Lawmakers in New York and California are considering new legislation that would ban virginity testing—the first such bills in the nation. The two bills were introduced after rapper T.I. said he subjects his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah Harris to an annual gynecological exam to see if her hymen is “still intact.” The practice is condemned by […]
Despite Recommendations Against the Practice, Unnecessary Pelvic Exams are Still Common
A recent study from JAMA uncovered that although there are clear guidelines against the practice, U.S. doctors continue to perform an estimated 2.6 million unnecessary pelvic exams and pap smears on girls and young women costing nearly $123 million annually. The statistics spark new movements against healthcare practices that harm specifically young women and girls. […]
Gender-Based Violence on the Rise as Climate Crisis Continues
The climate crisis is becoming increasingly linked to violence against women and girls, and gender-based exploitation is rendering attempts to curb the adverse effects of environmental degradation ineffective. There are increasing calls for more intersectionality in governments and institutions’ efforts to combat the climate crisis while centering girls and women in their strategies. Over the […]
Actor David Schwimmer Says ‘There Was A Lot of Overreacting’ in #MeToo Movement
Actor David Schwimmer said in a recent interview that the #MeToo movement created an atmosphere of “terror” for all men. David Schwimmer credits his social activism with having grown up in a strong female household, citing both his mother-a feminist activist and lawyer-and sister as examples of women who have shaped his perspective. Schwimmer, in […]
Delaware Man Charged after Allegedly Throwing Molotov cocktail at Planned Parenthood Clinic
A Delaware man has been arrested and charged with federal crimes after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Delaware Planned Parenthood clinic last Friday night. 18-year-old Samuel James Gulick has been charged with maliciously damaging a building with fire or a destructive device and intentionally damaging a facility that provides reproductive health services. If […]
Seattle Man Whose Guns Were Confiscated for Threats Against Women has Guns Returned by Judge
A Seattle man, who made multiple gun violence threats on social media, had his guns returned to him by a judge. Charles Donnelly had his firearms, all legally owned, confiscated in mid-October after multiple threatening social media posts. Several weeks later, he returned to court and testified that the posts were only jokes. His lawyer, […]
Australian Woman’s Stalker Used an App to Track Her Phone and Control Her Car
An Australian woman’s ex-boyfriend used multiple apps to stalk her, including an app that controlled the functions of her car. The 38-year old man pleaded guilty on charges of stalking his ex-girlfriend, to whom he dated for six months. After police searched his home, they found a notebook tracking his ex-girlfriend’s information, including places she […]
Director Roman Polanski Accused of 1975 Rape by French Actress
Valentine Monnier, a 62 year old French actress, revealed in an interview with Le Parisien that director Roman Polanski violently raped her in 1975 at his skiing chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland. At the time, Monnier was 18 years old while Polanski was 42. She told Le Parisien that she went to Polanski’s skiing chalet with […]
International Criminal Court Sentences Man to 30 Years in Prison for Sexual Slavery
Bosco Ntaganda, a former rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been sentenced by the International Criminal Court to 30 years in prison after being convicted of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, murder, sexual slavery, and the use of child soldiers. Ntaganda is the first person to […]
Fort Worth Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Atatiana Jefferson in Her Own Home Charged with Murder
The Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black woman in her own home has been charged with murder. Early Saturday morning Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, 28, was shot and killed by a police officer inside her own home after a neighbor called a non-emergency police number for a wellness check on her. […]
Jeffrey Epstein Victim Jennifer Araoz Names More Defendants in Sex Trafficking Ring
Jennifer Araoz, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, filed a new complaint Tuesday that names multiple women and more than 20 corporate entities she says enabled the wealthy businessman’s sexual assaults of herself and other young women throughout the mid-2000s. The complaint accuses four people of facilitating Epstein’s abuse of Araoz when she was 14 years […]
Nepal’s Parliament Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara Resigns after Rape Accusation
The speaker of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, stepped down from his position on Tuesday after a parliamentary employee accused him of raping her on Sunday in her own apartment. The lawmaker, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a prominent figure within the country’s governing Nepal Communist Party, denied assaulting the woman who accused him […]
Actor Dakota Johnson Launches New Podcast To Share Sexual Assault Stories
Actor Dakota Johnson launched her new podcast, The Left Ear, where she shares sexual assault survivor’s stories. The initiative began when Johnson posted her cell phone number on social media asking followers to leave her voicemails of their sexual assault, harassment, and gender-based inequality stories. Johnson, one year later, has now taken these stories and […]
19 Women Rescued From Baby Factory in Nigeria
19 Nigerian women were rescued from being trafficked in Lagos, where they were raped, became forcibly pregnant, and had their babies sold. On September 19, police busted a human trafficking hub in Nigeria. They rescued 19 pregnant women, aged between 15 and 28, and four children from four properties in Lagos they described as one […]
Shooting of Dallas Transgender Woman Being Investigated as a Hate Crime
Dallas police say a transgender woman was seriously wounded after being shot multiple times late Friday, and they are investigating the attack as a hate crime. On Sunday, police asked for help identifying the suspect and released pictures of his red four-door Chevrolet pickup truck. They said the unidentified man pulled up alongside the survivor, […]
When a Woman’s First Sexual Experience is Non-Consensual Long-Term Health Problems Follow, Study Shows
According to a study published Monday, which surveyed women ages 18 to 44 in the United States, more than 3 million women experienced rape as their first sexual experience, resulting in long-term health consequences. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that most respondents were adolescents when they were raped, and that these women […]
Feminist Protestors in South Africa Demand Change
Anti-violence protestors in South Africa demand government and business response to the rising violence against women, saying the government is issuing empty promises to help women. As protestors are gathered outside parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, the government says changes are coming. President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his trip to the United Nations to […]
Lyft Announces Safety Updates to its Policies Amid Sexual Assault Concerns
Lyft has announced changes to its safety policies following a lawsuit filed by 14 women saying the company didn’t do enough to protect them from sexual assault by drivers or to support them through the process of reporting. The lawsuit against Lyft alleged that the company allowed known sexual predators to work as drivers and adopted […]
The Fight for Women’s Justice in Mexico Continues with Silent March in Capital City
On Sunday, September 8th, hundreds of citizens took to the streets of Mexico City to participate in a silent march to end the ever-present violence against women in Mexico. Forty percent of Mexican women experience sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the United Nations. Investigations into these cases are often careless, skewed in favor […]
Former Lowell Correctional Institution Inmates Protest after Woman is Brutally Beaten
Two weeks after guards at Lowell Correctional Institution — the largest women’s prison in Florida and the second largest in the nation — brutally beat a woman with mental and physical disabilities, former inmates from the women’s prison protested the inhumane prison conditions they have experienced for more than a decade, including physical and sexual […]