Both public and private institutions have sparked controversy by promoting gender-specific dress codes for employees. The US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has come under criticism for publishing gendered clothing tips in the employee newsletter this summer. OSC’s newsletter included a “Business Casual do’s and don’ts,” offering “sexist and patronizing advice” to professional women in […]
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released its 2006 State of the World Population report yesterday in a morning briefing in Washington, DC, emphasizing the importance of women’s issues and international migration. According to the report, women migrants typically leave their native countries to escape the oppression they face and to gain freedom in a […]
A recent report by Action Aid International finds that girls who are better educated begin having sex later, are more likely to use condoms, and have a decreased chance of contracting HIV. The report, “Girl Power: The Impact of Girls’ Education on HIV and Sexual Behavior,” finds that girls who have completed secondary school have […]
The Chilean government recently decided that contraception will be publicly available for all women over the age of 14. According to IPS, all public health centers must dispense birth control, including emergency contraception (EC), free of charge. The decree also ensures that younger women can without authorization from their parents obtain a prescription for birth […]
The Texas Medical Board finalized Texas’ parental consent form last week for women under 18 seeking an abortion, mandating that the form be notarized by a third party. Though the Texas legislature passed the parental consent law in 2005, the Medical Board was responsible for drafting the final version of the form. The parental consent […]
The US Tennis Association (USTA) paid tribute to legendary tennis player Billie Jean King by renaming the US National Tennis Center in her honor last week. King, who touts an impressive 39 Grand Slam titles, garnered fame for her triumph in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes,” in which she beat the number-one ranked tennis […]
President Bush has announced that he will re-nominate five of his most contentious nominees to serve on federal appellate courts when the Senate reconvenes next week. The nominations were returned to Bush when the Senate recessed in August. Senate Democrats blocked attempts by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) to waive the rule that returns […]
In Britain, a proposed law would criminalize the possession of extreme and violent pornography. The proposal was in reaction to a 30-month campaign by Liz Longhurst, a woman whose daughter was strangled by a man who admitted to an obsession with violent Internet pornography. Longhurst collected 50,000 signatures that would make the possession of violent […]
In a recent survey conducted by the Texas Council on Family Violence of Texans between the ages of 16 and 24, approximately 75 percent of respondents reported knowing someone (themselves included) who had experienced dating violence. About half of the 918 young people surveyed reported being a victim of verbal, physical, or sexual abuse. According […]
The number of women who hold law clerkships with the US Supreme Court has dropped to only seven out of the 37 law clerkships available for the 2006-2007 term. This is the first time that the number of female clerks has dropped into the single digits since 1994, reports the New York Times. Justices Thomas, […]
After drastically increasing the price of birth control pills and patches for the nation’s family planning clinics, Ortho-McNeil announced last week that it will lower its price so that contraceptives will remain affordable. The price hike would have severely limited the services of many family planning clinics that serve low-income women and students. It was […]
The Italian parliament will consider 13 bills next week to change the law that prohibits newborns from receiving any name but the father’s surname, unless the father’s identity is unknown. Italian women MPs (members of Parliament) have introduced various alternatives to this patriarchal law, including allowing parents to choose which surname their children receive, or […]
A three-judge panel of the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals denied an injunction against an Oklahoma law requiring doctors to notify in writing a parent or guardian of a woman under the age of 18 seeking an abortion at least 48 hours before the procedure is performed. The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed […]
The Russian Police have announced that, in an effort to reduce corruption, it will create its first women-only traffic police unit. According to Mikhail Tsukruk, the police chief in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, research shows that women are less inclined to accept bribes, BBC reports. Currently, traffic police units are male-dominated, and traffic […]
In a recent investigative study, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported a significant increase of inappropriate conduct by military recruiters. From 2004 to 2005, incidents of recruiter misconduct increased by 50 percent, and criminal violations – including sexual harassment – increased by over 200 percent, Reuters reports. According to the Associated Press, more than 100 […]
Legislators in Australia are working to pass a bill that would require pregnancy counseling centers to make their positions on abortion clear in order to not mislead women seeking abortions. A government report released earlier this month found that some pregnancy centers are giving women false information about the risks of abortion, or telling women […]
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission ruled on Monday that businesses smaller than 15 employees must provide coverage for contraceptives if their health insurance plan is comprehensive. The Commission ruled that refusing to cover contraceptives is discriminatory towards women when other prescription drugs are covered by the same plan. Sixty percent of employers in Michigan have […]
Conscientious objection laws, which would allow pharmacists to refuse to fill some prescriptions, have been introduced in almost half of all state legislatures this year, but none have been approved. The laws would allow pharmacists to operate on “moral or religious objections,” Kaiser reports; such protection could restrict access to drugs such as birth control. […]
According to an internal investigative survey, the Citadel found that nearly 20 percent of its current female cadets reported being sexually assaulted since enrolling in the military college. Citadel President Lt. General John Rosa, a 1973 graduate of the Citadel, requested that the school conduct the survey last spring in order to improve the campus […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of over-the-counter status for Plan B emergency contraception for women 18 years and older at a press conference today. The announcement is a major victory for women and women’s health advocates nationwide, who have demanded FDA approval for over-the-counter access since 2003. Emergency contraception (EC) is […]
