Tag Archives: feminism

Activism and Agitation

How to accidentally raise a feminist..

Leave a comment

http://www.rolereboot.org/family/details/2012-10-how-to-accidentally-raise-a-feminist-daughter

”

If you are committed to feminist parenting, there is no more foundational tenet than ensuring your daughter knows that there is no wrong way to be a girl. The corollary, of course, is also true; for your sons, there is no wrong way to be a boy. Are there wrong ways to be human? Yes, like being a jerk or intentionally hurting people, but attaching your love or respect for your children to gendered assumptions, or to gendered hopes for their future, means that they can fail simply by being themselves.”

Activism and Agitation

Dawn Purvis speaks about the new Maire Stopes clinic in Belfast.

Leave a comment

http://www.newstalk.ie/2012/news/first-abortion-clinic-to-open-on-island-of-ireland/

The first ever clinic to offer abortions on the island of Ireland will open in one weeks’ time.

Marie Stopes International is setting up a centre on Great Victoria Street in Belfast.

The not-for-profit organisation operates in 42 countries around the world.

It is one of the leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare services in Britian.

The new Belfast clinic will be open to women over the age of 16 including those who travel from the Republic.

Women who attend there will have a consultation and a scan before 2 doctors assess whether they are eligible for an abortion up to 9 weeks into their pregnancy.

The cost of the non-surgical procedure is expected to be around stg£350 (€435).

The director of the new clinic in the city is Dawn Purvis.

She spoke with Breakfast here on Newstalk.

There is a Maire Stopes clinic in Dublin, the will not currently be able to offer the service of medical abortions but they should have information about the services in the Belfast clinic.

http://www.reproductivechoices.ie/

Marie Stopes Reproductive Choices
10/11 Berkeley Street
Dublin 7

Phone: (01) 830 0630
Fax: (01) 830 0629
Email us:

info@reproductivechoices.ie

Activism and Agitation

Marie Stopes Northern Ireland to provide medical abortion.

Leave a comment

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1010/breaking57.html

The first sexual and reproductive health centre to offer abortion services on the island of Ireland will open in Belfast next Thursday.

Marie Stopes Northern Ireland, based in purpose-built city centre premises on Great Victoria Street, will offer contraceptive options, HIV testing, STI testing and treatment, ultrasound scanning, and medical abortion up to nine weeks gestation.

Anyone over the age of 16 can access the centre, including people from the Republic, and services are available by appointment only. Marie Stopes International, which is a not-for-profit organisation, is the UK’s leading provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare services. It has been established for over 30 years, and works in 42 countries around the world.

It will be medical abortions only which means for some women living up there they won’t have to travel to the mainland UK. It’s a start, hopefully we will have similar services here too.

Uncategorized

Inspiring quotes needed.

2 Comments

Start of the new year and with it comes the two homework journals.These days they are very swish compared to what I had secondary school. The school my brats attend have opted for the 4Schools.ie’s student journal.
Which their site http://www.4schools.ie/student-journal states

The 4Schools.ie’s student journal is a learning focused journal which can be tailored to reflect the unique culture and ethos of your school.

Our standard A5 student journal includes:

A choice of hardback or spiral binding
A choice of five attractive full colour cover designs with your school name and crest overprinted in black
Either 8 or 16 pages of your customised content printed in one colour
A choice of two learning modules
A full colour weekly diary featuring facts, quotes and think-links
16 pages of notes for communication between parent/guardian and school.

It really is a kick ass resource, with inserts on the school rules, parental contact sheet, log tables, maps, info about college courses, all the school polices laid out in it so that they are easily accessible by parent and students. The homework journal which a parent has to sign off once a week is a good way of keeping track for parents, teachers and students. Just above the space for a note from a teacher or parent and the sign off it as an inspirational quotation.

journal

I was flicking through them with my daughter, her first thought was cool and then we noticed a pattern.
Can you spot it?

Thomas Edison, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Fredrick Nietzsche, Henry Ford,
Mathatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Ralp Waldo Emerson, Aristotle, Plato,
Solon, Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespear, Edwin H Cahplin,
Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathon Swift, Henry B Adams, Jermy Collier, Napoleon Bonapart,
Arthur C Clarke, Alber Einstein, Aristotle Onassis, Brian Tracy, Brack Obama,
Franklin D Roosevelt, Napoleon Hill, Alber Camus, Lawrence Peter, Francis Bacon,
French Proverb.

She spotted it before I did. There are 41 term weeks so that is 41 quotes and 1 of them is attributed to a french proverb but the remaining 40 are all men. They range from Plato to Obama, over 2,300 years and not one woman included.

So yes I will be sending a note to the school and to the provider of the journals but we decided we would write in quotations by women along side the quotations by men, I might also send them to the school and provider.

So we are asking for help in compiling a list of suitable quotations, we have a few already, but we need more.

Quotations:


“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”
Rosa Parks

“A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back – but they are gone.
We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you.”
Marian Wright Edelman

“Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out.”
Iris Murdoch

So please share with us your favorite inspiring quotes by women.

Activism and Agitation

New emergency contraceptive, 120 hour window.

1 Comment

There is a new emergency contraceptive which has been approved for use.
It is called Ella one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulipristal_acetate
http://ec.princeton.edu/pills/ella.html

It can be taken up to 120 hours after intercourse rather then the 72 hour window for what is known as the morning after pill.

The morning after pill is most effective 93% if taken with in 12 hours, and how effective it is decrease until it’s about 50% if taken at it’s 72 hour limit.

Ella one can be taken up until 120 hours later and will stop 60% of unwanted pregnancies.

I know it’s not as good as contraception or the morning after pill if taken with in 12 hours but, if you can’t get to a chemist for what ever reason with in the 72 hour window it’s an option.

Ella one is not available over the counter you will have to see a dr to get it prescribed. But hurrah for more options but please remember if there is a chance you could end up pregnant there is a chance you’ve gotten an STI, do don’t forget to get tested.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2012/0717/ireland/number-of-women-attending-sexual-health-clinics-falls-201045.html

The average age of a woman having a first child in Ireland is now 31 and Dr McQuade said many young women in their 20s — the age group which has seen the largest fall in numbers attending the clinics — had no intention of having a baby until they were in their 30s.

The availability of over- the-counter contraception in pharmacies has also contributed to the fall in numbers attending the clinics, but Ms Begas said: “It may still be better for these women to discuss their family planning needs with a family doctor or GP.”

She said a new emergency contraceptive called ellaOne — which can be taken within five days of unprotected sexual intercourse and which more than halves the chances of pregnancy — is now available from GPs.

A recent study found that 12% of young women were now opting for longer-term forms of contraception.

Uncategorized

Mr. Slump is back with a few changes.

Leave a comment

I had noticed the return of the advertising campaign for Knorr quick soups on buses and bus stops. Last time around I wrote about my objections to one of the three images being used in the campaign, you can read it here. I wrote about it, and lodged complaints with the Advertisement Standards authority and directly to Unilever Foods Ireland. I know I wasn’t the only person to so and the campaign was shelved.

It’s back now but they have change the image with the female character.

What it was before.
1

and what it is now.
2

Mr slump is no longer has a hold on the woman and is no longer forcing chocolate into her mouth and she no longer looks so distressed, with her keys in her hand trying to reach the safety of home.

Instead she has the chocolate, so she could still change her mind, but as it’s open that is pretty unlikely. She looks defeated, she has given up on having a an unsuitable snack before she gets home, and we can see Mr Slump blocking the door with his hand and throwing away her keys.

I think the changes are a big improvement, still not wild about the fact the 3 images have the only female portrayed as doing the shopping, would have been nice if that had of been a man with the woman working at the desk but advertising tends to be about generalisations. It was good to see the ads pulled and a more suitable version rendered. Change can happen but we have to agitate and take action.

Activism and Agitation

Expert group on abortion rights set up.

Leave a comment

Minister sets up expert group on abortion rights
In this section »

DEAGLÁN de BRÉADÚN, Political Correspondent

MEMBERS OF the medical, legal and nursing professions are to sit on a 14-member expert group being set up to address the outcome of last year’s European Court of Human Rights ruling on abortion rights in Ireland.

Minister for Health James Reilly received approval at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting to establish the group. It will be in place by the end of the year or shortly thereafter and will have six months to deliver a report to Government.

The European Court ruled last December that the State had failed to implement existing rights to lawful abortion where a mother’s life is at risk. The court found the State violated the rights of a woman with cancer who said she was forced to travel abroad to obtain an abortion.

The programme for government pledged to “establish an expert group to address this issue, drawing on appropriate medical and legal expertise with a view to making recommendations to Government”. As required under the procedures of the court, the Government submitted an action plan last June, outlining its intention to set up the expert group.

Also at yesterday’s meeting, Taoiseach Enda Kenny received approval for the establishment of an interdepartmental committee on European engagements as a subcommittee of the Cabinet.

Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton is expected to play a prominent role on this committee, which will monitor and co-ordinate the Government’s involvement with EU institutions.

Finally.

Activism and Agitation

Less then 5% of cases sent to the DPP result in a conviction.

Leave a comment

I have known for the years the stats are bad and I have blogged about it before and that even if you do report it to the garda ( and according to the rape cirises network only 10% do go to the gards) that then there is a good chance that after your attacker being brought to the garda station for statements and the file being sent to the Department of Public prosecution they may choose not to take the case but I didn’t know it was as high as 70%.

http://examiner.ie/ireland/crime/dpp-rejects-70-of-sex-crime-referrals-172463.html

DPP rejects 70% of sex crime referrals

By Jennifer Hough

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

AT least 70% of suspects in sex offence cases are not being prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions, figures obtained by the Irish Examiner have revealed.

Statistics provided by the DPP also reveal that, since 2008, there have been just 24 convictions in cases relating to people aged under 18. They were secured from 531 files submitted to the office by gardaí.

So far this year, a high of 179 cases concerning under 18-year-olds, in which there were 201 suspects, were sent to the DPP.

An analysis of the figures from 2008 to October 2011 shows:

* In 2010, 1,254 files with 1,407 suspects were sent to the DPP. No prosecution was directed in 1,002 (70%) of those;

* In 2009, 1,043 files with 1,204 suspects were sent. No prosecution was taken against 883 (73%) suspects;

* In 2008, 962 files with 1,055 suspects were sent. No prosecution was directed in 784 (74%) cases.

To October 2011, gardaí sent 1,083 files concerning 1,213 suspects to the DPP. There was no prosecution taken in relation to 736 suspects. A further 270 are pending.

The figures reveal that conviction rates for serious sex offences in the higher courts are not going up — despite a steady rise in the number of files submitted to the DPP in recent years.

Since 2008, there have been 233 convictions in the Central Criminal Court and Circuit Court. In 443 cases over the same timeframe, “no final outcome” was recorded. There can be several reasons for this, for example, if the gardaí cannot locate the accused, if a case is still pending or if a case is awaiting a re-trial where the jury could not reach a verdict during an earlier trial.

The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland called on the DPP to give victims reasons for not prosecuting a case.

“Very many survivors of sexual violence who take the decision to report the crime to the guards will not have their case prosecuted,” said a network spokesperson.

“For survivors, this can be very difficult to understand and accept.

“We would like to see the DPP extend a pilot project to start giving people reasons for non-prosecution in relation to unlawful killing to include sexual offences.”

The figures show that, in 2010, just 10 convictions were secured in the Central Criminal Court, where 67 people were initially prosecuted. Of the 145 offences tried in the Circuit Court concerning 154 suspects, there were 32 convictions.

Also last year, of 203 suspects in 173 alleged crimes against under 18-year-olds, the DPP did not prosecute 163 (80%) of the suspects.

There was one conviction in the Central Criminal Court, and five in the Circuit Court. One case is still pending direction.

According to the DPP’s office, it receives a file in all detected cases of a sexual nature. Gardaí do not filter “unprosecutable” cases.

For this reason, the office receives a large number of files, some of which are seriously lacking in evidence.

This means they will only bother with cases which they can get a jury to prosecute and given the horrible attitudes to wards sex and women in this country, as over 1/3 of people think the victim is at fault. It means that you have to be a ‘good girl’ and have very little of a sexual history for to have them think it’s not your ‘fault’.

Given that even if the DPP takes your case it can take up to 118 weeks, that’s over two years before it sees the inside of a court room and you have to live with that hanging over you and that’s even harder if the attacker is someone you know which statically is likely.

The system is beyond deeply flawed and needs to change.

Uncategorized

Looks like Largo foods are at it again.

Leave a comment

http://www.thejournal.ie/camogie-chief-says-crisp-ads-are-just-not-hunky-dory-219677-Sep2011/

THE PRESIDENT OF the Camogie Association has hit out the controversial Hunk Dorys crisps adverts which depict scantily-clad women playing GAA.

Joan O’Flynn was speaking after the launch of the latest ad campaign by Hunky Dorys makers Largo Foods this week in which two girls teams in gold and emerald coloured, tight-fitting bikini costumes try their hand at a bit of Gaelic football.

It follows on from last year’s newspaper advertising campaign which featured the girls playing rugby.

The hugely successful campaign, which increased the Hunky Dorys brand’s net worth by over €1 million, led to widespread controversy and criticism with the adverts subject of a number of complaints to the advertising watchdog.

And the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland has already received complaints in relation to this year’s campaign.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, O’Flynn said the ads were ill-timed given that camogie’s top teams will be in action at various levels in the All-Ireland finals at Croke Park this Sunday.

She said the ads “trivialises the talent and ability of women in sport” by focussing on their physical appearance rather than their sporting ability. She said that more “responsible advertising would focus on the skill and the ability of the players as athletes.”

The GAA has already said it was not consulted on the campaign.

Meath-based manufacturers Largo Foods, which owns the Hunky Dorys brand, has broken its silence on the controversy, CEO Ray Coyle telling the Irish Independent “we have to attract attention one way or another”.

But O’Flynn said this morning: “It may travel, and it’s a well established fact that that sort of advertising sells, but it sells on what I would call fairly poor values.”

I had just gone back to buying that brand, it’s back on the banned list now.

If anyone does want to lodge a complaint the link to the online forum is
http://www.asai.ie/complain.asp