I found this story in the Seattle P-I. It announces that the Supreme Court of Washington State has ruled that police involved in child abuse cases which turn out to be unfounded can be sued if they are guilty of negligence in handling the case. Hopefully this will put a damper on the "witch hunt" style abuse cases similar to the one Washington had five years ago that are based solely on the accusations of a minor.

Robert_Cunningham wrote in about another great story, this one on a man from Canada who has created prenatal parenting classes just for new dads. The National Post article can be read here. The story talks about the importance dads play in the development of children, and recognizes that mothers are often "gatekeepers" affecting how involved dads can be with their kids. It's good to see that programs like this are being started, and I'd like to see them catch on.

Robert Cunningham submitted another thought provoking piece by Cathy Young in The Boston Globe. It is on the topic of sex crime cases, and how we have come to accept that questioning the alleged victim is generally unacceptable and "revictimizes" the person. But at the same time, the presumption of innocence cannot be upheld in this mindset. She uses as an example a recent sex crime case in Massachusetts involving a 12 year-old boy.

Adam H writes "I've found two men's health articles, the first on the lesser known Prostatitis disorder at this link and also an article on the side effects of prostate cancer treatment at this link. Cheers." Thanks for the links, Adam H! They are very informative articles.

Yahoo! News printed this article which discusses some of the reasons that men don't feel comfortable going to the doctor or entering the healthcare field: they are often shunned at healthcare agencies when younger, and doctors and nurses often have negative stereotypes of teen boys as irresponsible and untrustworthy. One example from the story was a young man who went with his girlfriend to learn how to use a diaphragm, and was told by clinic staff that men were not welcome in the waiting room!

An anonymous reader sent in this link to a maddening news story. Apparently if a man is convicted of a crime and paying child support, he is still responsible for paying it while serving his prison sentence. This of course causes these men to become "deadbeat dads" by the time they are freed, and in some cases fathers have been thrown back in jail shortly after being freed because of delinquency on child support!

Stephen Jacobs submitted this article on a surprising finding: an overwhelming majority of statutory rape convictions are made against Latino men, including those who are successfully married and raising a family. The convictions often tear families apart, and it seems that in Latino culture, having young girls married at an early age is commonplace. There is considerable contempt for men in the article: "'Sure, there are those cases where there's a baby and the father is sticking around and paying the bills and nobody wishes he was reported,' [Santa Clara District Attorney] said. `But you don't know how long he will be there.'"

An Anonymous Reader writes: "I know you're not trying to advocate presidential candidates with your site, but I thought this was relevant: Ralph Nader was recently attacked by Patricia Ireland for not being outspoken on women's rights. The SF Gate printed this story on it, then the next day printed this one where Nader rebukes Ireland, saying NOW has not focused on many of his consumer issues which are very relevant to women. BUT, here's what I find most interesting: he's not willing to stoop to the level where he panders to feminists on issues like domestic violence and eating disorders. It seems like he's implicitly saying that he knows it's a load of BS." Note: The Men's Activism News Network does not officially endorse any presidential candidates.

Robert Cunningham has submitted another story (way to go Robert!) on father's issues. It's from The Philadelphia Inquirer, and can be read here. It focuses a lot on the organization Fathers' and Children's Equality (FACE), and the ways they are helping divorced fathers out in a very biased family law system.

George writes "I found this article about programs being started in several states of the U.S. to help fathers in prison have more interaction with their children. It's perhaps a bit different from the typical article on fathers, but it's kind of encouraging in that these men may now be better able to fulfill at least somewhat the role of father in their children's lives. The new programs reportedly are already promoting better behavior among participating inmates."

The Men's Health America list reported that the University of Virginia School of Medicine received a $20M grant to be used for prostate cancer research funding. The grant was from the estate of the late Paul Mellon. You can read a news report on the donation here.

Robert Cunningham also wanted to bring attention to the Lone Fathers Association of Australia, which is an organization devoted to helping fathers regain custody of their children and promote equal protection of fathers in family court. Aussie dads will definitely want to check it out.

Robert Cunningham wrote in to tell me about this Detroit News story by Cathy Young (an incredible asset of ours). She addresses the criticisms of the recent Men's Health article on anti-male colleges, and gives some good examples of instances where men are demeaned and also censored when they question facts or challenge generalizations in Women's Studies classes.

I received this from the Men's Health America mailing list: the General Accounting Office released a report which outlines the research inequities between men's and women's health, showing exactly how under funded and underrepresented men's heath is. Click below to read the press release.

And more news from IHF: this UK Telegraph article looks at the suicide rates for British college students and found a disturbing rise in the rate over the past several years. Thankfully, the article acknowledges the prevalence of male suicide, stating that the male suicide rate is about three times higher than women. Yet the two examples of suicides they mention were of young women. We have the data, but when are people going to realize: men aren't killing themselves because they've made their patriarchal societies so great for themselves - they have valid problems and issues and they need to be addressed.