Blog posts by Lynne Miles: 2006
Happy Anniversary
By Lynne Miles | 27 October 2006, 16:21
The Guardian is running a G2 special on abortion rights today, to celebrate the 39th anniversary of its legalisation. Zoe Williams opens with a belting piece: So it boils down to this: for those of us with the cash, abortion…
The Veil Mark 2
By Lynne Miles | 19 October 2006, 11:18
I’ve had some interesting feedback emails on my round-up of opinion pieces concerning the Muslim veil. The first was concerned that I seemed to be coming down on the side of the veil-as-personal-choice contingent, and felt that feminists should just…
MPs and Peers call for action on trafficking
By Lynne Miles | 13 October 2006, 09:46
A House of Lords/House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights has published a report calling for more to be done to tackle the problem of human trafficking for prostitution, described as \x93one of the most serious human rights issues…
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The Veil Question
By Lynne Miles | 12 October 2006, 17:34
Public debate has become heated this week, following comments made by Jack Straw in his local newspaper column that he is made uncomfortable by his female Muslim constituents wearing the niqab (veil covering the face), and asks them whether they…
Shocking language in Daily Mail
By Lynne Miles | 22 September 2006, 11:57
Unlikely as it might seem, I read a piece in the Daily Mail this morning which contained the phrase \x93powerful gender stereotypes\x94. In context, and with no trace of sarcasm. Honestly, you go on holiday for one short week and…
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More activism…
By Lynne Miles | 23 August 2006, 13:44
I’ve just received an email from a friend (thanks, Louise!) regarding a mass protest organised by Mark Thomas coming up next week. You’ll probably be aware that the recent Serious Organised Crime and Police Act of 2005 made it illegal…
Guardian Hot 15 Women
By Lynne Miles | 21 August 2006, 14:54
In answer to the endless ‘Loaded’ type Hot 100 lists, and mirroring a similar endeavour undertaken in the USA a while ago, the Guardian has been taking nominations for a list of the women who are inspiring the UK. They…
Keep an Eye out for …
By Lynne Miles | 17 July 2006, 17:16
… Genderpranks (“for those who like to play with gender”). The website is currently under construction, but was born out of an experiment using stickers on the tube - Genderpranksters labelled tube seats “male” and “female” to see what happened…
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Hollaback, ladies
By Lynne Miles | 3 July 2006, 15:27
The Guardian today talks about the increasing fightback by women against harassment in public places. We\x92ve all been there (well I have \x96 just outside Earlsfield station, about 5pm on a Sunday evening. Your classic old-man-in-mac. He was a…
MTV Exit
By Lynne Miles | 3 July 2006, 14:58
I really wish I’d seen this earlier, and been able to forward it more widely, but I think this is a really excellent contribution to the problem of trafficking around the World Cup, led by MTV. The only question being…
Pipped to the post
By Lynne Miles | 30 June 2006, 16:29
I had totally just finished writing an entry about the Guardian article when I saw that Jess had beaten me to it! One thing I would add, though\x85 I was interested in the final comment in the piece \x96 women…
Wife-beater let off jail so he doesn't lose his job
By Lynne Miles | 29 June 2006, 17:37
A civil servant, working for the Department of Constitutional Affairs (responsible for upholding justice, rights, and democracy) has been convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and battery (reported in today’s Metro but I can’t find it online to link…
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World Cup Punters Fail to Materialise
By Lynne Miles | 27 June 2006, 23:46
The Washington Post reports - with perhaps a touch of diappointment - that the predicted spike in demand for prostitutes has failed to materialise due to the World Cup in Germany. The Parliamentary Association of the Council of Europe and…
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A feminist response to Gluck Magazine
By Lynne Miles | 9 June 2006, 15:04
The Guardian women’s section today carries a review of new indie-porn-for-girls magazine, Gluck, written by the editors of the feminist fashion zine Pamflet. Gluck, which I haven’t seen myself, features ‘pale, skinny, sometimes hairy, indie boys in the comfort of…
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Elizabeth update
By Lynne Miles | 5 June 2006, 11:06
Some good news on the Elizabeth case, reported by Jess last week. Elizabeth wasn’t deported last week, and has been allowed a temporary reprieve until she has had her medical assessment on June 8th. Everyone is still worried about her,…
Trafficked women freed in the UK - but what about the World Cup?
By Lynne Miles | 10 May 2006, 15:37
Good news comes this morning that 19 trafficked women have been rescued by police from brothels across London and the West Midlands. Under the banner of the UK-wide Operation Pentameter, police have arrested two individuals believed to have been the…
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Budget 2006
By Lynne Miles | 22 March 2006, 16:02
Chancellor Gordon Brown set out what is likely to be his last budget earlier today. Amongst the more predictable economic, fiscal and other random measures announced, some points of interest include: \x95 Brown promised to double training for women with…
OC Rapists get 6 years
By Lynne Miles | 20 March 2006, 15:58
The three men at the centre of the infamous ‘OC rape case’ were sentenced last week to six years in prison. They were found guilty at a second trial, last March, after a hung jury forced a retrial in summer…
Sarler misses the point on rape campaign
By Lynne Miles | 16 March 2006, 17:59
Carol Sarler (in today\x92s G2) manages, so far as I can see, to completely miss several points on the current Home Office campaign regarding the rape law. Her argument is predicated on the idea that current Home Office campaign to…
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Feminists Googlebomb Bill Napoli
By Lynne Miles | 16 March 2006, 17:41
Candy at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels has a cunning plan to googlebomb Bill Napoli. To celebrate this South Dakota senator\x92s own special brand of misogynistic vileness, she has coined the verb \x91napoli\x92: napoli (not to be confused with…
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Parliament Debates Violence against Women
By Lynne Miles | 10 March 2006, 14:39
To mark International Women’s Day (oddly, a day late) the House of Commons held a debate on violence against women yesterday. Subjects covered included domestic violence, the representation of women in parliament, sex trafficking, gender-based violence against Guatemalen women, pornography,…
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International Women's Day 2006
By Lynne Miles | 8 March 2006, 12:03
Happy International Women\x92s Day, everyone! Thought I might start off by listing a few events I\x92ve come across happening around the UK to commemorate the day. This isn\x92t an exhaustive list, just a few that have caught my attention. Apologies…
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Capitalwoman 2006
By Lynne Miles | 9 February 2006, 15:20
Ken Livingstone is holding his third annual conference for women on Saturday 4th March. Capitalwoman is a forum for discussing the issues that matter to, and affect, women in London. It enables women to question the Mayor and other policymakers,…
Betty Friedan 1921-2006
By Lynne Miles | 7 February 2006, 14:23
Betty Friedan, credited with kick-starting second wave feminism, died last weekend on her 85th birthday. She was best know for her 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, which challenged the ‘Stepford Wives’ mentality of the American middle classes and said that…
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The Personal is Still Political
By Lynne Miles | 3 February 2006, 12:32
The BBC is carrying a report of a rape trial taking place in Scotland in which a drunk man attempted to rape and threatened to kill a woman on her way home. He has pleaded guilty to attempted rape (saying,…
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Alito confirmed to US Senate
By Lynne Miles | 1 February 2006, 12:26
The conservative judge Samuel Alito was confirmed by the US Congress yesterday to the Supreme Court - which seems to have been somewhat lost in the UK coverage of Bush’s State of the Nation speech. The Supreme Court is responsible…
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Quote of the Day
By Lynne Miles | 24 January 2006, 13:40
from Mind The Gap via Volsunga: When the feminist revolution is done, when every girl is raised to have high self- esteem and empowered by society to say “No”, when all young people receive proper sex education, when everyone has…
Nominate a Woman for an Honour
By Lynne Miles | 23 January 2006, 12:19
The government are today launching a campaign to correct the imbalance between male and female honour nominations. The UK Honour System website says that just 37% of honours are bestowed upon women “not because women achieve less than men […]…
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Rape prosecution of prostitutes’ clients “long overdue”
By Lynne Miles | 20 January 2006, 12:12
The lead article of this week’s New Statesman picks up the debate on prostitution with an attack on the men who use prostitutes. Joan Smith applauds the stance of being tough on the men who buy sex, and advocates we…
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Mixed Responses to the Prostitution Strategy
By Lynne Miles | 18 January 2006, 17:47
Responses have been mixed to the prostitution strategy published yesterday by the government. Some are disappointed by the decision not to introduce \x91tolerance zones\x92 such as have been adopted in other countries to help street prostitutes to be safer, others…
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Norway legislates for women in the boardroom
By Lynne Miles | 9 January 2006, 10:58
The Norwegian government has introduced a system of sanctions for the 500 companies listed on its stock exchange if they do not install female members on their board. The directive came into force on January 1st this year, and possible…
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Ball Breaking Women - anywhere?
By Lynne Miles | 5 January 2006, 14:46
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) published a report today which estimates that it will take 200 years for women to achieve equal power to men. It confirms the continued existence of the ‘glass ceiling’ for women in business, politics, more…
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2006 Bloggies - vote now!
By Lynne Miles | 5 January 2006, 13:49
In a shameless piece of self-promotion, I’d like to draw your attention to the existence of the Sixth Annual Weblog Awards - the Oscars of the weblogging world. If anyone cared to vote for us in any of the numerous…
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