Year: 2018

(OpenDemocracy) – Men’s rights activists (MRAs) met in London last month at one of the largest gatherings of anti-feminists in the world. 50.50’s dispatch from the conference aroused an angry backlash, as MRAs mobilised their supporters to try to discredit our report and drown out any positive response to it. They left hundreds of comments under the article and on social media – which run from the misguided but sincere, through foolish and provocative to misleading, abusive, and hateful. They show what we’re up against, and reflect the abuse that women journalists so…

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North America (Conversation) – Women in Canada and the United States face extraordinary difficulties in seeking the birth control method of sterilization. When going to medical professionals to ask about the procedure, they often hear something like, “You’ll regret it” or “Get your husband to do it.” The most common reason medical professionals provide for denying women’s voluntary sterilization is potential future regret. There are many studies on the possibility of women regretting sterilization. The most commonly cited study from the U.S. finds that the rate of women’s post-sterilization regret…

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Australia (Conversation) – Women comprise 42% of Australia’s homeless population. Not only do many women become homeless due to family violence, homelessness can expose them to further gendered violence. Research shows homeless women experience violence – or feel vulnerable to it – in crisis accommodation, such as private rooming houses and motels, to which housing services often refer them due to the scarcity of more suitable alternatives. For my recently published book I interviewed 15 women aged 18-25 about their experiences of managing homelessness in Melbourne. The women described how…

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Florida, United States (Conversation) – Editor’s note: Two large-scale algae outbreaks in Florida are killing fish and threatening public health. Along the southwest coast, one of the longest-lasting red tide outbreaks in the state’s history is affecting more than 100 miles of beaches. Meanwhile, discharges of polluted fresh water from Lake Okeechobee and polluted local runoff water from the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee watersheds have caused blooms of blue-green algae in downstream estuaries on both coasts. Karl Havens, a professor at the University of Florida and director of the Florida…

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United States (Conversation) – For decades, U.S. media companies have limited the content they’ve offered based on what’s good for business. The decisions by Apple, Spotify, Facebook and YouTube to remove content from commentator Alex Jones and his InfoWars platform follow this same pattern. My research on media industries makes clear that government rules and regulations do little to limit what television shows, films, music albums, video games and social media content are available to the public. Business concerns about profitability are much stronger restrictions. Movies are given ratings based…

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