A Navy veteran who has transitioned since her military career ended has successfully petitioned the Pentagon to have her military records reflect her correct gender. This is the first time the Pentagon has approved such a change. Autumn Sandeen was assigned male at birth but knew that she was female in her teen years. She […]
On Tuesday, a court in the Tunisian city of Kairouan convicted a feminist activist with carrying a can of pepper spray given to her by a journalist. Amina Sboui, also known as Amina Tyler and a member of the feminist group Femen, was arrested on May 19 while staging a protest. She was charged with […]
The Supreme Court of El Salvador ruled in a four to one decision to deny a life-saving abortion to a woman with an unviable pregnancy. “Beatriz”, who is currently 22 and is already the mother of a young infant, was diagnosed with multiple severe illnesses including kidney failure and lupus and is now 26 weeks […]
Henry Morgentaler, a lynchpin figure in the history of legal abortion in Canada, passed away on Tuesday from a heart attack. Dr. Morgentaler was 90 years old. Born in Poland and a Holocaust survivor, Dr. Morgentaler arrived in Canada in 1950. After graduating medical school and becoming a Canadian citizen, he opened Canada’s first independent […]
In a landmark victory, the High Court in Meru, Kenya ruled Monday that local police had failed to properly investigate hundreds of rape cases over the past several years. In his ruling, Justice Makau ordered the Inspector General of Police, as well as their agents, delegates, and subordinates, to re-investigate multiple rape cases as part […]
Yesterday Facebook announced that it will revise its harmful content policy to include gender-based violence after a social media campaign pressured advertisers to pull their ads from the website. Last week Women, Action, & the Media (WAM), Everyday Sexism, and a coalition of other organizations and leaders launched the Twitter and email campaign #FBrape in […]
On Tuesday the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the state of Indiana over the blocking of a law that would ban Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding. The Court dismissed the case without comment, allowing the lower court ruling to stand. Last July, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled […]
On Tuesday, Italy’s lower house of parliament unanimously approved a European treaty to end violence against women while the country mourned a 15-year-old victim of intimate partner violence. The lower house of parliament ratified the Council of Europe’s Istanbul convention, which would create and reinforce legal measures to prevent and prosecute gender-based violence. The treaty […]
The North Carolina House of Representatives is considering an anti-immigration bill that would allow law enforcement officials to police a person’s immigration status based on “reasonable suspicion.” The bill has already advanced in committee. House Bill 786, or the Reasonable Enactment of Comprehensive Legislation Addressing Immigration Matters Act (RECLAIM Act) [PDF], would allow law enforcement officials to […]
An 18-year-old high school senior in Florida who was charged with a felony and expelled from her school for a consensual same-sex relationship with a 15-year-old classmate rejected a plea deal from the state on Friday. Kaitlin Hunt was arrested in February and charged with “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 16” after the […]
Today is the opening day of the 2013 Women Deliver Global Conference, the largest conference on women’s health, maternal health and maternal mortality in the world. The third annual conference is being held this year in Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Activists, lawmakers, UN officials, and business leaders from around the world will gather […]
On Thursday, the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay youth to participate in the organization. Openly gay leaders and adults are still prohibited from taking part. Over 1,400 members of the BSA National Council voted on the proposed change, with over 60 percent voting in favor of allowing gay youth. However, openly […]
On Thursday, a panel of eight male members of the House of Representatives met to discuss a nationwide ban of abortion after 20 weeks gestation. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice began consideration of the DC Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act on Thursday. The bill, sponsored by Trent Franks (R-AZ), who […]
Four universities across the country are facing allegations of mishandling sexual assault cases in violation of the Clery Act and Title IX. On Wednesday, students filed complaints against Dartmouth College, Swarthmore College, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California. Attorney Gloria Allred said at a press conference, “We are asking the […]
A member of the Russian feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot has announced that she is launching a hunger strike after she was denied the right to attend her parole hearing. Maria Alyokhina was denied the ability to attend her parole hearing in person and instead had to communicate with the court through video link […]
A sergeant first class with the US Military Academy at West Point is facing charges of secretly filming female cadets with hidden cameras and without consent. Sergeant First Class Michael McClendon is accused of secretly videotaping at least a dozen women without their consent. McClendon, who has been an instructor at West Point since 2009, […]
On Tuesday, the Arizona law banning abortion after 20 weeks in a pregnancy was ruled unconstitutional and permanently struck down. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 20 week ban in Arizona violated a woman’s constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before viability (around 24 weeks) as determined by Roe v. Wade. In […]
Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. The bill, drafted by the so-called “Gang of Eight,” includes a path to citizenship for the 11 million people currently in the United States who do not have legal status. It also includes measures to […]
On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery. Roberts was suspended following allegations of “adultery and a physical altercation.” Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for […]
A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for ‘moral crimes’ has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth. Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though […]
