Prostitution: a crime of purchasing

"Peers have been debating the policing and crime bill. Their deliberations mean that the government will take a historic step: instead of controlling prostitution by punishing women, it will penalise the purchasers – the men." This is an unpredictable development. (And one...

Women worked to death in Lebanon

"Four Ethiopian domestic workers are thought to have killed themselves in three weeks. Lebanon must protect these women. They mop floors, take out the rubbish, walk the dog, buy groceries and care for the children, the elderly or disabled. Many a well-to-do and lower middle...

Doctors are apparently being paid more if they're male

"Can it be true that male doctors earn an average of £15,000 more a year than their female colleagues?" And if it is true, what pray tell, could explain the difference in salaries? "After factoring out differences due to age, experience and area of specialism, it seems that...

Violent offenders receiving only police cautions

"If you commit a crime and get caught it is reasonable to think that you will go to court, be prosecuted and pay the price for your actions. Not necessarily. In fact, in England and Wales half of all criminal cases brought to justice these days are punished out of court by...

Gender pay gap still as high as 50%, UK survey says

"Women are paid less than half as much as men in some parts of the UK, according to statistics published today that reveal huge regional variations in the pay gap between male and female workers." Some recent reading had led me to believe that this was a situation that was...

Are there nude pictures of you at the doctor on the net?

"A traffic stop led officers to discover that a Willard man allegedly has been compiling nude photos of patients from the medical facility where he worked."Oh sweet mother of all that is good and holy, can you imagine! A medical facility is the one place I feel safe taking my...

Reported rapes hit 20-year low

"Reported rapes have fallen to the lowest level in 20 years as DNA evidence helps send more rapists to prison and victims are more willing to work with police and prosecutors, victims advocates and crime researchers say."In some respects, I’m not entirely sure why I’m...

Carla Bruni caught up in backlash over minister's 'sex tourism'

"Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency – and especially his relationship with his conservative followers and voters – has been seriously undermined by the "sexual tourism" scandal which has engulfed his Culture Minister, according to centre-right politicians." I have no sympathy...

The deadly new stats on abortion bans

"According to a major just-released report (PDF) from the Guttmacher Institute, increased use of contraception has helped decrease unintended pregnancy worldwide. Abortions, ergo, are down as well, from an estimated 45.5 million procedures in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003. In...

Metropolitan Police may shut down human trafficking unit

"The Metropolitan Police may shut its specialist unit to tackle human trafficking because of lack of funding. You might remember this is the second time that the unit has been threatened with closure due to funding issues; last time, it was given a reprieve."It would be a...

Children made 'sick with fear' in UK immigration detention centre

"Medical experts have found clear evidence that children held in UK immigration centres develop mental and physical health difficulties, according to a report published today."The UK does not have a good record at the moment in its treatment of asylum seekers. First, it ...

New Oklahoma Law Will Put Details Of All Abortions Online

And we have yet another example of obstructionist legality on abortion which is, I have little doubt, introduced to prevent women accessing abortions, and to make abortions more difficult to practitioners to perform. "A new Oklahoma law will require the details of every...