Historic California Rape Law Tells College Campuses: ‘Yes Means Yes’

California has enacted a historic law that forces the state’s colleges to adopt a policy of unambiguous, affirmative consent by students engaged in sexual activity.

State lawmakers approved the so-called “Yes Means Yes” law last month, and Governor Jerry Brown signed it Sunday. The state is the first to pass a law that makes affirmative consent central to school sexual assault policies.

“I don’t think there are words to describe how monumental this is for survivors of sexual assault — female, male or otherwise,” Savannah Badalich, a student at University of California, Los Angles (UCLA) and the founder of the group 7,000 in Solidarity, told VICE News.

Spain Scraps Plan to Tighten Abortion Law

Spain’s government withdrew a bill that would have imposed some of Europe’s strictest curbs on abortion, bowing to popular sentiment and dissent within the ruling conservative Popular Party.

The decision Tuesday by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on one of the most divisive social issues in this largely Roman Catholic country prompted sharp protests from some of his party’s core supporters. His justice minister, the bill’s chief advocate, resigned.

Ecuador’s Domestic Workers Profiled

Domestic workers in Ecuador need to respect their work to change attitudes, according to a long-term live-in help. Lenny Quirós, 48, has been a domestic worker for more than 20 years but chooses never to work more than two years for the same employer as a puertas a dentro, or “behind-doors”, as a live-in help is called.

Varsity survey reveals silence around sexual assault

Sexual assault and rape continue to occur at striking rates amongst University of Cambridge students, an exclusive Varsity survey has revealed. According to the survey, which was conducted online over a two-week period, 16 per cent of respondents admitted to being victims of sexual assault and/or rape. The figure seems to be in line with national statistics relating to sexual assault amongst university and college students. A recent survey conducted by the National Union of Students (NUS) showed that 14 per cent of female students were sexually assaulted during their time at university or college. The survey responses paint a remarkable picture of student attitudes and experiences regarding sexual assault. Most notably, Varsity found that sexual assault among students continues to remain vastly under-reported: only 1 in 6 respondents who admitted to being assaulted reported the incident to authorities

Instagranniepants

Anna Gensler, an artist from Maryland, was horrified by the offensive texts she received from men on Tindr. So she decided to give the men a taste of their own medicine by publishing their comments on her Instagram accompanied by a drawing of the guy in question in the most unflattering of lights.

Only men at your event? This blog will shame you

How often have you looked around at a meeting or in the office, lecture hall or event space and seen a room full of just men?

Now one website is pointing out this phenomenon by publishing photos of all-male panels, or “manels”. The site is a Tumblr blog, sarcastically called, Congrats! You Have an All-Male Panel.

It started in February and features 200 photos, submitted from people from about 10 countries. The simple but now-viral idea is a project of the Finnish feminist researcher and artist Saara Sarma, who specializes in internet parody images and memes.

Brazil’s World Cup Raises Fear of Rampant Child Prostitution

Poverty in the favelas of the northern Brazilian city of Recife is the main driver for a life in prostitution. Brazil plays host to the World Cup soccer tournament in June 2014, which will likely lead to an increase in demand for sex workers.

Amanda sits curled up on the sofa watching cartoons on television. She will soon turn 14, but her youth belies her past. The young girl has suffered two abortions already, the result of exchanging unprotected, adolescent sex for a pack of cigarettes or a couple of dollars. “My life was complicated. I was on the streets and taking drugs,” she says.

Abuse Behind Closed Doors

Victoria Jiménez is one of 10 children. By the age of five, she knew how to wash, cook, clean and look after those younger than her. At 12 her mother, unable to provide for her, left Jiménez and her sister in the house of a seamstress to work in exchange for clothes. It was then, as a domestic worker, that she first encountered abuse.

Women forced to be ‘human coffins’

In a bungalow in suburban Santiago a heavily pregnant woman is lying on a bed of grass. Dressed in her nightgown her face is tranquil; a few beads of sweat gathering at her temples the only sign of a concealed distress. On closer inspection the greenery is arranged in ritualistic fashion, sticks of celery fanning out around the body of the woman like a halo, and as the camera pans down the expectant mother’s body a splash of red flashes across the screen.