The Japanese government, which has been known to have lax anti-trafficking policies, is making final edits to a new law that will make trafficking illegal in Japan. According to Kyodo News, the new law will enable immigration authorities to expel foreigners from Japan without trial if they are found guilty of trafficking. The new law […]
A bipartisan group of 156 Senators and Representatives introduced a bill this week to expand federal funding for stem cell research. The bill is aimed at loosening restrictions that President Bush placed on federal funding for stem cell research in 2001, which limited federal funding to research that uses stem cells that existed before his […]
Following pressure by women’s groups and Harvard faculty members, Harvard President Lawrence Summers finally released the transcript of the speech he gave at an academic conference last month during which he suggested the possibility that women have less innate ability to perform in science and mathematics than men. “I’m glad his words are finally out […]
Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and John Kerry (D-MA), aligned with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-MA) and Representative Sheila Tubbs Jones (D-OH), introduced a voting reform bill yesterday in an attempt to make sure that every American is able to vote and that every vote is counted. The Count Every Vote Act of 2005 gives voters […]
Oregon mental health experts are protesting a federal agency’s efforts to delete references to gay, lesbian, and transgender people from the title of a suicide prevention program. The federally funded Portland, Oregon conference, “Suicide Prevention Among Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Individuals,” has been renamed “Suicide Prevention in Vulnerable Populations” in response to a “suggestion” made by project manager […]
Mae Jackson, the first popularly elected African-American mayor of Waco, Texas, died suddenly on Friday at the age of 63 after being admitted to the hospital for chest pains and flu-like symptoms. Jackson has been credited for being a unifier of races and social classes in Waco, and for knowing and understanding the town’s community […]
Poland’s Parliament voted 199 to 183 to drop a measure that would have liberalized the severely restrictive abortion laws in a country that currently has a very powerful Catholic hierarchy. According to Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, the measure would legalized abortions up to 12 weeks gestation and called for sex education to be taught […]
The Department of Labor is considering changes to the landmark Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) after years of pressure from business interests. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, the Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to propose changes as early as March of this year. “The proposals would make FMLA inaccessible to […]
South Dakota’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday that would outlaw abortion in the state if a woman’s right to choose was no longer protected by the federal government. The bill, known as a “trigger statute” and sponsored by state Representative Joel Dykstra (R), would not offer exceptions for rape or incest […]
At a mosque in Iran yesterday, at least 59 people were killed and over 250 injured after a female worshipper’s veil was set on fire by a kerosene heater. Forty of the people killed were women. Women were separated from the men on the second floor, which is a common practice in the country, causing […]
Defrocked priest Paul Shanley was sentenced today to serve 12 to 15 years for repeated sexual assault over the course of six years of a young boy in the 1980s. Shanley will be eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence, and once released from prison will be on probation for ten years, according […]
Activist and writer Gloria Steinem was honored on Thursday by the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Awarding Steinem the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, Dean Mills called her a “personal hero and truly a giant of America,” reports the Columbia Missourian. Suzanne Levine, writer and former Ms. magazine editor spoke warmly […]
On Monday, President Bush renominated seven of the ten judicial nominees that were blocked by Democratic filibusters during his first term because of their extreme right-wing records. An additional five of the 20 nominations sent to the Senate yesterday include nominees whose confirmations were slowed because of Democratic opposition to their ultra-conservative backgrounds. “The President […]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will appoint a female provincial governor for the first time in Afghanistan’s history. Karzai will be choosing the governor of the central Bamiyan province from a short list of all-female candidates that includes the former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Habiba Sorabi, reports the Associated Press. Many see the appointment of a […]
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) was prevented from testifying on Thursday about the need to include information on emergency contraception in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault victims before an advisory committee working to strengthen the federal Violence Against Women Act. Rep. Maloney was told that if she did not […]
Today marks the first day of National Condom Week of Action. Even though consistent condom use reduces the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by 85 to 100 percent, men aged 15 to 59 in sub-Saharan African receive, on average, less than five condoms per year. According to UNAIDS, women now comprise 50 percent of those who […]
Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a bill yesterday that would provide $206 million a year in grant money to states for comprehensive, medically accurate, and science-based sex education. The bill, called the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, would create a grant-giving program to be administered by the Department of […]
United Nations peacekeepers stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been banned from having sex with local residents as a result of allegations of widespread sexual abuse of women and girls by peacekeepers. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a letter to the Security Council requesting a curfew and 100 more military police to […]
Carly Fiorina, one of the most powerful female chief executive officers in America, was forced to resign on Wednesday by the board of Hewlett-Packard due to the unsuccessful results of the company’s merger with Compaq. Fiorina served as president, chief executive and chairperson of Hewlett-Packard, the first woman to serve as all three at a […]
Despite recent studies showing the ineffectiveness of abstinence-only education, President Bush’s FY2006 budget proposal increases funding for abstinence-only education programs by $39 million, to $193 million. The increase in funds is more than 50 percent since 2004, according to the New York Times. Public health advocates are concerned about the increases in abstinence-only spending. Dr. […]
