When Rosetta Watson, a black woman with disabilities living in Maplewood, Missouri, needed protection from an abusive ex-boyfriend, she did what she was supposed to do: She called the police. On four occasions between 2011 and 2012, she contacted local law enforcement, telling authorities that Robert Hennings hit, shoved and choked her. Watson wanted relief from […]
Women who regularly commute on public transit are all too familiar with the sexual harassment experienced by female passengers. In fact, in New York City alone, more than 458 sex crimes were reported during the first half of 2016. And so, to shine a spotlight on this horrible (yet common) problem, a new style […]
Attiya Khan’s documentary A Better Man has a mission and that is to empower its audience to join the movement to END violence against women. “I desperately want domestic violence to stop. Art, storytelling, and deep, painful conversations are an integral part of the solution. By getting closer to the truth of what survivors experience, […]
Trauma is something that Michael knows all too well. He says he was about four years old when he and his siblings were first apprehended by child protection services. “There was lots of violence in my home,” he says. After being removed from his home multiple times, he and his sister were sent to live at separate […]
*Spoilers Ahead* HBO’s miniseries “Big Little Lies” is a story about the complex inner lives of privileged women, wrapped up in a murder mystery set in a wealthy seaside town. Amidst the stunning vistas and unraveling whodunit plot line, viewers are witnessing something rarely seen on screen: A thoughtful portrait of an abusive relationship. The […]
A bill that would have added domestic violence to the list of legal reasons a person can get a divorce in Mississippi died in a House committee on Tuesday after its chairman, state Rep. Andy Gipson (R), said it could open “the floodgates” to more divorces. “If there’s a case of abuse, that person needs to […]
In India’s constitution, under The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, you can find the chilling statement: “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” India is not alone. There are 48 other nations today where a husband can legally […]
A vague new child marriage law in Bangladesh invokes the parental permission loophole setting no minimum age for marriage — an astounding turn of events that has human rights groups up in arms. In spite of protests over the law in Jan., the government’s parliament has approved what is called the “Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017,” which […]
A deadly fire that killed 28 girls at an orphanage in Guatemala last Wednesday was started after resident children set mattresses on fire and launched a riot as a way of protesting the shelter’s poor conditions. The government-run children’s shelter was meant to be a safe shelter for vulnerable and abused teens in the semi-rural, […]
March 8 is International Women’s Day — a day to recognize women’s achievements and acknowledge the challenges they continue to face in the quest for gender equality. Last year, organizations and individuals around the world supported the #PledgeForParity campaign and committed to help women and girls achieve their ambitions; challenge conscious and unconscious bias; call for […]