After hours of debate, the Senate failed to vote yesterday on the Military Justice Improvement Act.
Lawmakers Push for Changes in US Military Justice System
MJIA attempts to erase the systemic obstacles that victims of sexual assault in the military face due to the “clear bias and inherent conflicts of interest posed by the military chain of command’s current sole decision-making power over whether cases move forward to a trial.”
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Supreme Court To Consider Scope of Domestic Violence Gun Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Tuesday to consider the scope of a federal law that bans people who have been convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun.
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California Governor Signs 3 Bills Related to Rape, Domestic Violence
“Every victim deserves justice, regardless of their relationship status.”
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Victim Blaming Judge Gives Rapist 30 Day Sentence
“Something is not right with our system when a judge can make that kind of decision.”
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DOE Investigating USC Classification of Rape
The University of Southern California (USC) currently classifies sexual assaults on campus as “injury response,” preventing the Los Angeles Police Department from being notified of the attack.
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Honor Killing Leaves Unease About Future of Afghan Women’s Rights
A Mullah has issued fatwa, or religious edict, for the execution of a woman named Halima who has been in hiding since April. Abdul Ghafoor ordered her father to shoot Halima in front of the villagers. According to Tolo News, Halima was accused of her illicit relationship with a man in Kokchail Village of Badghis province. Ghafoor handed over a gun to Halima’s father and asked him to kill his 20-year old daughter in front of the public.
Sorting Through The Chaos: One-Third of Teens Are In An Abusive Relationship. What Now?
A report found that over one-third of teenagers have been in an abusive relationship. I spoke to two young women about why this is and how we can end this cycle.
New All-Women Jirga in Pakistan Takes Steps Toward Equality
In Pakistan, the rights of fundamentalists surpass the rights of women.
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Indian Juvenile Court Defers Verdict of Fatal Rape Case
A juvenile court in India has deferred the verdict of a 17 year old who is accused of participating in the gang-rape of a woman who later died from her injuries. He is charged with “rape, murder, destroying evidence, and other crimes including kidnapping carried out while aged 17.”
A Man Who Will Choke You in Public: What Scares Me About Nigella Lawson’s Abuse
If it can happen to Nigella Lawson, it can happen to anyone. This is anything but a private matter.
WHO: Violence Against Women is a Crisis of “Epidemic Proportions”
This study could be the foundation of a new era that may lead us to the end of violence against women as a whole.
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Senate Armed Services Committee Removes Provision Challenging Military Sexual Assault
Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) announced that he will remove a provision from the defense spending bill that would take military sexual assault cases out of the chain of command.
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Advocating for an Inclusive VAWA
by Amanda Reed, Communications Intern at the National Organization for Women On Feb. 12, the Senate passed an inclusive version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that would include provisions for previously-unprotected groups. Last week, the House revealed its own version of VAWA: a watered-down, non-inclusive bill that cuts out these protections. Sound familiar? […]
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Prioritizing Campus Safety
There is a crisis at colleges and universities across the nation. In just the first six weeks of 2013, a Huffington Post survey found 75 instances of sexual assaults reported on college campuses. This is outrageous, but we shouldn’t be surprised. A U.S. Department of Justice study found that around 28 percent of womenare targets […]
Men’s Manifesto 2012
I’m proud to be a part of a growing movement—a multiracial, multicultural, global movement of men who are challenging male violence and outdated notions of masculinity. I have been inspired by, taught by and befriended by men across the world who have dedicated their lives to reducing male violence. Men and boys around the world […]
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Saving VAWA
By Rev. Dr. E. Faye Williams, Chair of the National Congress of Black Women If you have ever been beaten, kicked, punched, slapped by a partner who claims to love you, it is not difficult for you to understand why it’s mandatory to have the Violence Against Women Act. If you’ve ever had a daughter, […]
Tragedy in Springfield, Mass.: When VAWA and Local Domestic Violence Intersect
by Mary Reardon Johnson, Executive Director, YWCA of Western Massachusetts Officer down! Around the city of Springfield, Mass., sirens blare, lights flash, emergency vehicles screech and news media are dispatched. Yellow tape goes up and the first accounts are sent out over the air and internet. The veteran police officer responded to a call requesting […]
1971 Rapes: Bangladesh Cannot Hide History
The post- Liberation War generation of Bangladesh know stories from 1971 all too well. Our families are framed and bound by the history of this war. What Bangladeshi family has not been touched by the passion, famine, murders and blood that gave birth to a new nation as it seceded from Pakistan? Bangladesh was one […]
Virginity Tests: Time to Let Gender Out of Revolution’s Closet
There is no doubt that the recent revolution in Egypt got the wheels of the Arab Spring rolling. But just as quickly as women flooded the corners of Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo in the hopes of a democratic Egypt, their voices were sidelined. This is not uncommon. Even in conservative countries, we […]
