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...

When people ask me why I'm a feminist...

... here is one of the reasons I give. "Marlon King, who earned about £1 million a year, was sacked by his club, Wigan Athletic, after being found guilty of groping a 20-year-old woman and breaking her nose with a single punch. He was out drinking last December to celebrate...

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...

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...

Female managers face more sexual harassment

"Female managers are 137 percent more likely to experience sexual harassment than their rank-and-file counterparts, according to a recently released study.Even Heather McLaughlin, a sociologist at the University of Minnesota and the primary investigator on the study, was...

Anti-abortion group wants to make birth-control illegal...

... in Florida (that didn't fit above in the title). "A nationwide anti-abortion group launched an effort in Florida Friday to outlaw all abortions and certain types of birth control, including oral contraceptives and the morning-after pill. The religion-infused movement,...

'Women would find life easier if they picked up men's socks...

... and cleaned the loo'. From the Daily Mail piece in which Fay Weldon (one time feminist, some say) sets back feminism by 50 years. Now, let me start by saying, I take anything printed in the Daily Mail about as seriously as a I take Doctor Who running for Prime...

This Is What Rape Culture Looks Like

(Note: I don't ever highlight large chunks of text from outside sources but I feel that it is necessary to do so in this instance because nearly all of the linked piece is relevant to the point.)The term 'rape culture' is used a lot, but many people don't really know what it...

Waitress Sandwich: Does Ted Kennedy Leave a Legacy of Misogyny?

Being the trend watcher that I am a curious thing popped up in Google that caught my eye. On a day dominated by Ted Kennedy related trending terms I looked desperately for something, anything, non-Kennedy related. I thought I found it with waitress sandwich. Sadly, I was...

Afghan law: Wife refusing sex? Deny her food

A brief piece on the real sharia law from salon. "You might recall how just a few months ago fierce global condemnation pushed Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reconsider a law allowing Shia men to rape their wives. Remember how Karzai promised that the bill would...

Limits imposed on access to abortion in Arizona and Illinois

"On Monday Arizona's new Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a group of anti-choice bills. This includes a 24-hour waiting period, meaning women must consult with their doctor, who has to tell them about "risks and alternatives, and the fetus' probable...

Sudanese woman 'faces 40 lashes'

"A Sudanese woman who is due to appear in court in Khartoum says she faces up to 40 lashes for wearing trousers. The woman, Lubna Hussein - a former journalist who now works for the United Nations - has invited journalists and observers to the trial. " The woman arrested for...