News roundup for January 2005

The news section has now been replaced by The F-Word blog

MSPs back breastfeeding and ban

porn

BBC Report

BBC Report

It was all go in the Scottish Parliament in late 2004. A widely supported bill to make it

illegal to ban women from breastfeeding in public was

passed. MSPs praised the strong political message

that said “breastfeeding isn’t something shameful.”

An Equal Ops committee of MSPs have backed a call to

ban adult pornography. They support a petition from

Scottish Women Against Pornography that claims a link

between porn and sexual crimes. While acknowledging

the difficulties and controversy in the plan, one MSP

said the “big business” of pornography can be ignored

no longer.

‘Men only’ branch for church?

BBC Report

The Anglican church has considered starting a male-clergy

only branch to solve the row over whether women can

become bishops. The C of E report also contemplated

continuing to allow women to become priests but

preventing them being ordained as bishops. The church

first ordained women priests ten years ago but

opponents believe that as Jesus only had men as

apostles, it is fundamentally wrong to allow women to

lead the church.

Girl accused of having ‘rape fantasies’

BBC Report

A girl who was allegedly gang-raped by footballers has

been accused of fantasising about being raped and

wanting to leave home to become a ‘whore.’ The

teenager told the court that poems with a rape theme

were not about her and denied being a “fantasist with

a vivid imagination.” The defence for one footballer,

Shane Sutherland, claimed that the 15-year-old

consented to any sexual activity that took place.

Mum’s the word

BBC Report

‘Mother’ is the most beautiful word in the English

language, according to a survey of non-English

speakers, while ‘father’ did not even make the list.

The British Council, which carried out the poll, said:

“All of us have a mother and have a reasonable idea

of who that person is, it’s one piece of certainty we

can have and it’s also a very powerful word in a

variety of cultures.” Other words on the list include

peekaboo, oi, and zing.

More news headlines from this month…

  • 40 schoolgirls suspended after threatening to kill a

    girl in row over a boy

  • Women’s prison conditions ‘disturbing’
  • UK pay gap ‘wider than thought’ (especially in

    Aberdeen)

  • Pill may cut heart disease risk
  • Vaccine against cervical cancer available soon
  • Major study launched into why women do not progress in

    certain job areas

  • Fall in bogus minicab driver sex assaults
  • Stress linked to miscarriages
  • Reforms launched to protect ethnic minority women from

    domestic abuse

  • Atkins diet ‘works better on men’
  • Obese women ‘lose brain tissue’
  • HRT ‘should only be used as a short-term measure’
  • Fewer conceptions among under 16s
  • Too few women have breast scans
  • Routine domestic abuse checks for mothers-to-be
  • More help needed with home births, say NCT
  • Call for late abortion (20-24 weeks ) services
  • More teenage girls than boys binge drink
  • Mother carrying UK’s first ‘designer baby’
  • ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ women binge drinkers targeted by new

    ads

  • Boots considers selling sex toys
  • Labour party women-only lists ‘bar ethnic minorities’