WMC Women Under Siege
In Iraq, women ‘are the battlefield’
Yanar Mohammed’s voice is shaky when she picks up the phone. It is noticeable. She apologizes and takes a quick second to compose herself. She has been unnerved by something she just saw on television.
WMC Women Under Siege
August 08, 2014 | Priyali Sur |
Disability,
International,
Violence against women,
WMC Loreen Arbus Journalism Program
Indian government fails acid attack survivors, activists say
In India, the battle for justice is on many fronts for women who survive acid attacks. They continue, in part, because the government has failed to regulate the sales of acid and police have repeatedly failed to even take reports of attacks. So beyond the punishment of specific perpetrators, activists and survivors are fighting to obtain compensation from the government—and rehabilitation.
WMC FBomb
Why Todd Akin Still Matters
It has been almost two years since I heard the infamous Todd Akin remark about “legitimate rape” and abortions and I am still as angry as I was then. Recently, Todd Akin rereleased a statement in his ...
WMC Women Under Siege
The long and lonely fight: Q&A with Indian tribal rights activist Soni Sori
In a crowded auditorium at a conference on gender-based violence in Delhi this month, a frail woman sits silently. When the discussion shifts to atrocities on tribal women, she takes center stage. When she speaks, the crowd listens in silence. Soni Sori, a schoolteacher, speaks about the fate of women in Chhattisgarh, an Indian state that has been engulfed in violence and conflict.
WMC FBomb
Race and Gender After Gentrification
I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, which has historically been considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York City. My parents never let me walk around the neighborhood alone when...
WMC Women Under Siege
Why soldiers rape — and when they don’t — in diagrams
Men came while she was working in her field. Twice. Like so many women I met a few months ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the woman telling her story explained how men wearing uniforms appeared as she worked her land and dragged her to a tree and tied her to it, raping her, cutting her, terrifying her. They wanted her money and they wanted her gone from her field.
WMC FBomb
All The Ladies Who Truly Feel Me, Throw Your Hands Up At Me (Or: #WWBD)
Last weekend I saw Beyoncé in concert. It was a tremendously epic and empowering evening and everything one would hope and expect seeing Beyoncé in the flesh would be.
But that’s not the point of thi...
WMC FBomb
July 20, 2014 | Sabrina N |
Feminism,
Misogyny,
Race/Ethnicity,
Science and tech,
Violence against women
#JusticeForJada
A few weeks ago, Jada, a 16-year-old girl from Houston, Texas, went to a house party and was given a drink by the host. Little did she know that the drink was drugged, and that she would wake up later...
WMC Women Under Siege
July 18, 2014 | Cara Hoffman |
Violence against women
Giving women a fair fight in the US military
It’s unfathomable to think that in 2014 half the global population will be prevented from a full range of occupations because of their gender. This kind of prejudice is broadly seen as a throwback to a distant and unenlightened era—which is why the findings of a recent study of the best U.S. colleges was surprising to many.
WMC Women Under Siege
The smartest way to end rape in war
As a human rights lawyer for more than 40 years, pushing every avenue to advance women’s rights, this month’s Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict hosted by UK Foreign Minister William Hague and Angelina Jolie was a confirming moment of hope.
WMC FBomb
Sexism and Soccer Balls
The other day my friend asked me if I thought a true feminist can support the World Cup. Until this year, I probably would have immediately answered yes: I just associated the World Cup with a somewha...
WMC FBomb
July 06, 2014 | Maya Richard-Craven |
Feminism,
Gender-based violence,
Health,
Media,
Violence against women
What's Your 'Weapon Of Choice?'
It was not your typical walk of shame, like the kind you see in high school movies after someone loses their virginity. Instead, it was me, an athletic-looking African-American girl, sobbing my way do...
WMC FBomb
Why Colleges Need To Fund Sexual Health Counseling
Like many (if not most) teens across the country, my high school health textbook had almost no practical sex ed information. It had a abstinence contract, pages and pages on why we should wait and one...
WMC FBomb
Comedian Chris Gethard’s Feminist Internet Feud
Following the Isla Vista killing spree on May 23rd, 2014, thousands of women used the Twitter hashtag “#YesAllWomen” to share stories of experiences and incidents of sexual harassment, abuse and inequ...
WMC Women Under Siege
No more music, no more jasmine: A Syrian-American’s reflections on Aleppo
As a young Syrian-American, visiting Aleppo with my family was the highlight of my year. The sweet scent of jasmine abounded in the gardens, mixed with the aroma of Turkish coffee. At night, cafes were always full of people enjoying the cool breeze. But the city’s landscape has drastically changed: Barrel bombs have destroyed entire districts. Missiles have shattered homes, schools, cars, and lives. My family tells me that the pictures in the news do not do justice to the enormity of the devastation. Aleppo has been dubbed “the world’s most dangerous city.”
WMC Women Under Siege
How to seize the huge opportunity created by the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
“What a fabulous suit. She was perfect, perfect,” said a French woman standing behind me on the escalator. We had just emerged from two hours in a giant auditorium on the outskirts of London where we heard politicians, UN officials, and Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee speaking at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, billed as the largest gathering ever to focus attention and develop effective solutions to ending rape in war.
WMC Women Under Siege
June 18, 2014 International,
Violence against women
Siege talks to BBC about the UK summit: ‘Listen to the grassroots organizers’
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which ended on June 13, has now been met with both criticism and praise throughout the media. Our director, Lauren Wolfe, spoke to the BBC’s Radio Scotland from London, where she was a delegate at the summit. She has a mixed take.
WMC Women Under Siege
Ignoring the evidence at the End Sexual Violence in Conflict summit
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict ended, for me, not with a bang but with a tiny symbol of my irrelevance. As I stood, furiously tweeting, after the summit’s closing plenary, I was literally pushed aside by a bodyguard to Angelina Jolie. (Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Jolie was a co-host of the summit, with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.)
WMC Women Under Siege
UK summit on sexualized violence: ‘A time warp in the wrong direction’
I spent the past week in London at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict hosted by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie. It was a historic gathering of ministers and other government representatives, UN officials, the ICRC, and civil society, including our Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.
WMC Women Under Siege
Do we really need Angelina Jolie?
Everyone keeps asking me if we need Angelina Jolie. Leading up to the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which Jolie and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague are chairing in London this week, they want to know whether she is useful to this cause. I’ve been thinking a lot about this and have been searching for an answer. And I think I’ve found it.
WMC Women Under Siege
Stigma remains in place as sexualized violence increases in CAR
The Central African Republic may have a new leader for now—Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza was sworn in in January—but there are still old problems that exist when it comes to the country’s long history of sexualized violence.
WMC FBomb
On YouTube Celebrities and Blurred Consent
Once considered niche performers, YouTube vloggers are increasingly jumping off our computer screens and becoming celebrities in the real-world sense. They play concerts around the world, have clothin...
WMC FBomb
Erasing the Gray Area: Why Enthusiastic Consent Is Essential To Eradicating Sexual Assault
One Friday evening this spring, I stood in the courtyard outside my dorm with a friend. The sun was setting and students were performing their pre-party rituals around us. It was the first temperate d...
WMC Women Under Siege
Safety a click away: The tech industry’s response to violence against women
To combat sexualized violence, advocates and technologists have created new, tech-based apps and services in recent years. Some recent anti-rape device creations include rape-resistant underwear, female condoms with teeth, hairy leg tights, and even “killer tampons.” But not all of the creations are that bizarre. Some tech-based responses include smartphone apps, GPS tools, and other personal safety services and software that may be useful in the right—or wrong—situation.
WMC FBomb
*Trigger Warning* Why Aren't Women Safe in College and the Military?
While women in the United States still undeniably have a long way to go before we achieve equality, we have made progress in various realms. For example, in terms of education, Oberlin College of Ohio...