As the Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children came to a close, a senior Interpol official estimated that worldwide trafficking of people, including women and children for prostitution, is worth $9 billion a year. According to officials, however, this number is only the “tip of the iceberg.” Sex trafficking is the third […]
Women’s Enews, an online news service featuring stories of particular interest to women, has announced that it will be breaking away from NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund (NOW LDEF) on January 1, becoming an independent news outlet. Women’s Enews began in June 2000 as a project of NOW LDEF and is now read nationwide […]
A community health bill was dropped late Wednesday night after anti-choice lawmakers added language that would have allowed hospitals and health plans to adopt a “conscience clause” to opt out of providing abortion services and referrals based on religious or moral objections. After being contacted by several Catholic groups, the rider was initiated by House […]
Planned Parenthood of South Africa, the Reproductive Health Research Unit, the Society of Family Health, and the South African Department of Health will supply the female condom free of charge to South African women. The female condom offers some protection against contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted disease (STDs), which is especially needed in South […]
This week marks the 22nd anniversary of the United Nations’ adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the first treaty to comprehensively address women’s rights within political, cultural, economic, social, and family life. This convention, which guarantees women equal rights to work, pay, benefits and safe working […]
The American Medical Association (AMA) this month voted to retract its support for mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women. The vote came after concerns that women, fearing the mandatory testing, were opting not to see their doctors for pre-natal care visits. Women were also not being offered counseling services as part of the HIV screening, […]
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that oral contraceptives have no increase of significant risk for heart attack in young women. The study compared women taking birth control with different hormonal combinations. The pills were classified as being first-, second-, or third- generation, signifying different types of progesterone in combination […]
General Mohammed Qasim, an official in the interim Afghan ministry of justice, has pledged to investigate the thousands of female abductions committed by the Taliban. Qasim, however, admitted that many of the women and girls kidnapped by the Taliban would be difficult to locate as many of them have been killed, forced to be concubines […]
He makes the decisions . . . wherever he wants me to line up, just tell me where.” Several days later, Rather told Entertainment Tonight that if Bush ever “needs me in uniform . . . I’m there.” ABC’s Cokie Roberts certainly didn’t volunteer to suit up, but she, too, unself-consciously admitted to Letterman an […]
Two weeks before the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan, an unnamed military officer involved in the planning offered the Washington Post some chilling insight into the Bush administration’s media strategy: “This is the most information-intensive war you can imagine,” the source said. “We’re going to lie about things.” If you expected the press to summon up […]
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher argues in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association (JAMWA) that women, especially women of color and poor women, are particularly burdened by inequalities in the health care system that must be addressed with “reinventing health care delivery,” from addressing language barriers to other […]
Following recommendations from the ultra-conservative anti-women’s rights Heritage Foundation, the Bush Administration has proposed to eliminate ten regional offices in the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. The Heritage Foundation published “A Budget for America,” asking the White House to “Phase out the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the Women’s Bureau, and the Civil Rights […]
Officials in the Bush Administration confided to the Associated Press that President Bush may act to appoint Eugene Scalia and Otto Reich to their respective posts in the Department of Labor and the State Department during Congress’ recess. The U.S. Senate has not confirmed either nomination, but by law, the President can avoid the Senate […]
Anti-abortion extremist Clayton Lee Waagner pleaded innocent yesterday to charges that he escaped from Dewitt County Jail in Illinois on February 22. Waagner was a fugitive for more than eight months after escaping from the jail where he was awaiting sentencing on federal weapons and stolen vehicle charges. While a fugitive, Waagner allegedly robbed a […]
U.S. District Judge Richard A. Enslen ordered the Michigan High School Athletic Association to re-schedule the girls’ athletic season to be compatible with the boys’ athletic season, which mirrors the seasons used by colleges and universities. Two women sued the Association in 1998 claiming that the original scheduling of girls sports, which did not follow […]
Beverly Holland was charged last week with trafficking teenage girls from Vermont to New York to work as prostitutes. Holland allegedly used an apartment in Burlington to train the girls before taking them to New York City to work as prostitutes. It is unclear how Holland recruited the girls for work, but according to the […]
Leaders from 132 nations convened today at the Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children to create further measures to protect children from sex trafficking and the sex industries. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that more than one million children, primarily girls, are forced into the sex trade each year. In […]
Dr. Sima Samar, the recently appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women’s Affairs for the transitional government of Afghanistan, met today with the U.S. State Department to discuss her role in the interim government that will take office December 22. Samar called on the United States to increase humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to rebuild […]
According to a report issued by the National Women’s Law Center, health policies in the United States are not meeting the needs of American women. The report, “Making the Grade on Women’s Health,” found that more than one in eight women lack health insurance. Of those with health insurance, many women, especially low-income women, do […]
According to a report issued by the National Women’s Law Center, health policies in the United States are not meeting the needs of American women. The report, “Making the Grade on Women’s Health,” found that more than one in eight women lack health insurance. Of those with health insurance, many women, especially low-income women, do […]
