In the 12-hour period following Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, six women were killed. At least 28 women were killed in February 2021 alone, with further reports of 300 femicides and 171 more women found dead under suspicious circumstances in Turkey last year. Despite the government stressing the extensive capabilities of their existing legislation,…
Global
In-depth: United Nations’ Observance of International Women’s Day
The 2021 United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day was hosted online and featured high-level dignitaries alongside gender equality advocates and champions. Brought into existence by the hard work of feminists who had been advocating for years, UN Women was established in 2011, meaning the organisation is only ten years old. This year’s theme is…
Main Stories, News
Reporters Without Borders sexism in journalism report highlights dangers towards women in the industry
Non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have marked International Women’s Day by releasing a report entitled ‘Sexism’s toll on journalism’. The report addresses the risk of sexist and sexual violence towards women, including verbal and physical threats. Each from a different country, 112 journalists who write on gender issues both internal and external to the…
Interview
An interview with Susan Jones on her career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: “I’ve never been bored and have always felt that I was contributing to the greater good”.
Sue Jones has enjoyed an over 40-year-long career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), occupying geographical, policy, and HR related roles in London, together with overseas postings to a number of Diplomatic Missions such as Singapore, West Berlin, and Brussels. Pursuing her desire to travel, Sue had originally thought about applying for a Commission…
Comment
Covid-19 has highlighted the absence of media coverage of women’s sexual and reproductive issues
The most common symptoms of Covid-19 (we all know them by now): a high temperature, dry cough, and loss of taste and smell. For those without underlying health conditions these last for a maximum of around seven to ten days. Then, an endless list of long-term effects, including fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain…
Interview
Delivering laws to the lawless: An interview with Richard Thompson OBE
In a varied career within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spanning almost 20 years, Richard Thompson OBE has spent much of his overseas experience in what he would describe as “failed states” where the rule of law was, at best, precarious. Representing the UK at the highest levels during some historic global events, Richard…
Global, Global Investigates
Global Investigates: The influence of religion over the sexual and reproductive freedoms of Latin America
Abortion and contraceptive practices in Latin American states have failed to garner moral legitimacy partly due to the dominance of Roman Catholicism in both culture and politics. In these regions, this general suspicion and distrust has led to a failure to recognise reproductive rights as human rights, resulting in an estimated 4.2 million clandestine abortions…
Science
Hygiene equality is no longer a luxury
The start of the new year has brought in the abolition of the ‘tampon tax’, a policy deemed by many to be ‘sexist’ and a perpetuation of gender equality which does not belong in today’s society – a zero rate of VAT now applies to all sanitary products in the UK. The move was finally…
Interview
“Iraq had been decimated… I really felt for the people”: an interview with former United Nations Weapons Inspector Mike Barley
Zoom seems an unlikely place to be conducting an interview with a former United Nations Weapons Inspector, and further still to be discussing his tours in Iraq in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Yet here we are. Former United Nations (UN) Weapons Inspector Mike Barley was seconded to Iraq three times in 1996-7 at…
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