Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

One of UK’s richest women found dead

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 11:00 PM PDT

Jem McCarron
WVoN co-editor 

Eva Rausing’s body was found in Cadogan Place, Belgravia, West London, following the arrest of a man on suspicion of possessing drugs, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

The Telegraph reports that the man is her husband, Hans Kristian Rausing, but police have not confirmed that fact.

A post-mortem examination has failed to establish a cause of death.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command are investigating and the death continues to be treated at this time as unexplained.”

It is, however, thought that the US national is likely to have died from a drug overdose.

Ms Rausing, 48, was the daughter of Tom Kemeny, a wealthy Pepsi Cola executive. She met Hans Kristian Rausing in a drug rehabilitation clinic in the 1980s.

The couple were arrested in April of 2008 for possession of Class A and Class C drugs.  At the time, Ms Rausing said:  ”I am very sorry for the upset I have caused. I have made a grave error, and consider myself to have taken a wrong turn in the course of my life.”

In the years since, the recovering addicts have contributed to many charities.  Eva Rausing was the UK patron of Mentor, an international charity working for the prevention of  substance abuse.

Women athletes being pressurised about their appearance

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Rebecca Rogers
WVoN co-editor 

Young women are being put off sport because of concerns that the training will make them 'unattractive'.

Dr Katharina Lindner of Stirling University, a former Glasgow City Football Club player, has carried out research into how cinema portrays athletes.

She said: “Girls want to be good at their sport, but on the other hand a question around their femininity is raised because they are considered too muscular.”

The concerns follow the recent revelation that Jessica Ennis, the British World Champion heptathlete, was called 'fat' by a senior figure in sport.

The 26-year-old admitted that the comments came as a shock, saying: "My weight is not something that I've worried about in the past…It's been blown massively out of proportion. It's not an issue."

She also admits that she is now more prepared for any future criticism:

"I’ve come into this year expecting that there’s a lot more attention on sport and athletics. Things are going to get written. If you come into the year expecting those kinds of things then it’s not as big a surprise."

In an interview last week, Ennis advised women to love their body the way it is. She said: "Everyone has their hang-ups, but I see my body as a training tool and I feel good about it. I'm comfortable being naked."

Sports psychologist Tom Lucas spoke out about the issue, saying that the media could do more to improve attitudes towards women in sport.

He said: "I remember Sally Gunnell saying she felt under pressure to wear make-up. Now, I think that’s sad. You should define yourself as a person first, then an athlete, then your gender if you so wish. We need to recognise the individual as an individual and nothing else."

Girls are reportedly more reluctant to participate in sport, with some studies suggesting that two in five refused to participate because they are concerned about their appearance.

Women in Vanuatu experience health benefits of cricket

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Helen Thompson
WVoN co-editor

Women in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu are playing cricket for its health benefits.

The 15-week programme, funded through Aus Aid and a collaboration of Pacific Sports Partnership agreement with Cricket Australia and the Australian government, is being piloted in Vanuatu to tackle endemic Pacific health problems such as obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Thirty women from Ifira between the ages of 25 and 50 participated in Fafine Tenuku, Island Cricket Project, which teaches the women traditional Pacific cricket played in island dress.

As well as cricket practice, the programme teaches women about the importance of nutrition, maternal health, non-communicable diseases and leadership.

The results have been positive  according to International Cricket Council’s East Asia Pacific Regional Project Officer, Adam Cassidy.

He said: “A lot of women lost weight and lowered their blood pressure over the 15 week period.

“Feedback from families, in their houses, their husbands and their kids, their food and their diet habits had changed – they’re seeing food in their houses that they have never heard of before."

Cassidy added: "their cricket skills were outstanding.”

Leisavei Kalsal one of the participants in the programme said: "In my full life I never really played sport then I chose to join this island cricket program because it also taught me to improve my health by exercising.

'"I now feel a lot fitter."

To promote the programme the Fafine Tenuku team played the opening game at the 2012 Pepsi ICC East Asia-Paciific Women's Championships in Port Vila in May.

Cassidy hopes that the project will spread to other villages leading to a possible league for competitive play.

Church of England postpones vote on ordaining female bishops

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 02:30 AM PDT

Holly Peacock
WVoN co-editor 

Following a campaign by women in the Church of England, the General Synod has postponed a vote (due yesterday) on the legislation ordaining women to become bishops.

The controversy around the legislation arose from amendments that allowed parishes and members of the clergy who opposed the ordination of female bishops to “opt out” from it (see WVoN story).

Although the legislation might have represented a step forward, the 'compromise' version was seen as underpinning discriminatory, sexist, beliefs.

The Venerable Rachel Treweek, archdeacon of Hackney, explained her struggle with not voting in favour of the legislation:

“I feel I have to hold the line of my integrity. It would be very easy to say: ‘Oh, let’s all just vote in favour and get this through.’… But I think it’s very unlikely that I would press the yes button because of that place of integrity.”

The Guardian reported that the archbishop of Canterbury has claimed that the house of bishops had not succeeded in finding a suitable compromise that satisfies all.

In light of the dispute, the Genreal Synod has instead voted to delay a final vote on the issue until at least November.

The next steps will see the house of bishops meet in September to review the issue and it is there they will decide if further amendments/retractions will be made.

Fathers4Justice advert attacking Mumsnet banned

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 01:00 AM PDT

Kate Townshend
WVoN co-editor 

An advert featuring a young boy, barely more than a toddler, with words of hatred and abuse written across his body was always going to be memorable and controversial.

But campaign group Fathers4Justice may have found themselves at the centre of even more controversy than expected  with the image.

Released back in March to coincide with Mother’s Day,the image features in an advert accusing website Mumsnet of promoting attitudes of gendered hatred towards men and boys.

It also calls upon high profile sponsors of Mumsnet such as Marks and Spencer to withdraw their support. The words written across the little boy are said to be comments taken directly from users of the site.

But last Wednesday the ad was banned by the Advertising Standards Agency in response to complaints accusing Fathers4Justice of misrepresenting the editorial content and direction of Mumsnet, and making misleading and unsubstantiated claims.

In an official statement the ASA said:

“We considered that many online web forums and ‘comments’ sections of websites were likely to feature a range of views from across society, with some views being more extreme than others.[...]

“We considered that whilst some users of the website had made negative comments about men in its forums, it was misleading of F4J to imply through this ad that Mumsnet themselves had made or endorsed those comments.”

Fathers4Justice remain unrepentant about  targeting the site. In fact, they have maintained a web page entitled Mumsnet – the Naked Truth on which they share Mumsnet quotes, presumably as ‘proof’ of the gendered abuse and misandry allegedly spouted there.

And whilst some of the comments cited are unpleasant, it’s hard to see even here how they constitute ‘gendered hatred’.

One example reads:

“am i right in thinking that if you added up all the male pedos, drug addicts, drinking alcoholics, psychopaths, child abusers, etc etc etc they’d account for more than 0.1% of all men who’ve managed to reproduce?”

Fathers4Justice have helpfully underlined the relevant bits of this quote, but it requires an unfeasibly large leap to argue that these monikers are somehow being applied to the male gender overall.

The webpage is littered with other self-defeating examples that make the anti-Mumsnet crusade hard to understand.

And, somewhat ironically, it makes F4J look guilty of the kind of political, agenda-pushing tactics they’d like to level at Mumsnet.

Why theme the advert around Mother’s Day? Deliberate or not, it pits an organisation for ‘fathers’ against one for ‘mothers’ sending the message that male parental rights will have to come at the expense of women’s.

The controversy that tends to dog Fathers4Justice has little to do with its aims (who doesn’t want to see committed, supportive, equal parenting and fathers who take responsibility?) but much to do with its tactics and this latest incident very much follows the trend.

If nothing else, Mumsnet is a powerful internet behemoth and Fathers4Justice may have scored something of an own goal in seeking to take it on.

Locking horns with such a formidable internet presence may be good for column inches, but it’s unlikely to do much to further their cause, a view echoed by Mumsnet chief executive Justine Roberts in a statement reacting to the advert:

"The recent actions the group has taken against Mumsnet constitute plain and simple intimidation and a naked attempt to court publicity by a group of people who, for whatever reason, appear to have tired of climbing cranes in superhero outfits. And it does their cause no good at all."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fathers4Justice have expressed an intention to challenge the ruling with  founder Matt O’Connor declaring, apparently without irony, that it is an "attack on my personal freedom of expression."

But a battle with Mumsnet seems likely to be one that Fathers4Justice cannot win. And more to the point, why on earth would they want to?