New laws in Los Angeles treat teen prostitutes as abuse victims

23 April 2009 in Children Parenting, Legal Police, North America, Prostitution

By the time she was 8, Amanda had been sexually abused by her father’s friend for four years. At 12, she was peddling crack. At 14, she was selling sex on the sidewalk. Her pimp beat her weekly to keep her working, stitching up her wounds himself to avoid questions at a hospital. Her average [...]

Taiwan sex workers demand decriminalisation of prostitution

23 April 2009 in Asia, Legal Police, Prostitution

A Taiwan sex workers’ group has urged the government to legalize the sex trade, calling on lawmakers to back a bill aimed at decriminalizing prostitution. Campaigners believe they are just one parliamentarian short of getting enough signatures to get such a bill started in parliament. ‘We hope we can get backing from 15 lawmakers, the [...]

Iceland to ban sex purchases, strip clubs

23 April 2009 in Europe, Government, Prostitution

Iceland plans to introduce legislation criminalising the purchase of sexual services, the operation of strip clubs, and human trafficking, the government said on Wednesday. “This plan is long overdue,” Icelandic Minister of Social Affairs Asta Ragnheithur Johannesdottir, told AFP. “This has been a fighting issue for the human rights organisations, women’s organisations and many members [...]

Italian Senate approves anti-rape law

23 April 2009 in Europe, Government, Legal Police, Rape and Sexual Assault

The Italian Senate on Wednesday approved a law that introduces tough penalties for rape and makes stalking a crime. A total of 262 senators from the ruling conservative coalition and from opposition parties backed the law, while one senator voted against it and three senators from the libertarian Radical party abstained. The new law makes [...]

Women’s groups in India protest newspaper reporting of rape case

23 April 2009 in Asia, Demonstration March, Media, Rape and Sexual Assault, Women's Group

Eight women’s groups protested outside the offices of the Times Group — the publishers of The Times of India — accusing the Mumbai Mirror newspaper, also published by the group, of sensationalising the story of a rape victim and violating her right to privacy. A student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai [...]

Rwanda’s rape victims – 15 years on

23 April 2009 in Africa, HIV/AIDS, Publication, Rape and Sexual Assault, Violence Against Women, War Conflict, Women's Group

The scale of the Rwandan genocide shocked the world – and left the country reeling. An estimated 800,000 people died in 100 days of wanton violence that began 15 years ago this week. And the Hutu militias not only murdered their mostly Tutsi victims, but anywhere between a quarter and half a million women were [...]

Are drugs driving child rape in South Africa?

23 April 2009 in Africa, Children Parenting, Rape and Sexual Assault

Child rights organisation Molo Songololo says that it is worried about an increase in child rapes linked to drug abuse in the Western Cape. A 25-year-old man appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on charges of raping a 16-month-old baby from Blikkiesdorp in Delft. The suspect is the boyfriend of the baby’s mother who was [...]

Teenager in Australia charged with aborting fetus herself

23 April 2009 in Abortion Contraception, Australasia, Legal Police

Pro-abortion group says she’s “cause celebre” A Cairns teenager who allegedly self-aborted at two months with an abortion pill smuggled in from overseas has gained support from the pro-choice lobby. Tegan Simone Leach, 19, is believed to be the first woman charged in Queensland in nearly 50 years for organising her own miscarriage and is [...]

Abortion Law to Become Tougher in Korea

23 April 2009 in Abortion Contraception, Asia, Government

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said that it will introduce a bill to reduce the term limit for abortions from 28 weeks to 24 to the National Assembly. Any ruling, however, will not affect women suffering from hereditary diseases. Currently, women can undergo the procedure when they have epilepsy, hemophilia, serious mental [...]

Chileans Clearly Divided on Abortion

23 April 2009 in Abortion Contraception, Research, South America

Adults in Chile are split on the topic of pregnancy termination, according to a poll by Ipsos, 46.9 per cent of respondents are opposed to abortion, while 39.1 per cent would allow it in some cases. In addition, 13.4 per cent of respondents are in favour of abortion. Chile has been traditionally regarded as one [...]