Women's Views on News |
- Footballer’s rape victim named and abused on Twitter
- Breaking the abortion taboo or creating controversy?
- ‘Radical feminist’ nuns ruffle feathers in the Vatican
- Cannes film festival: where are the women?
- Ugandan women stage ‘bra protest’ against police violence
- New evidence suggests Female Genital Mutilation on rise in UK
| Footballer’s rape victim named and abused on Twitter Posted: 24 Apr 2012 10:30 AM PDT
Just when we thought the darkest and most putrid underbelly of human nature had shown itself via the moral rollercoaster that is social media, out crawls the saga of Ched Evans. Sheffield United striker Ched Evans was convicted last week of raping a nineteen year old girl after the court ruled she was too drunk to consent. He was sentenced to five years in prison. A high profile case that could have encouraged other rape victims to come forward has instead turned into a frenzied binge of victim blaming, that on the eve of St George’s day should leave us a nation hanging our heads in shame. On the night of the attack, Evans and fellow footballer Clayton McDonald had seen the girl falling over in a kebab shop before McDonald took her back to his hotel room. Whilst in the taxi on the way home, McDonald texted Evans to say he had "got a bird". McDonald was found not guilty of the same charge after the court decided he had sex with the girl consensually. The girl woke the next morning naked and alone in the hotel room. It is thought the pair booked the room with the intention of procuring a woman for sex. Other friends watched through the hotel window whilst Evans had sex with the victim, one man trying to film the incident on his mobile phone. The jury heard that, as McDonald left the hotel, he told hotel reception staff: ‘You know that girl I was with? Keep an eye her. She’s sick.’ Evans left the hotel through a fire escape shortly after raping the girl. Following Evans’ sentence, no one could have anticipated the frenzied pantomime of hatred that would ensue. Just a few hours after the court decision, hashtag #justiceforChed was trending on twitter. For many people who were unconvinced about the seething reality of rape culture, this barrage of tweets left them in no doubt. Evans’ team mate Connor Brown led the chorus of victim blaming with a series of tweets including 'If ur a slag ur a slag don't try get money from being a slag [sic]… Stupid girls… I feel sick.' Some of the most repellent tweets have been recorded by one brave blogger on the Tumblr page ‘Little tweets of misogyny‘. Here are a few of the tweets in question, just to give you a flavour: ‘Ched Evans doing what any other #lad would do’ ‘Ched Evans jailed for 5 years the slag shouldn’t have gone back to the hotel room ruined career for a young lad #disgrace #womensworld’ ‘I don’t believe this Ched Evans raped a girl at all, doesnt add up, he’s been stiched up by another fame hungry whore #ChedEvans’ But it was when some of Evans’ supporters began naming and abusing the victim openly on Twitter that the usual ‘freedom of speech’ defence of digital ugliness went out the window. It is an offence in the UK to name rape victims who are granted life time anonymity. North Wales police are gathering evidence and criminal action could be taken against the many tweeters who named the victim. The campaign group End Violence Against Women said in a statement: “This raises serious questions about the adequacy of the criminal justice system to deal with offences that occur online and we are calling for an urgent review of laws and practices.” For those supporters concerned that a rape conviction might damage Evans’ career prospects, they needn’t worry. After the sentencing, the Professional Football Association honoured Evans by including him in the League One team of the season, a decision defended by its chief executive, Gordon Taylor, who said it was a "football decision not a moral decision".  |
| Breaking the abortion taboo or creating controversy? Posted: 24 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT
In a bold move, BBC Radio 5 live will broadcast from inside an abortion clinic in the UK next month. Presenter Victoria Derbyshire will host a two hour special edition of her regular show from inside a yet un-named family planning clinic. During the special programme she will interview doctors, staff and the all important patients undergoing the abortion procedure. The hope is that the programme will allow people to understand the nature of abortion and why someone may choose it. The move by the BBC has angered anti-abortion groups who say the show will only serve as an advert for abortion. News of the Radio 5 live programme follows in the wake of a recent abortion gender row. An undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph found that women were being granted illegal abortions by doctors based on the sex of their unborn baby, with clinics apparently willing to falsify paperwork. The report led to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley reporting the featured clinics to the police and the resignation of Cynthia Bower, the head of the Care Quality Commission – the NHS watchdog. Speaking to The Independent, Derbyshire said: “We appreciate the sensitivity around [the show] and I would hope listeners would trust us to do it carefully.” She added that it was not the purpose of the programme to weigh the respective merits of the “pro-life” and “pro-choice” arguments. “The pro and anti view is well known,” she said. “Our point on that day is to bring new insights into areas of British life.”  |
| ‘Radical feminist’ nuns ruffle feathers in the Vatican Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:30 AM PDT
A group of ‘radical’ nuns have been accused of ‘corporate dissent’ and criticised by the Vatican for undermining the church on social justice issues such as abortion, priesthood and homosexuality. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), based in Maryland USA, whose work includes teaching, running hospitals and advocacy for vulnerable groups have been accused of promoting "feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith". Last week the Vatican vowed to crack down on the nuns who they view as too liberal. Vatican officials for Pope Benedict said the LWCR had been taken a stance that challenged "positions taken by bishops, who are the Churches’ authentic teachers of faith and morals”. But the LCWR have hit back, calling the the Vatican’s report misogynistic. Sister Simone Campbell said there was no split on faith, only on politics. “I’ve no idea what they’re talking about,” she said. ”Our role is to live the gospel with those who live on the margins of society, with the hungry, the poor, the ill. That’s all we do.” LCWR are closely linked to the Catholic lobby group Network which supported Barak Obama’s health care reform plans, roundly opposed by Bishops on the grounds they would provide funding for abortion. Their split with the bishops on this politically contentious issue is thought to be the reason the LCWR have ignited such critical attention from the Vatican. "We have a male hierarchy [in the church] and they don’t develop their leadership skills with strong women around.” said Sister Campbell. “The [Church's teaching] told us to get educated and get involved in the world. And we did, but they don’t know how to deal with the consequences, with our straight forward conversation, our willingness to explore where the edges of our faith are". Archbishop Peter Sartain has been assigned to oversee the reform of the LCWR, which will take place over a period of five years. But Sister Campbell says the group will not sit back and watch the bishops undo the work they regard as their mission: “It’s totally a top-down process and I don’t think the bishops have any idea of what they’re in for” she said.  |
| Cannes film festival: where are the women? Posted: 24 Apr 2012 04:30 AM PDT
At the 65th Cannes film festival, zero women have been selected for the Palme D'Or award and only two for the 'Un Certain Regard' category (for young film-makers). It's a bitter disappointment for women in film as, according to the Huffington Post, last year's Cannes was a "high-water mark for gender parity in the history of the festival" so this year feels like a huge leap backwards. According to Melissa Silverstein, founder of website ‘Women and Hollywood’, the fact that not one female director has been selected represents a real "slap in the face". A total of 54 features from 26 countries were selected out of 1,779 submissions, but no one knows how many were directed by women as the submission list is confidential. But surely there were some that were worthy of inclusion? According to Boston University film studies professor Roy Grundman, women directors are "rarely honoured at films festivals like Cannes" because of a “self-fulfilling prophecy” – that producers and directors tend to pick male-directed films because they know that female directors rarely win. Martha Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, argues that it is also down to a failure to acknowledge gender imbalance in Hollywood and the lack of strong financial support. Talented female directors are not as well known so investors won't take the risk, therefore female directors go for smaller budget features and documentaries – which would never be submitted for a Palme D'or. Another vicious circle to break. It's a massive shame and the question arises: is Cannes more worried about big names and super stars than creating a true platform for aspiring film creators? As Silverstein put it, "for an industry that professes to examine questions about life, that challenges conventions … the total Neanderthal approach to women is breathtaking". I'm just keeping all my fingers crossed for Catherine Corsini’s film "Trois Monde" and Sylvie Verheyde's "Confession of a Child of the Century" shown out of competition in the Un Certain Regard sidebar.  |
| Ugandan women stage ‘bra protest’ against police violence Posted: 24 Apr 2012 02:30 AM PDT
Women in Uganda stripped to their bras in protest against police violence following the sexual assault of a politician. The bra protest was held in Kampala after a policeman was filmed squeezing the breasts of of Ingrid Turinawe, the head of the Women’s League of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) during her arrest ahead of a rally last Friday. She is one of the leaders of the Activists for Change (A4C), a pressure group that spearheaded Walk to Work protests that took place across Uganda for much of 2011. A group of about 15 women marched to the city's main police station after NTV Uganda showed Turinawe shouting out in pain as an officer grabbed and repeatedly squeezed her breast as she is pulled from a vehicle. Wearing only their bras they waved placards including one that asked “How would you feel if we squeezed your balls?” Six of the women were arrested but released shortly afterwards. The protest, discussed on Twitter using the hashtag #braprotest and #StopUgandaPolice highlighted concerns over police accountability as President Yoweri Museveni continues his crackdown on opponents since his controversial re-election in 2011. Journalist Rosebell Kagumire wrote about growing concerns about police treatment of women and criticised them for their silence, provoking police to respond on Twitter that an investigation was "underway". No police have been held accountable following the arrest of another politician Nabilah Sempala in 2008 when police were seen lifting her skirt, Kagumire writes. In another case, a senior police officer was demoted following the brutal arrest of another woman Annet Namudu in February last year. The bra protests follow demonstrations in the Amuru District where 60 women stripped naked before officials from one of the country’s largest developers, the Madhvani Group, to voice their concerns in a land dispute. Naked protests have been staged by women in Niger Delta and in Liberia peace protesters used threats of removing their clothes to force leaders to end the civil war. In the Ukraine, the protest group Femen have adopted similar tactics to draw attention to a range of issues including sexual violence and abortion rights, inspiring similar protests worldwide.  |
| New evidence suggests Female Genital Mutilation on rise in UK Posted: 24 Apr 2012 12:30 AM PDT
According to Forward, a charity which campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), an estimated 100,000 women in the UK have been cut. Journalists from the Sunday Times newspaper have uncovered new evidence that medical practitioners are offering the barbaric practice in the UK. The paper’s claims are supported by recordings of conversations with three medical practitioners; one, alternative practitioner Mohammad Sahib offering to carry out FGM for £750. Another, a dentist called Omar Sheikh Mohamed Addow from Birmingham was filmed saying “Once they won’t feel anything, then you cut with scissors. It will bleed. Then you take the stitches. You close.” But when contacted by Sky News he denied it. The Sunday Times was put in touch with Mr Addow by Dr Ali Mao Aweys who was recorded saying it was safer to have the surgery outside the UK, after which he would provide medication. When Sky visited his London practice he refused to comment. He may, however, be forced to speak to the General Medical Council, whose chief executive Niall Dixon has begun an investigation. Many women become fatally ill and die after the procedure with thousands more facing a lifetime of suffering as a result. There are three types of FGM:
It is widespread in Africa, where governments such as Gambia's are trying to change cultural and religious perceptions. It is illegal in the UK where it carries a 14-year prison sentence. Although over four years London's Metropolitan police have received 166 reports of people at risk of FGM yet no-one in the UK has so far been convicted. In 2007, human rights activist and super model Waris Dirie, gave a harrowing interview of her mutilation as a five year old.  |
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