Women's Views on News |
- Women wins $900,000 in herpes lawsuit
- Yulia Tymoshenko’s daughter welcomes boycott of Euro 2012
- Equality in the cockpit?
- Women-owned businesses survived US recession, survey reveals
- Female prisoners begin hunger strike in Cambodian jail
- Sandals help women take small step towards independence in Tanzania
| Women wins $900,000 in herpes lawsuit Posted: 13 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT Polly Trenow A woman from Oregon, US, was awarded $900,000 last week after suing a male sexual partner who gave her herpes. The 49-year-old woman, a dental hygienist from Beaverton, met the retired dentist on eHarmony. On the fourth date, they had sex. Although she requested he wear a condom, he did not – something she realized too late. Following sex, he confessed he had herpes. She promptly asked him to leave her house. Oregon Live reported that the woman endured several painful outbreaks of herpes and, after spiraling into clinical depression, she filed a lawsuit. The woman’s attorney, Randall Vogt, said his client had received a clean bill of health in January 2010 and then had sex with the retired dentist once on May 25, 2010. Within 11 days, she had a herpes outbreak documented by her complaints to a doctor, he said. The defense attorney Shawn Lillegren questioned the woman’s credibility by arguing that she was lying about her sexual history and may have had sex with other men who gave her the disease. The man, who has remained anonymous throughout the case, confessed during the trial that he should have known he was continually contagious even if he wasn’t currently suffering an outbreak. He said he told the woman he had herpes, not out of guilt, but because he wanted her to know he may not be able to have sex during an outbreak. Last week, after a four-day trial, a Multnomah County jury found that the man was 75% negligent but that the woman was also 25% responsible. Oregon does not consider the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases a crime, so the case was heard in a civil court. The jury found that he had committed battery because he intentionally harmed her. Assigning blame in sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases is complex, but in this case the district attorney said there would be no criminal prosecution as they wouldn’t be able to prove anything “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Vogt praised his client as a “heroine” for standing up to hold a “dangerous” man responsible. “Ninety-nine percent of the people who find themselves in (her) situation simply wring their hands and do nothing,” Vogt said. “They know if they file a lawsuit, it’s going to be hotly contested. It’s going to be embarrassing. It’s going to be massively unpleasant.” The jury found that the defendant was negligent in keeping his condition private. Juror Noah Brimhall told The Oregonian newspaper: "We all felt he should have told her. He had the responsibility to tell her." Genital herpes are one of the most common STDs. In the US, 16.2 percent of the population between the ages of 14 and 49 years are infected with it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most infected individuals are not aware that they have it until their first outbreak, which typically occurs within two weeks after the virus is transmitted. Condoms do not always prevent herpes transmission.  |
| Yulia Tymoshenko’s daughter welcomes boycott of Euro 2012 Posted: 13 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT
The daughter of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has welcomed the boycott of the early stages of the Euro 2012 football competition by British ministers, but has called on them to meet political prisoners if the England team gets further in the competition. Eugenia Tymoshenko said it was vital that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's regime was not given legitimacy by European politicians. The boycott by British ministers of the initial stages of Euro 2012 is a serious signal that he must release political prisoners and let them participate in political life, she said. "The politicians who come to the finals should ask to meet political prisoners and make sure they understand and make sure the media and the Ukrainian community understand that they are against political repression, but they are there to cheer their team," she said. The boycott was announced amidst anger over the treatment of her mother Yulia Tymoshenko, opposition leader and former prime minister who was sentenced to seven years in jail last year for alleged abuse of office. Tymoshenko's supporters claim this was an act of revenge by the president and continue to call for her release. Earlier this month, doctors said the health of Tymoshenko had improved after she was allegedly beaten, but called for her to be allowed to be treated in the capital Kiev or at her home under house arrest. As of June 12, Yanukovych has rejected the political pressure, saying that a human rights court would confirm Tymoshenko’s conviction. Tension is building, as protesters gathered around the Olympiysky National Sports Complex wearing shirts marked “Free Yulia.”  |
| Posted: 13 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT
In 1934, American Helen Richey became the first female commercial pilot in the world. Needless to say, she did not start a trend. The BBC reports that, as of 2010, only 6.7 percent of US pilots are women. Other institutes estimate that only between 3 to 6 percent of the world’s pilots are women. On the other side of that coin, nearly 80 percent of flight attendants are women. Sometimes, it all boils down to what we see. Gender stereotypes often stop women – and men – from pursuing careers they perceive as “boy jobs” or “women’s work.” The Women of Aviation Worldwide Week back in March (see WVoN story), sponsored by the Women of Aviation Worldwide community, was designed to encourage women and girls to become involved in flight and discover a love of the craft. The purpose was to show the world that women are perfectly capable of flying planes. (I’ve attempted to fly one myself; it’s challenging, but doable.) Part of the reason the field is dominated by men is the intrinsic nature of the job – long hours, days and even weeks away from home, and little flexibility. It is not exactly family-friendly. And in an environment that is filled with men, a woman might feel a little uncomfortable at the prospect of sitting through classes and meetings without the support of other women; that fear and resistance contributes to the cycle of this male-dominated career. Establishing balance in any field where one gender is substantially more involved is, truthfully, intimidating. You have to be better than average to be taken seriously, and even better than that to inspire respect. Most women don’t even consider aviation as a viable career unless they have been exposed to it in their own life, according to a CNN report. “It just seems like the women, if they didn’t have it around them as a young child, then it’s not something they considered,” said Victoria Dunbar, a teacher in the aviation program at the Florida Institute of Technology. “My experience is that female pilots are excellent. It’s not like there’s a particular skill or knowledge that guys are better at. I think a lot of women just don’t think about it … as a career field.” China is preparing to make their own little piece of history right now by sending the first Chinese female astronaut into space. The official media has been slightly hush-hush about it – perhaps in an attempt to wait out a successful launch – but internet chatter grew loud after the announcement was first made. The feeling of pride is clear. As with anything, if flying is your passion, do everything you can to make that dream possible. There are no real rules to life, so create the life you want.  |
| Women-owned businesses survived US recession, survey reveals Posted: 13 Jun 2012 03:45 AM PDT Michelle Wright Female entrepreneurs in the US were successful at steering their businesses through the most recent recession, according to a new report. A survey of more than 550 women small business owners found that almost half are now starting to hire again, after previously having to reduce staff numbers and cut other costs to cope with the economic downturn. This resilience, it discovered, was due to changes female entrepreneurs made to the way they boost business. These methods included turning to social media to save on marketing costs, targeting new customers and getting more involved in their local communities. "During the recession, women-owned small businesses did the best they could with the few choices they had available to remain open for business, and they're stronger today for it," said Patricia Greene, Chair of the Centre for Women's Business Research which carried out the survey in conjunction with the National Federation of Independent Business and Chase Card Services. But the tough times are not over yet. The survey also discovered that many women are working harder than they were during the height of the recession whilst their sales remain low. This is amidst a rather gloomy economic landscape for US women overall. Female participation in the workforce outside the home has fallen. And Senate Republicans recently blocked a bill which would have made it easier to pursue an equal pay claim. However, there are some encouraging signs on the horizon. In addition to women small business owners' success at surviving the recession, US women continue to start businesses at a higher rate than men. It is estimated they will create over half of the nine million new small business jobs expected by 2018.  |
| Female prisoners begin hunger strike in Cambodian jail Posted: 13 Jun 2012 01:00 AM PDT
After being imprisoned for protesting against an eviction from land they once lived on, four women in Cambodia have begun a hunger strike, according to the Seattle Times. The women were among 13 arrested and imprisoned last month at a protest at Phnom Penh’s Boueng Kak lake area on charges of aggravated rebellion and illegal occupation of land. They were among 100 residents who demanded a meeting with city officials over their impending eviction from a site that had been their home through 2010. Attempts to evict the families on land surrounding the lake in Phnom Penh have been on-going since 2007, when private development firm Shukaku bought Boeung Kak lake. Shukaku is headed by Cambodian People's Party Senator Lao Meng Khin, one of the country's wealthiest and most powerful men. The protestors claim that promises of new land have not been kept, after the government awarded the original sites to a Chinese company to develop a hotel, office buildings and luxury houses. Rights groups have expressed concern about police violence against protesters after a teenage girl was shot dead at another protest in the northeastern province of Kratie last month. The authorities have been accused of shooting at least five times at unarmed men and women during disputes over land in the past seven months. The families of the women and their neighbors have held several demonstrations, including one on Monday. Around 100 people called on King Norodom Sihamoni to act on behalf of the women. No action has so far been taken.  |
| Sandals help women take small step towards independence in Tanzania Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:00 PM PDT
Last year, Jennifer VanderGalien founded Shining A Light, a comprehensive project that empowers women in Tanzania through employment, training and education. I was fortunate enough to visit their workshop, based in Arusha in the north of the country last month. VanderGalien arrived in Tanzania about four years ago to work with children. What she soon realised was that many of their mothers were vulnerable because they had no education or vocational training. If they are neglected, abused or abandoned by their husbands or families – for whatever reason – they have no way of providing for their family. “That really touched my heart,” said VanderGalien. ”After a year here in Tanzania, I began to pray about what I could do to help these women.” Jennifer realised she could provide a training ground to give these women employable skills. She had already been selling Masai-style sandals to family and friends back in the US as a fundraiser, but soon realised she could set up a company where the women could manufacture these beaded, leather sandals. “I really didn’t want to set up a project to be a handout, I wanted to it to be a hand-up. “I started to develop relationships with the women in this village, while trying to figure out who was going to be able to take advantage of this project.” By creating a project which would set outcast women alongside eminent women of the community, VanderGalien would challenge social stigmas. “I also wanted to work with women who were able to grasp the opportunities that they were being given,” she said. VanderGalien found it hard to source someone in Arusha who had a good working knowledge of leather. She initially wanted to hire a woman. “But no one would tell me who could make me these type of sandals – because everyone wants you to buy the sandals from them,” she said. ”We couldn’t find anyone; no women in this area know how to work with leather.” Rather than be disheartened by this, she was encouraged. “It’s amazing because we would be opening up a whole new industry to women in this area: leather,” she said. “How to work with it, how to treat it, finish it, sew it. They wouldn’t just know how to make sandals; they’d know how to make bags and furniture and all sorts of things.” So how did VanderGalien eventually source someone to train the women in leather? “Tanzanians don’t go there but as I walked out of the bathroom, a Tanzanian guy was standing in front of me. I asked him, ‘Can I help you?’ And he said, ‘I’m looking for someone who wants to buy Masai sandals because I make them.’
“We soon realised that it wasn’t enough to just give them a salary. Most of them had not really had a paycheque before. “Most of them didn’t have healthcare knowledge or money management skills. “And so we came up with a four phase programme. The women would all start out in phase one where they’d bead the sandals while being paid a certain salary. “We would then train them how to budget a salary and also introduce them to healthcare and disease prevention.” Healthcare education may not be what we think of in the West. “We have a doctor come and talk about a rape and abuse clinic that’s in town,” VanderGalien explained. If the amount of chatting and laughter I heard from the women is anything to go by, VanderGalien has certainly created a safe environment. “We also started a literacy programme, both for Swahili and English, which would no doubt educate and empower them further,” she said. VanderGalien ‘s aim is twofold – that the women will be able to eventually run the shop themselves, and that the project becomes a sustainable business. “We hope by phase three and four that we’ll see the real champions of the programme who will be able to take over the project,” VanderGalien said, ”and we’d be able to teach them business skills such as inventory and production.”
“Most of our donations are put towards the project’s growth and development,” she said, “but we’re looking for this workshop to run off the sale of the sandals.” VanderGalien describes her inspiration as from God, and desires to share the peace she found with others who suffer from the same emptiness she once experienced. If you would like to order some sandals or find out more about the project, please visit their website.  |
“So last year we opened this workshop and started training the women to bead sandals.
Last year, they sold around 1,100 pairs of sandals, and they hope to double that this year.| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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