The Contemporary ‘Cult Of The ‘Sex-Worker”

In certain social circles praising sex-workers has become fashionable. How has prostitution – an out-dated, slavery-like industry – been made to look so modern?

The term ‘sex-work’ conveys neutrality, and in doing so it desensitises us to violence and disguises the exploitation of women in the UK and globally. As long as prostitution exists women and men will never be free from patriarchy. Prostitution should be abolished, for all our sakes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/heather-brunskellevans/the-contemporary-cult-of-_b_14958552.html

Every Single Member Of Queensland’s Opposition Will Vote For Abortion To Remain A Crime

“Every single member” of Queensland’s Liberal National Party will vote against a bill to pull abortion out of the state’s criminal code on Wednesday.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/every-single-member-of-queenslands-opposition-will-vote-for?

UN expert reminds Australia of obligations on gendered violence

The federal government has been reminded by the United Nations of its human rights obligations to women fleeing from family and domestic violence, and is being advised to provide appropriate funding for Australia’s community legal centres.

Wrapping up her two week examination into the “scourge” of violence against women, the UN special rapporteur Dubravka Simonovic gave her preliminary findings of a problem which takes the lives of one or two Australian women every week.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/02/27/un-expert-reminds-australia-obligations-gendered-violence

Why I won’t let any male babysit my children

Many of you have seen one of the latest women writers to come under attack – the author of Why I won’t let any male babysit my children, Kasey Edwards.
Edwards takes a cold, hard look at the too-high likelihood that males with unsupervised access to children will sexually abuse them, compares it with the far lower prevalence of women committing child sexual assault, and concludes that the policy of her and her husband in only allowing women unsupervised access to their children was the most responsible choice they could make.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/ginny-brown/on-individualist-lifestylism-and-woman-blaming-musings-on-recent-attacks/10154466380488036

How penalty rate cuts affect women and therefore the economy

Women and young Australians are set to be hardest hit by the Fair Work Commission decision to reduce Sunday penalty rates in varying amounts for workers in retail and hospitality with the exception of restaurants.

Women constitute 71.6 per cent of all part-time employees, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

This is largely because of the flexibility it provides many working mothers, and the attractive penalty rates also allow them to catch up on lost pay.

https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/penalty-rate-cuts-affect-women-therefore-economy/

Women will get pregnant for paid leave, Pauline Hanson says in opposing omnibus bill

Pauline Hanson has reportedly claimed that women will get pregnant to access paid parental leave in comments indicating that major changes will be needed to the government’s omnibus welfare bill for it to win One Nation support.

“They get themselves pregnant and [the government will] have the same problems they did with the baby bonus, with people just doing it for the money,’’ the One Nation leader told the newspaper.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/23/women-will-get-pregnant-for-paid-leave-pauline-hanson-says-in-opposing-omnibus-bill?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+AUS+v1+-+AUS+morning+mail+callout&utm_term=214557&subid=17322137&CMP=ema_632

37 Politicians Get a Mural Dedicated to Their Most Shameful Comments About Women

During the 2016 presidential campaign, audio surfaced of then-presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump telling Billy Bush that his celebrity status allowed him to “grab” women “by the pussy” at will. The revelation sent shockwaves around the country, but for artists Zoë Buckman and Natalie Frank, it was yet another line in an all-too-familiar history of disgusting comments made—on the political level—against women. The shameful sound bite inspired a new, 30-foot long mural titled, We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident, now on view at New York Live Arts, that makes art out of quotes from nearly 40 politicians who have, for decades, made odious public remarks about women’s bodies and rights.

https://creators.vice.com/en_us/article/buckman-frank-politicians-shameful-comments-about-women-mural

Sexual harassment at Uber is rife

It was a blog post that did it. It wasn’t the many and varied reports of being propositioned by male managers that female employees made to HR, nor was it the comprehensive documentation of these instances.

https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/eds-blog/sexual-harassment-at-uber-is-rife/

How the court system allows domestic violence perpetrators to continue abuse

The experience led Ms Hadchiti to create a petition calling on state and federal governments to change legislation so that alleged perpetrators of abuse are banned from cross-examining their victims. It has so far received almost 19,000 signatures. Former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, the Productivity Commission and legal aid groups have called for change.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/we-were-terrified-how-the-court-system-allows-domestic-violence-perpetrators-to-continue-their-abuse-20170219-gug6hv.html

Swedish nuclear physicist just got the world’s first approved birth control app – as effective as the pill but usi ng only mathematics

For over a year Elina Berglund nuclear physicist has been fighting authorities and malicious headlines. Now her app will be the first in the world to be approved as a contraceptive.

That means Natural Cycles officially offers a new, clinically tested alternative to birth control methods such as contraceptive pills, contraceptive implants and condoms.

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/swedish-nuclear-physicist-just-got-the-worlds-first-approved-birth-control-app-2017-2