News Features

Abortion laws

UN says Ireland's anti-abortion laws are a cruel violation of human rights

Max Bearak The report said the laws subjected one woman to discrimination and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

'That's the girl you sold me': Colliers in sexual harassment suit

Patrick Hatch A top executive at real estate giant Colliers International is being sued by his former assistant over allegations he tried to force her face into his crotch, attempted to look up her skirt and undressed in front of her.

Clinton makes history, wins outright in three states

Paul McGeough Hillary Clinton has claimed the Democratic nomination, making her the first female candidate in US history to win the backing of a major political party in a run for president.

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ANALYSIS

Clinton needs a big win in California

Paul McGeough The Associated Press has called Hillary Clinton as the winner in the Democratic nomination race. So what now?

Scots College asks church for advice on same-sex parents

Eryk Bagshaw Sydney's most expensive private school wants to be prepared in the event that a same-sex couple asks to enrol their child at the school.

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Domestic Violence

The heightened victim blaming when sexism intersects with race

Celeste Liddle The reporting of the horrific death of Yvette Rigney-Wilson and her two young children last week was despicable, Celeste Liddle writes.

Refugee women on Nauru are exposed to horrific trauma every day

Jenna Price No matter how little our government wants to tell us, we know that women on Nauru are being violated every single day.

Domestic Violence

Natasha Stott-Despoja speaks out on 'chilling' domestic violence numbers

This week, Our Watch is holding talks in Adelaide to determine how to drive national change against the domestic violence crisis.

Apps

'What you going to do faggot?'

Hannah Francis Uber driver's homophobic tirade at passenger caught on tape.

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Stanford rape

'You took away my worth': Rape survivor's compelling message to her attacker

Lindsey Bever The District Attorney called it "the most eloquent, powerful and compelling piece of victim advocacy that I've seen in my 20 years."

Labor unveils $3 billion childcare plan

Nicole Hasham, Jane Lee The Turnbull government has rubbished Labor's $3 billion childcare cash-splash, which includes a rise in the annual rebate to $10,000 per child.

Why the back-pedalling on medical marijuana?

Fiona Patten I'm declaring my usage or non-usage of cannabis just so everyone knows where I'm coming from.

University suspends Safe Schools co-founder Roz Ward over Facebook post

Henrietta Cook La Trobe University has suspended the co-founder of anti-bullying program Safe Schools Coalition after she said the Australian flag was racist in a Facebook post.

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Politician receives more than 600 rape threats in one night

A British politician has revealed she received more than 600 rape threats in one night after launching a campaign against sexist online bullying.

Christian Lobby likens gay marriage to Nazi atrocities

Michael Koziol 'We have much to learn from the dead', says Lyle Shelton is a blog post.

Single-sex schools in transition as transgender students gain acceptance

Henrietta Cook Jeremy Beach was the only male student at his Catholic girls' school.

Duncan Storrar to buy $6000 'toaster' for the homeless

Larissa Ham After a rollercoaster ride from hero to 'villain', infamous Q&A; questioner Duncan Storrar has found a way to disperse the $60,000 he never asked for.

DV leave

Domestic violence leave would mean fewer jobs for women: Cash

Noel Towell Minister for Women's comments are "beyond bizarre" says public service union.

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Marital rape no longer allowed and suicide, homosexuality not a crime at Nauru

Nicole Hasham The isolated island republic has updated its antiquated criminal code.

Emotional Nova Peris slams critics

Fergus Hunter Outgoing Northern Territory senator Nova Peris has rebuked critics of her shock resignation, defending her legacy and pointing to the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians.

Anti-trans violence

Transgender activist dies after being shot six times and then denied treatment

Max Bearak That Alesha faced the same neglect and discrimination at the hospital, and ultimately died from it, seems a sad foregone conclusion.

DIY abortion

Up against strict laws, Texas women are learning do-it-yourself abortions

Ellen Wulfhorst So far, the number of Texas women who have taken the option of a self-induced abortion could be as high as 100,000 to 240,000.

Sexist attack on Taiwan's new president scrubbed from Chinese state media

Philip Wen An editorial that said Taiwan's president has "extreme" political views because she is unmarried and childless has sparked a backlash on Chinese social media.

Age of consent

Queensland finally catching up on age of consent laws

Amy Remeikis After decades of inaction, the Palaszczuk Labor Government will introduce legislation to standardise the age of consent, bringing an end to one of the State's most discriminatory laws.

Veteran affairs

Female WWII pilots no longer barred from US's Arlington National Cemetery

Rachel Weiner "I had to leave work early because I couldn't concentrate - that's how happy I am," the granddaughter of a pilot who died last year said.

Abortion access

Greens pledge $15m to make abortions easier

Cameron Atfield The Greens have pledged to make it safer, cheaper and easier for women to get abortions.

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Campus rape

A brutal initiation into campus life

Henrietta Cook and Timna Jacks Emma Hunt's first taste of university life was brutal.

Surprising backer joins marriage equality cause

Michael Koziol The Victorian branch of the Country Women's Association has become the latest high-profile group to throw its support behind marriage equality.

International students 'silent' victims of assault and harassment

Cosima Marriner It was 3am when Sabeena Mozaffar started getting Facebook messages from a fellow student offering to pay her for sexual favours.

Abortion rights

Oklahoma legislature passes bill making it a felony to perform abortions

Mark Berman According to the measure, a person who performs or induces an abortion will be punished with between one and three years in the state penitentiary.

Sydney Uni cracks down on colleges

Eryk Bagshaw A joint task force is being set up to tackle the culture of the university's residential colleges.

Airbnb sued for ignoring host racism

Erik Larson and Andrew Harris Airbnb is being sued for allegedly ignoring complaints of a black man that his room reservation was rejected because of his race.

Women likely losers from July 2 vote

Tom McIlroy Outgoing Liberal MP Sharman Stone✓ has warned the number of women in Parliament is likely to fall after the July 2 election.

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Military progress

US Senate confirms first openly gay Army Secretary

Karoun Demirjian Eric Fanning is the first openly gay leader of any US military service, five years after the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'.

'I don't remember anything'

Eryk Bagshaw Kendra Murphy was horrified when her name was broadcast on the weekly ''lolly buffet''.

Transgender rights

Canada is legislating to formally ban discrimination against transgender people

Ian Austen Discrimination against transgender people will be formally banned, and crimes against them will be included in the country's hate crimes law.

Uni assaults

One-quarter of Sydney Uni students harassed

Kelsey Munro ''Any incident that goes unreported is a cause for concern'', university says.

'Illiterate and innumerate' refugees 'would take Australian jobs'

Latika Bourke Illiterate and innumerate refugees will take Australian jobs or languish on the dole and use free health services provided by Medicare, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has warned.

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Duncan Storrar

Duncan Storrar has broken his silence after being viciously targeted by media

Jenny Noyes News Corp outlets knew he had serious mental health issues but went after him anyway. All for asking a simple question.

Victim-blaming

Bullied kids told to stop playing the victim

Henrietta Cook Children who are bullied are whingers that need to "stop playing the victim", according to a resilience coach hired by an elite Melbourne private school.

Uniform row

Girls should wear pants at school too: mother

Emily Woods A Melbourne mother has launched a campaign calling for gender equality in school uniforms.

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump's history of questionable behaviour with women revealed

Frank McGurty The New York Times has interviewed dozens of women who have worked for Donald Trump, revealing a pattern of unsettling personal behaviour.

Campus harassment

'Systemic': uni students reveal assault and harassment on campus

Cosima Marriner Blythe Worthy was tucked away on a deserted floor of the uni library studying, unaware an older man was watching her and masturbating.

The rich-poor divide in abortion numbers around the world

Ariana Eunjung Cha A new analysis of global abortions shows a stark divide between what's happening in wealthier, developed countries versus their their poorer and less developed counterparts.

Election 2016

Bill Shorten commits $65m to family violence services

Adam Gartrell Bill Shorten has promised Labor will provide funding certainty to the organisations delivering family violence services if it wins government.

Inappropriate or not? Board member resigns after gay ex-student kicked out of private school event

Emma D'Agostino, Liam Mannix, Ebony Bowden A board member at an exclusive Christian private school has quit after a young gay man has been thrown out of an event – for dressing inappropriately.

Elizabeth Warren emerges as slayer of Donald Trump on Twitter

Ashley Parker A liberal, 66-year-old first-term Democratic senator from Massachusetts, seems to have come up way to rattle the New York billionaire - attack him on his home turf, Twitter.

Feeling unsafe

Should girls go out after dark? One in three young women say no

Miki Perkins Do you feel safe going out at night? Many young women feel it's their responsibility to change their behaviour and stay alert in public places.

Tara Moss: 'The sexual abuse stories I'll never forget'

Rosemarie Milsom After hearing too many horrifying confidences in response to her first non-fiction book, Tara Moss now urges women to speak out against abuse of all kinds - and explains how they can make themselves heard.

DPP calls in independent legal advice to review tragic death of Lynette Daley

Ava Benny-Morrison The Director of Public Prosecutions has taken the rare step of calling on independent legal minds to review the death of NSW mother Lynette Daley following growing criticism.

'She could avoid this incident happening by sitting in the back seat'

Adam Cooper Victim could have avoided assault 'by sitting in the back seat', defence lawyer tells court.

Anti-abortion extremism

Judge declares Planned Parenthood suspect unfit for trial

Jack Healy The judge said Robert Lewis Dear Jr. had delusions and paranoia that impaired his understanding of the proceedings.

Wesley College

Female students defamed, slut-shamed in Wesley College journal

Jenny Noyes Yet another Sydney University college has been exposed for its shocking culture of sexual harassment - this time in print.

Philippines

Philippines elects first transgender politician to Congress

Elahe Izadi "The politics of bigotry, hatred and discrimination did not triumph," Geraldine Roman said. "What triumphed was the politics of love, acceptance and respect."

Duncan puts human face on budget battle

Michael Koziol, Daniel Cherny The post-budget back-and-forth between government and opposition can easily seem vague, with both sides trading soundbites about "growth" and "fairness" that probably leave most voters unmoved.

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