Article here. Excerpt:

'Chantal is one of the lucky ones.

When she needed to escape an abusive marriage, there was room for her at a women's shelter.

Tragically, that's not always the case. Alberta, one of Canada's spousal-abuse capitals, has disgracefully few sanctuaries for battered wives and traumatized children.'

When Chantal's husband erupted into a violent, drunken rampage, police couldn't find anywhere in the city that had room for Chantal and her two small children.
...
That was a few years ago. Police and women's advocates say that nowadays it's even harder to find a safe haven that isn't already full.
...
"Intimate partner conflicts," Simioni says, are considered the most unpredictable, volatile and dangerous situations police can find themselves in.

If it's that risky for the police, just imagine what it's like for the victims.'

Now here's a Christmas present! Story here. Excerpt:

'ORLANDO, Fla. - A father and his 9-year-old son at the center of a five-year custody battle on two continents are spending Christmas together at an undisclosed location.

Sean Goldman and his dad, David Goldman of Tinton Falls, N.J., landed in Orlando on a private jet chartered by NBC. They reunited earlier in Rio de Janeiro, ending an epic battle that pitted Sean's father against the boy's Brazilian stepfather, who had cared for Sean since his mother died last year.

"It's a Christmas miracle," David Goldman told Jeff Rossen of NBC News, who was aboard the plane for the 9-hour flight.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Two teenaged girls tried to kill a 14-year-old guest at a house party in the North End by beating and stabbing her repeatedly, Winnipeg police said on Wednesday.

Officers said at around 11:30 p.m. CT last Saturday, a 13-year-old confronted the victim and physically assaulted her in a dispute where the victim was accused of talking behind the other girl's back.

When she fell to the ground, three other girls – aged 13, 14, and 16 – allegedly jumped in and also began assaulting her.

Police said the violence escalated to the point that the teen victim was beaten with a weight used for weightlifting.

She was then stabbed all over her body by one of the suspects using a knife obtained from the home's kitchen, police said.'

Story here.

'WINONA, Minn. - The Winona city attorney has decided not to charge a 19-year-old woman who falsely reported she was sexually assaulted.

The Winona State University student had told police a man put a bag over her head Dec. 5 and assaulted her in a parking lot.

Police launched an investigation and the school issued a campuswide alert. The Winona Daily News reports she later admitted making up the story.

Police cited her for filing a false report and referred the case to the city attorney's office, an unusual step for a misdemeanor ticket.

Assistant city attorney Brian Glodosky says he decided not to pursue charges because the woman had a clean record, is an honor student and because the incident was out of character for her.

He says she has problems better handled outside the court system.'

Story here. Excerpt:

"A top judge wants men who bash women to be paraded and shamed in public so people can throw rotten vegetables at them.

Judge Esmond Faulks said he wished he could order the medieval punishment while hearing the case of a 17-year-old girl who had been subjected to two nasty assaults by her violent boyfriend.

The victim, Lisa Dinsdale, had been pregnant during the first attack at the hands of Andrew Harrison, 19, but lost the baby at 11 weeks.

Harrison admitted two charges of assault causing harm relating to two beatings, the first on May 18 and the second on August 14.

It was after seeing the pictures of Miss Dinsdale beaten 'black and blue' that Judge Faulks said: 'It's a pity a judge cannot order someone like this to have the pictures hung around his neck saying "I did this to my girlfriend" and be paraded down the high street so people can throw rotten vegetables at him.'"

This is a directive to law enforcement in regards to substantial research on domestic violence which appears to be inconsistent with current law enforcement policies.

This directive states "behavior that is likely to violate most state and federal criminal and civil (protective order) statutes is typically perpetrated by males".

This directive neglects that substantial research on domestic violence includes the use of Straus' Conflict Tactics Scale, which is a measure of the severity of violence, and still finds nearly equal rates between genders.

The directive continues to advise that "If the ratio of male to female suspects and victims differs substantially from those found above, departments should be alert to potential gender bias in their response to domestic violence."

This directive appears to advise that if police departments stray from 86-90% male arrest ratio then that would considered to be gender bias.

Story here. Never too early in life to let nymphotropism guide you to commit felonies against your fellow men (or in this case, boy). Not unlike that whole scene from that TV show in India where the "dominatrix" slapped a contestant and he had the unmitigated gall to slap her back, thus leading to him being beaten nearly to death by all those tough stand-up guys on the stage. (Hey, it's easy to be tough when it's 20 vs. 1 and you're on the "20" side) Excerpt from this particular atrocity here:

'What began as an innocent mistake ended in a vicious attack on a local honor student.

Police said as many as 11 students beat up the eighth-grader leaving him severely injured, and he may even lose his sight.

CBS 2 HD spoke with some of his friends about what led to the brutal attack.

Story here. Excerpt:

'New Jersey dad David Goldman won a court fight today when the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that the Brazilian family of his deceased ex-wife must hand over custody of his 9-year-old son.

The court ruled that the boy "be handed over to his father and should be returned to the United States."

It is unclear, however, whether the court's ruling will end the five-year custody battle over Sean Goldman. His Brazilian family has threatened to appeal the court's ruling.

When the ruling is issued, "we will read it carefully and consider the legal remedies available, if needed," Sergio Tostes, a lawyer for the Brazilian family, said in an e-mailed statement while waiting for the court's ruling. "All necessary action will be taken."

The family could take the case to Brazil's top appeals court, but some have doubted whether that court would be willing to review the case if the Supreme Court backs a lower federal court ruling awarding custody to Goldman.'

Article here. Imagine the reaction if a husband and son had plotted to kill their wife/mother.

'The Texas girl who was charged alongside her mother with trying to hire a hit man to kill her father says her mom often talked about getting rid of her husband, but that she never took her seriously.

"She pulled me into the spare bedroom and said sort of laughing, 'Hey, I bought these pills, let's put them in your Dad's beer,' and I was like, 'Why would you do that?'" Ashley Shamp, 18, told "Good Morning America."

The Katy, Texas, teen was arrested just two days after her own mother, 38-year-old Catherine, was charged by Harris County Sheriff officials with solicitation of capital murder and faces the same charge.

The bizarre story started in late November when David Shamp's wife, Catherine, was arrested after a confidential informant -- later identified as her daughter's ex-boyfriend Nathaniel Blake -- contacted the sheriff's office and said she had asked to hire him to kill her husband.'

Article here. Excerpt:

An Army general in Iraq backed away from his threat today to court martial female soldiers who get pregnant.

"I regret that the term 'court martial' is bandied about or mentioned," Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III said from Iraq today. "I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this."

Cucolo triggered debate, some of it angry, when his Nov. 4 policy forbidding pregnancy among his soldiers became public recently. His policy statement said violation of the rule could be punishable by court martial, and that it would also apply to the men who get female soldiers pregnant, even if the couple is married.

Pregnant soldiers are immediately redeployed out of combat zones to bases where they can get comprehensive medical care.

Story here. Excerpt:

'RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil's Supreme Court chief justice is expected to rule Tuesday on an appeal that a U.S. father hopes will reunite him with his young son after a five-year custody battle.

A Supreme Court official said Tuesday afternoon that the decision by Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes would be issued before the end of the day. It originally was set for release Monday, but was delayed for unexplained reasons. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the case.

David Goldman, a New Jersey man who has pledged to fight for his 9-year-old son, Sean, as long as it takes, was still holding out hope of being reunited in time to celebrate the holidays with his son in the United States.

Mendes will rule on appeals made by Goldman and Brazil's attorney general seeking to lift a stay on a lower court's order that Sean be handed over to his father.'

This is regarding a recent article in India Today titled 'Separated Women Can Now Adopt Children'. According to the article, the Cabinet recently cleared an amendment to the Hindu Adoption and Marriage (Amendment) Bill, paving the way for separated women to adopt a child. The law defines separated women as those who are living apart from their husbands but are not yet divorced. The Bill will now be tabled in Parliament. The step has been welcomed by women’s activists. Excerpt:

'"It should have happened long ago. But in a patriarchal society like ours it takes time for such changes to happen," former National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mohini Giri said, according to the article.

This fake orgasm cost this woman in the pocket book. Excerpt:

'A woman who accused her gynaecologist of giving her "leg buckling" orgasms during an examination has had her case dismissed and been ordered to pay her doctor damages of around $55,000.

Bibi Giles' case and credibility fell apart after a second doctor came forward and said she had tried to seduce him.

Ms Giles, 50, dropped her case after hearing the doctor was prepared to give evidence, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

In her case against gynaecologist Angus Thompson, she accused him of touching her in a sexual manner in 2006.
...
He wrote a letter of complaint to the Medical Defence Union before his patient announced she was suing him for sexual harassment.

Dr Thompson was fully exonerated in court and will return to work.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Herein lies the troubling paradox of the situation. Only one national writer, Hanna Rosin of Slate Magazine, has written about the domestic violence implications of the situation. Why is Woods in seclusion? Florida is one of many states where police responding to domestic violence calls have the power to arrest based on their own assessment as to who the likely aggressor is, without allegations or charges from the victim. Most important, the legislation states: “The decision to arrest and charge shall not require the consent of the victim or consideration of the relationship of the parties.”

I think the reason he refused to talk with local police, and the reason he hasn’t been seen in public, and probably won’t for several more weeks, is because his injuries were obviously inconsistent with the car crash scenario. His very sharp and well-paid attorneys and agents moved quickly to contain the situation and avoid the even more embarrassing scenario of his wife being hauled off to jail.

Story here. Excerpt:

'It's a gift that won’t exactly spread festive cheer when taken from under the family tree.

But that hasn’t stopped the lawyers behind divorce gift vouchers – which entitle the recipient to free legal advice.

They have been put on sale by Vanessa Lloyd Platt, a leading family lawyer who has represented celebrities including Les Dennis and Anne Diamond.

The vouchers cost £125 for 30 minutes of advice and £250 for an hour, both excluding VAT, and some embossed with a gold scales of justice logo.

Miss Lloyd Platt’s firm said it had sold more than 50 since they went on sale earlier this month with requests from husbands, wives and mistresses.'