What’s Current: Women’s rights activists in Singapore call for reforms as digital sexual violence cases skyrocket

  • Women’s rights campaigners in Singapore call for reforms to combat digital sexual violence. Although spy cam pornography and revenge porn cases tripled over the past year, Singapore’s home affairs ministry said it did not track cases of technology used for sexual violence. 
  • Activist Trupti Desai and a team of six female activists in India were attacked by protestors as they attempted to visit the Sabarimala temple, which was recently ordered to allow women entry. The women insist they will continue in their efforts to visit the temple. Desai stated:

“Even if I know I might die in this struggle, I will still not go back. I’m not afraid of losing my life, this is a fight that someone has to take on.”

  • Spain’s right-wing Vox party refused to sign an all-party declaration to condemn violence against women. 
  • Linda Grant, a novelist who won the Orange Prize and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, caused controversy after criticizing gender-neutral toilets at the Charleston House. Charleston Trust responded in a statement, saying they were “committed to creating safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces for all our visitors and staff” and had introduced the gender-neutral toilets to “help members of the queer and trans community feel safe with us, and to ensure disabled visitors who need assistance are not troubled by the gender of their carer.”
Genevieve Gluck

Genevieve Gluck is a writer and advocate for women's sex-based rights and creator of Women's Voices, an audio library dedicated to bringing awareness to feminist texts and speeches.