• Mothers are getting stiffed
    Commentary
    May 13, 2012
    Last year, for Mother’s Day my kids gave me a scribbled drawing, a chunky bead necklace and a big jar of Nutella. They know how to make me happy. No doubt they’ll spoil me again on Mother’s Day this year. But when it comes to U.S. policies and employment practices, moms aren’t spoiled. We’re stiffed.
  • Gay in America: Left Out of Family Leave
    Commentary
    May 11, 2012
    If the love of your life had major surgery or a serious illness, you would want to be by their side. You'd want to take some time off work without losing your job, and give them the care they need. But if you're gay in America, you have no such right under federal law.
  • The invisibility of domestic workers
    Commentary
    May 4, 2012

    Liesl Gerntholtz, the Director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, says one of the major problems they have found in their latest research (mainly in Asia and the Middle East) is that labor law does not recognize domestic workers as workers so they are therefore not well protected. 

  • Maternal mortality under scrutiny
    Commentary
    May 4, 2012
    Since the 1990s South Africa has not reduced the number of women who die needlessly each year from preventable and treatable causes linked to pregnancy and childbirth.
  • Morocco: Girl’s Death Highlights Flawed Laws
    Press release
    Mar 23, 2012

    Morocco should enact a meaningful law on domestic violence and repeal the penal code provision that in practice has allowed men accused of raping or having sex with minors to avoid prosecution if they wed their victims. A 16-year-old girl apparently took her life on March 10, 2012, after entering a marriage under these conditions.

  • A sick system abuses its refugees
    Commentary
    Mar 18, 2012

    South Africa's tourism website describes the country as the "land of good times and friendly people". Sadly, Araya Y, a pregnant Somali refugee living in Port Elizabeth, did not experience this side of the country. Instead, when she went to a government district hospital in July 2010 to give birth, she was abused by medical staff and denied care. 

  • Hope for BC at BC?
    Commentary
    Feb 8, 2012

    When I went to college, I chose a highly regarded university with a strong tradition as a Jesuit institution. I was pleased with my undergraduate education at Boston College, but I still lament that my alma mater denies students access to contraceptive services through its health system.  

  • Libya: Make Urgent Justice System Reforms
    Press release
    Dec 22, 2011
    Libya’s transitional government should urgently enact desperately needed reform to promote human rights and the rule of law after 42 years of dictatorship and eight months of war.
  • Yemen Could Seize Moment to Ban Child Marriage
    Commentary
    Dec 20, 2011
    Yemen's version of the Arab Spring has eclipsed urgent social concerns both in debates within Yemen and with donor countries. One of these issues is the widespread forced marriage of girls; very young girls in some cases.Now that President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to cede power, there may be an opportunity to press for social reform as part of the transition process.
  • Healthcare is failing women
    Commentary
    Dec 20, 2011

    South Africa has one of the world's highest incidences of violence, including rape and domestic violence, against women. A study by Interpol estimates that, in South Africa, a woman is raped every 17 seconds and one in four South African women suffers domestic violence.