The UK's president of the Faculty of Public Health has called for a national debate on lowering the age of consent from 16 to 15, arguing that, um, in case British lawmakers haven't realized it yet, lots of teenagers are having sex before they reach official consenting age, yet their status as ineligible sex-havers…
Hey gals, gather around for some Real Talk: did you know that America's college rape epidemic is all in our jungle juice-addled slutty imaginations? At least, according to a column posted by US News & World Report, it is.
On Tuesday, Playboy got major press and for the first time in awhile, it wasn't because they were selling off parts of their company or moving their headquarters from Chicago to Los Angeles or going private, things that would all individually spell trouble for legacy organization, but when pushed together look…
A massive new UN survey has found that in some parts of Asia, more than half of the men admit to forcing a woman to have sex. Throughout the countries involved in the research, one in four men admitted to rape. Congratulations, UN Rape Survey. You found a thing to make even 9/11 seem worse.
Last week, feminist group FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture tried to convince everyone
Yesterday, we determined
This morning, I got a press release from "pr@pinklovesconsent.com" announcing a new Victoria's Secret line that "promotes consent to fight rape in new panties."
So here's some good news about the ongoing battle over Reddit's Creepshots forum: it seems that the teacher who was posting photos of his underage students to the internet without their knowledge
The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a law prohibiting sexual contact between teachers and underage students. In a 3-4 decision, Chief Justice Jim Hannah wrote, "We cannot abandon our duty to uphold the rule of law when a case presents distasteful facts, and—"
Last week, a truly stupid bill authored by Arizona Republican Trent Franks passed out of committee. PreNDA, formerly known as the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenantal Nondiscrimination Act, purports to address the rampant American nonproblem of sex and race-selective abortion. But it seems that the purpose …
A court ruling has provoked outrage in Turkey, and in a minute you'll be fuming too. Last week, judges from Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals agreed that the sentences of 26 men convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl should be reduced because the girl consented. Now feminist and human rights activists are…
A letter to my brother, and all his college friends:
College is awesome, right? No parents, no curfew, no rules, and there are girls everywhere. It is an alcohol-fueled, school-spirit-enhanced buffet of ladies, and it's hard not to want to sample everything on the menu. So you should!
Patrick Kirkland, a juror who voted to acquit former NYPD cops Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata of almost all charges in the notorious rape trial, has written a long piece on the experience for Gothamist. In it, he defends the jury from charges that they let a rapist go free, somewhat explains why they doubted the…
Defenses of Dominique Strauss-Kahn keep pouring in — an anonymous source says his encounter with a hotel maid may have been consensual, and his ex-wife says he can't possibly be guilty.
One policeman's case of the law's inconsistencies: He was legally allowed to have sex with two sixteen-year-old girls, but not consensually record himself doing so, since the cutoff for child pornography is 18. He was sentenced to 15 years.
The legal age of consent varies widely around the world — and even within the United States, it's way more complicated than we thought. Let's take a tour.
A British court has banned a man with an IQ of 48 from having sex, on the grounds that he "does not have the capacity to consent to and engage in sexual relations." Is this really fair?
A group of friends from Miami, one a star NCAA baseball player, has been charged with the rape of two seventeen-year-old girls. Given that it involves athletes and girls getting drunk, brace yourselves for an extra-ugly fallout.
This week The Guardian received unauthorized access to police documents that provide a complete account of the charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Will these new facts finally put to rest the argument
The words "Julian Assange" have become rhetorical poison, quickly turning even sane conversations into bilious screaming matches. Here's why the discussion about him has gotten so goddamned awful.
The latest dude to misrepresent the Julian Assange rape allegations in front of a national audience is Michael Moore, who last night told a sympathetic Keith Olbermann it's a bunch of "hooey" over a broken condom.
The allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are pretty straightforward in terms of Swedish law: he's been accused of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
Commentators are saying Julian Assange didn't rape anyone, and these are trumped-up charges of "sex by surprise," which means that Assange didn't wear a condom and days later the women he slept with are claiming rape. Totally unfair, right?
After reading an American man's take
I've made some mistakes. I'd like to acknowledge them.
Having just returned from living in Paris, I feel more convinced than ever that America gets many things wrong about sex. Right there near the top of the list is our attachment to the idea of consent.
A Canadian woman agreed to erotic asphyxiation with her common-law husband, but not to anal penetration. As Canada's Supreme Court considers whether she gave "advance consent," the implications go far beyond her own case.
Last July, a jury ruled
