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Editor’s note: This article is also available in Romanian.
Erin Pizzey was born in 1939. In 1971 she founded the first nationally and internationally recognized women’s shelter (or “refuge”) in Chiswick, which is part of London in the UK. Her organization expanded to include many houses and a large growing organization, now known as Refuge in the UK.
It was soon after founding her organization that she began being subject to public protests and death threats.
A key figure in the women’s movement of the 1970s, she eventually fled her native England with her children after the protests, threats, and violence culminated in the shooting of her family dog. However, she never stopped her work advocating for victims of domestic violence, and eventually returned to the UK.
Erin is a bestselling novelist and the author of many non-fiction books. Her first book, Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear is, along with her fearless public advocacy, widely credited with making Domestic Violence a national and international issue.
Her work continues to this day. She is widely loved.
She is also widely hated.
She is a supporter of the men’s movement, and it is hard not to consider her the first Honeybadger. It was my honor to speak to her in early December 2012. –Dean Esmay
Transcript follows:
Dean: Good morning Erin, how are you?
Erin: Good morning, It’s very cold.
Dean: It’s very cold is it? Well, it’s early December, I guess it is cold; you’re living in London these days, yes?
Erin: Yes I am.
Dean: So, you have recently, in the last year or so, published a book called “This Way to the Revolution – a Memoir” from Peter Owen Publishers. What can you tell me about that book, Erin?
Erin: I’ve always tried to tell the truth about the beginnings. I was one of the first people in England to get involved with the Women’s Movement and what I saw there, I knew perfectly well was going to be extremely destructive. And, when I began to stand up at these great big Collective meetings – and interestingly enough there were a lot of women from America who came over with initial instruction to show the British women how to be radical feminists. They’re a pretty frightening crowd and I got screamed at a lot partly because I said many women like myself, who are married, with or without children are perfectly happy to have the choice to be able to stay home. So, in the end last year actually… it took me ten years to get this book published, it was turned down by every major publisher in this country. And, finally, Peter Owen, who is a fine very small publishing company, agreed that they would publish. And they’ve done a wonderful job of it. And it is, it’s the whole truth about what went on behind the movement… the feminist movement.
