Kirsten Gillibrand, a senator and now-Democratic presidential primary candidate who risked losing the support of big donors and some centrist Democrats by calling for Al Franken’s resignation, will continue to call out Congress for their failure to adequately address sexual assault in the workplace, on college campuses, in the military—and in Congress. She reiterated her support for victims of sexual misconduct at a CNN Town Hall on Tuesday night, and pledged to continue to fight for legislation to combat assault and harassment.
“I believe deeply that we have to end sexual violence in this country. Because fundamentally it goes to a very simple question: do we value women?” she said. “And unfortunately, there’s a lot of evidence that we don’t.”
Category: Sexual Equality
George Mason Students Protest School's Hiring of Brett Kavanaugh
“It was really disrespectful to survivors to have Kavanaugh and everything he represents to teach at a branch of our university,” Sarah Kurian, a sophomore at George Mason and a member of Mason For Survivors, told Jezebel. Kurian, who says she was sexually assaulted her freshman year by a classmate, connected Kavanaugh’s appointment to her own experiences filing a Title IX complaint. She ultimately lost her case, she said, “because it was my statement versus his statement.” Of the law school’s decision to hire Kavanaugh, she said, “It just shows that we really haven’t taken that many steps forward in caring about the issue of sexual assault.” Kavanaugh, she added, “is just a symptom of a bigger issue within our administration.”
via George Mason Students Protest School's Hiring of Brett Kavanaugh
Alex Lovell: ‘He said he was close enough to smell my hair’ – BBC News
Stalking takes different forms – don’t excuse it. Victims of all sorts of crimes often doubt and blame themselves.
No-one asks to be stalked.
Make a note of everything. How you feel is as powerful as physical evidence in this crime.
Believe me – if it started with a seemingly innocent bunch of flowers, but escalated to the point that you were afraid to leave the house – you would find it hard to remember each odd thing that had built up to this terrible situation.
Tell someone: all my neighbours, friends and closest colleagues knew about my situation and I found enormous reassurance in their protection.
Tell the police if you can.
via Alex Lovell: ‘He said he was close enough to smell my hair’ – BBC News
New Jersey Judge John F. Russo, Jr. Suspended
A New Jersey judge with some worthless opinions on sexual assault prevention faces a three month suspension after allegedly asking a woman seeking a restraining order if she “closed her legs” in order to prevent an assault, among other abuses of authority.
At a May 2016 hearing, in which an unnamed woman appeared in court hoping to get a restraining order against a man she claimed sexually assaulted her, threatened her life, and made “inappropriate comments” to their child, Ocean County, New Jersey superior court judge John F. Russo, Jr. reportedly had the following condescending and absolutely wrong things to say:
Public sex banned in two New Orleans gay bars investigation
Two New Orleans leather bars known for their cruising scenes have been hit in recent months with charges, fines, and a shutdown in sexual activity (which is barred in public venues by Louisiana State Laws). Some have assumed that the impositions on Phoenix and Rawhide 2010 have been politically motivated, perhaps the result of a homophobic witch hunt (“an attack on one of us is an attack on all us,” read a message posted by Phoenix management on the bar’s Facebook in February), but a recent article in New Orleans LGBTQ magazine Ambush paints a more nuanced picture of investigations arising from direct complaints that are the result of community in-fighting and sexual discrimination.
via Public sex banned in two New Orleans gay bars investigation
Teacher Fired After Topless Photo Leaked to Students
This year, Lauren Miranda, a 25-year-old middle-school teacher from Long Island, became eligible for tenure at her job. “I loved my job, I never woke up in the morning and didn’t want to go,” she recently told the press, adding “I really thought this is where I was going to spend the next thirty years of my life.” But last week, she was fired, after the South County School District in Bellport, Long Island caught wind that that an old topless photo of Miranda’s had been leaked to students.
The photo was taken three years ago, and according to local reports, Miranda says she sent it to her then-boyfriend, who taught in the same school district. Miranda says she does not know how the photo got into the hands of the students, and that the district discriminated against her because of her gender.
Ousted Nevada Rep. Ruben Kihuen Loses Las Vegas Council Run
A former Nevada congressman ousted over allegations of sexual harassment was looking to make his political comeback in the race for Las Vegas City Council on Tuesday. He missed his chance—barely.
Former Nevada Rep. Ruben Kihuen came just five votes away from winning a spot on the June general election ballot in the race to become a councilman for Ward 3. The top vote-getter, Olivia Diaz, got 33 percent with 1,016 votes, while the first runner up, Melissa Clary, narrowly beat Kihuen with 28 percent and 866 votes, meaning both will appear on the general election ballot in June, according to the Nevada Independent. Kihuen got 861 votes.
In 2017, three women who worked with Kihuen said he sexually harassed them. In 2018, the House Ethics Committee found the women’s allegations to be credible. According to Roll Call, the committee reported Kihuen “made persistent and unwanted advances towards women who were required to interact with him as part of their professional responsibilities.”
via Ousted Nevada Rep. Ruben Kihuen Loses Las Vegas Council Run
Police Reportedly Let Dahvie Vanity Off With a Warning After a Teenager Accused Him of Sexual Assault
In June 2007, a 14-year-old girl told Pinellas County, Florida police that Jesus David Torres, known as Dahvie Vanity in the scene band Blood on the Dance Floor, had forced her to perform oral sex. Police let the then-22-year-old Torres off with a warning. In the years since, dozens more women have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.
According to HuffPost, Dianna Farrell was a shy kid who had trouble making friends when Torres allegedly began messaging her on Myspace. Torres hadn’t formed his band yet but was a popular hairdresser with a fairly large following on the platform. He drove across the state to do Farrell’s hair, and afterwards, she says he forced her to perform oral sex. Unable to process the assault, Farrell later called in to a Christian talk radio show where teens discussed their problems. The show’s host alerted police, and from there, Florida police did nothing:
Former Netflix Employee Says She Was Fired Over Pregnancy
A former Netflix executive says that the company fired her after she announced she was pregnant.
Variety reports that Tania Zarak, who worked as a manager in Netflix’s international originals division and filed a lawsuit against the company on Tuesday, says she was left out of meetings after announcing her pregnancy in early November 2018. She says that her boss Francisco Ramos began to ignore her in the office, make rude comments about her appearance, and even had her removed from a show she was working on.
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00:00After Zarak complained to HR, Ramos called her in to his office to ask when she would be taking maternity leave. Variety reports:
via Former Netflix Employee Says She Was Fired Over Pregnancy
Fifty shades of white: the long fight against racism in romance novels | Books | The Guardian
The subtext of the event was clear: it was not just a celebration of romance novels, but a celebration of diversity within an industry that has long been marked by pervasive racism. For decades, publishers had confined many black romance authors to all-black lines, marketed only to black readers. Some booksellers continued to shelve black romances separately from white romances, on special African American shelves. Accepted industry wisdom told black authors that putting black couples on their covers could hurt sales, and that they should replace them with images of jewellery, or lawn chairs, or flowers. Other authors of colour had struggled to get representation within the genre at all.
via Fifty shades of white: the long fight against racism in romance novels | Books | The Guardian