Archive for May, 2008
A Malaysian MP told parliament that there would be fewer marital problems and a lower divorce rate if Muslim women were taught to accept polygamy, news reports said today. Ibrahim Ali, an independent parliamentarian, proposed moves to address the issue in response to complaints that women were always blamed for marital issues. “Such problems happen [...]
The position of women in Iraqi society has deteriorated dramatically since the start of the occupation – and the daily results are deadly. A dark pool of dried blood and a fallen red scarf mark the place where Ronak, who had fled to a woman’s shelter in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah when she was [...]
The Women of Solomon Islands need to be protected from continuous domestic and sexual violence that is taking place in many of the communities through out the country. Domestic violence in this sense refers to acts of violence perpetrated within domestic sphere such as “battering, incest, marital rape”. Sexual assault refers to RAPE, sexual abuse, [...]
Thousands people marched to parliament to present a memorandum to the safety and security ministry on gender-based violence. The march was led by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and supported by, among others, the Sonke Gender Justice Network and Aids Law Project. According to the TAC, the Women’s Health and Rights Campaign highlights the scourge [...]
There was a 25 per cent increase in domestic violence cases that reached the courtrooms in 2007, compared to the year before. Furthermore, a five per cent increase was noted in the amount of people who came forward and reported a domestic violence crime. The data was submitted by the police to the House Gender [...]
An ABC investigation has found that the public housing shortage is forcing women in relationships involving severe domestic violence to wait as long as two years for permanent accommodation. The South Australian Women’s Housing Association has more than 500 women and their children on a public housing waiting list. Last month the Domestic Violence Crisis [...]
Two sexual assault cases against the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines were dismissed summarily, spurring critics to say ‘old boy’ networks trump the rule of law. Rape allegations against Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves have divided this idyllic archipelago beloved by honeymooners, mariners and hikers, with one side decrying what it sees as [...]
The Dutch cabinet said it wanted to crack down harder on the country’s sex industry, in particular unlicensed sex operators, as part of efforts to combat human trafficking. “That is why the cabinet wants to make it an offence to use the services of a sex operator without a licence or a non-registered independent prostitute,” [...]
The Czech Republic lacks a law that would regulate prostitution and it is unlikely that such a law will be passed in the near future, Czech Human Rights and Minorities Minister Dzamila Stehlikova (junior government Green Party, SZ) told journalists. The City of Prague is drafting its own bill regulating prostitution and most Czech municipalities [...]
Sex workers in India now have the option of taking out life insurance cover – a move they hope will speed up their bid to legalise the profession, a charity said today. “Sex workers approached Life Insurance Corporation of India, which agreed to provide insurance coverage,” said Smarajit Jana, chief adviser to Durbar Mahila Samanwaya [...]
When 19-year-old Fatima returned to her home in northern Afghanistan after years as a refugee in Iran, she struggled desperately to earn a living. She briefly found work with an NGO, before being let go, and then spent two months learning how to weave carpets, before the factory shut down and she was again out [...]
Sex tourism and US troops in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas may be fuelling a demand for human trafficking there. An organisation helping victims of human trafficking says it has seen a rise in the numbers of victims seeking help from 36 last year to 54 this year. The Karidat Social Services says most [...]
Save the Children UK calls for new global watchdog A new report released by Save the Children UK shows that children living in conflict-affected countries fear to report sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeeping troops and humanitarian aid workers. Despite recent political commitments by governments and international organisations to tackle this problem, the report [...]
Following feedback from users we set up the blog womensgrid to focus on information by and about women from around the UK and Ireland (and any European items that seem relevant). So to see the latest UK and Ireland posting go to http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk (see original annoucement at http://womensphere.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/womensgrid-blog-for-local-womens-news-and-information/)
Women’s groups are hoping for a quick return to democracy so their voices can continue to be heard by the country’s leaders. Fiji Women’s Rights Movement executive Virisila Buadromo said as long as there was a Parliament women’s issues would have a place in society. The movement, the secretariat for Fiji’s non government organisations for [...]
“Climate change is harder on women in poor countries, where mothers stay in areas hit by drought, deforestation or crop failure as men move to literally greener pastures.” “Many destructive activities against the environment disproportionately affect women, because most women in the world, and especially in the developing world, are very dependent on primary natural [...]
As women’s groups and political activists intensify their global campaign for gender empowerment, there is a growing trend towards “gender budgeting” both among developed and developing nations. Rawwida Baksh, team leader of Women’s Rights and Citizenship at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada, told IPS the concept of “gender-responsive budgeting” has been in [...]
In Ghana, there is a running joke that they are all becoming Italians – they can’t afford rice anymore and are eating processed pasta from Italy. These are not the poorest of the poor, these are working urban Ghanaians, according to Amrote Abdella, who runs projects to break the hunger cycle in Africa. In Ethiopia, [...]
Article 25.1 of the Universal Declaration, to which Ghana is signatory states, “Everyone has a right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, [...]
Recent postings- Towards a Future without Fundamentalisms: New Report Analyzes Religious Fundamentalist Strategies and Feminist Responses
- Statement on the Murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, women’s human rights defender of Ciudad Juarez
- Sudan police arrest women protesting at flogging video
- UN Chief Leaves Women out of Year-End Summing Up
- Sex education is expelled from Egyptian schools
- Kurdish Parliament Turns Blind Eye to Prostitution
- Sexual harassment cases in Israel’s civil service rose 40% in 2010
- Women in south Sudan have been targeted in a string of abusive attacks by police cracking down on Western clothes
- Women and girls living in Haiti’s makeshift camps face an increasing risk of rape and sexual violence says Amnesty International new report
- Stand up against hatred and threats against LGBT in Malaysia
- new on womensgrid
- Tower Hamlets Residents Solidarity Campaign – Solidarity with women involved in prostitution in east London
- East London Fawcett: Free Gallery Tour ~ 12 May & Pay Gap Talk ~ 23rd May 2012
- The Light Bulb Moment and future of feminism Book launch and panel – Bristol ~ 15th May 2012
- Hollaback! Portsmouth launch event – Tuesday 22nd May 2012
- Run for Congo Women – Deadline extended to 25th May 2012!
- Fast fall in number of male-only FTSE 100 boards
- Why has the UK got so few women scientists?
- The Haven Wolverhampton E Bulletin May 2012
- 2 vacancies – Shakti Women’s Aid (Edinburgh) ~ 28th May 2012
- Volunteering for Dorset Rape Crisis Centre
- new on women in london
- Information added in March 2012
- Information added in February 2012
- Information added in January 2012
- Pro-Choice Public Meeting – Abortion Rights ~16th May 2012
- Fawcett on Queen’s speech: flexible parental leave / red tape challenge
- Policy and Campaigns Internship – Power and Agency campaign – Fawcett ~ 22nd May 2012
- Administration and Finance Worker – Women in Prison ~ 18th May 2012
- A Women’s Agenda for the Local Elections May 2012 – Survey Results
- Friends of the Women’s Library update on the future of the Library
- Women in Black, vigils and Facebook page
The voice of justice on rape hearings in New Zealand
29 May 2008 in Australasia, Lesbian Gay, Opinion Comment, Rape and Sexual Assault
I don’t make a habit of fawning over judges but in the case of former Court of Appeal judge Ted Thomas, I could almost make an exception. (*) Once more he has spoken out in the New Zealand Law Journal about the problems women face when they bring charges of rape and sexual abuse. The [...]