New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani has proposed new legislation that would extend all the city services, benefits, and responsibilities now granted to married residents to registered domestic partners. If passed, New York’s recognition of unmarried couples will be comparable with that of San Francisco and the state of Hawaii. The legislation, sponsored by Democratic […]
After unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Irmo High School officials, the ACLU has filed a federal lawsuit against the school for violating its students’ constitutional right to protest the school’s cancellation of a scheduled performance by the Indigo Girls, an openly-lesbian duo. At least ten students were suspended and many others received detention after they […]
Ten gang members confessed to raping and beating fifty or more young women in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican city near the U.S. border. So far, the suspects have denied murdering the women and police say they cannot prove otherwise. Women’s groups report that 118 women have been brutally raped, murdered and left to decay in […]
The season finale of Ellen, the first television program with an openly lesbian main character, will air tonight at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. A “mockumentary” finale, hosted by journalist Linda Ellerbee, features the media’s response to and portrayal of social issues during the past fifty years. Ellen will ponder the significance of many historic […]
A 1996 study of 400 menopausal women found that the drug raloxifene, sold under the brand name Evista, lowered women’s “bad” cholesterol and increased their levels of “good cholesterol.” Raloxifene, though not as effective estrogen in maintaining good cholesterol levels, may be preferable to estrogen and other estrogen-like drugs because it effectively fights the problems […]
In response to protests made by women’s rights, human rights, and labor organizations, Nike has announced a plan to improve working conditions in its Asian factories. Nike will raise the minimum age of its footwear workers from 14 to 18 and will raise the age of other factory workers from 14 to 16. U.S. indoor […]
The Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act recently passed in the House by a vote of 402 to 16 and is expected to become law soon. The Act would mandate felony charges for the following deadbeat parents: parents who owe $10,000 or more in child support; parents who have been behind on child support payments for two […]
Cristina Sanchez became the first woman bullfighter to perform in Madrid’s renowned Las Ventas bullring this week. Two years ago, Sanchez became the first professional woman matador in Europe. An AP articles reported that “fighting in Madrid is a coveted honor reserved for the best.”
An American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has accused health insurers that pay for Viagra but do not pay for women’s birth control of sex discrimination. According to a USA Today article, many employee-sponsored health care plans cover or are planning to cover the cost of Viagra but deny compensation for non-reversible birth control for […]
Brig. Gen. Darrel Porr testified that he did not try to kiss, make sexual advances toward, stroke, or talk suggestively to his subordinate Kelly Theriot. He also denied retaliating against Theriot for her claims. Theriot has accused Porr of sexual harassment and of conspiring against her, along with several other top-level officers, to strip her […]
The Citadel paid former cadet Kim Messer $15,000 for a sexual harassment case in which the Citadel was not named as a defendant in order to discourage future lawsuits. Messer, who received a total of $33,750 in the settlement, had accused six male cadets of negligence and mistreatment. The cadets were accused of kicking and […]
The Canadian government began a nationwide survey of its lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens last Thursday. Results of the survey will be used to develop and restructure Canadian public policies. The study, estimated to cost nearly $400,000 in all, will be based on 30,000 English and 10,000 French language surveys. The surveys were designed to […]
Afghanistan’s northern opposition alliance lost territory to the Taliban in this weekend’s fighting and has launched a counterattack. The number of casualities has not yet been reported. Since the fundamentalist Taliban regime took control of Afghanistan’s capital city in September 1996, women have been systematically stripped of their human rights. A series of decrees prohibit […]
Rear Adm. Kevin Green, commander of the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, ordered an external review of conditions there after an instructor was charged with fraternization, abuse of authority and obstruction of justice last week. The review, to be conducted by the Navy’s inspector general, will evaluate current naval procedures used to select and monitor […]
South Africa’s High Court ruled that the country’s common law crimes of sodomy and “unnatural sex offences” were unconstitutional. The case was brought before the Court by the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE) and the Human Rights Commission. Before the High Court’s ruling, sodomy between consenting adults could bring a maximum 10-year […]
Conservative Gulf emirate Qatar held a major sporting event in which women were allowed as both spectators and athletes for the first time last Thursday. Winners of the events were featured prominently in Qatari press Friday. University of Qatar psychologist Muza al-Malki speculates that a demand made by the ruling emir’s wife, Sheikha Muza al-Mussanad, […]
In a Mother’s Day radio address, President Clinton promoted his $21.7 billion plan to subsidize child care for working parents. The plan has been opposed in Congress by Republicans who want to give tax breaks to stay-at-home moms and families instead. In his address, Clinton urged support for a bankruptcy reform proposal that would place […]
Yale University’s former women’s studies program has been renamed “women’s and gender studies” and divided its undergraduate major into three areas of concentration -women’s studies, lesbian, gay, and bisexual studies, and gender studies. University officials stated that the changes were made to draw more students into the program.
According to a February 16 article published in The Economist, increasing numbers of men in Bangladesh are burning their wives and other women with acid. Sixteen young women were treated for severe acid burns within a period of just a few days early this year, and the Dhaka Medical College Hospital has seen the average […]
Five unnamed naval officers have been accused of sexual misconduct and engaging in improper relationships with female recruits at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, the navy’s only boot camp. Three of the five officer’s cases have been referred to a military court; the remainder will be heard in regular courts-martial. Feminist News Stories on […]
