Article here. Excerpt:

'In the run-up to the midterm elections, a bevy of conservative female candidates invoked feminism in one way or another, but all backed policies harmful to women. In the process, they became media darlings. Palin, who wasn’t running herself but helped get a number of candidates on the ballot across the country, opposes abortion and sex education. ...
...
The 2010 Year of the Woman was mainly about candidates who supported policies traditionally advanced by white men. This is not just an isolated political accident. It is part of a pattern that has dire consequences for women.

At first glance, it may seem like a wonderful time to be female -- a time of empowerment and achievement: the "You Go, Girl!" era.

Article here. Excerpt:

'In one corner: six reluctant, badass fathers-to-be in their 20s. In the other: New York psychologist and family therapist Jeff Gardere (“Dr. Jeff”), whose job is to transform them into grown-ups ready to face fatherhood. They meet on Dad Camp, one of the latest offerings from the parenting wing of the reality-TV genre, airing for the first time in Canada.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Since domestic violence and allegations of domestic violence are a big part of what’s wrong with family law as it relates to child custody, I thought I’d do a piece on this study entitled “Are Abuse Shelters Helping the True Victims of Domestic Violence?” It comes to us courtesy of the organization Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE).

It doesn’t pretend to be an in-depth treatment of anything; rather, it simply sketches some of the many problems, questions and issues that attend domestic violence and the system of shelters in this country.

Like many other people and organizations, SAVE is dead serious about domestic violence. It’s so serious in fact that it wants people to know what DV is, who does it, who the victims are and, most importantly, how to effectively deal with the problem. In other words, in all those ways, SAVE is at odds with the DV industry generally.'

From SAVE, via email:

On Tuesday we witnessed a political cataclysm take place across the nation. Whether you are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, now is the time to capitalize on this dramatic shift in the political landscape.

To assist in your efforts to reform state DV laws, SAVE has posted a series of state-level summaries:

Link to article here. Excerpt:

'A West Australian woman has been banned from ever owning a pet after she pleaded guilty to killing a puppy by repeatedly throwing it against a wall.

Tracie Marie Beal was sentenced in Mandurah Magistrates Court on Thursday for ill treating an animal.

The 28-year-old Mandurah woman had admitted that on the night of January 19 she was given a small, six-week old puppy by a friend.

Beal then took the puppy home and after a short time she became upset and repeatedly threw it against a wall, killing the animal.'

Link to article here. Excerpt:

'An Adelaide woman killed her two-year-old son by standing on his mouth and chest because she believed he had been taken over by an evil spirit, a court has heard.

Rachael Cherie Hadley, 23, was found not guilty in the South Australian Supreme Court on Friday of murdering the boy, with Justice Kevin Duggan finding her mentally incompetent at the time.

Duke Hadley died from asphyxiation with Justice Duggan saying his mother believed she was saving him, rather than hurting him.
...
"She believed she was expelling an evil spirit from him and that she expected him to recover," the judge said in summarising two medical reports.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'While men alone are certainly not the solution, this change cannot come without large numbers of men and women working together. We can "pave to the way" to gaining the support of larger numbers by removing barriers that traditionally keep men from engaging in a topic which touches us all.

This conference will broaden the ways our movement seeks to engage those who identify as male in ways that do not continue to marginalize across gender, sexual orientation, race and class, while challenging us all to explore the intersections of oppression and violence.

We will explore ways to include those beyond the "choir" across the professional experience in the field, connecting the secular movement with work faith communities are doing, and by hearing about the work and experiences of young people becoming the new generation of leaders.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Yesterday my students and I discussed Mary Daly, the Boston College professor, feminist theologian, and professional provocateur who died earlier this year. Judging by our discussion, feminist theology has died too, and feminism with it.

Article here. Excerpt:

'While it's thrilling that there is also a movement of young men all who want to tear down the patriarchy right alongside women, it's dangerous that they don't have a clear picture of what they want to build in its place. At the conference, one young man spoke up against the notion of a new "feminist masculinity," explaining that he feared it would be one more box that young men felt they had to fit into. There's a lot of validity to his argument, but I fear that the old adage is true: We can't be what we can't see. Models help us try on various identities and find one that is truly authentic. The more publicly feminist-aligned men we have, the more opportunities the next generation has to find a positive, masculine gender identity that actually fits.

Story here. Excerpt:

'The Paycheck Fairness Act is poised to see action, following the re-introduction of the bill (S. 3772) in September by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The bill is scheduled for a lame-duck (post-election) vote in the Senate on November 17, 2010. The Senate will vote on whether to debate the bill. This is known as a cloture vote and 60 votes are needed to move the bill forward. With the balance of power in the Senate teetering, the election on November 2 of three new Senators (from West Virginia, Illinois and Delaware), who may be seated for the lame-duck session, could affect the cloture vote.

If passed, the Act would expose employers to far greater liability than now exists. Employers must act now to make sure their concerns are heard.
...

The proposal would fundamentally change the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA). The EPA prohibits employers from paying women less than men for performing the same or “substantially equal” work in the same “establishment,” except for specific reasons.

Link to article here. Excerpt:

'A mother who gave her five-year-old alcohol cheered as he downed shots of home-brewed liquor, a Victorian court has heard.

Kylie Eastwood, 34, is accused of giving her son several shots of home-made grappa, which tests later found had a 44 percent alcohol content, the Herald Sun reported.

The father of the five-year-old said he confiscated the bottle when he found his son drinking from it with a shot glass at their home in the town of Moe, east of Melbourne.'

Link to article here. Excerpt:

'The KwaZulu-Natal government will soon start circumcising prisoners to reduce HIV infections among inmates, says health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo.

“We will soon start circumcising prisoners in our campaign to reduce infections,” he said.

A total of 10, 229 male circumcisions had been done since the provincial government started the male medical circumcision programme in April this year.

Dhlomo said the department had a target of 2.5 million circumcisions by June 2014. Previously circumcisions among Zulus were conducted traditionally. With the permission from King Goodwill Zwelithini, government would be conducting them medically.
...
Dhlomo said they would also circumcise priests.

“We believe that if we circumcise them, they will encourage members of their congregations to test.” '

Via email:

Are you aware of a growing number of conservative and liberal groups that are saying our nation’s laws are over-criminalizing America? Groups like the Heritage Foundation, ABA, ACLU, Cato Institute, National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and others are saying we have gone way overboard in criminalizing everyday conduct, like whether you can arrest an 8-year-old boy for playing ‘cops and robbers’ at school.

In support of next week’s campaign to “Protect Victims: Stop Mandatory Arrest,” SAVE has just released a new Policy Briefing that summarizes the issue: http://www.saveservices.org/how-do-dv-laws-contribute-to-over-criminalization/. (Also see http://www.saveservices.org/how-do-we-know-that-our-approach-to-domestic-violence-has-become-over-criminalized/)

Feel free to share with lawmakers and others.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A 16-year-old disabled boy doing Grade Four at a primary school in the Manzini region, has become a sex slave to one of the female teachers who also acts as his benefactor, it has been revealed.

This situation is now stressing the boy’s mother, who had never suspected the teacher’s intentions when she offered to help the child with fees and other needs.

As a result, she is said to be looking for a way to save the teenager from further damage, especially because he has already suffered from venereal diseases. The other problem is that the boy’s peers think of him as very successful because he is able to share gifts with them.

Sources within the area say the young man stays with the mother in the village nearby, but friends always help him out in the evenings to spend quality time with the teacher.

The boy is presently complaining of sharp pains in the spinal cord, a suspicion that this could be a development from his previous encounters with venereal diseases.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Kate Woodhead made her claim against Paul Joseph after he told her their 18-month relationship was over, Guildford Crown Court was told.

The 31-year-old, from Ripley, told police Mr Joseph had drugged her before attacking her.

She then stole belongings of his worth about £25,000.

Judge Neil Stewart said he had no option but to send her to prison.
...

The court heard Woodhead, who ran livery stables in Surrey, went to police with a friend in April 2009 and made the false allegation.

She then stole property including an expensive stereo and art prints, and transferred ownership of her ex-boyfriend's sports car and motorcycle to her own name.

Mr Joseph was arrested and questioned by police but the rape allegation was dropped when officers became suspicious that Woodhead had made it up.

Judge Stewart said the offences were part of a "deliberate and vindictive" campaign waged against Mr Joseph.

He added: "These offences therefore must be seen as devious and manipulative and you are wholly unrepentant."'