A number of posts have been placed on Indymedia discussing extremely serious issues related to the safety of women protesters in the Occupy movement. Serious crimes have taken place, and the first priority of all protestors must be to do their very best to assist and support the victims, and to take prompt action to make sure these attacks are never repeated. With the Occupy movement as with the Arab Spring protests that helped inspire them, potential and actual predators perceive mutual mistrust between police and protestors as creating opportunities which they (the predators) may seek to exploit. This is not the fault of the protestors, but protestors MUST take responsibility for their own security, irrespective of whether the police assist or obstruct protestors' efforts in that respect.

Protestors must take responsibility for their own actions, as must the police. In practice this means that, irrespective of their own political beliefs, ideologies or life experiences, individual protestors have no right to impose their feelings about the police on fellow protestors who may fall victim to attack, and therefore protestors have a moral duty to call the police immediately if any of their number are attacked. If the police then fail to respond quickly or appropriately, or if the police exploit such situations to undermine protests, then at the very least protestors will know (and be able to say publicly) that they did the right thing, while protestors will also know (and be able to say publicly) that if the police misbehave then it is the police who can be publicly exposed for having failed or exploited the victims.

While it's not practical in the short-term to make a total survey of all the material that's been posted on-line about this serious issue, bizarrely, a recent post on Indymedia seeks to make ideological capital out of these attacks, but offers NO PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS WHATSOEVER for improving protestors' safety. Likewise, while not wishing to excuse any shortcomings in how some protestors may have responded to such attacks, and while not wishing to make or fuel any potentially unfair accusations either, feminist critiques of Occupy protests should also bear in mind that, from Scott Olsen to the protestors who were attacked in Newcastle, many victims at Occupy protests have been men.

If the following suggestions are obvious or have been made elsewhere, then please ignore them, and if they're inappropriate please explain WHY in the comments section below, but if they've not, please regard the following as an attempt to get the ball rolling QUICKLY in terms of floating practical ideas for improving protest safety...

1. £100 quid's worth of 99p rape alarms should be enough to cover most protest sites. Pay for them yourself up-front now, worry about whether donations will cover it later. Don't wait until a meeting's reached consensus, just do it now. There are lots of products available for fast delivery on-line, including...

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Personal-Anti-Attack-Anti-rape-saftey-Security-Alarm-/290501110442

2. Institute a sentry system at night. If the collective can't agree a rota, individuals should seize the initiative and just do it anyway.

3. Collect evidence! If scumbags approach camps making hostile comments or to "case the joint", write down their descriptions promptly and make sure they see you photographing and filming them. If they object, explain why this precaution's necessary. While there are no guarantees, this is a powerful deterrent, including a deterrent to hostile action by the police. Buy powerful torches to help film at night (Maplins have plenty, including stunningly bright battery-operated light-weight halogen floodlights). All protestors should try to obtain (and learn how to use) small portable video cameras.

4. While I would never advocate protestors carrying offensive weapons, the kind of "LED Lenser" torches that are available now are dangerously powerful, and can provide a formidable defense if shone in attackers' faces, especially at night.

5. Always investigate unusual activity. Institute a verbal procedure for requesting admission to a closed or private tent (so that protestors know they can ask if someone's alright without being overly intrusive or risking offence). Numbers permitting, always patrol or investigate in pairs. If camps are big, buy walkie-talkies.

Hope this helps
Best wishes