WIEP Blog

US: At last, some good news about birth control

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=13422

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1400/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9256

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services announced today the Obama Administration will not broaden the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage under the Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act. This request, primarily by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, would have denied millions of American women contraceptive coverage, including students, teachers, nurses, social workers, and other staff (and their families) at religiously-connected or associated schools, universities, and hospitals, as well as institutions, such as Catholic Charities.

Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, stated, “This is a landmark victory for the health of young women. We applaud this decision for women by Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration. Birth control is the number one prescription drug for women ages 18 to 44 years. Right now, the average woman has to pay $50 per month for 30 years for birth control. No wonder many low income women have had to forgo regular use of birth control and half of US pregnancies are unplanned. This decision will help millions of women and their families.”

Rate of abortion is highest in countries where the practice is banned

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/rate-of-abortion-is-highest-in-countries-where-practice-is-banned-6292070.html

Almost all unsafe abortions were in developing countries, where the number of family planning and contraceptive programmes have stopped increasing.

“An abortion is actually a very simple and safe procedure,” said Gilda Sedgh, a senior researcher at the US-based Guttmacher Institute.

“All of these deaths and complications are easily avoidable,” said Dr Sedgh, the study’s lead author.

I think this one comes from the Captain Obvious files, although it’s useful to have it confirmed. It is a curious fact that anti-abortionists also tend to be against contraception of all kinds except abstinence. It’s never about preventing the deaths of unborn children, because that would entail support for methods of not conceiving unwanted ones in the first place. It’s about refusing women the right to control over their own bodies, pure and simple. Heaven forbid that those pesky women should be allowed to decide the course of their life without deferring to their menfolk.

US: The abortion saga continues

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=13409
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=13410
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=13411
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=13413

The Feminist Majority Foundation is doing excellent work in collating these stories from across the US, showing how anti-abortionists are continuing to weaken protections for women by chipping away at them state by state. Each item by itself is worrying; put them all together and it’s clear something very bad is happening. I’m starting to wonder if a national initiative to bolster Roe v. Wade is required in order to put a stop to these insidious attempts to undermine what should be a fundamental right.

UK: Potential change to definition of domestic violence

From Women’s Aid:

The government has launched this consultation to ask for views on whether the current cross-government definition of domestic violence should be widened. It also seeks views on whether the current definition is being applied consistently across government, and if it is understood by practitioners, victims and perpetrators.

…

The consultation seeks the views of key partners and directly affected parties, including the police, practitioners, other government departments and organisations with a direct interest in preventing domestic violence. This consultation closes on 30 March 2012.

My first thought was ‘well, that’s good news’, but this was followed immediately by ‘what’s the catch?’ Lo and behold:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16175167

Domestic violence is currently defined as “any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members”.

In theory, cases in which one partner exerts excessive control over the other – preventing them going out, or visiting friends or relatives, for example – could be pursued under the “psychological” element of the existing definition.

…

Labour’s shadow home office minister Stella Creasy said it was right for the government to be considering a wider definition, but it was contradicting that by trying to increase the level of proof required before legal aid was agreed.

“Instead of widening the definition of domestic violence, they are narrowing it and making it extremely hard for victims to demonstrate that abuse has taken place before getting the help they need in child custody or divorce cases so they can leave violent relationships,” she said.

Under the forthcoming Legal Aid and Sentencing Bill, only domestic violence victims who can prove “a high risk of violence” will qualify for legal aid.

The government says “objective evidence” should be obtained before taxpayers’ money is spent.

US: Rape is Rape campaign wins victory

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1400/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9115

Brilliant work by the Feminist Majority Foundation to alter the FBI’s previous outdated definition of rape. The new definition is much more inclusive.

India: Education and employment bring abuse

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106208

Educated and employed as a librarian at the Islamic University of Science and Technology in Kashmir, Shazia was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her room on Nov. 9. Though police suspect suicide, Shazia’s parents believe their daughter’s death to be a fatal case of domestic violence.

Shazia’s father says that his son-in-law, Javaid Ahmad, tortured his wife verbally and physically on a daily basis for not bringing him a big enough dowry. He often threw her out of the house and finally divorced her verbally after she gave birth to a daughter.

So…women don’t get educated or work, they get beaten up. Women get educated and/or get a job, they still get beaten up. Ergo, women really get beaten up just because they’re women. Did I miss anything?

Saudi Arabia: Women only to work in lingerie shops

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16412202

The new law could potentially create up to 40,000 jobs for ordinary Saudi women who have hitherto had little or no access to employment.

But it also means that male clerks, most of whom are foreign workers, will be out of a job.

It is not far short of a social revolution being pushed through in the teeth of fierce opposition from the kingdom’s top clerics.

They do not want to see an increase in the number of women working outside the home.

The kingdom’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, has warned shop owners that employing women is a “crime and prohibited by Islamic sharia law”.

Saudi Arabia: Women get the vote!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15052030

The BBC’s world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan says it is an extraordinary development for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not allowed to drive, or to leave the country unaccompanied.
She says there has been a big debate about the role of women in the kingdom and, although not everyone will welcome the decision, such a reform will ease some of the tension that has been growing over the issue.

Saudi writer Nimah Ismail Nawwab told the BBC: “This is something we have long waited for and long worked towards.”

They’ve waited quite long enough, and there’s still so much more to do, but this is a victory in itself. Congratulations to the brave campaigners who made this happen.

Nigeria: Women march against rape

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=13236

Country officials believe that the low rate of reporting can be explained by the sense of shame that surrounds sexual violence cases in Nigeria. “Nothing has been put into action. Our laws are still not clear. The woman who wants to report rape does not have the confidence in the justice system in Nigeria. The police are not accountable to the people. There is a lot of impunity on the issue of rape and sexual violence in Nigeria,” said Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, executive director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre.

The Nigerian police force is often subject to harsh criticism because of its own participation in incidents of sexual assault. According to BBC News, a 2010 study by the Open Society Justice Initiative, police officers in Nigeria routinely take part in sexual assault, with a particular focus on sex workers.

This march follows a gang-rape, in which the victim pleaded with her attackers first to release her and then to kill her because the pain was too much, being caught on video. Let us hope the protests will force the police to give her the justice she deserves.

Topman withdraws offensive T-shirts

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/topman-withdraws-offensive-t-shirts-163839697.html

The tops both carried messages which abuse charity Tender said “appeared to be making light of the excuses made for domestic abuse”.

One T-shirt carried the words “I’m so sorry but…” followed by a series of “answer options” next to tick boxes.

The “answer” included “You provoked me”, “I was drunk” and “I hate you”.

The second item was printed with the words: “Nice girlfriend. What breed is she?”

Tender had set up an online donation site to try to raise more money than the T-shirt raised through sales, but the campaign went viral and spread to Facebook, prompting hundreds of people to join in protest.

I don’t know about you, but I find the fact that they actually thought these T-shirts were acceptable in the first place surprising. Am I missing something here?

India: Actress banned for ‘affair’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14877648

The move comes after Darshan was arrested on charges of domestic violence three days ago, following a complaint from his wife, Vijaylakshmi.

She alleged that he had beaten her and threatened her with a gun but she later withdrew the complaint, a police official told the BBC. The argument was reportedly over the alleged affair with Ms Thukral.

…

“If Nikhita [Thukral] apologises for her behaviour and says she will just work in films and not get involved in domestic affairs of fellow actors, we will withdraw the ban,” association president Munirathnam told the BBC.

So the guy beats his wife and his employer blames another woman?? I don’t even know where to begin with this.

Update: The ban has now been reversed and Thukral has received a letter expressing “regret”. Whether any action was taken against Darshan by his employer is unclear.

UK: Latest government VAWG booklet published

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/vawg-newsletters/vawg-summer-2011?view=Binary

This includes news on funding for rape crisis centres, legal advice, assistance for women offenders and campaigns. Useful for keeping up to date.

UK: Women’s Aid ‘Real Man Campaign’ aims for 10,000 signatures by 25th November

http://www.realmancampaign.com/?dm_i=674,J2JP,S8KAA,1JVMS,1

This is a truly excellent campaign designed to allow men to speak out against domestic violence. It deserves the most widespread publicity. Already over 5,000 men have signed up; let’s add as many as we can and get the word out to all the Real Men out there.

Belief in witchcraft is a big problem in many parts of Africa, and Burkina Faso seems a particularly bad place for lone or disabled women and for widows. The promising news is that legal assistance for women suspected of witchcraft may be at hand.

Earlier this year, a charity caring for older people, HelpAge International, asked Advocates for International Development (A4ID) to help
with its work in, among others, Burkina Faso where it’s been trying to raise awareness about the plight of women who’ve fallen victim to witchcraft allegations.

Against this backdrop, A4ID found three law firms which were tasked with analysing legislation on witchcraft claims in 12 countries in the Pacific, Asia and Africa. The firms drew up legislative and other measures to be taken to protect people from witchcraft accusations in Burkina Faso.

Read the article. It’s early days yet, but it looks like a good start.

h/t Butterflies and Wheels