Article here. Excerpt:

'Mantus and Sullivan had their relationship provisions drawn up by their attorney as part of their prenuptial agreement.

“We’re seeing the evolution of so called ‘lifestyle clauses,’ which really answer the question, what do we want the marriage to be like? What types of activities are we going to be engaging in? Where are we going on vacation?” explained attorney Ann Margaret Carrozza.

Enforcement of the contracts is not guaranteed.

“If someone wants a sex schedule, two times a week, or three times a week, I can’t take that agreement into a courtroom and ask that it be enforced,” Carrozza explained.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last week, on the eve of becoming homeless as his house passed into its new owner’s hands, Earl Silverman of northeast Calgary hanged himself in his garage.

Silverman briefly hit the news a month ago, when he closed his Men’s Alternate Safe House (MASH), the only privately funded shelter for male victims of domestic violence in Canada, for lack of funds. For three years, MASH had temporarily housed about 20 men and a few children.

Story here. Excerpt:

'SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Southern California jury has convicted a woman who was accused of drugging her estranged husband before severing his penis and tossing it in the garbage disposal.

Jurors found Catherine Kieu guilty Monday of charges of torture and aggravated mayhem for the July 11, 2011, attack.

Sentencing was scheduled for June 28.

During trial, the 60-year-old victim testified that his penis could not be reattached and that he felt as though he had been murdered.

Deputy District Attorney John Christl told jurors that Kieu, 50, drugged the man's tofu with sleeping pills and screamed "You deserve it!" before attacking him with a 10-inch kitchen knife.

Kieu was jealous and angry about her husband's plans to divorce her because he was seeing his ex-girlfriend, the prosecution said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Several House Democrats are calling on Congress to recognize that climate change is hurting women more than men, and could even drive poor women to "transactional sex" for survival.

The resolution, from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and a dozen other Democrats, says the results of climate change include drought and reduced agricultural output. It says these changes can be particularly harmful for women.

"[F]ood insecure women with limited socioeconomic resources may be vulnerable to situations such as sex work, transactional sex, and early marriage that put them at risk for HIV, STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and poor reproductive health," it says.'

Story here. This is why I don't bother reading fiction. What's the point when reality is so bizarre? Excerpt:

'A mother forced her 14-year-old adopted daughter to inseminate herself with donor sperm to provide a baby for her after she was prevented from adopting any more children, it can be revealed.

The daughter, a virgin, is believed to have miscarried at 14, but went on to have a baby at 16 after regularly inseminating herself with sperm bought over the internet by her "domineering" mother because she was too scared to refuse.

Details of the shocking case have emerged in a previously secret court judgment, which can be reported today for the first time and which raises serious questions over loopholes in international adoptions and the regulation of the global traffic in gametes.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'"No one would believe a big strong man was hit by his little wife," stated Professor Sarah Ben-David. However her research shows it happens more often then one might think.

A conference in Israel is focusing on battered men and Prof. Ben-David is one of the speakers at the two-day event which is entitled "Violence, Conflicts and Unity in Family Context: A Reappraisal of Therapeutic and Judicial Doctrines." The conference is being sponsored by the Department of Criminology at Ariel University on Monday and Tuesday April 29th - 30th.

Prof. Ben-David, a Tel Aviv native, serves at head of the department. In her over 30 years of experience in the field, she founded and headed three organizations that deal with domestic violence victims. These are Sha'al, a victims' assistance service founded in 1979, the El'am Sex Crime Prevention Association, and Keleth - Criminologists for Correctional Services.'

Link here. Excerpt:

'An exhausted Miranda Hebble put her two young sons in the shower and closed the bathroom door.

She fell asleep and woke up about 10 hours later to find water overflowing from the shower - and both boys dead.

The West Australian coroner is examining the deaths of Lochlan James Stevens, aged two, and Malachi Isaac Stevens, 10 months, who died in November 2008.

Ms Hebble, then aged 22, was caring for her sons alone in Perth while the boys' father Christopher Stevens, then aged 23, was working on a fly-in fly-out basis.

The couple have since separated.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Kate Ellson, said Ms Hebble had no history of mental illness or drug and alcohol abuse.

She was a quiet person and had been struggling with sleep because of Malachi's restlessness.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a report titled “America’s Youth at 25,” which showed that among 23-year-olds, 165 women have earned college degrees for every 100 men.

Consequences of this disparity include higher unemployment, a higher crime rate, a lower birth rate and fewer skilled workers for the knowledge economy. What has caused this gender gap? Here are just a few of the many factors offered by analysts such as Leonard Sax, Richard Whitmire, Peg Tyre and Hanna Rosin.

Letter here.

'I get tired of the constant drumbeat by women about inequality. The so-called equal pay issue, for example, is bogus.

Most studies I've seen concluded it is a matter of time worked -- that men simply put more time into the work place and consequently earn more overall. In any case, many laws cover discrimination.

Regarding equality, men are now on the margin if not on the bench. Women control our interpersonal relationships, family life, child rearing, schools, churches, culture, arts and TV. America has been feminized.

About 60 percent of college admissions are now girls, while dropouts from high school are mostly boys. Most high school scholarships and awards seem to go to girls.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, women control around 60 percent of the nation's wealth -- now that's power. Let’s cast this mythical, disingenuous "inequality" aside.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Michelle Mills stabbed Edward Miller 24 times with such force that the handle of the knife broke away from the blade.

She told police her 20-year-old boyfriend had been violent to her but the trial heard she had attacked previous partners.

Mills, 31, who stabbed Mr Miller at their home in Scalford, Leicestershire, will be sentenced on Tuesday.

Det Insp Lee Hill said: "Michelle Mills is a violent, self-centred and manipulative woman who was happy to portray herself as the victim of domestic violence at the hands of a number of her partners, including Eddie Miller."'

Article here. Excerpt:

"More married men (2.3 per cent) suffered from partner abuse last year than married women, according to the latest British Crime Survey." The Independent on Sunday, 14 April 2013.

This weekend the Independent on Sunday tells the story of Kieron, 37 from Norfolk. He was abused by his wife for three years before he finally mustered the courage to report the crime to the police. The tipping point arrived when he had to undergo heart surgery after she stabbed him in the chest.

In recent years the Crime Survey for England and Wales, has revealed that Kieron is just one of many men abused by their partners.
...
The problem may in fact be more widespread than these figures suggest. The 2010/11 British Crime Survey (page 88) has revealed that twice as many male victims (28%) than female victims (13%) do not tell anyone about the domestic abuse they are suffering, highlighting the level of under-reporting. Furthermore, only 10% of male victims contact the police compared to 29% of female victims.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'SANTA ANA, California — The defense attorney for a woman charged with severing the penis of her estranged husband said she "had a break from reality" the night of the attack.

"She's a shattered woman who tried to do the best she could," Frank Bittar, public defender for Catherine Kieu, said during closing arguments Thursday. But Bittar said Kieu's mental health woes increased and she broke, according to City News Service.

The jury received the case and is scheduled to begin deliberating Monday on charges of torture and aggravated mayhem for the July 11, 2011, incident when Kieu, 50, was accused of drugging her husband, cutting off his penis, and throwing in the garbage disposal.

Bittar said no one could condone what the victim went through. But he said Kieu had a childhood full of molestation and other trauma in war-torn Vietnam. He said that was compounded by her husband who constantly demanded sex in ways that put her in pain.'

Announcement here. Excerpt:

'... Saturday, April 27, we will be airing a special episode of AVFM Radio, commemorating the life and work of Earl Silverman, the man who founded and operated the only refuge for battered men in Canada. Mr. Silverman committed suicide after the shelter, which was completely ignored by the Canadian Government, fell into hard economic times.

While the circumstances and precise reasons for his decision are not known at this time, we do know that Earl had struggled for years to provide services to men who needed to escape violent relationships. He was first exposed to that violence when he was married to an abusive woman. He sought out help for that and found there was none. Against all odds and in spite of the fact that the Canadian government summarily rejected all of his requests for funding, he pushed ahead with plans and provided services to battered men out of his own pocket and with meager contributions from a largely uncaring society.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Brussels, Belgium, Apr 24, 2013 / 04:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Four semi-nude feminist protestors attacked Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Malinas-Brussels during a recent conference on freedom of expression.

The April 18 conference took place at the Free University of Brussels and was entitled, “Blasphemy – crime or freedom of expression.”

The four women, who belong to the radical group Femen, removed their shirts and used plastic bottles similar those used by pilgrims at Lourdes to throw water at the archbishop while shouting insults and making violent gestures.
...
The women painted their bodies with the phrases, “My body, my rules” and “God loves lesbians.” They also carried a sign which read, “Stop homophobia.”'

I implore readers in Ontario to take action against this. Excerpt:

'The five Western students figured that once the Minister of Education heard about their project, he’d surely see the light and introduce women’s studies into the curriculum.

It was their first foray into activism. They had no idea what awaited them.

“We didn’t even know what a deputy minister did,” says Rawal, now a lawyer. “When we met him, he said ‘Is this a course for girls?’ ”

Their story is a model case study for activists. The formula? Keep focused on one simple idea. Build bridges with everyone interested. Keep the message positive. Have fun along the way, with crochet parties and feminist read-ins on the lawn at Queen’s Park. And grind, grind, grind.'

Ed. note: The submitter of this piece included further comments that were too long for the story box, so they are in the first comment.