"It may seem counter-intuitive, but there are things far more essential than love in a relationship."

Hands down the best festive inspo you'll get this season.

Protesters have glued themselves to handrails and shut down parliament this afternoon, chanting "close the camps" in a bid to break the bipartisan support for offshore detention of asylum seekers.

A rape victim was drunk? They flirted beforehand, or wore "revealing" clothing? In some European countries, up to 55 per cent of the population says that would make sexual intercourse without consent justifiable or acceptable.

'Tis the season to panic-buy something covered in spangles you don't even like, then feel guilty all the way home on the bus because you suspect it was made by an exploited Cambodian child.

This year, you can do better.

"Though I've flirted with the idea of investing in a mobility scooter, I've always held back because, truth be told, I'd be afraid to use it in public," writes Naomi Chainey.

Helen Mirren said the calendar was about finding "the amazing in something that's simple and human and real".

Are brand boycotts the most effective way to protest? Depends who you talk to.

Your move, Mariah.

My primary job remains my daughter. And it's a job that isn't remunerated. So here I am, depending on my husband to pay our mortgage. A dependence I find hard to bear now, but even harder during those early, wearing months.

"Being told by a white boy from Tassie that that his people pushed my people off a cliff #DefineAboriginal" - Miranda Tapsell

"It has morphed from something that was meant to be a best-guess indicator... to something you use to assess individuals and their health. There is no evidence to support that whatsoever."

"I mean, your demons never fully leave. But when you're using them to create something else, it almost gives them a purpose and feels like none of it was in vain."

Chanelle was working alone at the shop when a man entered. What followed left her shaken, but when she reported the incident to management she was told "boys will be boys".

The Sydney Morning Herald's special investigation into sexual harassment in the workplace: http://bit.ly/NotAskingForIt