- Today, women in Belfast dressed as handmaids and took abortion pills at a protest in Belfast. A robot that was distributing the pills was seized by police and one woman was removed from the protest after swallowing a pill. Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where abortion remains illegal.
- Four hundred Rohingya women in refugee camps have formed a group called Shanti Mohila, which means “peace women.” Yesterday, they submitted a formal request to the International Criminal Court to have the Burmese government investigated for genocide and persecution. Their submission included their individual testimonies emphasizing the brutal sexual violence women have been subjected to.
- Earlier this week, construction started on a safe house for women and children fleeing violence on the Woyenne Indian Reservation in Burns Lake, BC. A 2006 report recommended that a network of 22 safe houses be built in communities along the “Highway of Tears” where Indigenous women have gone missing and been murdered.
- Morgan Freeman’s legal team has demanded that CNN issue a retraction of and an apology for their report on sexual harassment allegations against the actor.
- A new study reports on the excuses that male chairs and CEO’s of publicly traded companies make to explain why they don’t have more women on their boards:
“Outrageous explanations for not appointing more women include suggestions they are not able to understand the ‘extremely complex’ issues FTSE boards deal with and the idea women do not want the ‘hassle or pressure’ of sitting on a top board.”