27 October 2006

Happy Anniversary

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 27 October 2006

19 October 2006

The Veil Mark 2

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 19 October 2006

13 October 2006

MPs and Peers call for action on trafficking

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 13 October 2006

12 October 2006

The Veil Question

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 12 October 2006

22 September 2006

Shocking language in Daily Mail

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 22 September 2006

23 August 2006

More activism…

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 23 August 2006

21 August 2006

Guardian Hot 15 Women

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 21 August 2006

17 July 2006

Keep an Eye out for …

… 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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 17 July 2006

3 July 2006

Hollaback, ladies

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 3 July 2006

MTV Exit

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 3 July 2006

30 June 2006

Pipped to the post

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 30 June 2006

29 June 2006

Wife-beater let off jail so he doesn't lose his job

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 29 June 2006

27 June 2006

World Cup Punters Fail to Materialise

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 27 June 2006

9 June 2006

A feminist response to Gluck Magazine

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 9 June 2006

5 June 2006

Elizabeth update

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,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 5 June 2006

10 May 2006

Trafficked women freed in the UK \x96 but what about the World Cup?

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 10 May 2006

22 March 2006

Budget 2006

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 22 March 2006

20 March 2006

OC Rapists get 6 years

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 20 March 2006

16 March 2006

Sarler misses the point on rape campaign

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 16 March 2006

Feminists Googlebomb Bill Napoli

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 16 March 2006

10 March 2006

Parliament Debates Violence against Women

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,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 10 March 2006

8 March 2006

International Women's Day 2006

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 8 March 2006

9 February 2006

Capitalwoman 2006

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,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 9 February 2006

7 February 2006

Betty Friedan 1921-2006

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 7 February 2006

3 February 2006

The Personal is Still Political

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,… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 3 February 2006

1 February 2006

Alito confirmed to US Senate

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 1 February 2006

24 January 2006

Quote of the Day

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 24 January 2006

23 January 2006

Nominate a Woman for an Honour

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 […]… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 23 January 2006

20 January 2006

Rape prosecution of prostitutes’ clients “long overdue”

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 20 January 2006

18 January 2006

Mixed Responses to the Prostitution Strategy

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 18 January 2006

9 January 2006

Norway legislates for women in the boardroom

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 9 January 2006

5 January 2006

Ball Breaking Women - anywhere?

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 5 January 2006

2006 Bloggies - vote now!

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… Read more...

Posted by Lynne Miles at 5 January 2006