four days into the semester and it's already time to play catch-up.

as wonderful as it is to finally be back at villanova, the academic schedule is already picking up rather quickly--which means, it is getting harder to find time to blog about current events. and, that also means that each post becomes longer and longer as i make up for days that i have missed. like today especially, there is a lot of ground to cover...

• GCNOVA Update: On Tuesday, I met with our faculty adviser, Dr. Stacey Wieland, to brief her on the development of our organization. We discussed the background and inspiration driving GCNova, our plans for fundraising initiatives, and our operations model. Our major areas of concern right now, as we collect signatures and seek university recognition, are the cultural sensitivities surrounding this organization as well as the scope of GCNova as a whole. First, though Betty Makoni's story will forever be our initial inspiration, we do NOT want to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of African nations and the African people by placing too much emphasis on the horrific events that have happened overseas. But, at the same time, we want to pay due attention to the tragic circumstances of our fellow women in South Africa, the Congo, Liberia, etc. Second, we have to determine the breadth of the GCNova program as a whole: how far do we want to take it? By focusing solely on GCNW, are we ignoring the greater issues of sexual violence and assault around the globe? Personally, I think GCNova is an organization that can grow from its original inspirational roots just as GCNW grew out of its humble GCN-Zimbabwe beginnings. However, we must consider whether or not we would want to tackle the issue of sexual violence/assault awareness as a whole, and make this organization a HUGE presence on campus. Doing so would be a huge undertaking, possibly not something that is in the cards just yet, but would definitely be a future goal. It would also suggest that we may have to change the name of our organization from GCNova, in order to make it more accessible and open the door for us to support a variety of sexual assault awareness non-profit organizations. So, a lot to consider as we move forward...

• In Athens, OH: a woman's horrific ordeal continues. Her accused rapist, New York physician Charles Nguyen, is standing trial. As the defense continues to attack the woman's credibility, arguing that the sex was consensual, they have now outrageously suggested that she should reenact the rape. They have requested that the judge allow them to set up a bed in the courtroom and have the woman demonstrate the various positions in which she was raped and assaulted--so that they can "prove" that the semen stains found in and around the bed show that the sex was repeated and consensual. Defense attorney Christopher Chan was quoted as saying, "We can show conclusively... that the positioning (of the stains) is such that it would support our theory that there was consensual sex the whole week." I think we can all collectively agree that 1) demanding an alleged rape victim to reenact probably one of the most tragic, horrific experiences of her life in front of a full courtroom is inhumane, ludicrous, cruel, and undeniably stupid; and 2) the occurrence of consensual sex in the past or at any other time is irrelevant; if in any one instance an individual says "no," and the other person disregards that dissent, any further sexual advance is considered assault.

• In Sweden: apparently having sexually-transmitted infections makes men feel more manly. A new study in Sweden shows that "young men who contract diseases such as chlamydia or genital warts can come to view their infection as a badge of honor, rather than a serious health problem." Researcher Kina Hammarlund interviewed young men and women between the ages of 16 and 30 years old, and claims (sadly) that "sex is no longer a big deal for young people. It's something girls use to get boyfriends, while guys want to gain experience." As wary as we are to make broad generalizations such as this, in the college setting, it is actually quite easy to see this claim play out in the young adult dating arena. What is even more upsetting is that Hammarlund found both women and men to be hesitant of using condoms; the interview responses revealed that young women fear upsetting their male partner if they ask him to use protection, while men fear that suggesting condom use prematurely may be a sign of their overconfidence, as if they expected sex before the sexual encounter even began... In all seriousness, I hope this study is some sort of sick joke because Hammarlund's findings are truly discouraging and wholly depressing. For men to be proud of their sexually transmitted infections and for both sexes to fear condom use adds a whole other level of concern when it comes to sexual assault and violence. Besides the dangers these mentalities pose to consensual sex, they also imply that there may be many young adults that are not paying due attention to their physical and sexual health, making sex as a whole more dangerous for everyone.

• Around the world: attitudes towards domestic violence are appalling. Last week, TheFrisky posted an entry highlighting the shockingly high percentages of women around the globe who think it is acceptable for their husbands to hit them. The full statistics are published here. Bosnia & Herzegovina reported a 4.9% in 2006, but Jordan posted a heartbreaking 90% in 2007.

• In Tennessee: CNN posted an article today about the use of "John schools" in attempting to rehabilitate and re-educate sex offenders, specifically, men who have attempted to solicit prostitutes and pay for sex. The program aims to show the sex offenders that "this is not a victimless crime, and they are contributing to the exploitation of women." Though the schools work off of the mantra of supply and demand (women will not stop selling sex until men stop paying for it), I still think all the blame shouldn't be put on the men. Considerable resources should also be poured into education for women, to show them that one's own body and spirit should never be put up for sale. The article does point out that prostitutes are usually punished far more harshly than their customers, but punishment alone cannot solve the problem. There must be education on both sides.

• Finally, RIP Sen. Ted Kennedy: though it is impossible to overlook Kennedy's scandalous history, and we would never condone his suspicious role in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, it is also impossible to ignore his long legislative history of fighting for the rights of the often-underrepresented, including women. Among these efforts are: his commitment to the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment; his support of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides for job protection for parents who must take time off work to care for newborn children; tireless promotion of the Matthew Shepard Act, which strengthens hate crime laws; and his significant role in the crafting of Violence Against Women Act, which invested $1.6 billion in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against women. Rest in peace, Ted.