From the July-August 2014 issue of News & Letters

by Artemis 

Nine women in the U.S. tech industry, including software engineers, designers, and product managers, have signed an open letter, http://aboutfeminism.me/, to all employees within the industry condemning the constant micro aggressions or “death by a thousand cuts” they experience, such as sexual harassment, condescension, and harassing emails. It was written after a company’s CEO was caught by a security camera violently attacking his ex-girlfriend and another woman had resigned from a different company due to sexual harassment. The letter calls for men to listen to women about how to combat sexism and for stronger promotion of gender and racial diversity.

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In April, feminists and pro-choice groups in El Salvador held a street demonstration and launched a campaign to Congress demanding they officially pardon 17 women who have been convicted of aggravated homicide after being treated for miscarriages at public hospitals. Abortion is completely illegal in El Salvador as well as Nicaragua, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Chile, and at least 129 women have been incarcerated in El Salvador after having miscarriages.

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The Brazilian feminist think tank and blog, “Think Olga,” has started a new project, Chega de Fui Fui (Stop the Catcalls), in which women can add points on a virtual map to show where they experienced sexual harassment or violence. Categories are also available to show where someone experienced racism, homophobia or transphobia. The group says its purpose is “not to identify even more public and private spaces that victims should not frequent” but to “understand the motivation that makes things this way…With these facts…we can also pressure governmental institutions to look more attentively at violence against women.” This group joins HarassMap in Egypt and Hollaback in the U.S., Buenos Aires, and Turkey in using this tool.