ABORTION VERSUS MOTHERHOOD

You could find yourself in a situation when all of a sudden there is choice to make.  Yes, I’m
speaking of making a decision between abortion and motherhood.  Many women interviewed for The
Voice of Australian Women Survey, are feeling increasing pressure financially of having children.  Two out of five women who have terminated a pregnancy feel that abortion is validated because they were not in a financial position to have a child.  This concern is being echoed in more and more
younger women.

There is an rise in the number of women saying that abortion is an absolute right. In 1980, 62% indicated an absolute yes.  In 2007, 69% indicated an absolute yes.

There is a significant drop in the number of women saying that abortion should only be considered under certain circumstances, like when there is a medical threat to a woman’s life or rape.  In 1980, 32% gave a nod to this question, whilst in 2007, only 26% agreed.

Due to the complex nature of this sexual issue, more than one reason for abortion was given.
Below are the statistics for the main reasons for having an abortion.

3% indicated abortion due to being raped.

13% indicated that they had a child/children already and did
not wish to have anymore.

14% indicated that it was a medical necessity.

39% indicated that they were not in a financial position to
have this child.

41% indicated that they were not in the right relationship.

45% felt they were too young to have a baby.

Check out http://www.standupgirl.com where young women can talk freely about unexpected pregnancy.

Shele

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RAPE A TUMOR IN SOCIETY

In Australia there has been a significant increase in the number of women being sexually assaulted. 

We would like to hear from you, our readers, your views and experiences on the very sensitive sexual issue of rape.

The more we use our voices, the more we can inform others.

The more we listen, the more informed we become and we can make a difference to our lives and the to world in which we live, making it a better place for all.

13% of women surveyed for The Voice of Australian Women survey have been raped.  Only 1 in 5 of these women reported the rape to authorities.

The Voice of Australian Women survey conducted in 1980 statistically showed that 8% of the women surveyed had been raped, whilst the latest survey results for 2007 show a rise in the number of rapes to that of 13% of women surveyed. 

What is consistent over this 28 years duration is that most rapes are occurring to women by someone who they know.

In 1980 the number of women surveyed who were raped by their partner/husband was at 13%.  Now
in the latest results, the figure has risen to 22%.

The question that has been asked of these rape
victims is “Why have you not reported the rape?”

23% do not feel that the justice system can
effectively handle rape.

27% felt that they were incapable of coping with the trauma of going through the justice system.

33% felt that they would not be taken seriously.

46% did not want other people to know that they had been raped.

49% wanted to put the rape behind them.

“Rape victims anonymous” the faceless women of rape is silently growing within our society like a tumor slowly invading its host’s healthy cells.  Just because we do not see it, does not mean that rape is not occurring and becoming more commonplace by the minute. 

Shele & Michael.

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