NEW YORK, October 25, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– Evie Joy, an NYC-based songwriter and director who focuses on women empowerment and love re-education, re-releases a Pro-Choice Anthem with a controversial video.
Joy’s Pro-Choice anthem, called “The Right”, addresses the politicians proposing anti-abortion bills, calling attention to larger social issues that have contributed to the conversation about abortion and advocating for a woman’s civil rights to her own organs. The original song was released in 2019 and played at Women’s Marches across the globe, but was taken down by Spotify and even shown in churches across the United States.
Evie Joy, “I’ve experienced our system’s shortcomings when it comes to women’s health firsthand as someone with endometriosis. It’s only because of our society’s mysticism of the female body that we have such limited research and understanding; further preventing doctors from doing their job is downright barbaric.
“What’s on the ballot? Our lives.”
The song’s explosive chorus declares:
“This is my body, this is my choice;
“A painful decision, but you aren’t gonna steal my voice.
“It isn’t just morals and it’s not black and white;
“We will govern our bodies, it’s our legal right.
“Let’s make the fight.”
Featuring two young girls with opposing socioeconomic backgrounds living their stories side-by-side, the video covers the various reasons choice is crucial for women in a very tactful and sensitive way.
The video is supported by Julie Kidd (President of The Endeavor Foundation), Noise for Now, and many others in its creation. Joy is hoping to find more media and nonprofit partners to whom she can contribute her voice in the fight for the right to choose.
Evie Joy, “In our land of the free, choice is a conservative value and family planning in our own timing is inherent to liberty; that we may conduct our lives outside of a compulsory narrative, imposed by authority. Life is not equivalent based on definition alone, and treating half our population as though they lack the soundness of mind to make their own medical decisions, when one in six women are sexually assaulted and each pregnancy is caused by a sperm, is to declare women subhuman.”
About Evie Joy: Joy is an NYC-based multi-award winning songwriter, filmmaker, and performer specializing in love songs of every genre, from comedy to ballad. A 2020 recipient of the New York Women’s Fund Grant and a 2024 Keychange Artist, Joy was recognized by PopDust for writing “a canticle of female empowerment”, and her music is distributed under Virgin Music Group and featured in shows like Temptation Island. Her next release will be a musical docuseries on love that began as an exploration across 14 countries to prove love didn’t exist. Three years later, Joy is now convinced conscious love will save the world.
The arrival of fall means the festive harvest and spooky season of Halloween is upon us, and there’s hardly a more popular occasion than to dress up for an event or date function with your significant other. Whether you’re into dressing up as classic ghouls or legacy characters, current pop-culture references, or enjoy coordinating twin Halloween costumes, there are plenty of fun things you can brainstorm with your partner to make you stand out. Let’s look at some of our favorite couples’ costume ideas.
Classic Halloween Costume Favorites
You can’t go wrong when showing up dressed as iconic Halloween characters, whether it’s classic spooky figures or traditional villains from the quintessential horror catalog. Here are a few of the most fun — bonus points for individual creativity, too.
Disclaimer: The imagery featured in this article was created or refined with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Although they strive to depict the content accurately, they may not perfectly capture real-life situations or precise details. These visuals are intended solely for illustrative purposes.
Vampires – The vampire is an iconic villain that requires a few simple elements such as a cape and fangs, but vampire couples costumes can also be customized to give couples the freedom to make it their own. Props like garlic earrings or a wooden stake also elevate the outfit.
Werewolves – Being that they’re part human and part beast, werewolf costumes for couples are easy to incorporate using your normal wardrobe, and there are plenty of ways to achieve a hairy look, from makeup to fake fur.
Witches – Couples witch costumes never go out of style since men can just go the warlock route, but those looking to go the extra mile sometimes see the man dressed as the broom or cauldron.
Skeletons – Skeleton costumes for couples are an easy and recognizable outfit that can be achieved simply through clothing design or can be as elaborate as you want with makeup and other props.
Ghosts – While perhaps the most common of all costumes, the ghost is a fairly basic concept that anyone can identify, and the idea that you can use anything from a sheet to other decorative garments means there’s also more anonymity.
Pumpkins – Dressing as two pumpkins from the patch can be a cute way to show others that you’re partners, and all you really need is to wear some orange and highlight a stem and leaf from your head.
Scarecrows – Both parties can get as creative as they like when designing their own scarecrow costume, which is not only an underrated choice, but one in which you can utilize your existing jeans and flannel wardrobe — but don’t forget the straw hats!
Generic Superhero Couples Costume
You don’t have to spend money on a branded costume to show your affinity for superheroes! A few simple DIY ideas that easily fit the bill include using spandex, capes, masks, and other signifying props or symbolism to help others know who you’re emulating. People will certainly notice if you put in the time and effort, but if you use the notable colors and coordinate your characters as a duo, it can be a real crowd-pleaser.
Trendy Pop Culture Costumes
There are tons of pop culture costumes that come and go with each Halloween season, but there are also many timeless options that are easily recognizable and resonate with all types of crowds. Below are just a few of our favorites.
Bonnie & Clyde – The infamous legacy of Bonnie and Clyde is still a famous costume choice for young lovers, but thankfully, in this instance, their role as robbers is just a guise. Just adorn yourself in garb from the Depression era and don a faux firearm.
Tarzan & Jane – If you’re looking to take a walk on the wild side, you can’t go wrong with a Tarzan and Jane pairing, especially if the man already has long hair and the woman owns a solid cheetah-print dress.
Cute and Fun Couple Costumes
Just because you feel pressured to wear something current doesn’t mean you have to. There are quite a few other generic costume ideas for Halloween that are immediate crowd-pleasers based on context alone.
Complementary Concept Costumes
Peanut Butter & Jelly – There’s hardly ever been a better combination, right? This works even better when you both dress in clothes as the colored spreads and then wear a bread costume on top. Posterboards are a perfect size.
Taco & Hot Sauce – While individually excellent on their own, hot sauce objectively makes tacos better, so it’s a match made in heaven that everyone can appreciate. While you may elect to buy these costumes, using cardboard boxes and paper bags can really show off your creativity.
Salt & Pepper – If you’re looking for a staple couples’ costume that clearly indicates you’re with your partner, look no further than the essential seasonings that make everything better. Chef hats and corresponding colored clothing work well enough.
Bread & Butter – As you can tell, bread costumes can be very versatile! If you’ve already done PB&J before, one person opting to dress as butter drives the point across just as well. You may just have to find some yellow pants.
Popcorn & Soda – If you’re both into movies and enjoy the snacks even more, popcorn and soda are two staple commodities that everyone enjoys at the theater. A large paper bag can actually work nicely for each of these.
Themed Character Duos
Angel & Devil – A little good, a little evil — the contrast alone makes people think your relationship is well-balanced, and these costumes can be fun to customize as well. As long as you have a corresponding headband, you’ll be just fine.
Bob Ross & Canvas – While a bit silly, the only better thing than dressing up as Bob Ross is if the other person represents his easel and canvas, which is bound to draw some laughs. Some posterboard makes a nice easel, and if you’re painting, make sure you have the right hair!
Classic Slinky – Relationships expand and contract like a slinky, so what better way than to be linked to your partner throughout your outing? It may be harder to walk, but people will understand your need to stretch out. If you go DIY, you might need to get creative with this one.
Quarterback & Football – The concept of dressing as an NFL quarterback is fairly common, but whether it’s the man or woman opting to take on the role of the football, that outfit takes the costume the extra mile. If you can wear a full brown outfit and add some tape for laces, you’re golden.
Sun & Moon – Are you and your significant other astrology fans or just enjoyers of the cosmos? Well, what more convincing way to show your symbiotic relationship than by portraying the sun and moon? Cutting cardboard into circles and spray paint is all you should need!
Twin and Sibling-Inspired Costumes
Twin costumes are continuously sought after by couples due to their mutual commitment requirements and distinguishability amongst the crowd. And while virtually any costume could technically have a twin, using characters that actually look identical or have twins in context makes a much more lasting impression.
Identical Twins and Sibling Themes
Here are some of the most common twin costumes for Halloween that you’ll typically see.
Thing 1 & Thing 2 – The consistency in this deliverance is what makes it work so well, and there’s simply no conflating who you are. Just dress in red and get some blue cotton candy-looking hair.
Hidden Sweaters – There are a ton of characters in the crowded picture series, and they all look the same! Grab your best red and white striped sweater, and you’re halfway there!
Brooklyn Plumbers – This classic twin pairing requires green, red, and some overalls, but to really drive the point home, make sure to wear a substantial mustache.
Pirates – The beauty of dressing as pirates on Halloween is that they all typically look the same. However, you can certainly add some detail to help you and a partner stand out from any other Buccaneers. Trousers, suspenders, unbuttoned shirts, and bandanas are all in session.
Pet-Inspired Costumes
Just about everyone loves animals, and dressing up as your favorite wild creature or even household pet is an evergreen way to show your love for our friends in the natural kingdom. Let’s take a look at some of the most tried and true animal-themed outfits worn each Halloween.
Animal Costumes for Singles and Couples
Dog & Cat – Whether it’s a generic costume or a representation of your personal pet, you can’t go wrong with a dog and cat duo. Some good ears and customized clothing give you creative freedom.
Gorilla & Banana – Arguably everyone’s favorite jungle and zoo animal, we all know how much gorillas love bananas, so dressing as these two shows your commitment to the chase. These costumes are usually easy to find.
Bear & Park Ranger – Are they friends or enemies? We’ll leave that to you to decide since these two entities are inextricably connected in one way or another. Dressing as a bear may be a bit tougher, though.
Fish in a Bowl – Dressing as a goldfish and then encasing yourself in a glass bowl is a comical way to show your appreciation for the most simple aquatic pet.
Buck & Doe – People have a fascination with these creatures since they’re found just about everywhere, and luckily, these costumes are fairly easy to put together with common clothing and makeup.
Bonding with a Match Over Halloween Costumes
When you’re in a relationship, it’s the little things like creative planning and attending events with your partner around Halloween that help you to bond on a deeper level. Building this type of connection is important, and what better way than to do so while being clever and innovative with your costume design. If you’re planning to attend a Halloween party or any other fall-themed function that calls for dressing up, try and coordinate with your partner to come up with a concept you both enjoy. At the end of the day, as long as you have fun together, that’s what matters most.
These couples’ Halloween costumes will make you laugh…and realize you shouldn’t have waited to the last minute to put yours together.
When words just aren’t enough.
Creepy landlords.
En route to Alice Cooper.
This is just precious.
Good, clean fun.
Extra nerdy.
Getting from point A to B has never been easier.
Khaleesi and Drogo share a tender moment near a bustling parking lot.
AVIGNON, France — They are, on the face of it, the most ordinary of men. Yet they’re all on trial charged with rape. Fathers, grandfathers, husbands, workers and retirees — 50 in all — accused of taking turns on the drugged and inert body of Gisèle Pelicot while her husband recorded the horror for his swelling private video library.
Among the nearly two dozen defendants who testified during the trial’s first seven weeks was Ahmed T. — French defendants’ full last names are generally withheld until conviction. The married plumber with three kids and five grandchildren said he wasn’t particularly alarmed that Pelicot wasn’t moving when he visited her and her now-ex-husband’s house in the small Provence town of Mazan in 2019.
It reminded him of porn he had watched featuring women who “pretend to be asleep and don’t react,” he said.
Like him, many other defendants told the court that they couldn’t have imagined that Dominique Pelicot was drugging his wife, and that they were told she was a willing participant acting out a kinky fantasy. Dominique Pelicot denied this, telling the court his co-defendants knew exactly what the situation was.
Céline Piques, a spokesperson of the feminist group Osez le Féminisme!, or Dare Feminism! said she’s convinced that many of the men on trial were inspired or perverted by porn, including videos found on popular websites. Although some sites have started cracking down on search terms such as “unconscious,” hundreds of videos of men having sex with seemingly passed out women can be found online, she said.
Piques was particularly struck by the testimony of a tech expert at the trial who had found the search terms “asleep porn” on Dominique Pelicot’s computer.
Last year, French authorities registered 114,000 victims of sexual violence, including more than 25,000 reported rapes. But experts say most rapes go unreported due to a lack of tangible evidence: About 80% of women don’t press charges, and 80% of the ones who do see their case dropped before it is investigated.
In stark contrast, the trial of Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants has been unique in its scope, nature and openness to the public at the victim’s insistence.
After a store security guard caught Pelicot shooting video up unsuspecting women’s skirts in 2020, police searched his home and found thousands of pornographic photos and videos on his phone, laptop and USB stick. Dominique Pelicot later said he had recorded and stored the sexual encounters of each of his guests, and neatly organized them in separate files.
Among those he had over was Mahdi D., who testified that when he left home on the night of Oct. 5, 2018, he didn’t intend to rape anyone.
“I thought she was asleep,” the 36-year-old transportation worker told the panel of five judges, referring to Gisèle Pelicot, who has attended nearly every day of the trial and has become a hero to many sexual abuse victims for insisting that it be public.
“I grant you that you did not leave with the intention of raping anyone,” the prosecutor told him. “But there in the room, it was you.”
Like a few of the other men accused of raping Pelicot between 2011 and 2020, Mahdi D. acknowledged almost all of the facts presented against him. And he expressed remorse, telling the judges, “She is a victim. We can’t imagine what she went through. She was destroyed.”
But he wouldn’t call it rape, even if admitting that it was might get him a lighter sentence. That led prosecutors to ask the court to screen the graphic videos of Mahdi D.’s visit to the Pelicot home.
In June, authorities took down the chatroom where they say Dominique Pelicot and his co-defendants met. Since the trial started on Sept. 2, it has resonated far beyond the Avignon courtroom’s walls, sparking protests in French cities big and small and inspiring a steady flow of opinion pieces and open letters penned by journalists, philosophers and activists.
It has also drawn curious visitors to the city in southeastern France, such as Florence Nack, her husband and 23-year-old daughter, who made the trip from Switzerland to witness the “historical trial.”
Nack, who noted that she, too, was a victim of sexual violence, said she was disturbed by the testimony of 43-year-old trucker Cyprien C., a defendant who spoke that day in court.
Asked by the head judge, Roger Arata, whether he recognized the facts, Cyprien C. answered that he “did not contest the sexual act.”
“And the rape?” Arata pressed. The defendant stood silently before eventually responding, “I can’t answer.”
Arata then began to describe what was on the videos implicating him. They are only shown as a last resource and on a case-by-case basis. But for many in the courtroom, such detailed descriptions can last several minutes and be just as heavy as watching them. Gisèle Pelicot, who is in her early 70s, has chosen to remain in the courtroom while the videos are shown. Unable to watch, she usually closes her eyes, stares at the floor, or buries her face in her hands.
Experts and groups working to combat sexual violence say the defendants’ unwillingness or inability to admit to rape speaks loudly to taboos and stereotypes that persist in French society.
For Magali Lafourcade, a judge and general secretary of the National Consultative Commission of Human Rights who isn’t involved in the trial, popular culture has given people the wrong idea about what rapists look like and how they operate.
“It’s the idea of a hooded man with a knife whom you don’t know and is waiting for you in a place that is not a private place,” she said, noting that this “is miles away from the sociological, criminological reality of rape.”
Two-thirds of rapes take place at private homes, and in a vast majority of cases, victims know their rapists, Lafourcade said.
It can be difficult at times to reconcile the facts with the personalities of the accused — described by loved ones as loving, generous and considerate companions, brothers and fathers.
Cyril B.’s tearful older sister told the court: “It’s my brother, I love him. He’s not a mean person.” His partner described him as “kind, his heart on his sleeve and full of attention.” She insisted that he isn’t “macho” and that he had never forced her to do anything sexually that she wasn’t comfortable with.
Although Lafourcade does not believe “all men are rapists,” as some have concluded the trial shows, she said that unlike the #MeToo accusations that have ensnared French celebrities, the Pelicot case “makes us understand that in fact rapists could be everyone.”
“For once, they’re not monsters — they’re not serial killers on the margin of society. They are men who resemble those we love,” she said. “In this sense, there is something revolutionary.”
The New York Liberty erased an early 12 point deficit and beat the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in another overtime thriller on Sunday to claim the first WNBA title in franchise history on Sunday.
New York forward Breanna Stewart scored 21 points and came up with an WNBA Finals record seven steals as the Liberty thwarted a late Minnesota surge to beat the Lynx 80-66 and level the championship series at one game apiece
WHEN YOU LOOK AT CHILDREN, MERCY MEDICAL CENTER DOCTOR ALBERT POLITO SAYS ASTHMA HITS ONE GROUP HARDER. IT ABSOLUTELY IS MORE COMMON IN BOYS VERSUS GIRLS. AND THEN YOU GET TO PUBERTY. AND WHEN PUBERTY HITS THE SHIFT HAPPENS. SO WE KNOW THAT THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING HORMONAL INVOLVED IN THIS. BUT LATER IN LIFE, HE SAYS, THERE’S ANOTHER TREND. SOME STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WITH THE ONSET OF MENOPAUSE, THERE’S ACTUALLY AN UPTICK IN THE DIAGNOSES OF ASTHMA THAT MAYBE THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT ESTROGEN, WHICH WE KNOW FALLS IN MENOPAUSE, THAT’S PROTECTIVE. PEGGY HARRIS SAYS HER ASTHMA CAME ON JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, GETTING SOME RENOVATION IN MY HOUSE DONE. AND THE FLOORS AND THE DUST AND EVERYTHING. SO I WAS LIKE, OH MAN, I’M FEELING REALLY WHEEZY AND TIGHT IN THE CHEST. DOCTOR POLITO SAYS NOT ONLY ARE HORMONAL CHANGES A FACTOR, BUT WOMEN HAVE SMALLER LUNGS, TOO. HE SAYS GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ALSO COME INTO PLAY. BUT HE SAYS, LIKE OTHER CONDITIONS, PATIENTS NEED TO STAY ON TOP OF THEIR MEDICATIONS. I TELL PEOPLE, THINK ABOUT ASTHMA LIKE YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. YOU GET UP EVERY DAY. YOU TAKE YOUR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IS, BUT YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT. AND PEGGY LOVES BEING OUTSIDE, SO SHE SAYS IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU STAY ON TOP OF IT. YES. IF I FOLLOW THROUGH LIKE I SUPPOSED TO, THEN YES, IT’S BETTER. REPORTING
Woman’s Doctor: Asthma can be more severe for women than men
Updated: 5:54 PM PDT Oct 7, 2024
Women are more likely to have asthma than men — and it can be more severe.Dr. Albert Polito, medical director for the Lung Center at Mercy Medical Center in downtown Baltimore, explained to sister station WBAL why asthma affects women more than men and how to take care of yourself.”It absolutely is more common in boys versus girls, and then you get to puberty. And, when puberty hits, the shift happens. So, we know that there has to be something hormonal involved in this,” Polito said.Polito said there’s another trend later in life.”Some studies have shown that with the onset of menopause, there’s actually an uptick in the diagnoses of asthma, that maybe there’s something about estrogen, which we know falls in menopause that’s protective,” Polito said.Peggy Harris said that her asthma came on just a few years ago.”I was just getting some renovation in my house done — floors and the dust and everything — so, I was like, ‘Oh, man, I’m not feeling well.’ (I was) wheezing (and felt) tight in the chest,” Harris said.Polito said that not only are hormonal changes a factor, but women have smaller lungs, too. He added that genetics and environmental exposures also come into play, but, like other conditions, patients need to stay on top of their medications.”I tell people, ‘Think about asthma like you think about your high blood pressure: get up every day. You take your high blood pressure medication. You don’t know what your blood pressure is, but you have to take it,’” Polito said.Harris, who loves being outside, said it makes a difference when you stay on top of asthma.”If I follow through like I’m supposed to, then, yes, it’s better,” Harris said.
BALTIMORE —
Women are more likely to have asthma than men — and it can be more severe.
Dr. Albert Polito, medical director for the Lung Center at Mercy Medical Center in downtown Baltimore, explained to sister station WBAL why asthma affects women more than men and how to take care of yourself.
“It absolutely is more common in boys versus girls, and then you get to puberty. And, when puberty hits, the shift happens. So, we know that there has to be something hormonal involved in this,” Polito said.
Polito said there’s another trend later in life.
“Some studies have shown that with the onset of menopause, there’s actually an uptick in the diagnoses of asthma, that maybe there’s something about estrogen, which we know falls in menopause that’s protective,” Polito said.
Peggy Harris said that her asthma came on just a few years ago.
“I was just getting some renovation in my house done — floors and the dust and everything — so, I was like, ‘Oh, man, I’m not feeling well.’ (I was) wheezing (and felt) tight in the chest,” Harris said.
Polito said that not only are hormonal changes a factor, but women have smaller lungs, too. He added that genetics and environmental exposures also come into play, but, like other conditions, patients need to stay on top of their medications.
“I tell people, ‘Think about asthma like you think about your high blood pressure: get up every day. You take your high blood pressure medication. You don’t know what your blood pressure is, but you have to take it,’” Polito said.
Harris, who loves being outside, said it makes a difference when you stay on top of asthma.
“If I follow through like I’m supposed to, then, yes, it’s better,” Harris said.
That day was in November 2023, around a month into the war in Gaza. Ala’a is among an estimated 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers in the Gaza Strip who for the past year have been forced to give birth under fire, in tents, while fleeing bombs and often without assistance, medication or even clean water.
“The sound of the rockets and bombs was louder than my happiness, but I decided that with my little baby, we would overcome all difficulties,” she wrote in a letter thanking the tireless health staff who helped her deliver her baby in a field hospital in Khan Younis.
“We will survive whatever happens.”
UNFPA
A letter from a mother in Gaza.
Catastrophic situation
The situation for pregnant women in Gaza is catastrophic: Exhausted, weak from hunger, with health services nearly completely destroyed and none of the hospitals fully operational, they have few places to turn for care and treatment.
After hundreds of attacks on medical facilities, just 17 out of 36 hospitals are even partially functioning.
Fuel and supplies are also running dangerously short, health-care workers are being killed or forced to flee and those that remain are stretched thin at a time when Gaza’s whole population is facing a surge in injuries, illnesses and diseases, including the first case of polio in over 25 years.
Perils of displacement
More than 500,000 women in Gaza have lost access to vital services like pre- and postnatal care, family planning and treatment for infections. Among them, over 17,000 pregnant women are on the brink of famine.
“After seven months, I was forced to leave my home and live in a tent,” Ala’a continued in her letter. “I cried a lot, feeling that my brave baby would never see the walls of his room that I had always dreamed of preparing for him.”
But, her anguish didn’t end there, as she was soon evacuated yet again.
“It was a cry from the depths of my heart [that I had] to give birth out of my home,” wrote Ala’a. “After 50 days I fled under fire, running, screaming and crying because of the bombs. At that moment, I feared I might lose my baby.”
Some 1.9 million people are currently displaced in Gaza, many of whom have already been forced to move multiple times over the past year. Since the start of the war, miscarriages, obstetric complications, low birth weight and premature births are reported to have risen at alarming rates, mainly due to stress, malnutrition and a near-total lack of maternity care.
Recalling her time escaping the bombardments, Ala’a wrote, “We are here, starting from nothing – no shelter, no home, not even a destiny. We built a tent again, and we promised each other again that we must survive, whatever happens.”
A glimmer of light
“Two weeks later I felt some pain…It was labour pains! [I thought] ‘No. It’s too early, I want to give birth at home.’”
After four days of labour, Ala’a visited a field hospital in Khan Younis run by UK-Med, a humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) that has a specialised maternity unit supported by the United Kingdom and the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA.
“I came for a check-up and everything was great,” she continued. “The midwife and nurses were kind and warm. I spoke to Dr. Helen, and she encouraged me to come and give birth there.”
When the time came, they made sure Ala’a delivered her baby safely.
“I went directly to the hospital at 2am and all the midwives were ready. But, they told me there was no way for a natural birth, it was too dangerous.”
UNFPA provides the hospital’s maternity unit with reproductive health kits and supplies and ensures staff can offer comprehensive care, including for obstetric emergencies.
Ala’a and her newborn Mohammad have recovered well, despite the ongoing war and lack of clean water, food or security.
“It was the best decision to come here to give birth,” she wrote. “I like that they smile all the time even though they are under pressure. They are a great team.”
Health care under fire
The impact of the war in Gaza on women and girls is staggering: More than 500,000 women have lost access to vital services like pre- and postnatal care, family planning and treatment for infections; over 17,000 pregnant women are in severe stages of hunger.
UNFPA and its partners are dedicated to providing reproductive health support, distributing life-saving medicines, medical equipment and supplies and deploying teams of midwives and health-care workers at both official and makeshift camps.
Six mobile maternal health units have also been set up in field hospitals to deliver emergency obstetric care to mothers and their newborns wherever they are. But it is impossible to provide continuous support without a ceasefire, full access to health services and sustained funding.
Despite all the hardships she has endured, Ala’a refuses to lose heart.
“From Mohammad, my son, thanks for everything,” she wrote, expressing gratitude to the staff at the hospital.
“We are grateful for you. I hope that we meet again in better times.”
“This is Marina. She leads a feminist organization.” This is how I am introduced at the entrance of an event that aims to “normalize egg freezing,” run by a startup collaborating with a private fertility clinic. It’s a misunderstanding, but for a moment I contemplate whether that’s what I should be doing, and my mind wanders.
The event is taking place at a private members’ club in a bougie part of London. We are gathering on pastel-colored chairs, and the air in the room feels like cold wool. I sit and listen, alongside other women, as if I’m here to learn about my fertility, as if I am wondering whether to freeze my eggs. I’m here to find out how the organizers talk about egg freezing. It’s research for my book on women’s health innovation, The Vagina Business.
In the US, some clinics throw “egg freezing parties” with champagne and canapés. They create a sense of solidarity around “taking control” of our “biological clock.” Pop-up buses offer free fertility tests. Whenever a company hands something out for free, it’s worth considering their business model and whether you are about to become the product. There is no champagne at the event I have come to, and despite the buoyed empowerment language on the invitation, the mood is gloomy.
The women in the audience are in their twenties and thirties, almost exclusively white, clad in black leather skirts and cashmere sweaters. We’re asked to fill out a survey, and the woman in front of me puts her copy beneath her chair, so the moment I look down at my feet, I can’t help seeing that she earns between £70,000 and £100,000 annually ($94,000 and $134,000). That’s more than double the average income of a Londoner.
The fertility clinic presenter says, “I fully appreciate that thinking about fertility is something that feels overwhelming.” She says that while women are good at eating well and exercising, we neglect our fertility. “Those aren’t easy conversations to have.” With urgency in her voice, she says the conversation we are about to have is still easier than conversations she has with clients who have struggled to conceive for years and have run out of options. She congratulates the audience for taking the first step to understanding their fertility by attending this event.
And herein lies the first problem. Fertility is not part of our education, and not a topic that health providers routinely address. That, however, means anything the presenters say could be accepted as fact. Women who have come to learn about their fertility for the very first time are in a vulnerable position.
How Many Eggs Do I Need to Freeze?
One woman in her thirties, who sits in the audience, asks how many eggs she would need to freeze to have a child later on. “I promise I’m not trying to be coy—it’s really hard to answer questions about the success rate,” says the presenter. She says some clients only had one egg retrieval cycle—that might yield a few eggs—and that is fine.
At that point, I’d like to hand the inquirer an evidence-based chart on the number of eggs she needs to freeze. Just a few eggs are a bad idea. But I realize that if I produce a research paper out of my tote bag, in the eyes of the audience, the presenters run a clinic, and I’m just an unknown woman with a bright orange umbrella.
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, at a press conference in which she discusses her findings on prostitution. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS
by Naureen Hossain (united nations)
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 03 (IPS) – Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, calls prostitution a “system of violence” that does not benefit society at all, especially the women and girls forced into this system.
Alsalem spoke at the Roosevelt Public Policy House in New York on Wednesday, October 2, to discuss her special report in which she posits that prostitution is a form of violence against women and girls. The report was first made public in June 2024, where it was presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Over 60 member states endorsed the report and its findings, including but not limited to Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Norway, Sweden, Colombia, France, Bangladesh, India, and Nigeria.
Alsalem received over 300 submissions for the report from multiple stakeholders, including civil society groups, academia, experts, policymakers, and, importantly, women from around the world with lived experience.
Across the world, the exploitation of women and girls through prostitution and sex trafficking is a pervasive issue that threatens their safety and rights. Alsalem remarked that many systems of prostitution are built on patriarchal norms that position the abuse of power at the hands of mostly men, who are largely the ‘buyers’ or the profiteers in the sex trade. Deeper economic inequalities and the complexities of emergency humanitarian situations have only further displaced women and girls from systems that would have protected and empowered them.
Alsalem remarked that efforts to normalize or recognize prostitution as a form of labor, such as referring to it as “sex work,” do more harm by gaslighting the women who have experienced it, and it fails to consider the serious human rights violations that can occur within the system, such as the physical and psychological harm they experience under this umbrella of “labor.”
Pornography should also be classified as a form of prostitution and violence against women at large, according to Alsalem. She noted that its proliferation has only normalized acts of violence and harmful attitudes towards women and girls. Alsalem told IPS that the online platforms that host pornographic material only further incentivize and promote these acts and other forms of coercive and nonconsensual sexual acts.
Regardless of the platform, how it is branded or how one enters the trade, the system of prostitution is based on the commodification of the body to undergo physical activity and under that there cannot be consent, Alsalem argues.
“Trying to pretend that there is somehow consent in prostitution, that women want to do this, is actually meaningless in context like prostitution because the concept of consent is actually not relevant when there are systems of exploitation and violence,” she said. “And when the term of consent is being weaponized while we fully know that whatever notions of agreement that women may have—or at least some of them—is extorted through physical coercion, manipulation, and violence.”
When it comes to the legal frameworks around prostitution, this also reveals the contradictions within countries on the letter of the law versus its regulation in practice. The report indicates that under certain approaches, little is actually done to de-incentivize “buyers” or “organizers” in engaging in prostitution systems.
Criminalizing prostitution is more likely to punish the prostituted persons through persecution and incarceration, social ostracization, and even further abuse at the hands of law enforcement. In fact, under this approach, it is rare that the ‘buyers’ are punished or that the third parties are held accountable. Under the regulation approach, legal prostitution ensures control to the state through commercial establishments and federal or national laws, including tax laws that they profit from, often at the expense of the sex workers. Decriminalizing prostitution allows for all parties to operate without the fear of persecution; however, this has also resulted in an increased demand, and it does not stop exploitative parties from profiting off vulnerable women and girls and leading them into the sex trade.
The report speaks in favor of the abolition approach, otherwise known as the “Equality model” or the “Nordic model.” Under this model, third parties (the ‘organizers’) and the buyers are criminalized for engaging in the buying and promotion of sex, while the sex workers do not face criminal persecution. Instead, more investments are made in exit pathways for sex workers to ensure alternative work, economic stability, housing, and support to address trauma and even substance abuse where needed. In the report, Alsalem notes that the Nordic model maintains the international standard on sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons by criminalizing third parties, and that it recognizes the majority of prostitutes are women and girls.
This approach could have its limitations, however, as one report from the London School of Economics (LSE) notes that sex trade legislation still varies across the different countries that implement this model, the safety of sex workers remains uncertain and they still face the risk of policing. For migrant sex workers, their status prevents them from accessing social protections, and under immigration laws, prostitution can be grounds for deportation.
The issues present in the current legal models for prostitution reflect some of the institutional structures that maintain the status quo where sex workers are exploited and left unprotected. At the same time, they also reflect a wider cultural issue on how prostitution, and more broadly, sex, is discussed and perceived.
“In addition to being a human rights violation that needs legal solutions, what is mentioned very clearly in the report is that we are dealing with a cultural issue,” said Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. She added that other acts of violence against women, such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and harassment, are now recognized as forms of abuse.
“But for some reason, because money is exchanged in prostitution, somehow it is seen outside of the context of male violence and discrimination, particularly against women and girls.”
In her report, Alsalem offers recommendations to governments on how they can reshape their legislation and policies on prostitution towards a direction that is more conscionable of human rights and that centers the experiences of the women and girls who are forced to participate. Governments also need to take measures to address the root causes behind prostitution and the factors that leave women and girls at a higher risk of it.
“The importance of this report is in its recommendations as well, where the Special Rapporteur is asking jurisdictions and member states around the world to find legislative and policy solutions to this egregious human rights violation,” said Bien-Aimé.
When asked to elaborate on the steps that need to be taken by international actors like the United Nations, Alsalem referred to the recommendation that UN agencies should also adopt a rights-based approach to prostitution. Alsalem commented that she had reached out to several UN agencies. In particular, she is having “continuous conversations” with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), on her recommendation for these agencies to conduct studies into the wider impacts of prostitution on survivors within their focus of health and labor.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Frontline Women’s Fund, and local civil society groups play an important role in spotlighting the issue. Alsalem told IPS that they need to come together to listen to the survivors of prostitution, as well as engage with all actors working on the matter.
“We see that in decision-making places, including governments, parliaments, whenever the issue is discussed, the law is being prepared or the policy is being revised, some have privileged access to these decision-making places, and that can be those that are advocating for full legalization of all aspects. Whereas those that are advocating for the abolition model… cannot get the same access, and that includes survivors.”
While Climate Discussions Focus on Decarbonization and Energy Transition — Both Incredibly Urgent to Address, Millions of Low-Income Women Remain Exposed to Rising Temperatures
NEW YORK, September 24, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– According to NOAA, August was Earth’s hottest month in 175 years, marking the 15th consecutive month of record-breaking global heat. Plus, Summer 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere is officially the hottest on record — a harsh warning of the climate crisis already expanding.
Extreme heat is a silent, invisible killer, responsible for more deaths than any other climate-driven hazard. A deeper understanding of its uneven effects reveals that women are disproportionately and significantly harmed by heat.
Women are nearly four times more heat intolerant than men and 14 times more likely to die in climate disasters. Many work outdoors in agriculture, street vending, waste recycling, and domestic labor without access to shade or cooling. This issue affects women globally — those in southern Europe die from extreme heat at twice the rate of men,and worldwide,60% more women than men lack adequate cooling, heightening their risk for heat-related illnesses.
The heat amplifies pre-existing inequalities. Female-headed households lose 8% more income to heat and women in agriculture, who make up the backbone of food production, produce up to 30% more food when given equal resources. Yet, 80% of agricultural policies ignore women’s climate challenges, according to FAO. These are just examples of how the effects of heat are felt across the work force and supply chains, affecting not only women in vulnerable regions but economies everywhere.
Global institutions are beginning to step up. UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a global “Call to Action” on extreme heat in August 2024, calling on nations, philanthropy, and the private sector to act.
A path forward exists. “Extreme heat is at the beginning, middle, and end of every recent climate story, and it’s time to address it at the pace and scale required. Women not only endure heat’s wrath, but as the backbone of communities and proven risk managers and problem solvers can also drive long-term change and deliver impact,” said Rachel Kyte, Board Chair of Climate Resilience For All, a global NGO working to protect the health and livelihoods of women and vulnerable communities from the impacts of extreme heat.
“We’ve implemented initiatives like the Women’s Climate Shock Insurance and Livelihoods Initiative in India that provides financial protection and women-centered early warning that save lives and enhance climate resilience,” said Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO of Climate Resilience for All. “Our call during this Climate Week is to focuson more tangible and immediate actions, policies, and financing for heat resilience. As the planet warms, the future of women is inseparable from the future of our world. We must act now before the heat becomes unbearable for all of us. Every life can be saved from extreme heat.”
First lady Jill Biden on Monday unveiled a new set of actions to address health inequities faced by women in the United States, plans that include spending at least $500 million annually on women’s health research.
Jill Biden made the announcement at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York, moments before the organization honored President Joe Biden with the 2024 Clinton Global Citizen Award.
“He’s provided a playbook for getting things done,” former President Bill Clinton, said as he presented the award. “We honor him today, not just for what he’s accomplished, but for the way he has done it.”
President Biden, standing next to his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton, joked, “This is what you call being trapped.”
In his short remarks, he then called Jill Biden’s announcement one of the most substantial of his administration.
The additional government spending will mainly come from the Department of Defense, which provides medical care to more than 230,000 active duty military women and nearly 2 million military retirees, as well as their family members. The research will focus on why these women experience endocrine, hematological and other immunity-related disorders twice as often as men.
“Women are really hungry for this kind of information,” Jill Biden said. “We don’t have the answers.”
Another change will take effect next week, with a new policy that includes women’s health at every step of the research funded by Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, which funded 751 grants last year to study Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, orthopedic and musculoskeletal injuries, and various cancers.
The commitment was among the largest of the more than 100 expected at the two-day meeting of political, business and philanthropic leaders gathering to address some of the world’s most pressing issues. The Clintons have set this year’s theme as “What’s Working,” a way to look for potential solutions and effective programs in tumultuous times.
“You don’t look at a problem and say, ‘That’s impossible,” Bill Clinton said in his opening remarks. “You don’t just throw up your hands. You roll up your sleeves.”
An example of that strategy came from the announcement that a wide-ranging group of 15 nonprofits, humanitarian aid organizations and other funders will join forces to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan following more than a year of conflict.
The Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan – which includes The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Giving, Global Fund for Women, and The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee — will donate at least $2 million to mutual aid groups in the country by the end of the year. It also pledged to raise another $4.5 million for those groups within the next two years.
Patricia McIlreavy, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which has been representing the coalition, said that, while much more aid is needed, the collaboration and problem-solving of the group is an important step forward.
“It gets us started,” McIlreavy told The Associated Press. “And it models the behavior you want to see from others. If you wait until it’s the perfect opportunity, you’ve missed many of the opportunities that were good enough.”
World Food Program director Cindy McCain said earlier this month that “ Sudan’s nearly a forgotten crisis ” and that 25 million people there already face acute hunger. Last week, the top United Nations humanitarian official said fighting is escalating in the conflict that began in April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between Sudan’s military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital Khartoum and spread to other regions. The U.N. says more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured.
“With ongoing impediments to a large-scale international aid response, Sudanese community groups have become the primary frontline responders and are currently the most effective means of reaching millions on the brink of starvation,” Patricia McIlreavy, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said in a prepared statement on behalf of the coalition. “With so many lives on the line, the imperative to support local aid efforts in Sudan has never been more urgent.”
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy says more than 12 million people have been forced from their homes in Sudan, creating what is now the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. The danger from the conflict has prevented most international aid agencies from delivering supplies to those in need.
Greg Milne, the Clinton Global Initiative CEO who convened a panel in April to raise awareness and support for the Sudanese people, said the new coalition is an example of what bringing organizations from varied sectors can do.
“We know strong, diverse partnerships can help address often overlooked and even dire challenges, and develop unexpected and innovative solutions,” he said.
Philanthropic leaders, including Bill Gates, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres, Open Society Foundations President Binaifer Nowrojee, and Rockefeller Foundation President Raj Shah will share information about their work during CGI, as will Prince Harry, who will discuss the launch of The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Network, which supports parents of children harmed online. In his Tuesday appearance, the Duke of Sussex will also address his work with the World Health Organization and others to reduce violence against children, an issue he and his wife Meghan outlined on a recent trip to Colombia.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics are set to address the conference, as are CEOs from Pfizer, Mastercard, IKEA, Pinterest, Sanofi and Chobani.
As part of a narrative that President Joe Biden isn’t fulfilling his duties as commander in chief, some conservative commentators and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed first lady Jill Biden stepped in to run a Cabinet meeting for her husband. Some pointed to a presidential folder as more evidence of her takeover.
“JUST IN: Jill is taking over for Joe Biden at the first White House cabinet meeting in 11 months,” conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted Sept. 20 on X. A screenshot of an MSNBC video shows Jill Biden sitting at the end of a table with Cabinet members with a chyron that said, “First lady joins Pres. Biden in Cabinet meeting.
Six minutes later, Johnson shared a photo of what he called White House stationery bearing the presidential seal and signatures from both Bidens. “Stationary at the White House now has the Presidential Seal flanked by ‘President’ Jill Biden’s signature,” Johnson wrote.
During a Sept. 21 rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump repeated the claim: “I don’t know, Is he still the president? Is he the president? Because yesterday his wife took over the Cabinet meeting, right? He hasn’t had a meeting in like two years and yesterday they finally had it and he said, ‘I’m going to let Jill handle it.’”
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., reshared a tweet from The Blaze, a conservative outlet, about the Cabinet meeting, writing, “Is this real? Is this who’s running the country?”
Instagram users reshared Johnson’s photo, and it was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Jill Biden didn’t lead the meeting or sit in the president’s usual spot; she was providing a scheduled update on her initiative for women’s health research. Joe Biden led the meeting. The binder is ceremonial.
Some conservative media outlets criticized her presence at the meeting, partly because it was the first one the president had held in 11 months, and might be his last before his presidency ends in January.
But Jill Biden is not the first first lady to join Cabinet meetings to talk about their priorities; others include Pat Nixon, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Clinton.
The White House told PolitiFact that Johnson’s photo depicts a binder with Joe and Jill Biden’s signatures that is given as a keepsake to attendees of White House events. It is not used by staff for official purposes.
The White House said first lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council would lead its Initiative on Women’s Health Research in November 2023. It aims to address how the U.S. approaches and funds women’s health research, which has been historically understudied.
On March 18, President Biden signed an executive order to prioritize investments in women’s health research and integrate it with U.S. federal research programs. It also called for new research on women’s midlife health and assessing unmet needs to support women’s health studies.
Jill Biden has given speeches and hosted meetings since the initiative launched.
In an email announcing her Sept. 20 schedule, the White House said, “At 11:30 AM, First Lady Jill Biden will join at the top of President Biden’s Cabinet meeting to provide an update on the progress of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.”
It was Jill Biden’s first Cabinet appearance since Joe Biden took office. Cabinet attendees included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
President Biden started the meeting by saying Congress should pass a continuing resolution to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.
Then he introduced his wife, who was seated at one end of the oval table. (Biden appears to be sitting in the president’s regular place in the Cabinet Room, in the middle of a long side of the table with his back to the windows.)
“We’re grateful that Jill is here today,” Biden said. “And here, across previous administrations, first ladies have attended these meetings and on — for specific reasons. It’s the first time Jill has joined us. And it goes to show how important the issue is, what she’s about to speak to, to both of us. Today, at the top of our meeting, Jill is going to give an update on the White House initiative to fundamentally change the approach and fund, on how we approach and fund women’s health services.”
Jill then began her remarks.
“In February, (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health), the agency Joe created to pursue breakthrough health research, at lightning speed, launched its first-ever Sprint for Women’s Health. The $100-million investment will fund innovations that will be life-changing for women,” Jill Biden said. “Then, a month later, NIH (the National Institutes of Health) committed another $200 million to fund interdisciplinary women’s health research, for example, looking at how menopause affects heart health, brain health, and bone health.”
She also spoke about a new joint effort by the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs to improve research for women in the military and for women veterans, and new funding from the Health and Human Services Department to address women’s mental health and substance use treatment.
The first lady spoke for about 4 ½ minutes.
After she spoke, reporters asked President Biden whether it was realistic to get a cease-fire deal with Israel. Then aides ushered the press out of the room.
Our ruling
Social media posts claimed that Jill Biden was running President Biden’s Cabinet meeting and that her signature now appears on official presidential correspondence.
The claims about her presence are overblown.
The first lady joined Biden’s Sept. 20 Cabinet meeting to discuss updates on the Women’s Health Initiative, a White House endeavor she has headed since its creation in 2023. First ladies have joined Cabinet meetings in the past.
The White House told PolitiFact that the binder that shows the first lady’s signature along with Biden’s is a keepsake typically given to White House event attendees and is not used by staff for official purposes.
Today is Wednesday, Sept. 18, the 262nd day of 2024. There are 104 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Sept. 18, 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering champion of women’s rights who became the court’s second female justice, died at her home in Washington at age 87, of complications from pancreatic cancer.
Also on this date:
In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.
In 1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.
In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment and the position of Secretary of Defense, went into effect.
In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).
In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.
In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
In 2014, voters in Scotland rejected independence, opting to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum.
Today’s Birthdays: Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman is 91. Singer Frankie Avalon is 84. Actor Anna Deavere Smith is 74. Neurosurgeon-author-politician Ben Carson is 73. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is 72. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is 70. Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Šťastný is 68. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is 65. Actor Holly Robinson Peete is 60. R&B singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Toni Kukoč is 56. Actor Aisha Tyler is 54. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 53. Actor James Marsden is 51. Rapper-TV host Xzibit is 50. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 49. Former soccer player Ronaldo is 48. TV host Sara Haines is 47. Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 46. Rapper Dizzee Rascal is 40. Country singer Tae Kerr (Maddie and Tae) is 29. Soccer player Christian Pulisic is 26.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced a civil rights investigation into sexual abuse of women behind bars in two California prisons, citing numerous reports of groping, inappropriate touching and rape by correctional workers.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation violated the rights of women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Institution for Women in Chino by failing to protect them from sexual abuse by prison staff.
The move comes after dozens of women held at the two prisons in the last two years brought multiple lawsuits against the corrections department, alleging that they were subjected to sexual harassment, molestation and rape by prison staff under the color of authority.
More than 30 current and former correctional officers have been named in the lawsuits, which graphically document allegations of sexual abuse stretching back more than a decade. The complaints also allege that, when they were at their most vulnerable, the women were punished and sometimes abused further for reporting their assailants.
Since 2014, at least 17 correctional officers accused of sexual misconduct in California women’s prisons have been fired, have resigned or have retired, according to records. Prison sexual abuse data, however, show few disciplinary consequences for the correctional staff despite hundreds of complaints — with most of the allegations not being sustained.
“No woman incarcerated in a jail or prison should be subjected to sexual abuse by prison staff who are constitutionally bound to protect them,” said Asst. Atty. Gen. Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Every woman, including those in prison, retains basic civil and constitutional rights and should be treated with dignity and respect. California must ensure that the people it incarcerates are housed in conditions that protect them from sexual abuse.”
“Correctional staff at both facilities reportedly sought sexual favors in return for contraband and privileges,” Clarke alleged, adding, “I’ll note that the correctional officers named in these allegations range in rank and have even included the very people responsible for handling complaints of sexual abuse made by women incarcerated at these facilities.”
In a statement responding to the probe, CDCR Secretary Jeff Macomber said, “Sexual assault is a heinous violation of fundamental human dignity that is not tolerated — under any circumstances — within California’s state prison system. Our department embraces transparency, and we fully welcome the U.S. Department of Justice’s independent investigation.”
Clarke said the investigation will examine reports from hundreds of women of inappropriate touching, groping and forcible rape.
“Sexual abuse and misconduct will not be tolerated in prisons,” said U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada for the Central District.
More than two dozen protesters marched in front of the California Institution For Women in Chino in April 14.
(Mark Boster / For The Times)
“Concern about the physical safety of people inside California women’s prisons is not new,” said U.S. Atty. Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “Media coverage, state audits, advocates’ efforts and private litigation have sought to draw attention to an issue often unseen by many in the community.”
Clarke said that at this stage, no conclusions have been drawn. However, federal prosecutors painted a dire picture of allegations made by the women California holds in the two prisons.
The federal action comes as a lawsuit accusing a former correctional officer at the Central California Women’s Facility of widespread sexual assaults is slated to go to trial in a California court. Filed on behalf of 21 women incarcerated at the California Institution for Women, the lawsuit included allegations of forcible rape, groping and oral copulation, as well as threats of violence and punishment with abusive conduct, from 2014 to 2020.
In addition, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over the last decade making similar accusations against officers at the Central California Women’s Facility, Clarke said.
The legal actions pending against state correctional officers provide a road map of alleged depravity and inaction by prison authorities for federal prosecutors to pursue. For example, a lawsuit accuses a sergeant at the Chino prison of more than 40 often-violent rapes and other sexual misconduct in 2015. And a former officer at the Chowchilla prison, Gregory Rodriguez, awaits trial on 96 counts of sex crimes against nearly a dozen women held there.
Sexual abuse of incarcerated women is a widespread problem in facilities nationwide, with government surveys suggesting that more than 3,500 women are sexually abused by prison and jail workers annually. And it’s a problem in federal prisons as well as state lockups.
In April, the federal Bureau of Prisons closed the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., where more than a half-dozen correctional officers and the former warden have either been charged or convicted of sexually abusing female inmates. The prison was so plagued by sexual abuse that it was known among inmates and workers as the “rape club.”
As foreign troops suddenly withdrew, life for millions of Afghans, especially women and girls descended into chaos.
“If I had left, a mother or a baby could have died,” Ms. Ahmadi said. “I was worried, but I couldn’t leave because people needed our services. I stayed because people, especially pregnant women, needed my support.”
Clinics shuttered
Public health workers were severely affected by the takeover, as hospitals and clinics were either forced to close or rendered non-functional and their staff could no longer make it to work safely.
Pregnant women were worried about where to deliver as health facilities were closing, Ms. Ahmadi told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency that is supporting efforts throughout Afghanistan.
“So, I didn’t close the family health house,” she said.
Seeking skilled healthcare
One of the women who sought help at the Ahangaran clinic was 29-year-old Sughra, who was nine months pregnant.
“A few days earlier, I had gone to the provincial hospital in Bamyan City, but staff told me they weren’t sure whether they would remain open in the following days,” Sughra said.
Uncertain about the availability of skilled care she would find in the city and stressed by the unfolding security situation, she decided to go to her father’s home, as soon as she felt some early, pre-labour contractions.
Humanitarians at work
With her husband and sister-in-law, Sughra endured a three-hour trip in the back of a truck on rough roads to reach her father’s village.
“I was afraid I would give birth on the truck,” she recalled.
A few days later, Sughra started having labour pains and asked to be taken to the family health house, which is supported by UNFPA and is the only available facility in the area.
“We arrived very early in the morning, but my labour lasted throughout the day,” she said.
She delivered a healthy baby boy without any complications at 2pm on 19 August 2021 – on World Humanitarian Day.
“The labour was agonising, but I was happy that we managed everything from the family health house,” Sughra recalled. “If the clinic hadn’t existed during those days, who knows what could have happened to me.”
Mariza Ahmadi has worked as a midwife at the UNFPA-supported Ahangaran family health house in Bamyan Province for four years.
Commitment to her country
Behind the safe delivery is the bravery of the midwife.
“That was a tough situation, but this clinic did not close for a single day during those times,” Ms. Ahmadi said.
“I was also scared, but if I left, all our efforts to prevent maternal and newborn deaths would have gone to waste.”
Against the odds
Afghanistan has long had one of the highest rates of maternal deaths in the world, with one woman dying every hour due to pregnancy and childbirth complications – deaths that could be largely preventable with adequate skilled midwifery care.
Now, as the de facto authorities have drastically reduced women’s ability to work and travel without being accompanied by a male guardian, the situation is only looking more perilous for the women and girls – and future generations – of Afghanistan.
Ms. Ahmadi assisted with three other deliveries that week, serving women who had been displaced from other districts in Bamyan province.
“For the four years I have been working here, there have been no maternal deaths in this clinic.”
Midwifery emergency
Currently funded by the United States and previously by Italy, the Ahangaran family health house provides people living in the surrounding isolated communities with lifesaving health services, despite its location in a remote area of Bamyan province.
Midwives can meet about 90 per cent of the need for essential reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health needs, yet there is a global shortage of some 900,000 trained midwives.
Afghanistan urgently needs an additional 18,000 to meet the demand for skilled birth attendance, a lack that otherwise endangers lives and undermines women’s and girls’ bodily autonomy on a vast scale.
Sughra endured a three-hour trip in the back of a truck on rough roads to reach the village health centre and deliver her baby boy.
Health houses help, one baby at a time
In 2021, UNFPA was supporting just over 70 family health houses in Afghanistan, a figure that – despite the extremely challenging operating environment – has swelled more than sixfold to 477 today.
Since 2021, these clinics have helped more than five million Afghans access critical health services, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
Back at home, Sughra’s son, Farhad, just celebrated his third birthday.
“When he grows up,” Sughra said, “I hope he can study so he can build a good future for himself and other people around him.”
Confidence starts on the inside but is displayed through our appearance. Highlighting that was the goal of the “Hairs to You” event at DryBar in Sacramento on Thursday.A group from Women’s Empowerment were selected to get free makeovers as a way to help them transition back into the workforce. London Hoffart, 17, created the “Hairs to You” event to give back and boost the confidence of eight women.”I’ve had bad days and honestly, going to get my hair done makes me feel like 100% better sometimes. Coupled with the crisis and homelessness in Sacramento especially, I wanted to put those two together and make something out of it,” Hoffart said.”A complete makeover from head to toe. We got makeup, clothes, shoes. We were treated fabulous,” said Angelique Duran.Duran joined Women’s Empowerment after losing two loved ones and falling on hard times.”I was staying at a shelter and, within a matter of six weeks, got a job. Landed a job for $80,000. I work as a paralegal at a law firm. I was able to get my house,” Duran said.The nine-week program prepared Duran and other women to reenter the workforce.”I had resumé work, I had interviewed services, I had everything. I had support when I didn’t have anything,” said Iesha Simms, from Women’s Empowerment.Starting a new job can be intimidating if you don’t have the tools or pumps for success. That’s why The Closet Trading Co. decided to help by offering style tips and donating clothing-“They’re just super excited to get this fresh start, find some items. Everyone deserves to look and feel good no matter what situation you are in,” said Gabby, from The Closet Trading Co. WEAVE, a nonprofit for domestic violence and crisis survivors, also donated clothing”We’re very fortunate that we could supply the clothes at this event, mostly business attire as well as some fun things that we can also add as well in multiple sizes as well as shoes and accessories,” said Alyssa Saunders, from WEAVE.Celebrating accomplishments and confidence, all with the compassion of a 17-year-old senior-to-be.”You walk out confident. You feel good about yourself with your hair, your makeup, everything done. I believe women can do great things with that. I believe every woman can be their best with that,” Hoffart said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Confidence starts on the inside but is displayed through our appearance.
Highlighting that was the goal of the “Hairs to You” event at DryBar in Sacramento on Thursday.
A group from Women’s Empowerment were selected to get free makeovers as a way to help them transition back into the workforce.
London Hoffart, 17, created the “Hairs to You” event to give back and boost the confidence of eight women.
“I’ve had bad days and honestly, going to get my hair done makes me feel like 100% better sometimes. Coupled with the crisis and homelessness in Sacramento especially, I wanted to put those two together and make something out of it,” Hoffart said.
“A complete makeover from head to toe. We got makeup, clothes, shoes. We were treated fabulous,” said Angelique Duran.
Duran joined Women’s Empowerment after losing two loved ones and falling on hard times.
“I was staying at a shelter and, within a matter of six weeks, got a job. Landed a job for $80,000. I work as a paralegal at a law firm. I was able to get my house,” Duran said.
The nine-week program prepared Duran and other women to reenter the workforce.
“I had resumé work, I had interviewed services, I had everything. I had support when I didn’t have anything,” said Iesha Simms, from Women’s Empowerment.
Starting a new job can be intimidating if you don’t have the tools or pumps for success. That’s why The Closet Trading Co. decided to help by offering style tips and donating clothing-
“They’re just super excited to get this fresh start, find some items. Everyone deserves to look and feel good no matter what situation you are in,” said Gabby, from The Closet Trading Co.
WEAVE, a nonprofit for domestic violence and crisis survivors, also donated clothing
“We’re very fortunate that we could supply the clothes at this event, mostly business attire as well as some fun things that we can also add as well in multiple sizes as well as shoes and accessories,” said Alyssa Saunders, from WEAVE.
Celebrating accomplishments and confidence, all with the compassion of a 17-year-old senior-to-be.
“You walk out confident. You feel good about yourself with your hair, your makeup, everything done. I believe women can do great things with that. I believe every woman can be their best with that,” Hoffart said.
French Olympic sprinter Sounkamba Sylla took to social media days before the 2024 Olympic Games began, saying she would not be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony because of her hijab.
“You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can’t participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,” Sylla wrote on her private Instagram, according to The Associated Press.
The criticism was the latest in an ongoing controversy over France’s rule prohibiting female Muslim athletes from wearing the hijab, or headscarves, during the Olympics. The athletes, while competing for France, are considering civil servants and must adhere to principles of secularism, according to the country’s rules.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra later said she’d be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony and the Games by covering her hair in a way that did not appear religious.
An overview of the Trocadero venue with the Eiffel Tower in the background, in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.
Francois-Xavier Marit/Pool Photo via AP
Bans on hijab in French sports
Bans on wearing hijab in French sports have applied at all levels, including amateur and youth levels, even outside the Olympics, according to Amnesty International.
There isn’t a national law or policy banning hijabs in sports, but individual sports federations have their own regulations prohibiting the headscarf. Football (soccer), basketball and volleyball are some of the team sports banning them, Anna Blus, a women’s rights and gender justice researcher at Amnesty International, told ABC News.
A ban against wearing the hijab in football was instituted in 2006. In basketball, it began in 2022 and in volleyball in 2023.
“We have documented over the years — (for) around 20 years — measures are being introduced constantly to limit Muslim women’s rights,” Blus said of France.
“There’s definitely been an increase in these types of measures in different areas of life over the past 20 years,” Blus said.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, from United States, waits for match against Olena Kravatska from Ukraine, in the women’s saber individual fencing event at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File
In 2023, France’s highest administrative court sided with the French Football Federation allowing its hijab ban in the sport.
“The reasoning it gave was very, very problematic, because it said that these types of bans like the one in the Football Federation, were legitimate — the justification could be to avoid clashes or confrontation,” Blus said.
“It’s suggesting that clashes or confrontations might occur if someone wears a hijab, and that in order to protect that athlete, she can be banned, and she should be banned from wearing it. It’s extremely problematic,” Blus said.
Basket Pour Toutes, a collective that says it is fighting against discrimination in basketball, said the argument the ban seeks to maintain public order “tends to stigmatize a part of the population which is already the subject of numerous prejudices,” the group said on its website.
Basket Pour Toutes, which translate to “Basketball for all” in English, also said “secularism is not above fundamental freedoms.”
“The (French Federation of Basketball) maintains that the ban on equipment with religious connotations is based on the principle of neutrality which itself derives from the principle of secularism. But this duty of neutrality only applies to public service agents and not to its users,” Basket Pour Toutes wrote.
Since the court decision came out, the Hijabeuses — a collective of female athletes who wear the hijab and had brought the complaint against the Football Federation — have made an application to the European Court of Human rights, which has jurisdiction over France.
Egypt’s Dina Meshref in action at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
AP Photo/Kyusung Gong
Their application is still pending and could likely take a couple of years, Blus said.
“Litigation is only one kind of tool that can be used and it takes many years sometimes,” Blus said. “I think there is much more that we can do as human rights organizations and as campaigners to stand against these types of discriminatory measures.”
Human rights groups criticize bans
Human rights groups have called on the International Olympic Committee to publicly ask sporting authorities in France to overturn bans on wearing the hijab in the Olympic Games and at all levels of sport, saying prohibitions are in place across at least six sports.
“The country’s discrimination against women and girls wearing the hijab is particularly concerning given the IOC’s celebration of Paris 2024 as the first ‘Gender Equal Olympics,’” the groups — including Human Rights Watch, Basket Pour Toutes and the World Players Association — wrote in a joint letter to the IOC.
“Women and girls in France who wear the hijab have been and are being prevented from playing multiple sports including football, basketball, judo, boxing, volleyball and badminton — even at youth and amateur levels. The hijab bans in sports have resulted in many Muslim athletes being discriminated against, invisibilised, excluded and humiliated, causing trauma and social isolation — some have left or are considering leaving the country to seek playing opportunities elsewhere,” the letter said.
Gold medalist Feryal Abdelaziz of Egypt poses during the medal ceremony for women’s kumite +61kg karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
AP Photo/Vincent Thian
Other athletes, including Diaba Konate, a French basketball player who played for Idaho State and University of California, Irvine up until this past April, have also criticized the ban. Konate said she was kept from being able to play for the French National Team again. She’s not on the French team playing in the Olympics.
“I love basketball, my family, and my faith,” Konate said in an open letter. “It would break my heart to give up any one of those, and yet that is what the current French Federation of Basketball guidelines are forcing me to do.”
Blus said activism among Muslim athletes and activists in France is growing in a very difficult environment.
“It’s really important that big international organizations, such as ours, express their solidarity with Muslim women, because they have very often — really particularly in France, but also in other countries — (been) subject to negative stereotypes, demonization, homogenization of what it might mean to them to wear hijab,” Blus said.
“It’s really a matter of feminist solidarity and of women’s rights and human rights,” Blus said.
It does does with alcohol, but does marijuana effect women differently?
While we can put together people in general categories – men, women, Indian, left-handed, each person is slightly different…and some categories are different than others. So are women more sensitive to THC in cannabis? Reactions to alcohol is different between women and men, some South Asians are effected differently than North Americans with alcohol….so what about with cannabis?
Science shows biological differences in body structure and chemistry lead most women to absorb more alcohol and take longer to metabolize it. After drinking the same amount of alcohol, women tend to have higher blood alcohol levels than men, and the immediate effects of alcohol usually occur more quickly and last longer in women than men.
While more studies need to be done, current ones trend toward women being more sensitive to THC than men. Meaning they tend to have a bigger reaction to less. Very similar to alcohol.
Photo by Elle Hughes via Pexels
One study, published in the journal Psychopharmacology found women who had consumed less of a cannabis, had lower levels of THC in blood, yet experienced the same acute effects as men. The key take-away is that women may need a lower dose of THC to get to the same degree of intoxication as men. Females tend to progress to tolerance and dependence faster than males after initiation of regular cannabis use.
One theory researchers posed is estrogen, a primarily female hormone, could influence the metabolism of THC. Levels of estrogen could account for the differences spotted in the study and for the reactions that women experience when consuming THC.
Most studies are based on male participants, so the data may not hold true in females.” Historically, subjects in animal and human studies. across all of science have been male. Researchers have claimed that it is too difficult to control for the fluctuating hormones in the female body. It is important for physicians and scientists to recognize past studies have excluded females, leaving our understanding of medicine with a bias towards men. With women representing 50% of the population, it is a critical data point.
NEW YORK — A judge on Friday tentatively scheduled Harvey Weinstein’s planned retrial on rape and sexual assault charges to begin on Nov. 12.
Weinstein wore an American flag pin on his jacket during a brief appearance at a courthouse in Manhattan, which was delayed by about a half hour.
The former Hollywood movie mogul’s pretrial hearing in Manhattan criminal court was scheduled to address issues related to evidence in the case, including text messages.
At a hearing last week, prosecutors said they anticipated a November retrial. They told Judge Curtis Farber that they were still actively pursuing new claims against Weinstein, though they conceded that they hadn’t yet brought any findings to a grand jury.
Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone.
New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 conviction earlier this year, ruling that the original trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.
The conviction had been considered a landmark in the #MeToo movement, an era that began in 2017 amid numerous allegations of sexual misconduct against the once powerful studio boss behind “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love.”
Weinstein had been convicted of rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress and of forcing himself on a TV and film production assistant in 2006. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors have said one of the accusers in that case, Jessica Mann, is prepared to testify against Weinstein again. Gloria Allred, a lawyer for the second accuser, Mimi Haley, said last week that her client hadn’t yet decided whether to participate in the retrial.
The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann did.
Weinstein, 72, is jailed on Rikers Island. His attorney, Arthur Aidala, has complained that Weinstein hasn’t been getting proper care in jail for diabetes, macular degeneration and fluid in his lungs and heart.
Weinstein also was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California. In an appeal filed there last month, his lawyers argued he didn’t get a fair trial in that case.
BILLERICA — The Billerica Police recently promoted six members to supervisory positions, including the first female lieutenant in the department’s history.
Lt. Commander John Harring will now serve as operations commander, while Lt. Commander Frank Mirasolo will oversee Administration. Lt. Tara Connors — the department’s first female lieutenant — will serve in patrol, as will Lt. Mark Gualtieri, Sgt. Dwayne Eidens, and Sgt. Timothy McKenna.
All six promotions were made to fill vacancies left by the retirements of Lt. Commander Greg Katz and Lt. Commander Ronald Balboni.
“Lt. Commander Katz and Lt. Commander Balboni will be deeply missed within this department, where they both had a major impact throughout their careers,” Chief Roy Frost said. “I am pleased to see this new group of supervisors being promoted. They have big shoes to fill, but I am confident they will do so with professionalism, compassion, and skill.”
• Harring joined the Billerica Police in 2001, after serving the Broward County, Florida Sheriff’s Department. His father is a retired Billerica Police detective lieutenant. Harring worked as a K-9 handler for Billerica starting in 2009, at which time he was assigned to the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council K-9 Unit. Harring eventually became commander of the NEMLEC K-9 Unit, serving in that position until 2021. He was promoted to sergeant in 2014 and lieutenant in 2020. Prior to his promotion, Harring was in charge of training. He holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Western New England College, located in Springfield.
• Mirasolo began working with the department in January 1995, after serving the Keene, N.H. Police Department. He was promoted to sergeant in 2004 and lieutenant in 2021. He has been a detective for 26 years. Prior to this position, Mirasolo was in charge of the early night patrol shift. He holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College, located in Paxton.
• Conners joined the department in 2003 after serving as a teacher in the Billerica schools. She was promoted to sergeant in 2016. In addition to being the first female to reach the rank of lieutenant in department history, Connors has served as a domestic violence officer, a court prosecutor and a grant administrator. She also served as a supervisor of the school resource officer program. Her father is a retired Billerica Police deputy chief. Connors holds a law degree from the New England School of Law, located in Boston, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
• Gualtieri started with the Billerica Police in 1995, after transferring from the Billerica Fire Department. Gualtieri was promoted to sergeant in 2002. In 2004, he was placed on the NEMLEC Tactical Police Force and later in 2010 trained and certified as a NEMLEC SWAT officer, where he served until 2023. In that capacity, Gualtieri responded to high-risk situations throughout the region. Prior to his promotion, Gualtieri was serving as a patrol sergeant on the early night shift. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, and holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Western New England College.
• Eidens joined the department in 2005. He worked in patrol until 2018, when he was assigned to the Traffic Division. In addition to investigating motor vehicle crashes and conducting targeted road safety programs, Eidens was certified as a motorcycle officer and assigned to the NEMLEC Motor Unit. Eidens is a U.S. Army Reserve veteran, and recipient of the Bronze Star for his service overseas. He holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell.
• McKenna began working for the department in 2003, after transferring from the Bedford Police Department, where he worked as a dispatcher. McKenna has served as a Criminal Justice Information Services administrator since 2009. There he managed all state and federal compliance requirements on behalf of Billerica. In 2017, McKenna was assigned as a detective, working in the criminal bureau. He became a provisional sergeant in 2023, during a period where the department needed to find quality supervisors as civil service worked to develop new testing standards. McKenna served in this provisional capacity for one year. After a short stint back in the criminal bureau, McKenna will return to a permanent supervisory role. His father was a captain of the Arlington Police Department.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aselahcurtis
