- A Spain court cleared two men of rape despite the victim begging them to stop, because their actions were not “violent” enough to be considered sexual assault. The ruling said the men “took advantage of her vulnerable nature, which, added to her consumption of alcohol and antidepressants, may have weakened her ability to defend herself, thus making the use of violent or intimidatory acts unnecessary.”
- More than 300,000 Canadian mothers have been separated from their newborns through forced adoption. These women, usually victims of date rape or sexual assault, were sent to homes for unmarried women, where they were isolated, abused, and forced to give up their child.
- Data indicates that more than 10,000 women and girls in Finland have undergone female genital mutilation, and 3,000 girls currently at risk of being subjected to the procedure.
- Columbian police have rescued 43 Venezuelan women who were being held captive and forced into prostitution.
- 8,200 women in England and Wales could have survived fatal heart attacks had they been given the same quality of treatment as men.