TIME
(UNITED NATIONS) The U.N. crime-fighting office said Tuesday that 2.4 million people across the globe are victims of human trafficking at any one time, and 80 percent of them are being exploited as sexual slaves. Read more
In some cases, women were pushed out of positions that required heavy lifting. (That’s against the law.) “As part of the investigation, we spoke with FedEx employees who told us that, for example, women would only get hired in the ‘smalls’ sections, Read More
The Summer Olympics in London could be a watershed event for international sports as every participating nation is expected to field at least one female athlete, including three Muslim countries Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei that have previously sent only male competitors.
Saudi Arabia, a monarchy whose legal system is based on Islamic law, is considered the most significant of the three, given its size, international oil influence and severe restrictions placed on women in daily life. While female athletes from Qatar and Brunei have participated in national and regional competitions, Saudi Arabia has essentially barred sports for women, according to Human Rights Watch.
A pan-Arab newspaper based in London, Al-Hayat, reported Tuesday that the Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has approved the participation of female athletes in London as long as their sports “meet the standards of women’s decency and don’t contradict Islamic laws.” Read more
(Reuters) - Utah’s Republican governor signed a law extending a required waiting period for women seeking an abortion to 72 hours on Tuesday, even though a similar requirement in South Dakota has been blocked in court, a spokeswoman said.
The decision by Governor Gary Herbert is expected to meet with approval from social conservatives in the heavily Republican state just four days after he upset some members of his party by vetoing a bill to curb sex education in schools. Read more
DIAA HADID, Associated Press
JERUSALEM a new Israeli law bans showing overly thin models from local advertising in an attempt to fight the spread of eating disorders.
It also requires publications to disclose when they use altered images of models to make the women and men appear even thinner than they really are.
The law, passed late Monday, appears to be the first attempt by a government to use legislation to take on a fashion industry accused of abetting eating disorders by idealizing extreme thinness. It could become an example for other countries grappling with the spread of anorexia and bulimia, particularly among young women.
The law’s supporters said they hoped it would encourage the use of healthy models in local advertising and heighten awareness of digital tricks that transform already thin women into illusory waifs.
Millions more see lower prescription drug costs, stand to gain health insurance coverage
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Under the Affordable Care Act, 45.1 million women – including 20.4 million women with private health insurance and 24.7 million women with Medicare – can receive recommended preventive services with no cost-sharing, new data released today by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius show.
More than one million young adult women have already gained health insurance coverage because of the law and 13 million more women will gain coverage by 2016. Without the health care law, these women would remain uninsured.
The data highlighted in an issue brief by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation show that Affordable Care Act provisions are already improving women’s health by making recommended preventive care services more accessible and increasing access to health insurance coverage. Read more
According to the poll, 62% say that birth control is woman’s health issue compared to only 33% who say it’s a matter of religious liberty. Read more
There are three reasons some Republicans are trying to block the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act: Gays, immigrants, and Native Americans.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which first passed in 1994 and has been reauthorized twice since then, increased federal penalties for domestic violence and provided funding for groups and services that aid victims of domestic abuse. The bill hit the bipartisan sweet spot of being both tough on crime and oriented toward women’s rights. Usually it’s reauthorized without much fanfare. This time around, however, several Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), are putting up a fight. read more
WASHINGTON — Women still pay more than men for the same health insurance coverage, according to new research and data from online brokers.
The new health care law will prohibit such “gender rating,” starting in 2014. But gaps persist in most states, with no evidence that insurers have taken steps to reduce them.
For a popular Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in Chicago, a 30-year-old woman pays $375 a month, which is 31 percent more than what a man of the same age, pays for the same coverage, according to eHealthInsurance.com, a leading online source of health insurance.
In a report to be issued this week, the National Women’s Law Center, a research and advocacy group, says that in states that have not banned gender rating, more than 90 percent of the best-selling health plans charge women more than men. Read more
During the past 40 years, great progress has been made by women in leadership positions in the fields of education, law, commerce, politics and many others. I feel, with no small amount of pride, that great strides have been made here in our state, efforts in which I and many, many others have participated. In the early 1970s, women (and some men) in our state worked tirelessly for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and in 1975, North Dakota became the 34th state to pass the ERA. Read more
Still, there is a great deal more work to be done. What is painful is that nearly 40 years later, women are still fighting for equality.
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