Eliminating child porn on the web is a noble goal, but Canadian authorities may need to tread lightly in their efforts to search and destroy pedophiles. Why? If a new bill is introduced requiring “internet service providers to give subscriber data to police and national security agencies without a warrant, including names, unlisted phone numbers ...
Vancouver sex-trade workers and their lawyers brought their case to Canada’s Supreme Court on Thursday. They were there to argue the validity of a constitutional change to prostitution laws. Outside the court, other sex-workers and their supporters rallied for the cause. The fight to decriminalize prostitution has been a struggle, but the idea is spreading. ...
Maids are people too, at least according to a new ruling in Hong Kong. The city has a large expatriate community working in every industry from banking to child care. They are all able to apply for permanent residency status after seven years, which gives them more rights in the country — that is, except ...
Robert Pickton was convicted of killing six women when it’s believed that he could have murdered another 27. So where are his missing victims? Perhaps they’re forever lost, but we must continue to find out why so many crimes of violence against women weren’t properly investigated. The BC Missing Women Inquiry was commissioned to give ...
Since the beginning of 2011, nearly a dozen laws have been passed that limit a woman’s right to an abortion. Women are fighting back, but they need help. There seems to be a lack of passion and fury in today’s reproductive rights activists, and there may be a reason why: we don’t know what is ...
Tolerance is a quality a lot of people think they possess. In practice, it’s a little more complicated, especially when we tackle the subject of burqas. A Saudi student, Gawheer Saud Al Thaubity, was left in tears on the side of the road after she tried to board a bus with her son in Auckland, ...
Apparently, protecting victims of sexual assault will take away the rights of rapists. Every piece of good news seems to come with ignorance and hate attached to it. It really just makes me want to puke. The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE) was proposed last week, and already there are groups trying to shut ...
Two big changes regarding transgender rights have been proposed this week. One would legally recognize transgendered citizens as a third gender, and one would refuse to recognize a sex change. Let’s see if you can guess which law was proposed in the US and which in Pakistan. If you guessed that Pakistan proposed recognizing a ...
In the early 20th century, women fought hard for the right to vote. In 2011, some still are. Suffrage may have been a battle women won in countries like the United States, where the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920 and put a halt to the males-only rule at the polls, but it’s an ongoing ...
It is ethical for a doctor to let a patient die, even though he could save her? A new piece of legislation, the “Protect Life Act,” includes a provision which would allow doctors to refuse to perform abortions, even in cases where it would save the life of the mother. Presently, doctors may refuse to ...
So, we’re having this baby. It’s due in a few weeks and we’re trying to get organized with all...
I recently heard about what is claimed to be the rising phenomenon of Japanese men remaining virgins for longer...
Ladders. Patriarchal conspiracy. I’ll explain… This week I climbed a ladder. I was trying to reach a loft space,...
Dear Madame X, My boyfriend needs to look at porn while we have sex. It bothers me because I...
Mrs. Dalloway is yet another feminist classic that I had to grow into. Wrapped up in Woolf’s instantly recognizable...
Last week saw a Big Thing come to our soggy little island. Well, it was a Big Thing for...
Last weekend I was entertaining a guest, you know, the sort I was planning to have lots and lots...
All little girls want to be princesses… right?! It’s bad enough that toy aisles are separated out by what...
