Video here. Caption:

"Sexual assault on college campuses is receiving increased scrutiny. As calls to combat sexual assault grow louder on campuses across the country, many are looking to colleges to respond. Do the current methods that universities use while handling rape cases work? How can universities preserve the rights of both the survivors of sexual assault and of the accused students?"

A related item by Cathy Young discussing the debate is here.

Article here. Excerpt:

'For all my writing about the rights of the accused in campus sexual assault hearings, one must never forget that horrific rapes do actually happen on college campuses.

Case in point: A story from Rolling Stone last week about a woman at the University of Virginia who says she was gang-raped at a fraternity party her freshman year. Regardless of the specifics of the crime, it’s clear the university mishandled her sexual assault complaint.

Rolling Stone author Sabrina Rubin Erdely detailed that the head of UVA’s Sexual Misconduct Board, Dean Nicole Eramo, showed no emotion when the woman – known in the article as Jackie – described the gang rape. This is baffling to me, as the level of detail Jackie provided in the article – and the fact that she claims she was sober during the attack – doesn’t lend itself to a shrug.

Story here. If I ever became a legislator, I'd sponsor a bill creating a crime called "Criminal Stupidity". Sure, she may also be nuts, but if that wouldn't excuse a man from it, it shouldn't excuse a woman. Excerpt:

'A mother is outraged after a woman came up and punched her baby in the face at a restaurant on Folly Beach Saturday.

"It was a random act of stupidity," Amber Fortson of Little River said Wednesday.

Barbra Green, 59, of Riverland Drive told arresting officers she thought the 5-month-old boy was a doll and she was joking, according to the incident report.

She was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and disorderly conduct and released from the Charleston County jail on $25,262 bail.
...
"We were surrounded by great people, having a great time," Mrs. Fortson said. "People around us were showing us pictures of their babies."

Article here. Excerpt:

'The "potty-mouth princesses" are back, this time with bruises.

For-profit t-shirt company FCKH8 has released a new shock-value video of little girls cursing to raise awareness about domestic violence -- and sell a t-shirt.

Link here (.pdf, 1.3 MB). Excerpt:

'Since many studies on counseling interventions are in sexually active girls, research is needed on interventions to prevent other types of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in sexually active boys and in adolescents who are not yet sexually active. More research is needed on the effectiveness of low-intensity interventions that are more practical for the typical primary care setting. In addition, research is also needed to understand the effectiveness of screening sexually active adolescent males in reducing the spread of chlamydia and gonorrhea, as well as cotesting for other STIs and different screening intervals. Studies providing data about the potential harms of screening would also be valuable.'

-- Found at p. 20 of the report (p. 26 of the .pdf file)

Story here. Excerpt:

'Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition parties agreed on Tuesday to a draft law that would force Germany's leading listed companies to allocate 30 percent of the seats on non-executive boards to women from 2016 onward.

Although Europe's biggest economy has a female leader and roughly 40 percent of the cabinet is female, women still are under-represented in business life.

Among the 30 largest companies on Germany's blue-chip DAX index, women occupied only 7 percent of executive board seats and barely 25 percent of supervisory board seats by the end of June, according to the DIW economic think-tank.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A man in his 20s who was rejected after applying to a women-only university where he planned to study nutrition is suing the college for gender discrimination.

In what is believed to be the first case in Japan challenging the constitutionality of a publicly run women’s university, the man is seeking a verdict from the courts that would allow him to take an entrance exam at Fukuoka Women’s University, according to a lawyer representing the man.

“Not allowing men to take the exam violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which proclaims equality before the law,” the man, whose identity has not been revealed, was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun as saying. He is also seeking ¥500,000 in damages.

A lawyer representing him is arguing that women-only colleges are no longer relevant and discriminate against men.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A University of Cincinnati athlete and a former UC law student sued the university Tuesday, alleging UC presumed them to be guilty of sexual allegations made against them, violating Ohio's Constitution.

"In practice, the UC system is biased against those accused of misconduct," the suit filed by local attorneys Josh Engel and Mike Allen, noted.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Like millions of others, I've had it up to here with whingers whose pettifogging grievances and herd mentality are making feminism a toxic word by encouraging women to embrace victimhood, take offence where none is meant and revile and belittle men. Fortunately, their more idiotic campaigns sometimes backfire.

We've had plenty of absurdities recently. There was the pillorying of David Cameron - who does as much child-minding as a prime minister can reasonably be expected to do - because he refused to be photographed making a prat of himself wearing a T-shirt saying, 'This is what a feminist looks like'. Fortunately for him, newspaper allegations that the T-shirts were made in Mauritian sweatshops caused the mob to retire in embarrassment.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A new law on domestic violence, making it illegal for someone to exercise ‘coercive control’ over their partner, will be unveiled by the Government this week.

Theresa May [link added], the Home Secretary, is expected to announce new powers allowing the police to prosecute those who are guilty of psychological and emotional abuse.

It means for the first time men who control their partners through threats or by restricting their personal or financial freedom, could face prison in the same way as those who are violent towards them.

Article here. In order to jump the subscriber-only wall, go to Google and search on "Misogyny doesn't account for Julia Gillard’s missteps as PM" and click on the first search result item. Excerpt:

'Gillard’s [link added] period is unique because it involves gender. Her assertion of this is confronting: “Even if you are the single most powerful person in your country, if you are a woman, the images that are shadowed around you are of sex and rape.” This is Gillard’s perspective of Australia from high office. In the end Gillard’s proposition is that she faced more abuse than other prime ministers because she was the first woman. It sounds initially plausible yet it is nonsense. Gillard undoubtedly was subjected to sustained and grossly offensive sexist and misogy­nist attacks for which there is no excuse and no equivalent experience for a man.

The reality, however, is that the overwhelming majority of day-to-day criticism of Gillard arose from her policies and political actions, not because of her gender. They included her removal of Rudd, her carbon tax broken promise and the deals she did — some sleazy — to sustain her minority government. Gillard’s experience leads her to the accusation of sexism and misogyny in Australia’s culture and its power structures. She is explicit: the problem was not just in society’s margins. It came from the mainstream: the opposition, business and media. By laying this considered accusation, Gillard’s gender story becomes inextricably woven into her political story. The two parallel narratives run together and intersect.
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'Read BuzzFeed’s account of what happened to men who went through these college disciplinary processes to see just how big this can be. One man lost his job after an anonymous caller notified them of his “convictions” -- which were for “non-consensual kissing.” It can go on your permanent record, making it hard to get into grad school -- you might possibly recover from a youthful bad grades, or plagiarism, but our society doesn’t offer much rehabilitation for sex offenders. You’ll probably lose credits, and for those attending selective schools, it seems likely to me that a man with such a notation on his record would have a hard time enrolling in another elite school.

When people say this is “no big deal,” how many of them would shrug off having this happen to them, on the basis of a hearing where the odds are stacked in favor of believing the accuser, and double standards are often rigorously applied? Which is to say: when two people who are equally drunk have sex, the girl can be presumed to be unable to consent—while the boy is held to be fully capable of determining her level of intoxication, and of making the informed decision not to have sex with someone too much the worse for wine. And this in the name of promoting equality between the genders.

I’m not belittling the crime of rape, or how traumatic and awful it is for the women it happens to.  Rape is a terrible thing, which is why we try it in courts, and lock rapists away for a good long time.  It’s also why we treat rapists like they are terrible people who may be admitted to normal society only after convincing repentance and rehabilitation.

Link here. Excerpt:

'After scouring hospital records and doorknocking, police have identified the mother as a 20-year-old Quakers Hill woman. She has been taken to Blacktown police station and is being interviewed.

A group of passersby managed to lift the top of the drain and saw the baby lying at the bottom early on Sunday. ...
...
... He had his umbilical cord cut and clamped which Lagats said seemed to indicate the baby had been delivered in a hospital, or at least received medical attention before being abandoned.

He said police were concerned for the mother’s welfare.

The baby’s abandonment has spurred fresh calls for emergency hatches to be rolled out nationally at hospitals.
...
“We are really worried about primarily his welfare and mum’s. We would want mum to come forward. We can give her the help and support she needs. She must be feeling distressed. If the parents come forward, we will be able to work with them to find out what support, what they help need and be able to assess where we go from here,” she said.

“Often when this sort of thing happens, people are in a place of desperation. There has been cases where mothers have had postnatal depression or those issues or are very young and don’t know where to go to for help.”
...
When the possibility of emergency hatches at hospitals was raised, Charet said there was support for struggling parents already available.

“I think people are scared if they come forward, there may be consequences. You can go to a hospital, they will support you,” she said.
...
Baby abandonment is currently treated as a criminal offence, with parents liable for prosecution.

Polley wants baby safe havens established across the country in places such as fire stations, police stations and hospitals.
...

Story here. Excerpt:

'Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania has settled a lawsuit brought by a student accused of sexual assault, admitting the school acted unfairly in charging the student.

In April 2011, a student identified as John Doe shared a kiss and at a later date “consensual physical encounters” with another student identified as Jane Doe, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this year. On May 1, 2011, Jane came to John’s dorm room and initiated consensual sex. The lawsuit alleges Jane admitted she initiated the encounter.

But 19 months later, Jane reported the kiss and initial physical encounters to Swarthmore, saying she had been coerced. After a two-month investigation, the school closed the matter without bringing charges against John.

Article here. Finally! Preach on, sister! Excerpt:

'Ayaan Hirsi Ali [link added], a harsh critic of Islam’s treatment of women, said Wednesday that modern American feminism is focused on “trivial bullshit” and needs to be reclaimed.

Speaking at the Independent Women’s Forum Women of Valor dinner, where she received an award for courage, Hirsi Ali reminded her audience of how far feminism has strayed from its original purpose.

“I want you to remember that once upon a time, feminists fought for the access — basic right — access of girls to education,” she said.