Young, attractive women 'more likely to be believed’ when making sexual harassment accusations, study finds

YAHOO

Women who are both young and attractive are more likely to be believed when making accusations of sexual assault, a new study has found.

The perception among the general public, researchers said, is that women who are perceived to be young, "conventionally attractive" and feminine are more likely to be harassed. The research revealed that women who do not fit this prototype may face greater hurdles when trying to convince an employer or a court that they have been harassed. These women are also more likely to be perceived as less credible and less harmed by harassment. read more »

Indie musician Ariel Pink accused of abusing ex-girlfriend

THE GUARDIAN

Indie musician Ariel Pink has been accused of physically, sexually and emotionally abusing Charlotte Ercoli Coe, his former bandmate and girlfriend. He denies the allegations, calling them “intentionally false, misleading and defamatory”.

In court documents from Los Angeles County Superior Court, first reported by Pitchfork, Coe accuses Pink – real name Ariel Rosenberg, 42 – of battery following an onstage incident in 2017; of “bullying” her into having unprotected sex and transmitting herpes to her as a result; and of distributing explicit images of her to his fans. She also alleges he harassed her following the end of their relationship, in person and via text message. read more »

Man Says Mormon Church Threatened Expulsion for Abuse Report

US NEWS

An Arizona man is claiming he was sexually abused as a Boy Scout and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints threatened excommunication when he tried to report it 45 years ago.

Attorneys for the man announced a lawsuit Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix against the church, the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America, a scoutmaster, a scout and church leader and Bishop Floyd Dean Davis. It's one of several that were filed before the start of the year, when a window to pursue litigation for some victims of childhood sexual abuse in Arizona was to close. read more »

U.S. Figure Skating to Pay $1.45 Million to Ex-Skater Who Says He Was Abused

NEW YORK TIMES

U.S. Figure Skating has reached a $1.45 million settlement with a former skater who had accused the organization of failing to protect him from sexual abuse by Richard Callaghan, a once-prominent coach of Olympians.

The former skater, Adam Schmidt, had filed a lawsuit in San Diego in 2019 that said that Mr. Callaghan had repeatedly abused him from 1999 to 2001, beginning when Mr. Schmidt was 14 years old. Mr. Schmidt became the fourth male skater to have publicly accused Mr. Callaghan of improper behavior from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. read more »