With Nikita Hand winning a landmark civil case against Conor McGregor for sexual assault, for which he must pay £210,000 in compensation, women everywhere felt a glimmer of hope for holding men accountable for their actions. But does that money account for her trauma? Is it even possible to attach a number to the cost incurred by sexual violence?
Category: Social Issues
Assisted dying is a women’s issue. So why are we being left out of the debate?
Given that one poll revealed 74% of the British public is in favour of legalising it, the vote isn’t unwarranted, but as the debate dominates talk shows and fills column inches, there’s one view neglected from the discussion: that assisted suicide is a women’s issue.
I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse – stop using my trauma as a political football
I’ve spent my life watching society ignore childhood sexual abuse (CSA) or use it as a political football to flick the responsibility from one party to another.
Overmedicalisation is harming disabled people’s sex lives
When I was eight, I had an unnecessary hymen check. I still remember the sound of the cheap plastic curtain rings jingling as the doctor placed me on the bed and examined my vulva.
Frequent medical interventions, investigations, and consultations have been a part of my life since I was seven years old. And as a disabled person, this consistent medicalisation of my body has corrupted my sexual development.
Am I Disabled Enough to Call Myself Disabled?
It took me more than a decade to call myself disabled. When the label finally stuck, the pride it injected — and the thriving community that came with it — enriched my life.
At my sickest, I embraced my identity as disabled. Since then, the chronic illnesses that disabled me have improved, and now I’m being tormented by a bizarre question: Am I still “disabled enough” to call myself “disabled”?
Goodbye Hustle Culture, Hello Anti-Ambition
Amid the era of ultimate girl bosses and side hustles, I fell out of love with my greatest love: ambition.
After becoming tantalisingly close to securing a dream job I had set a strict timer for ten years ago, I realised I did not want it. Saving for a mortgage, a well-paid 9 to 5 and a consistent income suddenly became suffocating, not liberating. Ambition, which had evolved into a defining element of my persona, no longer directed me to new heights. It had shifted towards an abyss of burnt-out desperation.
My Style Is Not ‘For’ Men – It’s To Protect Me From Their Violence
Every day, people select an outfit that speaks to them but, in a world rife with gender-based violence, people with femme-presenting style are often forced to use fashion for expression and protection. Throughout history we have been targets of unwanted male harassment, violence and sexual assault, and the blame is often placed on us for wearing clothes – of any kind.
The ‘10 second grope’ ruling is ridiculous. Sexual assault has no time limit
To state what should be the obvious: sexual assault has no time limit. Whether it lasts one second or one hour, the violation of another person’s body is equally unacceptable. Yet, apparently, this is difficult to grasp – for an Italian judge has cleared a school caretaker of groping a teenage schoolgirl because it “did not last long enough” to qualify as sexual assault.
I left the UK for Canada and can’t afford to come home
In April 2022, I flew to south-east Asia for a backpacking trip designed to relieve the stress of post-pandemic life. Now, with the cost of living crisis taking over the UK, I’ll never return to live in my home country – I cannot afford to.
I left full-time work in February 2019 to better manage my collection of chronic and disabling illnesses; the current headliners are endometriosis and fibromyalgia. Remote, part-time work transformed my quality of life by allowing me complete control over my time and distribution of precious reserves of energy.
I survived child sex abuse – here’s why Huw Edwards’s sentencing matters
Social media is incandescent with rage about Huw Edwards’s suspended sentence, but I’m not remotely surprised. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who was actively discouraged from pursuing charges at all, I know it’s par for the course. This country is essentially on the edge of decriminalising childhood sexual abuse and possessing indecent imagery of children, just like it has with rape.
