“Amreeka” Film Showing 4.18.2011

On Monday, April 18, 2011 the Ethnic Studies Program hosted a film showing of the film Amreeka. Amreeka is the story of an immigrant family’s journey to the US and their introduction to American culture. It also a continuation of their lesson in raw prejudice. Amreeka first deals with problems that many immigrants to US … Read more

Malaysia’s anti-gay camp violates law, says minister

This article from the BBC details a the Malaysian Women’s Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s response to a camp that claims to “un-gay” young Muslim boys.  She maintains that characterizing these supposedly effeminate teenage boys as gay or transsexual, and then attempting to “correct” their behavior will be detrimental to their mental and emotional health. Though this is the … Read more

Supply and Demand

This article explores how the United States is (very) slowly waking up to something that was realized in Sweden long ago (and was proven to work!)…that in order to truly combat the commercial sex trade (both consensual and non-consensual) they must penalize the demand and not the supply. In short, the johns and not the … Read more

Pregnant Woman Jailed for Attempting Suicide

I’m beginning to think that I need to post more light-hearted and uplifting articles on this blog!  But, continuing in my (depressing) habits, here is an article about a pregnant Illinois woman who attempted suicide after her boyfriend and business partner left her after she found out he had another family.  Distraught, she drank rat … Read more

Colleges, Universities Told to Do More to Prevent Sexual Assaults

The issue of sexual assault on college campuses has come to the forefront recently, as Vice President Joe Biden took to the airwaves to discuss the issue last week.  As many who are involved in this blog know, my research is dedicated to this topic – so of course I find it heartening to see … Read more

Humanitarian Organizations Must Involve Refugee Women in Planning Reproductive Health Programs

–Rachel Girmus In 2009, the UN Refugee Agency reported that 21.8 million worldwide are “persons of concern;” these include refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless persons, spread over 140 countries. Of these, 80% are women and children who fled their home countries due to conflict and human rights violations. Women are disproportionately affected by every … Read more