2004 April Archive | Feministing

Women Grade Bush (and it ain’t no ‘A’)

The Bush Administration receives a failing grade for global women’s rights according to leading women’s organizations. The Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), Feminist Majority and Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) have released a scorecard which grades Bush and his crew on issues affecting women around the world.
Let’s just say the President’s mediocre Yale grades are stellar compared to his record of action on global women’s rights. Looks like someone needs to be left back.

By Jessica • 20 years ago

Fox News on Sexual Assault: Uh Oh

Fox News has an interesting way of recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month—it minimalizes rape. How appropriate.
Wendy McElroy (more about her later—yikes!) wrote a piece yesterday on the University of Colorado at Boulder’s rape scandal, in which at least 8 women have come forward against Colorado football players.
McElroy focuses on Richard Grego, a former undergraduate peer educator in the Colorado University Rape and Gender Educators (COURAGE), who now says the program spread “lies” in its services: “We created at CU a culture of false awareness. … [S]ince I left the group I have suspected that many women have been making false allegations to obtain the attention, sympathy, kid-glove treatment, and power that comes with being a ...

By Jessica • 20 years ago

For those in NYC…

The organization Awareness of Rape and Incest through Art (ARIA) is holding an event May 1st, A Night to Heal 2004. (Check out our Events section, at right.)
The event will include performances and a silent auction; all proceeds of the evening will be donated to Mt. Sinai’s Sexual Assault Violence Intervention Program.
ARIA’s mission is “to empower and heal survivors of sexual abuse by transforming internal suffering into works of art.”
This is a fantastic way to show your support for Sexual Assault Awareness Month; get to it!

By noauthor • 20 years ago

Saudi Stride

After Bob Woodward, Saudi Arabia could use some good press this week. Depending on how you look at it, the story about Rania al-Baz, the Saudi television host who came forward as a victim of domestic violence, could be the ticket. The Associated Press reported this week that after al-Baz suffered 13 facial fractures as a result of a beating by her husband, she immediately went public with the photos “so that other battered women would be encouraged to speak up.” Despite the Kingdom’s conservative reputation, the Saudi public seems to have been supportive of al-Baz’s decision. A Saudi princess even offered to pay her medical bills. Let’s hope this progressive slant persists.

After Bob Woodward, Saudi Arabia could use some good press this week. Depending on how you look at it, the story about Rania al-Baz, the Saudi television host who came forward as a victim ...

By Jessica • 20 years ago

Engineering Change

It’s always nice to get good news…
Smith college has announced that it is preparing to graduate the nation’s first all-female class of engineers.
It’s about time; apparently 90 percent of the engineers working in the United States are white males. Eek!

By Vanessa • 20 years ago

WTF, FDA?

Emergency contraception (EC) has been used for years to avoid unintended pregnancies. And as it has been proven to be safe and effective for this purpose, the FDA had plans to approve the emergency contraceptive Plan B to be available over-the-counter without a prescription. But there has been a change in plans, and the FDA has decided to postpone the approval by 90 days.
Many members of the FDA’s expert advisory committees are arguing against this postponement, saying that the decision made “suggests that the FDA’s decision-making process is being influenced by political considerations.”
When other drugs are proven safe within the same standards of EC, they are quickly mandated. So why not EC? I wonder which ...

By noauthor • 20 years ago

Backlash

The December 2003 issue of Vanity Fair featured an exposé of the substantial sexual assault epidemic at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. Two months later, Donald Rumsfeld ordered a 90-day review of sexual assaults against female soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait. You know if Rumsfeld cares, this is serious. According to the Pentagon, the Army had 80 allegations of sexual misconduct among service members in 2003, the Air Force had seven, and the Marine Corps had one. What’s worse, Christine Hansen, Executive Director of the Miles Foundation, has reported that only 2 to 3 percent of sexual assault cases in the military are actually court-martialed, and that three-quarters of women sexual ...

By noauthor • 20 years ago

Gender Neutral Insurance

The European Union could move to prohibit gender as a factor in determining insurance premiums, reports The Guardian.
Anna Diamantopoulou, the EU social affairs commissioner, argues that the insurance industry’s use of gender as a “ratable” (a means to assess value) is a form of sex discrimination. However, insurance companies argue that ignoring gender differences “runs counter to good sense.”
Were this directive to take effect, it would have several impacts on women in the EU.
For example, women generally have cheaper car insurance premiums because they are believed to be safer drivers. If this directive went into effect British female motorists between ages 17 and 24 could see their premiums rise by 10-30% a year.