Article here. Excerpt:

'“Statistically speaking, more men walk onto teams than women do through a four-year period,” said Associate Athletics Director and Senior Women’s Administrator Miriam Segar. “We constantly monitor sports to see if the interest and ability on campus will allow us to add more women’s sports.”

The monitoring process at LSU includes surveys to gauge interest in sports throughout the area, looking at other SEC schools’ women’s programs and keeping tabs on several NCAA emerging sports.

If LSU added another men’s sport, it would widen the gap in participation between male and female student-athletes.

The addition of a men’s sport is handicapped by the Title IX requirements. If LSU added a men’s program, it would limit its options of significant interest in another women’s sport developed at the University.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The proposals will include "ABC of gender equality" lessons for children as young as six, the threat of imposing compulsory equal pay for men and women in the same jobs and tougher laws on domestic violence.

France's women's rights minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said: "This will become the third generation of equality legislation after women were given the right to vote in 1944 and abortion was legalised in 1975."

She made the comments on the day France called its first cross-ministry meeting on women's' rights in 12 years.

New draft laws outlined yesterday will allow the courts to accelerate restraining orders and trials for violent male partners and provide females considered under threat of violence with free emergency mobile phones to alert police.

Article here. Excerpt:

'I am the kind of nutter that gives feminism a bad name. Barmy. A gender hating sexist misandrist. Childish. Selfish. Unsisterly. A saboteur and troublemaker who derails feminist debates by indulging in cheap tricks and meaningless grandstanding.

Such has been the assessment of my character and behaviour from certain quarters, following my participation on a panel after the London Feminist Film Festival screening of the glorious Lesbiana – A Parallel Revolution, a film that documents and celebrates lesbian feminism and separatism. According to a previous piece on Comment is free, I reputedly "asked all the men in the audience to leave", an intervention which was greeted with hearty applause from much of the audience, but also some consternation.

Except, for the record, that wasn't quite what happened. As the transcript of the event makes clear, what I in fact said at the beginning of the panel discussion was:

Article here. Excerpt:

'Emilliano Terry, a 3 year Cleveland boy, is dead. His skull was fractured and his body deposited in a dumpster. His twenty year old mother has been charged with his murder.

It’s been just over one week since Emilliano Terry was reported missing. In one month, our memories will fade and those of us outside of Emilliano’s family and community will not remember him at all. He will be remembered as just another sad statistic of domestic violence. But now, one week later, as facts emerge concerning Camilia Terry, the boy’s mother, it is obvious that Emilliano was living in a high risk environment and something should have been done. In fact, a lively round of the blame game has begun.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Surveys about perceptions are not science. As any expert in intimate partner violence will tell you, real physical abuse between intimate partners – both heterosexual and homosexual (lesbian inter-partner violence rates are higher than heterosexual) – is mostly bilateral. The actual intimate partner violence victimization rates for domestic violence in 2011 are 18.8% for women, and 19.8% for men. In other words, about one in five women will suffer abuse at the hands of men, and about one in five men will suffer abuse at the hands of women. And by abuse I do not mean rape: I mean everything from psychological control (bilateral) to pushing and shoving, up to flinging objects and knifings, which men and women do to each other in equal numbers. Most women will not be subject to rape or attempted rape in their lifetime.

Article here. Excerpt:

Story here. Excerpt:

'The Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women in Israel has a new target for their anti-domestic violence public service announcements now showing on major TV channels: men.

After years of encouraging women to call the 118 hotline to avoid continuing domestic violence or to find a safe shelter, the AASWI wants men to take responsibility and get help before they become abusive.

The shift is part of a worldwide trend to force men to take responsibility for domestic violence, rather than placing the burden on the victim to seek help.
...
“We need to find creative ways to increase the calls from men as well,” said Vered Swid, the organization’s director-general.

When men call the 118 number and ask for assistance, social workers can direct them to a variety of different services, including support groups, anger management courses, therapy, or temporary apartments to allow a “cooling off period” that enables the woman and children to stay at home rather than deal with a shelter.'

Story here. The actual goal isn't 50%; you can bet your next ten paychecks on that. Excerpt:

'As President Barack Obama finalizes his second-term cabinet picks, the nation’s leading feminist group is pushing for more female appointments.

Currently, the president, who garnered 55 percent of the women’s vote on Election Day, has eight females in his 23-member cabinet. According the National Organization for Women, that number isn’t nearly high enough.

NOW president Terry O’Neill, in an interview with The Daily Caller, explained that she would like to see complete gender parity in Obama’s second-term cabinet.'

Link here. Excerpt:

'Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Liliana Ayalde announced awardees for more than $1.5 million worth of small grants through the Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Americas (WEAmericas) initiative during her trip to Trinidad and Tobago. Twenty-six grants will go to 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as two multi-regional projects, and will support women’s entrepreneurship by developing and linking existing resources, programs, and infrastructure to create a stronger entrepreneurial environment for women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses. The small grants were made possible by the Secretary’s International Fund for Women and Girls and the Walmart Foundation.

Story here. Excerpt:

'TOOELE, Utah (ABC4 News) – Women are usually the victims of domestic violence, but in rare cases men are victims too.

Mike Sorrels was allegedly stabbed by his wife, Tiffany Buhler, over the weekend. Excerpts from the 911 call he made are below.

Mike: Yeah, I've been stabbed in the chest. There's blood all over the place.

Operator: Mike, can you tell me who stabbed you?

Mike: My wife.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The opening night of the London Feminist Film Festival last Friday seemed like a huge success: Myriam Fougère's Lesbiana – A Parallel Revolution, about lesbian separatist communities in North America in the 1980s, was originally going to be screened at one of the smaller screens at the Hackney Picturehouse, but was moved to the biggest one after it sold out, and then sold out again. Unfortunately, the film didn't end up in the centre of the event. Chair Femi Otitoju managed to introduce the panellists – director Fougère, politician and activist Linda Bellos and anti-porn activist and academic Julia Long. But even before the floor was opened for questions, Long raised her hand and asked all the men in the audience to leave.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Women who commit crime will avoid prosecution by going on courses aimed at preventing reoffending under a controversial new scheme.

About 60 women a year will be assessed and referred to the Together Women project, a charity working across Yorkshire and the Humber region, which will provide support to tackle the cause of their offending and avoid prosecution.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Cunningham, of Humberside Police, denied the initiative was a “soft option”, saying: “If somebody deserves to go into the criminal justice system they will do.”'

Link here. Excerpt:

'As part of its global Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, the U.S. Department of State announced today that 10 female volleyball coaches from Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Yemen will travel to the United States to participate in a Sports Visitors program, where they will share their experiences as female athletes and coaches as well as learn about sports opportunities for women in the U.S.

From December 5-16, the delegation from the Gulf States will engage with their American counterparts in Washington, D.C., Louisville, KY, and Knoxville, TN. In addition, they will participate in discussions on Title IX, sports psychology, nutrition, and participate in teambuilding and leadership activities. They will also participate in events with the Special Olympics and the 2012 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Marriage has become a source of conflict for both male and females in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of newly-wed adults has steadily declined from 2008 to 2011. Fox News has interpreted this data as a result of women’s changing role in society in a piece titled “The War on Men”. However, the reality is much more complicated thanks to a significant shift in societal norms. Priorities have changed for both the American male and female. The changing environment has thus resulted in the failure of both sexes to meet on common ground regarding marriage.

Story here. Excerpt:

'CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A Castle Rock mother was found guilty Tuesday of smothering her two children to death with a pillow.

Kelli Murphy’s defense team asked the jury to consider a lighter charge for their client, who confessed to smothering her two children to death in May of 2011. The Douglas County jury chose to ignore that plea, finding Murphy guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree murder by a person in a position of trust.

Judge Vincent White immediately sentenced Murphy to two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Murphy killed her children, Liam, 9, and Madigan, 6, by smothering them at her Castle Rock home. Liam would have been 11 today.'