From alternet: Human trafficking is a serious problem in the United States that is complex and frequently misunderstood. The sensationalist trafficking narrative commonly depicted in the media and by activists has been fraught with exaggerated data and themes, which has often detracted from potential remedies. A new report released Wednesday by the Polaris Project helps to humanize the issue…
TW for content. From alternet: Jordanians, Egyptians and Saudis are visiting Syrian refugee camps to buy virgins. They pay 300 dollars, and they get the girl of their dreams. Amani has just turned 22. Two months ago she fled from the civil war in Syria and left her house in capital Damascus. After a dangerous…
Really interesting post on working with men, and “maleness”/ masculinity, in probation practice: Mark is 23 and works as a taxi driver. He frequently picks people up from a few hotels in the city centre, waiting on nearby cab ranks. Carrie is a regular guest at one of the hotels, and Mark begins calling out…
From commentisfree: We have known for some time that the number of convictions for rape and sexual assault are only the tip of the iceberg. Now, thanks to a survey of more than 15,000 women and men across Britain, we have a clearer idea of the true scale of the problem. In Britain one woman…
Jaysus. From theguardian: [...] but there is a now familiar narrative of how the secret snoopy state seeks to monitor the legitimate activity of those who might ask questions of it. This appears to be activity undertaken with little or no public consent or oversight. How much of this is going on? What are the…
On gender-focus. A group of young women from buildON, working with the Philadelphia group FAAN Mail (Fostering Activism and Alternatives Now!) created this video to share examples of the street harassment they’ve experienced. They’re hoping this video will assist with an effort by HollabackPhilly to coordinate an upcoming City Council hearing to raise awareness of the issue and its…
“As the Guardian’s Kira Cochrane says: “The use of the word ‘rape’ to describe all kinds of bad experience – from getting beaten up in a boxing match, to having your hairdo completely ruined – has recently become usual, average, shruggable. commentisfree: A feature of India’s rape crisis over the past couple of years has been…
Power. Ownership. Entitlement. On feministcurrent.com: [...] Today, we like to imagine prostitution as a service for the lonesome. We are to pity these men — What, are they supposed to just masturbate? The horror! But examples like that of Mr. Bieber (and the countless other wealthy men and celebrities who pay for sex) show us that…
“[...] it is hard to envisage any analysis that would provide any reassurance: either a proportion of boys far higher than one-in-four is thinking along these lines, or some Scottish girls have so little self-esteem and self-confidence that they too buy into the pernicious belief that ‘no does not always mean no’. This isn’t just…
On thenation.com: Luis Rivera had some peace of mind for about five months, from late fall of 2010 through early spring of the following year. That’s the closest thing he’s seen to financial stability in more than twenty years. “I got hired for a wonderful job. It was a clerk/porter/doorman position at a high-rise classical building…