From the category archives:

paternalism

U.S. Continues to Discriminate Against Sex Workers, Deny HIV Prevention Funding

by Cara July 27, 2010

Last Friday, Titania Kumeh wrote an excellent blog post at Mother Jones about the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, and the over 100 sex workers and advocates who protested outside. The protest was about how U.S. funding to fight HIV transmission explicitly and deliberately excludes sex workers, even though they are one of the groups [...]

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South African Sea Cadet Found Dead Hours After Rape Allegations Were Filed

by Cara July 19, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual violence, poor responses to rape allegations, and discussion of a possible murder, possible suicide. Last month, Akhona Geveza (above), a young South African woman who was participating as a cadet in the Transnet National Ports Authority’s Maritime Studies Programme, was found dead, floating overboard. Only a few hours before [...]

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On Dismissing Sexual Violence Against Some Women As “Cultural”

by Cara June 25, 2010

Strong Trigger Warning for discussions and descriptions of sexual violence, rape apologism, war, murder, and racism. This morning, an incredible op-ed by Lisa Shannon was published in the New York Times, entitled “No, Sexual Violence is Not ‘Cultural.’” Of course, those of us here know that rape culture is very, very real. But the context [...]

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UK Health Group Wants to Test All Pregnant Women for Smoking

by Cara June 24, 2010

Just last week, I was defending the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK for its recommendations regarding age-appropriate sex education. This week, I find myself needing to ask what in the hell they’re thinking. NICE has recommended that all pregnant women should be given carbon monoxide tests in order to determine whether [...]

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Anti-Domestic Violence Campaign Centers World Cup and Misses Its Mark

by Cara June 7, 2010

Trigger Warning for violent imagery, discussions of intimate partner violence, and victim-blaming. A new campaign against domestic violence has just been launched in West Yorkshire, England. According to police, domestic violence increased by 30% during the last World Cup in 2006. They’re looking to prevent that from happening again this year. Let me say, first [...]

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Anti-Choice Ultrasound Laws Don’t Change Abortion Rates, But Continue Getting Tougher

by Cara June 1, 2010

Last last week, the New York Times published an article about the growing wave of U.S. state anti-abortion laws that center on ultrasounds. Specifically, the state laws in question usually either require that ultrasounds be performed prior to an abortion or that the woman (or person of a different gender seeking an abortion, though they [...]

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Boys Aged 10 and 11 Convicted of Attempted Rape as Apologists Deny Assault Was Possible

by Cara May 25, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism. Linked articles contain descriptions of sexual assault. Out of the U.K. comes an extremely disturbing case in which two young boys, aged 10 and 11, have been convicted of attempting to rape an 8-year-old girl. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. The case raises numerous ethical conundrums and [...]

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Judge Rules Daughters Must Have Overnight Visits with Sex Offender Father

by Cara March 18, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of child pornography and child sexual abuse. In Hobart, Australia, a family court has made a truly confounding and infuriating decision to require two girls to visit their father every other weekend, including an overnight stay — even though the father has been convicted on child pornography charges, the ruling also [...]

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Anti-Choicers Target Women of Color: How Should Pro-Choicers Respond?

by Cara February 23, 2010

Earlier this month, Renee wrote a post about an Atlanta billboard targeting black women’s reproductive rights by pointing to the higher rates of abortion among black women, and claiming that abortion clinics are attempting to abort black children out of existence. It’s a great post, touching on many things that will come up here, and [...]

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Book Review: Promises I Can Keep

by Cara February 15, 2010

I’m the kind of person who hoards books, and finds difficulty getting the the time to read them all within what most people would consider to be an even remotely reasonable timeframe. While that’s something I’m working on getting under control, the consequence is that I’m also the kind of person, who, if she ever [...]

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