What’s Current: ‘Sexual entertainment districts’ make cities more threatening for women

Neighbourhoods with brothels, peep shows, strip clubs, and sex shops (dubbed “sexual entertainment districts”) make cities more threatening places for women.

UK director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders instructs prosecutors to focus on bringing evidence of men’s sexual history in rape cases, in a move she thinks could increase chances of conviction.

“Prosecutors will be asked to focus on a male suspect’s previous conduct in other relationships in order to find any relevant evidence. This may include situations where an alleged rapist exercised controlling or coercive behaviour towards other women, including previous girlfriends. There has been growing concern that many male rapists are getting away with their crimes because they are able to convince juries that the sex was consensual.”

VP of UK’s National Union of Teachers points out that sex matters when it comes to hard-won anti-discrimination laws for women and girls.

Holly Brockwell at the Guardian points out that women are not new to tech:

“The fact is, programming was considered repetitive, unglamorous ‘women’s work,’ like typing and punching cards, until it turned out to be a lucrative and prestigious field. Then, predictably, the achievements of women were wiped from the scoreboard and men like James Damore pretended they were never there.”

Susan Cox

Susan Cox is a feminist writer and academic living in the United States. She teaches in Philosophy.