Silke Meyer for The Conversation writes:
On average, at least one woman is killed every week at the hands of a current or former partner in Australia. Last month, the numbers were even more alarming. Nine women were killed in October – seven allegedly in the context of a current or former intimate relationship, the other two also suspected to have died at the hands of male perpetrators.
While these deaths are a disturbing reflection of the pervasive nature of violence against women in Australia, they have largely gone unnoticed. Aside from a small number of female journalists who called on Australia’s leaders to address the crisis, the media more broadly, as well as governments and the wider public, have mostly remained silent.
These recent incidents raise questions around the effectiveness of awareness and educational campaigns developed under Australia’s National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, released in 2011 to improve the country’s response to domestic violence.
https://theconversation.com/after-a-deadly-month-for-domestic-violence-the-message-doesnt-appear-to-be-getting-through-105568
Author: fem4admin39
Google employees all over the world left their desk and walked out in protest over sexual misconduct
Days after a New York Times investigation revealed Google gave Android creator Andy Rubin a $90 million exit package despite multiple relationships with other Google staffers and accusations of sexual misconduct, some 200 employees at the search giant are planning a walkout.
Thousands of workers are expected to take part in the protest, which calls for people in Google’s offices to walk away from their desk at 11 a.m. in their respective time zone. Protesters are using the hashtag #GoogleWalkout. Employees in New York, London, Tokyo, and Berlin are among those to have already taken part.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/29/google-employees-will-walk-out-on-thursday-to-protest-companys-handling-of-sexual-misconduct/
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/google-walkout-live-pictures-of-protesting-google-workers-2018-11?
Toilet design puts woman at risk of harassment and poor health, charities warn
Sarah Newey for the Telegraph writes:
Dark and insecure toilets disproportionately affect women and girls, putting them at greater risk of harassment and damage to their health, three charities have warned.
Across the world, one in three women do not have access to a toilet at home, instead relying on public or community toilets.
But these facilities often lack locks, robust doors or facilities to dispose of sanitary products, which discourages women from using them.
Traveling to the toilets can also put women and girls at risk, especially at night. In 2014, police in Bihar in India said that some 400 women would have “escaped” rape if they had access to toilets in their own home.
“If facilities are not in a safe geographical location, secure and bright, then the surrounding area can attract people who are interested in harassing women and girls,” said Priya Nath, equality, inclusion and rights advisor at WaterAid.
“It’s not only the threat, perception of risk is just as important. If women perceive that it is not safe to go to the toilet then they will not use it. But we know that not eating or drinking to hold on, or not changing sanitation products, has huge health problems,” she added.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/toilet-design-puts-woman-risk-harassment-poor-health-charities/
'There are no rules': the unforeseen consequences of sex robots
Andrew Taylor at Sydney Morning Herald writes:
They are already lending a hand with everyday chores. They are expected to drive many people out of their jobs. But robots may soon be sharing our beds as sex partners with anatomically correct, customised body parts and personalities.
However, Dr Xanthe Mallett, a forensic anthropologist and criminologist, says sex robots could have unforeseen consequences on human relationships in ways similar to other technology such as smartphones. “Imagine a man who has a sex robot,” she says.
“He can do anything he wants with it. There are no limits, there are no rules. There’s nothing that is out of bounds.
“These latest versions have fully integrated AI capabilities, and can be completely customised by the user,” he says. “They look, feel, touch and respond like a real human would, possessing memory capabilities, various personality settings and response modes.”
One of Mallett’s concerns involves how human interactions may be reshaped by sex robots, especially if their “various personality settings” include subservience or tolerating abusive and violent behaviour like the androids in the television series Westworld.
The Campaign against Sex Robots raises a number of concerns about sex robots, including sexually objectifying women and children and reducing human empathy.
Mallett says she worries paedobots may lead some people to offend against a child. “I’ve seen too many cases where people have gone from looking at images online to then progressing to grooming children to then offending against children,” she says. “You see an evolution in behaviour as people don’t get the same level of satisfaction looking at pictures so they have to evolve and seek the next thrill.”
https://www.smh.com.au/technology/there-are-no-rules-the-unforeseen-consequences-of-sex-robots-20181024-p50bnx.html?
Rape and sexual abuse of women in North Korea 'open, unaddressed and widely tolerated'
ABC News reports:
A Human Rights Watch report based on interviews with 106 North Koreans who have left the country found the country’s extremely patriarchal society means many women feel powerless to demand accountability over sexual violence, many are also ashamed of being abused, and some choose to keep silent because of flimsy law enforcement and support systems.
The report details sexual abuse by men in official positions of power, such as prison guards, police officers, prosecutors, soldiers and market supervisors.
“Interviewees told us that when a guard or police officer ‘picks’ a woman, she has no choice but to comply with any demands he makes, whether for sex, money, or other favours,” the report said.
“Women in custody have little choice should they attempt to refuse or complain afterward, and risk sexual violence, longer periods in detention, beatings, forced labour, or increased scrutiny while conducting market activities.”
A pervasive social stigma keeps victims silent, the report said, adding that all of the interviewees described “widespread impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence and lack of justice for survivors.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-01/north-korea-rape-and-sexual-abuse-widely-tolerated-says-report/10457794?
O'Connor and White in Damage Control over Backlash on Transgender Reforms
Women Speak Tasmania in Tasmanian Times write:
It’s now very clear the Tasmanian people are unhappy about the proposal to remove sex markers from birth certificates. Attorney-General, Elise Archer’s, call for an independent inquiry into the changes to be put forward by Labor and the Greens is both sensible and necessary.
We are concerned the rights of women and girls to safe female-only spaces will be collateral damage in the rush to allow male transgender persons to become legally female simply by signing a declaration that they identify as female.
This is a legitimate consideration, and must be fully addressed.
It seems Ms O’Connor’s claim that a call for consultation is “whipping up fear, loathing and misunderstanding at the expense of a minority in our community” is nothing more than overwrought scare-mongering, something she readily denounces in those who oppose her views.
Ms O’Connor also seeks to align transgender law reform with gay rights, but Tasmanians can see through this obvious political posturing.
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/11/oconnor-and-white-in-damage-control-over-backlash-on-transgender-reforms/
Australians the world’s wealthiest! And yet female homelessness on rise
Sandra Buckley for Women’s Agenda reports:
Currently, in Australia men retire with 47% more super than Australian women, meaning Australian women retire with almost 50% less than Australian men. So much less super, that the fastest growing cohort of Australians sliding into homelessness are Australian women who are aged over 50 and single.
It does not add up for us that women who raised you or who looked after a disabled child, sick partner or relative, in other words who spend many hours of her life performing essential caring roles, retires in poverty as a result of caring.
We are one of the few OECD countries that does not value caring and does not pay super to carers. Nor do we pay super on parental leave. We don’t pay super to those who earn less than $450 per month from one employer despite usually having several part-time jobs in order to have flexibility when looking after the kids.
One in two women in Australia earns less than $37,000 a year. And nothing will change for future generations unless we make substantive changes now.
That’s why we started the #Makesuperfair campaign at Women In Super.
https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/australians-the-worlds-wealthiest-and-yet-female-homelessness-on-rise/
Law is ‘inherently masculine’ but women can help change it
Anne-Marie Rice in Lawyers Weekly writes:
I am tired because I am 44 years old, self-employed and the mother of two primary school aged children. Tired goes with the territory.
I am tired because I am a lawyer and the law is a jealous mistress.
But, most of all, I am tired from 20 years of doing a job through a prism that is inconsistent with who I am. A lens that I find fundamentally one dimensional and inherently aggressive. It is inherently masculine. The way the law is, largely, practised invites lawyers to solve problems by first making them bigger and by then aggressively holding a position until a decision is imposed or a compromised based on brinkmanship is reached.
I am exhausted from walking that walk. It affects who I am. It dims my light. And, looking around this room, I know I am not the only one who feels it.
But it also affects those who are NOT in this room tonight. The women who have left the profession. Not having retired after a full and fulfilling career but who have opted out. Early.
The responsibility for the change to make professional life sustainable for women, is mine. It’s ours. The responsibility to stop pretending that a flourishing legal career and committed parenting (or other) role is at all easy, realistic, healthy or sustainable, is mine. It’s ours.
We all know that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but that she did it backwards and in high heels. But puzzle me this: what might have happened if Ginger Rogers had been invited to turn around?
https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/biglaw/24349-law-is-inherently-masculine-but-women-can-help-change-it?
Australian teens as young as 14 vomiting, taking laxatives to stay thin
SBS News reports:
Australian teenagers as young as 14 are taking extreme measures including vomiting or taking laxatives to control their weight.
Child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Sloane Madden said the demand for youth psychiatric services was increasing at an alarming rate.
“I am busier than I have ever been, certainly particularly young age we’re seeing people presenting with very serious eating disorders at a much younger age,” Dr Sloane said.
He blamed social media and an obsession with self-image as the cause of these worrying trends.
“There are a number of factors, certainly exposure to images of people who are thin and promotion of those images as being desirable and equated with success are everywhere you look,” Dr Sloane said.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australian-teens-as-young-as-14-vomiting-taking-laxatives-to-stay-thin?
Protect women’s rights and spaces: Submission on the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registrati on Bill (NZ)
From Submission by Renee Gerlich:
To ensure that the BDMRRA does not breach Section 21(1a) of the Human Rights Act, section 19 of the Bill of Rights Act and CEDAW, I request that Section 28 of the BDMRRA be amended to include a necessary preamble: a definition of sex and a definition of gender with which the rest of the Act be made consistent. I suggest that these definitions are made consistent with the HRA and CEDAW: namely, that sex be defined as biological: persons can be either male or female according to standard definitions (chromosomes, gonads, genitals and secondary sex characteristics). I support the maintenance of an “indeterminate” provision for intersex persons under section 28 of the current Act.
Any definition of sex proposed to underpin the BDMRRA that challenges commonplace understandings of “sex” as biological, as well as definitions drawn on to prevent sex discrimination in the HRA and CEDAW, must not be legislated for without a full public consultation. This consultation should include every single service that will be affected by the institutionalisation of definitions of sex and gender that are not commonplace. Consultation must be carried out with rape crisis shelters, women’s refuges, sports teams, Corrections and within women’s prisons, any public facilities that include bathrooms and changing rooms, women in women’s representative groups and positions, all-girls schools, and other groups. I also propose that without the addition of a preamble clearly defining sex and gender, no amendments can be made to the BDMRRA. The BDMRRA is already at odds with Section 21(1a) of the HRA and CEDAW, and any changes made, if not underpinned by clear definitions, will remain weak and problematic at best and will become circular, illogical and increase harm to women at worst.
https://reneejg.net/2018/03/01/bdmrra-submission/
