WMC Women Under Siege
Why I work with rape survivors in Africa
“Has the world forgotten about us?” These words from Fatima, a Darfuri rape survivor, still haunt me. It was the summer of 2006 and I was collecting interviews as part of my research-based activism with 25 Darfuri genocide survivors at a refugee camp in Chad.
WMC News & Features
Showcasing Films by Cuban Women
For the first time, a group of women filmmakers from Cuba are showing their films in the United States, beginning in Los Angeles on March 8, International Women's Day.
WMC Women Under Siege
Gloria Steinem challenges BBC presenter on violence against women
On Tuesday, Gloria Steinem, who originated WMC’s Women Under Siege, spoke to BBC “Hardtalk” presenter Stephen Sackur about the women’s movement. But I wanted to do more than point you to the video (which you can watch here) and highlight something I found particularly interesting about their chat.
WMC Women Under Siege
New Holocaust findings highlight larger gap in conflict and rape research
One of the most emailed New York Times stories over the weekend was a piece about the Holocaust. In it, Eric Lichtblau explains new findings from experts at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: that the number of Nazi ghettos, camps, and other sites of systematic human misery is six times what the study authors had predicted.
WMC News & Features
A Tale of Two Journalists
Caught in the crosshairs of social media comment, two TV journalists received very different treatment from their respective employers.
WMC FBomb
Sexism Is Not Actually "Edgy"
Seth McFarlane has been repeatedly called an ”edgy” choice for an Oscars host. The Onion brands itself as a daring, controversial form of satire, steadfastly refusing ‘to knuckle under to pressure fro...
WMC FBomb
March 02, 2013 | Julie Zeilinger |
Media
Support Women Artists Sunday: Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country music artist. She self-released three albums before appearing on the fifth season of the USA Networks singing competition Nashville St...
WMC FBomb
Saturday Vids: End The Silence - National Eating Disorder Awareness Week
In honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, here's one young woman's message about having an eating disorder. To learn more, visit the NEDA website.
...
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Sexism On Late Night TV: Even Jimmy Fallon Isn't Immune
Jimmy Fallon is charming, enthusiastic, and totally non-controversial. Ask any fan or casual “Late Night” viewer, and you’ll hear things like, “Yeah, he seems like a really nice guy.” Recently, howeve...
WMC News & Features
Witch Burnings in Papua New Guinea—in 2013!
First delivered on "Women's Media Center Live with Robin Morgan," this "Fighting Words" commentary demands action in response to a horrifying news story reported by journalist Jo Chandler.
WMC Women Under Siege
Salacious, voyeuristic, insensitive: How the media harms one survivor of rape
Context. It’s a simple word that requires its own set of words to make clear: Context, according to Merriam-Webster, contains “the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning.” Everything has it. But that doesn’t mean it’s in great supply, whether in how we speak about the world or in how we are presented with the news.
WMC Women Under Siege
Kenyan rape survivors sue government for inaction
Imagine if rape survivors held politicians accountable every time their government failed to protect them. In Kenya, eight survivors of sexualized violence are suing their country for its “non-action” in response to attacks following Kenya’s 2007 general elections. As we’ve written about previously, the post-election violence took place during a dispute over who had won, which developed into tribal clashes.
WMC News & Features
Sarai Sierra Case Dominates Turkish Media—To What End?
Accounts of the Sierra murder investigation jumped forward from the proverbial 'third page' treatment of crimes against Turkish women, but the coverage is deeply flawed argues Alyson Neel, reporting from Istanbul.
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Top Five Fictional Female Athletes
Anybody who has ever met me can agree on one important point: I am a pop culture addict, with a list of favorite TV shows and movies a mile long. Some of my all-time heroes are fictional ones and it's...
WMC FBomb
Support Women Artists Sunday: Rebecca Ferguson
People used to tell Rebecca Ferguson her life was ruined. A teenage mother of two children, dreams of becoming a famous singer seemed far-fetched. Motivated to fulfill her lifelong wish, Rebecca signe...
WMC FBomb
February 21, 2013 | Tori A |
Arts and culture
Reborn
The ability to move and be moved by another person, to love and be loved, sends chills down my spine.
To feel another's emotions intertwined with my own.
The exquisite high of a touch, a smile, a mome...
WMC News & Features
Sotomayor—From the Bronx to the Bench
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is determined to be as frank as possible in her new memoir.
WMC FBomb
Judy Chicago at the Ben Uri Gallery
Judy Chicago is one of my favourite artists. So, when I heard she was exhibiting in London for the first time since the 80s, well, I was rather excited. The Ben Uri Gallery in London seemed like the p...
WMC News & Features
Nepotism Is Not Feminism
The author, editorial director of Feminist Studies, takes issue with the language the president used in last week's State of the Union address.
WMC FBomb
Defeating the Enemy: Me
About three days out of every week I have what I like to call “ugly days.” These are days where I feel like I look like crap and nothing I do can change it. This puts me in a terrible mood, and it mak...
WMC News & Features
Human Trafficking Bill Resurrected in Congress
This week the Senate took care of the unfinished business of reauthorizing legislation to combat the crime of trafficking, including services for domestic victims. Now it's up to the House.
WMC Women Under Siege
The media and violence against women: A conversation with Maria Hinojosa
On January 25, I moderated a panel on the media and sexualized violence as part of our symposium, “Global sexualized violence: From epidemiology to action,” with Columbia University. The panel, with journalists Helen Benedict, Maria Hinojosa, and Jenny Nordberg, was lively, to say the least, with hot debate between the audience and speakers as to what the media is doing badly and needs to do better when it comes to covering rape.
WMC Women Under Siege
February 13, 2013 International,
Violence against women
Gender justice group urges South Africa's Zuma to create commission to stop sexualized violence
After the gruesome rape and murder of 17-year-old Anene Booysen, South Africans are wondering how to put an end to their country’s high levels of sexualized violence. In an open letter, the Sonke Gender Justice Network, a human rights group based in the country, calls on South Africa’s president to act.
WMC Women Under Siege
Placing blame: Report debunks misconceptions about wartime rape
The media loves to generalize about war, and with it, wartime sexualized violence. But ignoring nuance does nobody any favors—neither the survivors themselves, nor those who are trying to stop it.
WMC News & Features
The Pot Calling the Kettle…
The author goes beneath the Western stereotypes of African politics to explain what's at stake for women and all citizens in the upcoming elections in Kenya.