In our nation’s capital, D.C. officials are taking an unorthodox yet necessary step towards preventing the spread of HIV.  Here, the HIV infection rate is 6 times higher than the national average which demonstrates the urgency for a new approach in preventative measures.  D.C. officials will be handing out 500,000 female condoms in community centers and salons around the city and giving demonstrations on how to use the relatively unknown device.

Whether it’s a casual bump on your butt on a crowded bus or train or someone putting their arm around you at the bar, women often experience lots of unwanted touching.  It starts with just a casual bump, but it can be much more.  

Human rights advocate, Aaron Cohen, wants to expose Cambodia’s long existing problem of child sex trafficking in Cambodia, an issue that has been virtually swept under the rug.  For years Cohen has been working undercover in the sex trafficking underbelly in order to gain useful information necessary to make arrests of those trafficking women and children.  While Cohen’s fight to stop sex trafficking has taken him around the world, he notes that South Asia is one of the worst and most tragic of cases.

In honor of Thanksgiving, GCNova is paying tribute to the millions of young women and children who are living in difficult, dangerous, and sometimes deplorable conditions. As Villanova students, we have a lot to be grateful for. This holiday season, please remember those who are less fortunate than you… like some of the women featured in the following links and stories…

Beefeaters, the jailers at the Tower of London, are iconic figures that represent medieval England in the midst of thriving Londontown.  The Tower of London is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions(I’ve been there! It was awesome!) with it’s ‘grim history’ going back 500 years involving the guarding and eventual executions of several Tudor queens.  The esteemed job of a beefeater is a male dominated field but recently, a woman named Moira Cameron made history by becoming the first female beefeater.  Unfortunately, misogyny and discrimination has resulted from her achievement at the hands of her fellow male beefeaters.