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 […]
The American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence has published a safety guide for victims of domestic violence and has asked corporations to distribute it to their employees and the general public. The guides will be available in public restrooms and other places where women can easily obtain the information while retaining anonymity. Anti-domestic violence […]
A study conducted by Canadian and U.S. researchers reveals that young women with abnormally high levels of an “insulin-like growth factor” called IGF-1 have seven times greater risk of breast cancer than do other women. IGF-1 is produced by many of the body’s tissues and is important for normal growth. Unfortunately, it fosters the growth […]
Rep. John Kasich (R-OH) announced that he will propose eliminating or lessening the “marriage tax penalty” at a cost of $50-100 billion over a five-year period. The “marriage tax penalty” refers to the higher income taxes some married people pay compared to what they would pay if they were single. In general, married people have […]
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that a Long Island woman cannot use eggs fertilized by her former husband without his permission. The court reaffirmed a contract that Maureen and Steven Kass signed at the time the eggs and sperm were donated, which stated that the fertilized eggs would not be released without written […]
An alliance of humanitarian aid agencies called the Afghan Donor Support Group issued a statement urging the Taliban to remove blockades in northern, opposition-held sections of Afghanistan* and to improve security conditions for humanitarian aid workers. Thousands of Afghans are near starvation because the Taliban’s blockades and dangerous conditions make it impossible for aid workers […]
The House National Security Committee rejected Rep. Jane Harman’s (D-CA) amendment to reverse the 1995 ban on privately-funded abortions for military women stationed overseas. NARAL president Kate Michelman said, “Many of the countries where servicewomen are stationed do not have the same quality of health care that we have in the United States. This ban […]
An amendment offered by Rep. Frank Riggs (R-CA) in the House yesterday was defeated by a vote of 249 to 171. The amendment would have prohibited federally-funded colleges and universities from considering race or gender in admissions policies. This is the second time the House has defeated an anti-affirmative action bill in the past two […]
The University of California is considering raising its “automatic enrollment” standards to include only the top 4% of graduates in an effort to increase minority enrollment. Currently, any applicant who is ranked in the top 12.5 percent of her or his graduating class is automatically admitted to the school. Since affluent, largely white schools send […]
The IRS reversed its decision to deny tax-exempt status from Kathy’s Group, a cancer support group for lesbians in Rhode Island. The IRS had previously argued that the group was not eligible for tax-exempt status because the group is designed to serve a specialized group of women, and not all women. Lawyer David Buckel, who […]
United Methodist pastor Rev. Jimmy Creech was fired from his job at First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, for performing a lesbian “unity ceremony” last fall. Many United Methodist church members left Rev. Creech’s congregation, and division and dissension still abounds. Bishop Joel Martinez reportedly told Rev. Creech that he was fired because this […]
