The Sarah Palin Rape Kit Controversy. Did Sarah Palin really make rape victims in Wasilla, Alaska pay for their own rape kits during her term as mayor? The evidence is inconclusive, but points to yes. The Background Alaska has the highest rate of rapes in the nation. Rates are particularly high among the indigenous population. In Anchorage, Native Alaskans are more than 9.7 times more likely than other races to be sexually assaulted. Forensic rape kits are used to collect evidence after a reported or suspected rape. When Sarah Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the budget requested by then-Chief of Police Irl Stambaugh included funds to pay for rape kits. Three years later, rumors in Alaska began to spread that some municipalities were charging women for their own rape kits, the moral equivalent of forcing a murder victim's family to pay for the investigation.
HB 270 was passed by the legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Tony Knowles in 2000. Were any rape victims actually charged? Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Marital Rape. Even though understanding of the problem of marital rape has risen, it remains tragically common. Studies estimate that 10-14% of all married women in the United States have been raped by their husband. The majority of marital rape cases occur in relationships that are physically or emotionally abusive in other ways as well, and because it often occurs as part of a pattern of abuse, it can lead to even more severe and long-lasting consequences for the victim than stranger rape. Unfortunately, even in countries where marital rape is a crime, prosecuting it can be difficult. In the United States, some states require marital rape to be prosecuted in the same way as any other rape, while others make it a separate crime.
In states where it is treated as a separate crime, procedures may differ substantially from those of a general rape case. For example, in California, non-spousal rapists are not eligible for probation, but spousal rapists are. Remember Dua Khalil. Help for Yemeni School Girls. Yemen was once known as "Felix Arabia" - Happy Arabia - by the Romans due to its thriving incense trade, but the once wealthy country is now among the poorest in the world. Since the 70's, when Saudi Arabian Wahabi extremists were given free rein to "Islamicize" the educational system in Yemen in an attempt to stave off growing communist influence within the country, Yemen has also become a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist organizations. As it has in other countries around the world, the combination of widespread poverty, misogynistic local traditions, and extremist religious doctrine has led to a dramatic decline in the condition of Yemeni women over the last 40 years.
For the last few years, Yemen has ranked dead last in the annual Global Gender Gap Index, behind even Afghanistan. 52% of girls attend primary school and just 35% of girls attend secondary school, the lowest rate in the Arab world. The situation in Yemen is exacerbated by the lack of access to health care. Help For Afghan School Girls. The news is a horrifying litany of terror. Afghan schoolgirls shot, poisoned, sprayed with acid... The Taliban, which once banned girls and women from attending school or holding jobs, is not giving up its power and influence without a fight, and across Afghanistan, it is targeting women who dare to try to make life better for themselves and their daughters. Its goal is plain: to terrify women back into submission and ignorance... the very ignorance that leads Afghan women to torture and sometimes kill their own daughters and daughters-in-law, the same ignorance that breeds sons filled with enough hate to join the Taliban.
Fortunately, many Afghan women are standing up and refusing to be intimidated, and they deserve the support of Western women and girls, whose hardest choice before going to school might be what to wear. Investing in Women for a Better World. Ideas for a Victorian Wedding. Ideas for a Medieval Themed Wedding. A medieval themed wedding is a fun and romantic way to express your individuality as a couple. Medieval theme weddings can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. Here are some ideas and things to think about: A Theme For your Medieval Theme Wedding? Although many couples opt for a fairly generic Western European High Middle Ages look, it is worth remembering that the European Middle Ages lasted for more than 1000 years and incorporated cultures as varied as the Vikings, the late Byzantine Empire, and the elegant courts of Burgundy.
One of the most popular medieval wedding sub-themes is Scottish or Celtic, complete with kilts and bagpipes. Nor were the Middle Ages confined to Europe. Eras and cultures are not the only theme options. The possibilities are nearly endless! The Female Gaze. Every few years, there's a new sensation among teenage girls, and every time a new one arrives on the scene, a lot of people seem surprised all over again that a bunch of girls can drive the highest grossing films, bands, and books of the year.
Sometimes ever. A lot of people seem to decide it's a fluke, and return to producing entertainment geared mostly for 13 year old boys. Worse, the fangirls frequently become objects of ridicule. Now, nobody would defend some of the worst behaviors of fangirls. I don't care for shrieking or fainting either, and when a fangirl at Comic Con asked Robert Pattinson about his underwear, well, my mortification levels could not have been textually rendered. However, I think there's more to it than that. The answer, I think, can be found in an obscure philosophical debate that's raged for decades among feminist (and not-so-feminist) film critics: the debate over a phenomenon known as the "Female Gaze.
" I don't question this at all.