My healing can start, says sexual assault victim after libel win | Violence against women and girls | The Guardian

The #MeToo movement had exploded and women who like her had tattoos were using the #TattooMeToo hashtag to share stories of sexual assault. “I felt like every time I went on Instagram, I saw another predator in the tattoo industry being named,” she says. “It just felt overwhelming. I felt like: I’ve got to say it, how can I still stay quiet about this?”

So on 4 June, at about midday, Cresswell wrote about her own experience. In a blog post she said that a decade earlier she had been “violently sexually assaulted” by tattoo artist Billy Hay after a night out in Sunderland.

Cresswell had gone to the police soon after the incident in 2010. Officers, who spoke to her before she had slept and while still under the influence of alcohol, said her account was inconsistent. She made the report at 6.33am – a few hours later, it had been recorded as “no crime”.

Deciding she would be quiet no longer, Cresswell messaged Hay’s partner, who worked alongside him. She posted her story on Instagram and on Facebook.

Then, on 27 July she received a letter from Hay’s lawyers, threatening legal action. It stated: “As you are very well aware your whole account of the events said to justify the allegations is completely false and a work of fiction. Our client has met you once in his life. You danced and chatted in groups but that was all that happened between you.”

Eventually, almost three years after Cresswell wrote her first post, a landmark ruling at the high court this week found “that the defendant has proved on the balance of probabilities that she was violently sexually assaulted”.

The judgment by Mrs Justice Heather Williams could have far-reaching consequences for other alleged victims of sexual violence who speak about their experience, according to the The Good Law Project, which supported Cresswell.

Source: My healing can start, says sexual assault victim after libel win | Violence against women and girls | The Guardian

Fictionalizing Māori History in the Name of Gender Ideology | Dianne Landy

My organization, Mana Wāhine Kōrero (which translates as “Sovereign Women Speak”), was one of the two New Zealand groups that facilitated Kellie-Jay Keen’s visit to Auckland in March. We are a Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) women’s organization and—as far as we know—the only gender-critical indigenous women’s group in the world. Our members are deeply concerned about the impact that gender ideology is having on our culture; on our wāhine (women); and on women’s rights more generally, as seen through the prism of Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview).

Sadly, the fact that the Prime Minister of New Zealand (not unlike politicians in other countries) cannot define a woman was not the main takeaway for many journalists. Instead, much of the media bashed Plunket, accusing him not only of being “anti-trans,” but also of “diminishing indigenous cultures” for posing the question at all.

But my Māori women’s rights organization does not support the suggestion that Plunket deserves to be labelled as ignorant or racist. Rather, the attacks against him exemplify the tactic by which activists use bigotry accusations as a means to discourage any questioning of gender ideology by the general public.

There are no examples of anything resembling western ideas about “gender” in any of these cultural traditions.

Nor are there any carvings, waiata (songs), or mōteatea (poetic tales of sadness, farewell, or grieving, put to music) dedicated to such themes. Not one mōteatea references the sorrow of a child “born in the wrong body.” However, we might sing one now, for those sterilized children who’ve been convinced to alter their bodies in the name of gender ideology; and for our wāhine Māori, the most incarcerated female demographic in the world, now being imprisoned with violent men.

Or consider Tā moko—tattoos that are distinct between men and women. Only wāhine may wear a moko kauae (chin tattoo). No Tā moko for “gender diverse” individuals have ever been recorded. There are no carved whare (houses) or tukutuku panels (decorative panels depicting historical events relevant to the tribe) that suggest gender as being anything other than binary and immutable.

There are no stories of any great trans warrior or chief. Nothing exists to say that we believed in double mastectomies for teenage girls or orchiectomies for our young men. The majority of the Māori words that appear on the Gender Minorities Aotearoa glossary of trans words were, by the authors’ own admission, “developed” only recently.

Meanwhile, older words such as takatāpui (intimate companion of the same sex) have been redefined by gender ideologues channelling a colonial mentality, co-opting the Māori acceptance of homosexuality into something that promotes the lifelong medicalization and even surgical disfigurement of our tamariki (children).

Source: Fictionalizing Māori History in the Name of Gender Ideology

Monash City Council cancels drag queen story time

The south-eastern council’s meeting in Glen Waverley was derailed last week when almost 200 people attended, many protesting against its sold-out drag queen event planned for children and parents at Oakleigh Library on May 19.

A police spokeswoman did not comment on the force’s concerns for the drag event but said the decision to scrap it was ultimately made by the council after a risk assessment was conducted.

Source: Monash City Council cancels drag queen story time as neo-Nazis join protest

Row over watchdog’s warning on Sydney trans soccer player

Australia’s cyber security watchdog has served a notice to an overseas “pro-woman” magazine to remove a story that named a transwoman playing soccer in Sydney, and has also approached Twitter to remove links to the article.
The national eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant served a notice to Reduxx independent website advising them to “heavily censor or delete” an article they published which revealed the identity of a transgender woman, following allegations of injuries to female players and “unfair” competition.
“In addition to demanding we remove or censor the article, the eSafety Commissioner advised Twitter we had broken Australian law,” the Canadian-based Reduxx editor Anna Slatz told readers.
“Twitter then informed us the content would be withheld in Australia.
“After a comprehensive analysis of the compelling arguments presented by the eSafety Commissioner, including that it was ‘offensive’ to have called (the player) a ‘man’, Reduxx has decided to leave the article up without alteration.”
The Canadian editor mocked the edict, saying “What are they going to do, throw a boomerang at me? I am in Canada.”
Another small overseas website, Ovarit also received a warning on April 26 from the Australian eSafety Commissioner, claiming comments made underneath one of their stories about the soccer player “degraded and targeted” her on the basis of gender identity.
“Ovarit users have repeatedly misgendered (the player) referring to her using he/him pronouns,” the Cyber Abuse Team at the eSafety Commissioner office warning letter stated.
Asked what Australian laws were broken, the office of the eSafety commissioner said it would not comment on specific cases but issued a statement:
“Importantly, when assessing whether content constitutes adult cyber abuse, context does matter and content that might not be seen as harmful by one group, may cause great trauma to another especially if it targets someone’s sexuality, ethnicity, disability, or even gender identity.
“If material is deemed to have reached this threshold, eSafety favours an informal request for removal to the site or platform on which the material appears in the first instance.”
Twitter has now restricted the Reduxx article for Australians, claiming it “violates the laws of Australia.”

Source: Row over watchdog’s warning on Sydney trans soccer player

Deeming’s legal threat to Pesutto over ‘Nazi smear’

Suspended Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has given Opposition Leader John Pesutto an ultimatum to issue a media statement making it clear that he does not believe she is a Nazi or Nazi sympathiser by 2pm on Thursday afternoon, or face legal action.

The threat follows Ms Deeming’s nine-month suspension from the party which was agreed to by both parties in late March, after Ms Deeming had spoken at a Let Women Speak rally which was gatecrashed by Nazis.

As I have made clear from the day John emailed the entire partyroom with the allegations against me, my principle priority has been to have my name cleared for the sake of my children,” Ms Deeming said in the letter.

Source: Subscribe to The Australian | Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps

Australian women are exercising for 60 minutes less than men each week. It’s called the ‘gender exercise gap’

Recent research has indicated women are doing much less exercise than men each week – it’s called the “gender exercise gap”, and it’s been highlighted in the ASICS State of Mind Index, a research project that also points out women are potentially missing out on the positive mental and physical benefits that come with doing more exercise.

The index shows that globally, women exercise, on average, for 140 minutes per week, which is 40 minutes less than men, who generally exercise for 180 minutes. In Australia, this gap between men and women  jumps to 60 minutes.

In Australia, there was a disparity of 9 points between men (66/100) and women’s (57/100) State of Mind. Alarmingly, this gap was the 2nd largest disparity between genders out of the 16 countries that were surveyed. The United States was the only nation to have a larger gap.

Indeed, research from The Australian National University (ANU) in 2022 showed that for those in heterosexual relationships, men tend to “borrow” free time to exercise from their female partners, who get less opportunity to focus on their health, with their time being squeezed to manage their jobs and family.

The researchers found that women’s physical activity dropped when their paid or family work hours increased, or if their paid work was less flexible.

Source: Australian women are exercising for 60 minutes less than men each week. It’s called the ‘gender exercise gap’

Dirty Dozen List 2023 – NCOSE

The Dirty Dozen List is an annual campaign calling out twelve mainstream entities for facilitating, enabling, and even profiting from sexual abuse and exploitation. Since its inception in 2013, the Dirty Dozen List has galvanized thousands of individuals like YOU to call on corporations, government agencies, and organizations to change problematic policies and practices. This campaign has yielded major victories at Google, Netflix, TikTok, Hilton Worldwide, Verizon, Walmart, US Department of Defense, and many more.

Source: Dirty Dozen List 2023 – NCOSE

Cancel culture, women and oaths: PM sits down with Piers Morgan

Mr Albanese – who is in Britain for Saturday’s coronation of the King and Queen Consort – sat down with Morgan for a lengthy interview that featured a host of provocative questions.

Morgan was keen to know where Mr Albanese stood on some controversial topics – including an Australian republic, trans issues and the “cancellation” of comedian Barry Humphries.

“Barry Humphries was cancelled by the Melbourne International Comedy Show – it took his name off the top award for him being allegedly transphobic. What did you feel about that?” he asked Mr Albanese.

The PM dodged that controversy with all the skill of a trained politician. He said he learned only recently that the comedy festival had ditched Humphries’ name from its Barry Award, after deciding some of the comedian’s views were offensive.

After that, Morgan tried for a trickier topic – the definition of a woman.

“The New Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, was asked to define a woman and he said, ‘Well, people identify for themselves’. He couldn’t answer. It was excruciating, to watch, to be honest with you. And this has been a sort of hot potato question for world leaders. Some of them seem incapable, including [Labour Party leader] Keir Starmer, here. What is a woman, Prime Minister?” he asked.

Mr Albanese replied: “An adult female.”

Morgan: “How difficult was that to answer?”

Mr Albanese: “Not too hard. I was asked during the campaign, actually. But I respect people for whoever they are. And it’s up to people to be respectful. And I know that controversy can come at times like that, and I’m not a fan of some of, the campaign – there was recently a very controversial visit in Australia that was designed to stir up issues. And young people coming to terms with their identity and who they are, I think that they need to be respected as well.”

Source: Cancel culture, women and oaths: PM sits down with Piers Morgan

Transwomen in female sport critic Kirralie Smith hit with AVO to ‘protect’ trans activist player | Daily Mail Online

A high-profile campaigner against transgender women competing in female soccer leagues has been hit with a restraining order on behalf of a prominent transgender player.

Kirralie Smith organised a campaign that bombarded Football NSW with 12,000 emails demanding a rethink on trans women playing in female competitions.

 ‘Keep blokes out of women’s sport!’, the petition page read.

During her lobbying efforts, Ms Smith named a number of transgender players on social media, including a leading goal scorer.

On April 1, police came to Ms Smith’s home and issued the campaigner with an Apprehended Violence Order preventing her from discussing or approaching the player.

The order also covers electronic harassment of the trans activist player, who lives over 300km away.

Ms Smith had her Facebook page with its 47,000 followers removed by the social media company at the request of the eSafety Commissioner on February 20.

Principal Solicitor at the Feminist Legal Clinic, Anna Kerr, also expressed concern that laws intended to keep people safe are increasingly being used to silence women.

‘Too often we see bullies calling out those who dare to stand up to them,’ Ms Kerr stated.

‘AVOs that are failing to keep women safe from male violence are now being used as weapons against them.

‘I am concerned that the eSafety Commissioner and law enforcement agencies must take care that their powers are not manipulated to suppress free speech.’

Source: Transwomen in female sport critic Kirralie Smith hit with AVO to ‘protect’ trans activist player | Daily Mail Online