discrimination

On Prison Rape and Complacency

by Cara March 12, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual violence and rape apologism. The NY Review of Books has published an article by David Kaiser and Lovisa Stannow about the enormous problem of prison rape in the U.S. and how to adequately address it (h/t). The authors describe in detail the sickening severity and tremendousness of the problem, [...]

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Rape Myths Lead to No Justice for Sexual Assault Victims on College Campuses

by Cara March 5, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of sexual violence and rape apologism. You have quite likely read on other blogs about part two of the Center for Public Integrity’s report into sexual violence on U.S. college and university campuses. I wrote about part one of the report, A Culture of Secrecy, back when it was released. And [...]

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N.J. Police Allegedly Harass Trans Woman Based on Gender Identity

by Cara March 2, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of police harassment and violence against trans* people. The New Jersey police department is being sued after two Newark officers allegedly harassed a trans woman on the basis of her gender identity. Diana Taylor of Newark said two officers steered their cruiser into her path as she walked down a street [...]

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Deaf Woman Was Not Told Her Cancer Was Terminal

by Cara February 9, 2010

I’ve heard a lot of heartbreaking and enraging stories in my lifetime, but this still manages to rank pretty highly up there. Health care providers never gave a woman with cancer and her husband, both of whom were deaf, a repeatedly requested interpreter. And thus, they weren’t told for three months that she was dying. [...]

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Mother’s Disability Featured in Custody Dispute

by Cara December 23, 2009

Kaney O’Neill is a 31-year-old mother with a 5-month-old son. Her ex-boyfriend, and her son’s father, is now waging an ugly custody battle against her. So far, it’s an experience that countless parents have endured. What makes O’Neill’s story newsworthy, if not rare, is the fact that she has a disability — and her ex [...]

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New Report About Sexual Violence on College Campuses

by Cara December 10, 2009

The Center for Public Integrity has released a three-part report on sexual violence on college campuses, and the response of administrators to such allegations. Part one talks about the culture of secrecy surrounding sexual assault proceedings. Part two talks about the barriers to reporting sexual assault on campus, and how such reports are actively discouraged. [...]

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Boss Admits to Firing Woman Because of Her Gender Identity

by Cara October 12, 2009

Vandy Beth Glenn was fired in 2007 when she informed her boss her boss that she was a trans woman with plans to begin her transition. With Lambada Legal, she has since launched a federal lawsuit against her former employer, the Georgia General Assembly. (Yes, you did in fact read that correctly — her employer [...]

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Edmonton Teacher Fired Over His Gender Identity

by Cara October 3, 2009

A trans man who worked as a substitute teacher in Edmonton, Alberta was fired by a Catholic school upon telling them about his plans to transition: Jan Buterman is praised in a letter of dismissal for his teaching abilities, but told his gender change from woman to man is not aligned with the teachings of [...]

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The Deal With Disability

by Cara September 25, 2009

Via Womanist Musings, I’ve come across a great blog called The Deal With Disability. The blog is written by Eva, a woman with cerebral palsy, and chronicles her experiences with how people treat her — from ignoring her, to being over-bearing and patronizing, or treating her like a child. Sometimes she writes about the experience; [...]

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Defense Attorney Calls Rape Victims “Whores,” and Worse

by Cara August 27, 2009

Trigger Warning Every single time I argue that a rape apologist defense attorney has hit a new low, I speak too soon. This time, the evidence that there was still further to sink just came at a particularly rapid speed, and with a particularly hard impact. Outside Charleston, West Virginia, a defense attorney defended a [...]

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