Let Them Know

I remember when I was in high school, writing applications for college.  The essay prompts and recommendations talked about a defining moment in your life.  Up to that point, at age 17 or 18, I couldn’t really think of any.  I mean, there were various events and projects and people that I will remember for …

Home of the Brave?

As a researcher for the WomanStats Project, I read about heinous crimes committed against women across the globe every single day.  With every new article or government report I realize the great extent to which my status as an American citizen has sheltered me from these great perils.  And I am grateful.  As a young …

Violence Against Native American Women

Native American women living on reservations in the US experience a disproportionate amount of violence compared to non-Native women.  This is a complex situation, involving historical and continued discrimination, poverty and the associated problems including alcoholism, with no easy solution.  A significant part of this problem, however, is the fact that non-Native men have de …

Totality of Perspective: Lynn Holland

Lynn Holland was at home one night, watching the news- something that most of us do, but what Holland saw and did was unique. In fact, it became a first. She saw an American police officer standing in Haiti with a woman who had been injured in a domestic violence situation. Because of the laws …

Whose Prisoner’s Dilemma?

In one of my classes the other day, we played "Prisoner's Dilemma." This game required two teams and specific players on each team to act as negotiators with the same actors from the opposite team. This is a game of strategy and I had actually never played it before. While males in the class may …

Wardrobe Problems

Iran has recently decided that its dress codes for women requiring the covering of most of her body are not strict enough. Police authorities state they have doubled the number of officers assigned to crack down on dress codes, and the crackdown will continue until “society is clean of any immoralities.” In Iran, women are …

The Things a Badge Lets You Get Away With

It is alarming the kinds of things that people in authority, especially police officers and security forces, can get away with in Rwanda. Having a badge is power, and police officers in Rwanda are using this power to abuse women-because they can. The Country Report on Human Rights for 2007 in Rwanda records these crimes …