16 Days

Human Rights Day

by Cara December 10, 2007

Unfortunately, I am feeling rather ill today. That means I’m going to go curl up with a book and rest, and will probably not post for the rest of the day. But I do want to bring your attention to the fact that today is Human Rights Day. That means it’s also the last day [...]

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Trigger Warning: 10-year-old rape victim “probably agreed to have sex”

by Cara December 10, 2007

As Feministe reports, an Australian judge has failed to imprison 9 males who gang-raped a 10-year-old girl. And though it sounds like it can’t get any more horrible, her justification is the worst part: Cairns-based District Court judge Sarah Bradley did not record convictions against six teenagers and gave suspended sentences to the three others [...]

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Transgender People and the Prison System

by Cara December 7, 2007

Today, AlterNet has a story written by transwoman and transgender activist Kalani Key, describing the time that she spent incarcerated in all male prisons. It’s definitely worth a read. Key, a former heroin addict, describes the first time that she was sent to jail, when there were special prisons set up for “Category B” prisoners [...]

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16 Days Links

by Cara December 4, 2007

My apologies for the brevity of my posting, today. I’m doing work for Planned Parenthood, have a husband sick with the flu to look after and may in fact be coming down with something myself. In lieu, here are some links that ought to be read, some new, some which I have been holding on [...]

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When Rape Is Stylish

by Cara December 4, 2007

I will be the first to admit that I have been overly-emotional, lately. And maybe all of this writing about violence against women is finally getting to me. Maybe this is one of those situations where several bad things happen in a row, but it’s stubbing your toe or dropping a glass that finally breaks [...]

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The Haitian Rape Epidemic

by Cara December 3, 2007

This weekend, The Guardian published a story about the Haitian epidemic of sexual assault. Until now, I had no idea about the extent of the problem. Reporter Alex Renton puts together an article that I found (for the most part) to be fascinating, horrifying, compassionate and multi-layered. I consider it a must-read. We were there [...]

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World AIDS Day

by Cara December 1, 2007

Today is World AIDS Day, and also an important part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Though in the U.S. men who have sex with men are still at the highest risk of contracting HIV, worldwide two-thirds of those infected with HIV/AIDS contracted the disease through heterosexual sex. That means that HIV/AIDS [...]

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Police Taser Pregnant Woman

by Cara November 30, 2007

A police officer in Trotwood, Ohio recently used a Taser gun on a pregnant woman because she tried to leave their police station with her own child. You can view a partial video of the incident at the link provided. Trotwood Public Safety Director Michael Etter said the incident happened on Nov. 18. He said [...]

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Fatwa Proclaims Right To Self-Defense Against Spousal Abuse

by Cara November 29, 2007

A Shi‘ite Muslim cleric in Lebanon has issued a religions edict stating that women facing spousal abuse have the right to self-defense. Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussain Fadlallah issued the fatwa, or religious edict, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. “We consider that if a man used physical [...]

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This Promotes Rape

by Cara November 27, 2007

I don’t know where Melissa keep finding these things, and I probably don’t want to know. Yesterday, it was this pencil sharpener. And I was naively convinced that when it comes to “joke toys” that promote rape, a headless woman bent over with her hands and feet nailed to the floor while having phallic items [...]

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