Sexual Health Rankings™ presents Sex Stories, a weekly roundup of sexual health news from around the country.
Advocacy Groups Blast Classifieds Site Backpage.com for Promoting Underage Sex and Prostitution (The Star Ledger)
A coalition of 50 New Jersey advocacy groups is fighting against Web sites they say promote child sex trafficking. Backpage.com, which fought a NJ law that would make it a first-degree crime to advertise sex with a minor, argues that the law violates a federal one protecting websites from the material people post. The advocacy groups say Backpage should better police its ads but the Web site feels that taking down the ads will not stop trafficking and allows them to work with law enforcement.
Horace Mann Pays Out $1M in Hush Money to Two Sex Abuse Victims (New York Post)
Recent court filings reveal that the elite Horace Mann prep school paid over $1 million to two of over 30 individuals who claim they were sexually abused there between the 1970s and 1990s. The number was reveled during new court proceedings in which the school sued their insurers for not reimbursing the payout. In addition to the payout, the school claims it is owed defense costs and other expenses.
Fight AIDS With Your Smartphone (CNN Money)
A new Android app lets you donate unused computing power to scientists looking for new drugs to treat HIV. FightAIDS@Home is using IBM’s World Community Grid, which harnesses the energy from idling electronics and has sponsored dozens of research projects, to create a quasi-supercomputer that cuts down on research costs and time. Devices must be both plugged in and connected to WiFi to avoid draining the battery and using data.
Fla. County Sets Public Hearing on Gender Identity Protections (Tampa Bay Newspapers)
Florida’s Pinellas County is considering amending is human rights ordanice to prohibit gender identify discrimination in employment, housing, and public places. The change would strike “sex” from the ordinance and replace it with “gender.” If passed, it will join several jurisdictions in FLorida and 17 states. The code would exempt religious-affiliated institutions and the school district as an employer. A public hearing is being held on August 20. A similar bill is being considered in California.
One Week Later, Women Denied Abortion Feel More Regret, Less Relief Than Those Who Have One (Guttmacher Institute)
A new study of over 800 women who visited 30 U.S. facilities were asked about six emotions (relief, happiness, regret, guilt, sadness and anger) related to their experiences seeking an abortion. Both women who had an abortion and those who were denied one expressed mixed feelings. However, in the former group, even negative emotions such as regret did not change the fact that most of these women also reported feeling relief and that they made the right decision.