Women’s chances of being murdered by “intimates,” including current or former spouses or boyfriends, have risen since 1976, according to a Justice Department report, “Violence by Inmates.” The report said, “Intimate violence predominantly affects women as victims …. Violence by an intimate accounts for about 21 percent of the violent crime experienced by women and […]
Mary Shallenberger, principal consultant to California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, has been elected the next national chair of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Shallenberger will take over at PPFA’s full membership meeting in December. She will fulfill her chair duties on her own time and will not receive pay for the position. Sen. […]
The Taliban militia group sent a letter to Sergio de Mello, the United Nation’s humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, stating that they would no longer allow foreign Muslim women in the country unless accompanied by a close male relative. If the new law is enforced, U.N. programs for women and girls could face enormous setbacks. The […]
Sgt. Maj. Gene C. McKinney, the Army’s former top enlisted man, was acquitted of 18 counts of sexual misconduct by a military jury. McKinney was convicted on one count of obstructing justice in lieu of a telephone conversation in which he told an accuser to testify that no wrong-doing had taken place. The women who […]
A survey issued by USA Today found that women totaled only one-fourth of law clerks hired by the U.S. Supreme Court, around 5% of clerks were Asian, less than 2% were African-American, and even less were Hispanic. Investigators found an ‘old-boys club’ system of hiring law clerks, including hiring only Harvard, Yale or other elite […]
A jury of 13 United Methodist clerics found Rev. Jimmy Creech not guilty of violating church rules when he performed a marriage ceremony for two lesbian parishioners. Creech has been reinstated as minister of the First United Methodist Church in Omaha. Although the Methodist church’s “Social Principles” includes a 1996 order that ministers should not […]
The Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of an ultrasound machine that tests for osteoporosis. Women can place their foot into the Hologic Inc.’s Sahara Bone Sonometer. The sonometer then measures the density of the heel by sending high-frequency sound waves through the bones, and comparing the speed of the sound waves through the […]
Actress Delta Burke will be in D.C.’s Dupont Circle Crown Books on Wednesday to sign her new book, Delta Style: Eve Wasn’t a Size Six and Neither Am I. Burke is also launching a line of clothing for women sizes 14 to 26. The average woman in the United States is 5 feet 4 inches […]
A survey released by the VanAmburg Group, Inc. concluded that the majority of hungry people in the United States are white, female, very old or very young and working. Director of Tufts University Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy J. Larry Brown said, “The data run counter to almost every stereotype we have of […]
The Kenya chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya) found that women suffer the most during ethnic conflicts. A fact-finding mission revealed that women living in and around areas of repeated civil conflicts experience increased violence, poverty and health and hygiene problems. FIDA-Kenya member Njoki Ndung’u reported, “There are many internally displaced people […]
A jury of United Methodist Church ministers will rule on charges that the Rev. Jimmy Creech disobeyed United Methodist Church rules when he performed a unity ceremony for two of his female parishioners. Rev. Loren Ekdahl said that the ceremony was an “unauthorized ritual conducted as if it were an official rite of the church.” […]
British prisons will release up to 150 sex offenders, including rapists and pedophiles, without supervision in the next two years. The release comes as a result of a loophole created by the British Criminal Justice Act of 1991, which requires people convicted of sex crimes after 1992 to be supervised after their release. Sex offenders […]
Residents of Sydney, Australia attended the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras this week. This year marked the festival’s 20th anniversary. Sydney lawyer and journalist David Marr said, “behind the frivolity of the parade, the message is that there is unfinished business. In its outrageous, flamboyant way Mardi Gras is a reminder that the campaign […]
In a White House ceremony marking International Women’s Day First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the Taliban militia group for its violations of women’s human rights in Afghanistan. She said, “We must give voice to women in Afghanistan, where women are brutalized and silenced by the Taliban — where girls are barred from school, where […]
Western companies are making millions in a booming mail-order bride and “romance tour” industry that not only degrades women but also exposes many to domestic abuse. Mail- order bride companies feature women from Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America in catalogues and on Web sites. Many of the women are portrayed as “traditional, family-oriented” […]
Five of the six female mechanics working for the Washington, D.C. Metro are applying for six manager’s positions in the male-dominated rail maintenance division. Metro is trying to increase the number of women in higher-up positions. Currently there are 1,446 women out of 8,173 employees. The mechanics’ supervisor, Lemuel Proctor, says he would like to […]
The American Association of University Women issued a report stating that girls-only math and science math classes did not improve test scores, but did improve girls’ confidence levels and attitudes towards science and math. Executive director of the AAUW Janice Weinman said, “We went in with an open mind, and what the research shows is […]
Vice-President Al Gore called on Congress to pass laws that would end discrimination against women in the health care industry. Gore said that the President’s health care quality commission had recently reported “very strong evidence of the unequal treatment of women in our health care system.” For example, Gore said, women are less likely to […]
San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown will perform a marriage ceremony for 50 same-sex couples at City Hall. The ceremony is open to the first 50 couples to pay the city’s $35 registration free to be recognized as domestic partners and $30 for the ceremony. Brown said, “On March 25th, we will put a human face […]
Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said that President Clinton has vowed to veto any IMF funding legislation that includes abortion restrictions. Daschle said, “We’re just not going to be blackmailed into accepting language that is totally unacceptable.” White House spokesman Michael McCurry said that President Clinton is “certainly moving” towards a veto. House […]
