Earlier today Bernard Preynat, a 75-year-old ex-priest, was convicted and sentenced to prison for five years for sexual assault. Preynat admitted to abusing dozens of boys for nearly 20 years in Lyon, France. The case highlights the profound corruption within the Church’s establishments with the guilt of a top cardinal deepening the world’s understanding of […]
As Coronavirus Spreads, So Does Inequality Among Infected Persons
The coronavirus is deepening economic inequality throughout society, especially among those infected with the virus. Research suggests that those of lower incomes are more at risk to catch the disease, die from it, and even if they manage to remain healthy they are more likely to suffer income loss. Additionally, inequality itself may be creating […]
Women Resist, but Continue to Suffer Under Boko Haram
Over 500 women have been used by Boko Haram as suicide bombers during the decade-long war that has occurred in Nigeria and has spread to three neighboring countries. According to terrorism experts, this number is higher than any other conflict in history. Boko Haram is one of the most lethal terrorist organizations on the planet, […]
‘Progressive Vanguard’ of LGBT Voters Showed Up for Democratic Primaries
Even though LGBT people make up about 4.5 percent of the entire US population, they made up more than 9 percent of voters who turned out for the Democratic primary elections. The “disproportionately high number” of LGBT voters who turned out were both younger and more liberal than non-LGBT voters in the primaries, according to […]
Transgender Minors in NY Now Allowed to Change Their Gender Marker
Transgender individuals born in New York can now change their gender marker on their birth certificate before their 18th birthday thanks to a lawsuit by a 14-year-old trans boy, known only as M.H.W. “Effective immediately, transgender individuals born in New York will have the right to make this deeply personal decision without the government’s […]
Patients Seek Out-of-State Care as Missouri’s Only Abortion Clinic Threatened with Closure
Missouri’s strict abortion laws have begun pushing patients out of the state to seek reproductive healthcare, reports Planned Parenthood. The state’s only remaining abortion clinic has seen a severe drop in patients as it fights a legal battle against the state government to stay open. The clinic, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the […]
Menstrual Equity Movement Spotlights Period Inequality
The movement known as menstrual or period equity aims to eliminate taxes on menstrual products as well as provide supplies to people who need the products the most, such as in homeless shelters, schools, and prisons. Proponents of menstrual equity point to challenges facing people who are unable to access menstrual supplies, some of which […]
Colorado Replaces Columbus Day with A Paid Holiday That Celebrates a Woman
Colorado passed a bill this week to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day in an effort to better represent the diversity of its community. It will now be the first paid state holiday in the country to celebrate a woman. The holiday now honors Frances Xaxier Cabrini or Mother Cabrini, an Italian American Roman Catholic […]
Guatamalan Refugee Maria Celeste Ochoa Yoc de Ramirez Dies in ICE Custody
22-year-old Maria Celeste Ochoa Yoc de Ramirez died in ICE Custody in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday. This marks the eighth death in ICE Custody since October. The cause of death was “autoimmune hepatitis, complicated by septic shock and acute liver failure,” according to an ICE Press release. Ochoa Yoc de Ramírez had been hospitalized […]
U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Continues to Dominate; Fight with U.S. Soccer Federation Ongoing
The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) gained yet another win in a soccer game against Spain in the SheBelieves Cup yesterday, shutting them down with a narrow 1-0 win. A win against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), however, is less certain. There is no dispute that the USWNT continues its domination on the […]
Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison
Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday morning. The sentencing comes after a jury found him guilty of rape and a criminal sexual act on February 24. He was acquitted of two counts of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape. Justice James A. Burke of the New York State Supreme Court […]
Canada Proposes Comprehensive Nationwide Conversion Therapy Ban
In a landmark move, Canada’s federal government has proposed legislation to criminalize forced conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. The legislation would also prohibit conversion therapy for minors. “Conversion therapy” is a range of abusive practices performed to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices, based on the antiquated idea that […]
UN Commission on the Status of Women Reaffirms Plan to Achieve Gender Equality
On March 9, the Commission on the Status of Women, the primary United Nations body promoting women’s rights, reaffirmed a 1995 plan to achieve gender equality and has pledged to work rapidly to meet rising levels of gender inequality and conservative hostility. According to a release from the Associated Press, the plan is a “political […]
Hillary Clinton: Abandoning Afghan Women’s Rights is Not Just Morally Wrong – It Is Dangerous
At a UN meeting on the recent deal between the U.S. and the Taliban about the role of Afghan women’s rights today in New York, Secretary Hillary Clinton emphasized that “encouraging women’s participation is not only the right thing to do; it is the strategic and necessary thing to do for peace, prosperity and security.” […]
UN Secretary-General Points to Gender Equality as Biggest Challenge
On Friday, before the observation of International Women’s Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asserted that gender equality is “the biggest human rights challenge we face” in the midst of men who abuse their power. Guterres added that he himself is a “proud feminist.” A report by UN Women found that millions of women across the […]
Mexican Women Stay Home in “A Day Without Women” to Protest Femicide
Countless women skipped school, work, and other social functions yesterday as part of a 24-hour strike to protest the unprecedented levels of violence against women. This left offices and classrooms half full, trains and buses empty and fewer cars on the streets. To the women participating, this strike was about “showing, socially … how valuable […]
Taliban Resumes Killing Afghans Despite Agreement with the U.S.; Human Rights, Women’s Rights, Democracy Omitted
Shortly after the U.S. and the Taliban signed a so-called peace agreement, the Taliban resumed their attacks across Afghanistan in 24 of its 34 provinces. Between February 29th and March 4th, the Taliban conducted 76 attacks. More than 100 Afghan government officials and civilians have been killed in these attacks. In a major attack today […]
UK Court Judges Dubai Sheikh on Abusive Treatment of Wife and Daughters
A family court in the United Kingdom has judged, on the civil standard, that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai orchestrated abductions of two of his daughters and subjected his wife to a campaign of intimidation after she advocated for her daughters’ freedom. In April 2019, the sheikh’s former wife, Princess Haya of Jordan, […]
Alabama Executes Yet Another African-American With Case Discrepancies
The state of Alabama executed death row inmate Nathaniel Woods last night for allegedly murdering three Birmingham police officers in 2004. Pronounced dead at 9:01pm local time, Woods gave no final statement, according to the state corrections department. He was 44 years old at the time of his execution by lethal injection. Alabama Governor Kay […]
Virginia Bans Conversion Therapy for Minors
Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed a bill banning medical professionals from practicing “conversion therapy” on minors, a major win for LGBTQ youth in the state. Virginia is the first state in the South, and the 20th in the country, to outlaw the practice. Conversion therapy, the practice of attempting to change someone’s gender […]