Self-care note: This wrap-up includes discussion of domestic abuse, anti-LGBTQIA+ policies and behaviours, cancer, gender based violence, and more. If you find this distressing or triggering, remember to take it at your own pace. You may prefer to read small sections, wait until you feel ready to read it all, or choose not to read it at all.
1. Girls say extreme misogyny at school leaves them frightened and unsafe 🚨
Teenage girls in Tyneside have spoken out about the misogyny they experience at school and online, including threats of rape and violence often dismissed as “banter”.
One student described boys creating a “rape list” ranking girls, while others said repeated exposure to aggressive language had left them feeling frightened and worthless. Charities working with young people warn that when misogynistic attitudes go unchallenged, they can shape how teenagers understand relationships and contribute to abuse.
The girls created a film about their experiences to encourage discussion in schools. From September, schools in England are expected to teach an updated Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum covering healthy relationships and harmful behaviours.
Source: BBC News
2. AI in women’s health could reinforce biases, researchers warn 🤖
According to a new perspective article (i.e. a short academic text where an expert shares their personal view, thoughts, or new idea about a specific research topic), the extensive and enthusiastic use of AI to improve women’s health could actually do more harm than good.
The researchers said that growing optimism that AI tools may help address gender and sex inequities in medical research and healthcare delivery overlooks systemic issues with AI.
For instance, AI tools and applications tend to rely on a simplistic, binary view of gender and sex, and may therefore reproduce existing biases and stereotypes.
Health advocates and practitioners should therefore take a critical approach to AI’s potential, to better understand when it can be helpful and when it may do more harm than good.
The article was published in an unedited version to give early access to its findings, and may undergo further editing.
Source: News-Medical.Net
3. Breast cancer screening misses most young women at risk 🎗️
The criteria for NHS breast cancer screening miss 95 per cent of women under 50 who are at risk, a new study has found.
Under current guidelines, developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), routine mammogram screening for breast cancer is offered only to women aged 50 and over. Women under 50 are instead referred for testing only if they have a family history of breast cancer.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research used a new risk assessment tool that identified around eight times more high-risk women than the NICE model.
Source: BBC
4. Dutch prime minister announces annual fund for LGBTQIA+ safety 🏳️🌈
Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten has said his government will spend €7.5 million (£6.4m) a year over the next three years to improve the safety of LGBTQIA+ people in the Netherlands.
Jetten announced the new plan at the opening of the WorldPride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam, saying the funding will support initiatives aimed at tackling discrimination and misinformation, as well as improving the safety of the community.
He also warned that progress on LGBTQIA+ equality is being reversed in many parts of the world, with online hatred among the biggest threats.
Source: Attitude
5. Teens do not regret gender-affirming care, new study finds 🏳️⚧️
Most teenagers do not regret gender-affirming care, a new Canadian study has found.
The study followed 445 adolescents who had been referred to academic paediatric gender clinics. At a follow-up 2.4 years later, the researchers found that 97,1 per cent continued to identify with a gender identity that did not align with their sex assigned at birth. None of those who initially identified as non-binary returned to a binary identity, and discontinuation of gender-affirming hormones was rare.
“These findings support that within a clinical context involving comprehensive psychosocial assessment and support, gender identity among adolescents is highly stable,” the authors said.
Source: LGBTQ Nation
6. HIndia’s first women’s health policy to focus on menopause 🌺
India’s first women’s health policy is set to be introduced in the state of Karnataka, on the country’s southwestern coast.
The first phase of the new policy will focus on perimenopause and menopause, specifically on raising awareness and improving support for women going through these stages of life.
“Women’s health programmes have often been given lower priority within broader health policies. We will soon bring out a dedicated women’s health policy”, Minister for Health and Family Welfare U. T. Khader Fareed said.
Source: The Times of India
