The food and people delivery company is on trial this week for a lawsuit by a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a driver she hired through the Uber app. The lawsuit specifies that the alleged victim was intoxicated when she got into the vehicle. Will 2026 be the year in which alcohol […]
Protecting Rape Victims is Complicated
As we reported in our last edition, France recently legislated a major change to redefine rape as sex without clearly expressed consent. However, a similar proposal in Italy, supported by both Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her center-left rival Elly Schlein, has run into political obstacles due to objections from Meloni’s coalition partner, Deputy PM […]
France Redefines Rape
In the wake of the sensational Gisèle Pelicot gang-rape trial, the French Senate unanimously approved a bill, previously approved by the National Assembly, to redefine rape as any sexual act without consent, defined as “freely given, informed, specific, prior, and revocable.” This makes rape easier to prove than the previous standard, which required an expression […]
Pray and Prey: Fundamentalist Pastors and Child Abuse
An investigation by NBC news reveals a 50-year pattern of covering up child abuse by pastors, youth leaders, and church volunteers in the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. Aspects of the church’s theology, which emphasizes both forgiveness and divine “anointment” of pastors gifted with charismatic powers, have created an environment of reluctance […]
Violence Against Intersex People
Since 2019, the rates of violence and harassment against intersex people have sharply increased within the European Union as found by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights. The Vienna-based agency linked the rise to a wider climate of “increasing or persisting intolerance and bigotry, as well as intense online hatred campaigns.” Sirpa Rautio, director of […]
Atlanta Hotels Sued for Sex Trafficking on Premises
In the wake of a $40 million judgment in July against an Atlanta-area motel for ignoring signs that a minor was being trafficked on its premises, a similar lawsuit has now been filed on behalf of another victim against chains ranging from the Ritz-Carlton to Motel 6. The suit argues that staff ignored obvious signs […]
Sexual Violence On the Rise According to the UN
Sexual violence has long been used as a tactic of war in conflicts across the globe, disproportionately affecting women and girls. The United Nation’s annual Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence reveals a grim development: sexual violence increased by 25% in conflict zones in 2024. A glaring example is the eastern Democratic Republic […]