- Moroccan women working in Spain’s strawberry industry say police ignore reports of labour trafficking, harassment, and sexual abuse.
- An Italian woman fears that three men she accused of rape will seek vengeance after an appeals court released them on bail, ruling that the woman’s medical history makes her untrustworthy.
- For the first time, Afghanistan’s Taliban will include women in their peace talks when meeting with US officials in Qatar this month to find an end to the 17 year war in their country.
- A survey of births across 12 countries reveals a deficit of 23.1 million women since 1970, compared to projected numbers based on the natural birth rate. Wired reports:
“’Attitudes have really swung a lot, even in China,’ [Therese Hesketh, a global health researcher at University College London] says. ‘Now it’s culturally unacceptable to even talk about sex-selective abortions, and having a daughter is seen as a really positive thing.’ It may take decades for countries like China to get back within the biologically normal range of 102 to 107 male to 100 female births, but demography researchers won’t have to wait that long to plug in more accurate estimates.”
- Maternal mortality rates have doubled in the U.S. since 1987. Data reveals racism is a critical factor, with black women three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related conditions.