At the Intersection of Racism & Sexism: The Murders and Disappearances of Indigenous Women

The months of October and November in Canada and the United States are focused on turkeys, feasts, black Friday, and celebrations with family— months full of gratitude for all that we have. “The First Thanksgiving” in what is now the United States occurred in 1621 with 53 pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians, and it was …

Virginity Testing: Women as Guardians of Virtue and Honor

Show me a culture that does not understand or teach consent and I’ll show you many cultures that absolve men of accountability, murder women in the name of honor, violate young girls, and exacerbate trauma. Across borders and state lines, cultures and languages, a common, shared experience of being a woman is violation of consent.  …

In Figures: The State of Women’s Health Around the World

The world’s population count reveals that women outnumber men; however, improving their lives and lengthening their lifespan is not on every government’s agenda. Women do enjoy better health services and greater rights in the developed world, but as the featured infographic suggests, the disparity can’t be missed as you scan and compare different areas of …

Soldiers & Survivors in the Military Injustice System

Every year, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) publishes a report on sexual assault within the military. During my summer internship with the nonprofit Protect Our Defenders, I searched through the report for relevant statistics (including the statistic showing that while the estimated prevalence rate …

Women, War & Peace II

If you are unfamiliar with the PBS documentary series Women, War & Peace, we invite you to learn more about this excellent source of insight and information at their website: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/ This series tells the previously untold “stories of women who risked their lives for peace, changing history in the process.” The second part of …

Women in the International Field

Article from a Guest Contributor The original post, written in Spanish, can be found here: https://womanstatslatina.wordpress.com/2019/04/16/informando-con-perspectiva-de-genero/ This English translation was graciously provided by the original author's WomanStats associate, JSMV.  Thinking about the role that women have played around international issues requires a deeper analysis of everyday dynamics and the discourses implemented by international entities. Such …

“The Chosen Ones”: Reflecting about Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking Through Movies

The first scene of the movie “The Chosen Ones” directed by David Pablos shows Ulises and Sofía, a young teenage couple, kissing. Don’t be fooled, however: this is not a love story. As the story progresses, we learn Ulises has been pushed by his family to lure young, beautiful women into the prostitution ring the …

Accountability for Rape

Several months ago, I was asked to update the WomanStats scale that compares reported rapes in countries across the globe (LRW-SCALE-4). Understanding that rapes are vastly underreported everywhere, I knew to take the numbers with a grain of salt. However, I realized that I had no idea of just how problematic the data on rape …

Rohingya Women: Victims, Survivors, and Fighters

The Rohingya, an ethnic and religious minority in Burma (also referred to as Myanmar), have become victims of government-sponsored genocide. Starting last August, the decades-long repression turned into what the U.N. has deemed as an ethnic cleansing. Burmese military are entering the Rakhine state, the region occupied by the Rohingya, setting fire to the local …

Silent Suffering

Most likely if someone raises the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), images of soldiers returning home from combat comes to mind. However, how often do we think of the other victims of PTSD? The silent victims? While it is true that soldiers often face PTSD and need to receive treatment, it is also true …