fought in India, Kenya and Brazil. Same fight, different places, and same foe – the alcohol industry.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “press for progress”. Progress can only be achieved if we do not compromise our goals and objectives by working with so called supporters that actually undermine and jeopardize our feminist mission with their core business. I am deeply concerned about this partnership and its implications for the goals of the feminist movement.

Time’s up for Big Alcohol usurping feminist values.

Time’s up for Big Alcohol exploiting women and girls.

I therefore respectfully request that you end the partnership with Diageo and that you revise your partnership policies based on the lessons learned from this case to ensure that no alcohol company will be able to partner with the International Women’s Day in the future.

I look forward to discussing the issue with you and remain at your disposal.

Yours sincerely,

Kristina Sperkova, 

International President, IOGT International, 

Stockholm, 08 March 2018

References

[1] Official webiste International Women’s Day: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Partners (Accessed March 7, 2018)

[2] Elaine Weiss: Women, Booze and the Vote, in New York Times, March 5, 2018, https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/opinion/women-votes-feminism-alcohol.html?emc=edit_tnt_20180305&nlid=64574131&referer=&tntemail0=y#commentsContainer (Accessed March 5, 2018)

[3] Diageo unethical marketing examples, in Diageo company profile, http://iogt.org/news/2018/03/08/diageo-company-profile/ (Accessed March 8, 2018)

[4] Sperkova, K.: Time’s up for Big Alcohol exploiting feminsim, http://iogt.org/blog/2018/03/07/times-big-alcohol-exploiting-feminism/

[5] Dünnbier, M.: Big Alcohol’s attack on women, http://iogt.org/blog/2017/03/14/big-alcohols-attack-women/

[6] Diageo’s corporate political activity, in Diageo company profile: http://iogt.org/news/2018/03/08/diageo-company-profile/ (Accessed March 8, 2018)