Wins and losses – the prosecution of sexual violence

A tale of two legal systems. In each legal system, there is a woman has been sexually assaulted. Each woman is subjected to some sort of abuse by the person who is supposed to be prosecuting the sexual assault. The similarities end there.

Read Full Post »

That’s a pretty big teaspoon!

(Yes, all my posts at the moment are coming from The Guardian. The journalism there is not perfect, but they do some pretty interesting stories that the media here in Australia doesn’t seem to even get wind of.) Some Israeli women wield the teaspoon of civil disobedience and smuggle Palestinian women out of the West [...]

Read Full Post »

Quick hit: the best interests of the child

Two articles in The Guardian today which bear some thinking about. 1. A study has been conducted which seems to suggest that if a child is abused, that child will do better in the long term if sie is removed from hir family and not returned. That may well be what the study found. And [...]

Read Full Post »

Quickhit: woman sues bus company for refusal to take wheelchair

A woman is suing a bus company which refused to take her wheelchair (and so would not transport her). Gemma Namey, a solicitor with [Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which is representing the woman], said the case could have major implications. ”This is a first, we believe, as there has been no previous test to enforce [...]

Read Full Post »

A month of detention without review

[TRIGGER WARNING for forced detention following diagnosis of mental illness.] Imagine a world in which you could be held by a government agency, against your will, for up to a month. If you have a mental illness, that is now a real possibility. Deborah Snow has reported on changes for the SMH – that’s actually [...]

Read Full Post »

An appropriate malapropism?

There’s an interesting article in the Guardian today about a report which demonstrates a 17 year gap in the ‘disability-free life expectancy’ of the withs and withouts in the UK. That’s an enormous gap! This quote caught my eye: The report says the conditions in which people are born, live, work and age, shape their [...]

Read Full Post »

It should be difficult

I am against the death penalty. In all circumstances. Ohio is planning to execute Kenneth Biros by way of an experimental lethal injection. Currently, where a US state executes a person by lethal injection, three drugs are given. This is supposed to be a humane and painless way to die. Research has been done that [...]

Read Full Post »

Kurt Fearnley vs Jetstar

You might have heard the name Kurt Fearnley. He’s an Australian Paralympic athlete (marathon) who recently took on the Kokoda Track. He usually uses a wheelchair. The Kokoda Track is hardly wheelchair accessible. Fearnley walked on his arms. Fearnley took a Jetstar flight on his way home, and staff insisted that he check in his [...]

Read Full Post »