A Prison Nightmare. On June 23, 2009, the National Prison Rape Commission released its final Report and proposed Standards to prevent, detect, respond to and monitor sexual abuse of incarcerated or detained individuals throughout the United States. More prisoners reported abuse by staff than abuse by other prisoners.
posted by Non Prosequitur on Jun 25, 2009 - 132 comments

Melrose Place, Governor Napolitano, and Freshly Baked Chocolate Chips: social entrepreneurship to combat meth and sell art. Is Belleza Gallery, wholly owned nonprofit gallery of Renaissance House, the coolest little pocket of altrusim-meets-art that almost no one has ever heard of? [more inside]
posted by yellowcandy on Apr 10, 2008 - 3 comments

Three award-winning photographers come together to photograph women from around the world, who have been the victims of war, and survived to tell their tale.
posted by hadjiboy on Mar 4, 2008 - 4 comments

As two women were molested by a mob of 70 to 80 men on New Year’s Eve in Mumbai, all Mumbai’s top cop has to say is—it happens everywhere, and admonishes the media for making a mountain out of a molehill. This, after a similar incident had taken place at the Gateway of India, exactly one year ago.
posted by hadjiboy on Jan 2, 2008 - 65 comments

Mukthar Mai's blog has been making waves in the news. A young pakistani woman from a remote village, she was gang raped. Her attackers were meting out justice. In a patriarchal conservative culture like hers a woman's honor or izzat is her sole possession. Once lost, there is little left to live for. A BBC reporter transcribes her story into an Urdu language blog. Here are the first, second and the most recent excerpts of her story. To truly comprehend what her action means, consider this story of young Afghan women committing suicide by setting themselves on fire to escape from lives of sexual, physical and other abuse.
posted by infini on Nov 15, 2006 - 32 comments

The boxing day tsunami in Asia is said to have killed 3 times (3/4 of the way down the page) more women than men.
"Many of the losses are being tied to gender roles and styles--such as women's long hair, confining saris, extreme sense of modesty and selfless commitment to husbands and children--that hindered their ability to escape."
There have been reports of abuse (cache) and forced marriages in Refugee Camps as a consequence. Oxfam briefing note (.pdf) and summary.
via (previous tsunami threads)
posted by peacay on Apr 4, 2005 - 14 comments

A Spokane woman trying to divorce her estranged husband two years after he was jailed for beating her has been told by a judge she can't get out of the marriage while she's pregnant. Is this another example at an attempt at "moral values?"
posted by agregoli on Jan 3, 2005 - 26 comments

Female Victims of Church Scandals Speak. With all the news of Cardinal Law resigning, and the church trying to oust homosexuals from their ranks, I thought this article about the under-reporting of female victims of the scandal was timely.
posted by grimley on Dec 13, 2002 - 12 comments

Business as usual. "Children, the weakest link in our society, are raped, battered, shot, tortured and murdered, while their tormentors go unpunished. Pedophiles roam the globe in search of countries where their offense is viewed as tourist entertainment. Women are beaten and abused without recourse on a daily basis; the cruelty of parents and employers is often dismissed as disciplinary measures necessary in the home or the work place; wars are waged in which women and children are the main victims. We look the other way, or, at best, applaud the launching of well-meaning organisations expected somehow to ease our feelings of guilt at the havoc wrought on innocent and helpless people's lives."

While I find this author quite provocative, I see that later in the article she mentions an alleged lynching that may or may not have taken place. Is this Cassie Bernall revisited?
posted by ethmar on Dec 11, 2000 - 20 comments