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May 2024

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Late singer Amy Winehouse, whose name is displayed in lights, performs on a stage with musical instruments and a guitar player behind her

by Narges Mohammadi

With the new Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” in U.S. theaters as of May 17, 2024, the late singer’s relationship with alcohol and drugs is under scrutiny again. In July 2011, Winehouse was found dead in her flat in north London from “death by misadventure” at the age of 27. That’s the official British term used for accidental death caused by a voluntary risk.

Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.416%, more than five times the legal intoxication limit in the U.S. – leading her cause of death to be later adjusted to include “alcohol toxicity” following a second coroner’s inquest.

Nearly 13 years later, alcohol consumption and binge drinking remain a major public health crisis, not just in the U.K. but also in the U.S.

Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults report binge drinking at least once a week, with an average of seven drinks per binge episode. This is well over the amount of alcohol thought to produce legal intoxication, commonly defined as a blood alcohol concentration over 0.08% – on average, four drinks in two hours for women, five drinks in two hours for men.

Among women, days of “heavy drinking” increased 41% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic levels, and adult women in their 30s and 40s are rapidly increasing their rates of binge drinking, with no evidence of these trends slowing down. Despite efforts to comprehend the overall biology of substance use disorders, scientists’ and physicians’ understanding of the relationship between women’s health and binge drinking has lagged behind.

I am a neurobiologist focused on understanding the chemicals and brain regions that underlie addiction to alcohol. I study how neuropeptides – unique signaling molecules in the prefrontal cortex, one of the key brain regions in decision-making, risk-taking and reward – are altered by repeated exposure to binge alcohol consumption in animal models.

My lab focuses on understanding how things like alcohol alter these brain systems before diagnosable addiction, so that we can better inform efforts toward both prevention and treatment.

The biology of addiction

While problematic alcohol consumption has likely occurred as long as alcohol has existed, it wasn’t until 2011 that the American Society of Addiction Medicine recognized substance addiction as a brain disorder – the same year as Winehouse’s death. A diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder is now used over outdated terms such as labeling an individual as an alcoholic or having alcoholism.

Researchers and clinicians have made great strides in understanding how and why drugs – including alcohol, a drug – alter the brain. Often, people consume a drug like alcohol because of the rewarding and positive feelings it creates, such as enjoying drinks with friends or celebrating a milestone with a loved one. But what starts off as manageable consumption of alcohol can quickly devolve into cycles of excessive alcohol consumption followed by drug withdrawal.

While all forms of alcohol consumption come with health risks, binge drinking appears to be particularly dangerous due to how repeated cycling between a high state and a withdrawal state affect the brain. For example, for some people, alcohol use can lead to “hangxiety,” the feeling of anxiety that can accompany a hangover.

Repeated episodes of drinking and drunkenness, coupled with withdrawal, can spiral, leading to relapse and reuse of alcohol. In other words, alcohol use shifts from being rewarding to just trying to prevent feeling bad.

It makes sense. With repeated alcohol use over time, the areas of the brain engaged by alcohol can shift away from those traditionally associated with drug use and reward or pleasure to brain regions more typically engaged during stress and anxiety.

All of these stages of drinking, from the enjoyment of alcohol to withdrawal to the cycles of craving, continuously alter the brain and its communication pathways. Alcohol can affect several dozen neurotransmitters and receptors, making understanding its mechanism of action in the brain complicated.

Work in my lab focuses on understanding how alcohol consumption changes the way neurons within the prefrontal cortex communicate with each other. Neurons are the brain’s key communicator, sending both electrical and chemical signals within the brain and to the rest of your body.

What we’ve found in animal models of binge drinking is that certain subtypes of neurons lose the ability to talk to each other appropriately. In some cases, binge drinking can permanently remodel the brain. Even after a prolonged period of abstinence, conversations between the neurons don’t return to normal.

These changes in the brain can appear even before there are noticeable changes in behavior. This could mean that the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction may take root well before an individual or their loved ones suspect a problem with alcohol.

Researchers like us don’t yet fully understand why some people may be more susceptible to this shift, but it likely has to do with genetic and biological factors, as well as the patterns and circumstances under which alcohol is consumed.

Work in the author’s lab explores how alcohol use can alter the way neurons communicate in the prefrontal cortex brain region. Estrogen receptors are labeled in purple and receptors for somatostatin, a key regulatory hormone, in blue. Victoria Nudell

Women are forgotten

While researchers are increasingly understanding the medley of biological factors that underlie addiction, there’s one population that’s been largely overlooked until now: women.

Women may be more likely than men to have some of the most catastrophic health effects caused by alcohol use, such as liver issues, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Middle-aged women are now at the highest risk for binge drinking compared with other populations.

When women consume even moderate levels of alcohol, their risk for various cancers goes up, including digestive, breast and pancreatic cancer, among other health problems – and even death. So the worsening rates of alcohol use disorder in women prompt the need for a greater focus on women in the research and the search for treatments.

Yet, women have long been underrepresented in biomedical research.

It wasn’t until 1993 that clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health was required to include women as research subjects. In fact, the NIH did not even require sex as a biological variable to be considered by federally funded researchers until 2016. When women are excluded from biomedical research, it leaves doctors and researchers with an incomplete understanding of health and disease, including alcohol addiction.

There is also increasing evidence that addictive substances can interact with cycling sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. For instance, research has shown that when estrogen levels are high, like before ovulation, alcohol might feel more rewarding, which could drive higher levels of binge drinking. Currently, researchers don’t know the full extent of the interaction between these natural biological rhythms or other unique biological factors involved in women’s health and propensity for alcohol addiction.

Adult woman faces away from the camera, holding a glass of white wine in one hand and pressing her left hand against her neck. Middle-aged women are at the highest risk for some of the most severe health consequences of binge drinking. 

Looking ahead

Researchers and lawmakers are recognizing the vital need for increased research on women’s health. Major federal investments into women’s health research are a vital step toward developing better prevention and treatment options for women.

While women like Amy Winehouse may have been forced to struggle both privately and publicly with substance use disorders and alcohol, the increasing focus of research on addiction to alcohol and other substances as a brain disorder will open new treatment avenues for those suffering from the consequences.

For more information on alcohol use disorder, causes, prevention and treatments, visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Source: TheConversation

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AsiaCulture

Recruiting Female Journalists in the 35th Tehran International Book Fair©

by Narges Mohammadi

The 35th Tehran International Book Fair started its activity from May 8th this year with the slogan “Let’s read & Let’s build” and it will end on Saturday, May the 18th.

The special guest of the exhibition is India, and the registration of publishers in the domestic and foreign spheres was done from March 2024, and Imam Khomeini’s Mosalla in Tehran has been selected for this exhibition.

Ali Ramezani, CEO of Iran Book and Literature House, pointing out that the Tehran International Book Fair is a collective activity and convergence, said: “This exhibition is a model of participation management among the country’s events, for which nearly 70 organizations are involved. The virtual part of this period of the exhibition is still active and people from all over the country can visit this exhibition online”.

This year, a platform was made for JahanBanou trilingual analysis news agency to participate in this exhibition.

In addition to introducing various activities of the site and preparing news reports, recruiting female journalists from all over Iran is one of the activities of interest of JahanBanou News Media Agency for all three sections, Persian, English and Arabic. The name and other specifications of the ones interested will be registered via filling out a form, so that after the necessary checks, the chosen ones will be invited for cooperation.

 

Our Address:

The main door (door number 1) of «Imam Khomeini Mosalla», before the «Shabestan», Eastern porch of the upper floor of «Child & Teenagers» section, «Hall of Digital Publishers».

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Central AmericaHealth

Women in rich countries are having fewer kids, or none at all. What’s going on?

by Narges Mohammadi

A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in 2023. With the exception of a temporary increase in the fertility rate at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US fertility rate has been falling steadily since 1971.

Australia exhibits a similar pattern. Fertility has declined since 2007 despite government attempts to invest in a “baby bonus” to encourage Australian women to have more children.

Taking a more global perspective, we can see similar patterns across other industrial nations: Japan, South Korea and Italy have some of the lowest global fertility rates.

So, what is going on here? Despite highly valuing children and our roles as parents, why are women having so few babies? And, importantly, why should we care?

How much fertility is good for a country?

On my recently launched podcast MissPerceived, I discuss why fertility rates rule the world. For a population to maintain its current size— that is, neither shrink nor grow—the total  needs to be above 2.1 births per women. This is because we need to have enough babies to replace both parents after they die—one baby to replace the mother and one to replace the father, and a little extra to account for infant mortality.

In short, if we want a population to grow, we need women to have more than two children. This was exactly what happened in many Western nations, such as Australia, the UK and US, following the second world war. Women were having more than 2.1 births, which resulted in a baby boom. Many families grew to three or more children.

This type of population structure, replacement or some growth, is critical to creating a healthy-working age population to support the young and old.

But, in many countries, the fertility rate is less than replacement level, which means the population is shrinking. In the US and Australia the current fertility rate is 1.6. In the UK it is 1.4. And in South Korea it is 0.68.

So, these countries are shrinking, and in the case of South Korea, shrinking quickly. What this means is that more people are dying in these countries than being born. As a result, the population is getting older, poorer and more dependent on others for their care.

For a country like South Korea or Italy, this is a problem for the present. And, in Australia, this will be a problem for the near future. Someone will have to care for the aging population. The question of who and how will be of increasing policy importance.

Why is fertility declining?

So, why aren’t women having more babies? Well, there are a few answers:

1. Women are better educated now than ever before. Women’s education has been rising steadily for decades, with Australian women now better educated than men. Australia has some of the most educated women in the world.

Education delays fertility for multiple reasons. First, it pushes out the age of first birth since women are spending a longer time in school. Second, it gives women more resources they then want to trade on the market after finishing a degree. Simply, women are often not having babies in their teens and early 20s because they are getting their education and launching their careers.

2. Young people are being delayed in, well, everything. It is much harder for young people to achieve the traditional markers of adulthood—stable jobs and buying a first home. Often these are factors that are identified as critical to having a first child. So, many young people are delaying fertility due to economic and housing insecurity.

Further, we now have safe and effective contraception, which means sex outside of marriage is feasible and sex without procreation can be almost guaranteed. All of this means parenthood is delayed. Women are having babies later and fewer of them.

3. Children are expensive and time-consuming. In many industrialized nations, the cost of children is astronomical. Average childcare costs in Australia have outpaced inflation. School tuitions, even for public schools, absorb a significant portion of parents’ budgets.

If you multiply this by more children, the costs go up. Intensive parenting norms, which guide how many people parent, emphasize significant time investments in children that are one-on-one. Simply, we spend more time interacting with our children in intense ways than previous generations.

And all of this is on top of greater time spent in paid employment. So, to do parenting “right,” according to current social norms, is to be deeply invested in our children in terms of time, energy and resources, including money.

4. Workplaces and policies are slow to adapt to supporting caregiving. Our workplaces still expect significant face-to-face time at work and long hours. Although the pandemic ushered in more remote work, many workplaces are rolling back this provision and mandating people return to work in some capacity. This is despite Australians highly valuing access to remote and flexible work, in part because they spent less time commuting and report significantly higher levels of burnout.

A nuanced approach is needed

Because the reasons behind declining fertility are not simple, the solutions can’t be simple either. Offering baby bonuses, as Australia and other nations have done, is pretty ineffective, because they don’t address the complexity of these interlocking issues.

If we are serious about supporting care, we need better career and housing pathways for young people, more investment in child and aged care infrastructure, technological innovations to support an aging population, and workplaces that are designed with care at the core.

This will create a culture of care to support mothers, fathers, children and families alike.

Provided by The Conversation

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CultureEurope

A Greek woman feared her ex-partner. He killed her outside a police station

by Narges Mohammadi

Athens, Greece – On the evening of April 1, a Monday, 28-year-old Kyriaki Griva’s ex-partner stabbed her to death outside a police station in northern Athens.

She was the fifth woman to be killed by an ex or partner this year in Greece.

Griva had just left her local police station, which she visited in fear of her former boyfriend, who had been loitering near her house.

She had previously filed formal complaints against him but on this occasion, declined to do so. While her reasoning is not clear, victims of domestic violence often choose not to make formal complaints because they are terrified of repercussions, worry the process may be triggering and have little faith in agencies that are meant to provide security.

Griva requested a police escort back home that night. She was directed to a police hotline, which she called. An operator reportedly told her that “patrol cars are not a taxi service”.

Griva was then killed shortly afterwards in the vicinity of Agioi Anargyroi station.

The 39-year-old suspect was imprisoned awaiting trial; he is reportedly being monitored in a psychiatric ward.

In response to the murder, the Minister for Civil Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis promised an in-depth investigation and expressed support for including the term femicide within the Greek penal code – a point campaigners have long pushed for – although he added that this would ultimately be up to the Ministry of Justice.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis rebutted criticism of his police minister saying, “the fault cannot always lie at the top when something goes wrong in the state”, but acknowledged that the government needed to do more.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing Griva’s family have since called for the officers who spoke to Griva that day to be investigated for potential negligence and manslaughter.

Charities and families of victims have long accused Greek authorities of not taking domestic violence seriously enough.

In December 2023, the same month a woman was shot dead on the island of Salamina by her partner at her mother’s house having reported him to the police, a Greek artist’s work alluding to femicide was removed from the Greek consulate in New York.

A government spokesperson said Georgia Lale’s “Neighborhood Guilt”, which depicted the Greek flag made with pink bedsheets, was taken down because the consulate space should remain neutral and “there are some things that are sacred above all, one of them is our flag”.

Lale said in response that they were “saddened” that their work was misinterpreted.

“Victims of femicide are heroes of the fight for freedom and life in Greece and internationally,” they said.

Katerina Kotti, the mother of 31-year-old Dora Zacharia, who was killed by her partner on the island of Rhodes in September, 2021, told Al Jazeera that she felt “rage, anger and disappointment” at the news of each new femicide.

Zacharia was killed outside her parents’ home.

“This cannot happen again, how often will this keep happening?” Kotti asked. “My soul bleeds that another girl who was full of dreams, in love with life, was lost, another family have lost the ground under their feet and will have to struggle to put the pieces back together, this is very hard to do, they will never get over the loss of their child.”

Of Griva’s killing outside a police station, she said: “Of course, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions or generalise but the authorities should pay more attention and evaluate each case more meticulously.”

Kotti said that boys especially should be taught from a young age that “they’re not entitled to anyone and that no means no, no one belongs to anyone else”.

Protests and vigils have sprung up across Greece in recent weeks, with some carrying protest banners written with the alleged words of the police officer before Griva was murdered: “The patrol car is not a taxi.”

There has also been an uptick in reporting of domestic violence cases – and arrests.

Anna Vouyioukas, a social scientist, gender equality expert and advocacy officer at Diotima, a center for gender rights and equality in Greece, told Al Jazeera that it was “obvious that femicides may be the result of institutional violence as the state does not provide guarantees to women, and does not create conditions of safety in the community, at home, at work, in the public space and not even in the close vicinity of a police station”.

Vouyioukas said despite a spike in domestic violence cases as shown in the police’s own data, “gender-based crimes are not taken seriously by law enforcement authorities, at least not in all cases”.

She said that from 2020 to 2021, the number of women domestic violence victims increased by almost 73 percent, and from 2021 to 2022 there was a rise of 37 percent.

Vouyioukas urged Greece to adopt a legal recognition of femicide in the penal code, which she said would “make the phenomenon visible and give prominence to its social and gender dimension”.

“It is a crime committed on the basis of gender discrimination and unequal power relations,” she said, as she also called for further support for survivors and more training for police officers.

Kotti is part of a group of grieving families that have lost female relatives to domestic violence.

They would like to see life sentences for convicts that offer no prospect of release.

“We should tell it as it is,” she said. “Those who have had a life sentence are the women themselves and then the families who are forced to live in their absence.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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Central AmericaCommunity

When choosing co-founders, entrepreneurs have a gender gap

by Narges Mohammadi

One of the most important decisions an entrepreneur can make when launching a business is choosing the right co-founder. Should compatible personalities guide the choice? Or should the priority be someone who brings resources to the startup? How do entrepreneurs make this decision if they must choose between these two options?

In a study of entrepreneurs forming early-stage ventures, Steven Gray, assistant professor of management at Texas McCombs, finds that men consistently prioritize co-founders who bring knowledge, skills, and experience. Women, by contrast, tend to favor co-founders with whom they have personal chemistry.

But unlike men, women can adapt and take a different tack if it will benefit the . They favor strategic flexibility in selecting a co-founder.

“Men don’t really change their strategy or approach,” Gray says. “Women are flexible, adjustable, and adaptable across situations. They respond to the unique circumstances of their venture in making these choices.”

Earlier studies on the role of gender in choosing a startup partner have been conflicting. Some found that women are likely to select co-founders they like, who feel familiar and trustworthy.

But other research found that women prefer partners who have resources, as a way to counteract biases that they and other underrepresented entrepreneurs face from evaluators. Such resource-seeking bolsters the  of a venture in the eyes of investors. It’s also the approach men typically choose.

With Travis Howell of Arizona State University and McCombs doctoral students Jamie Strassman and Kendall Yamamoto, Gray’s team focused on legitimacy as the key variable. They explored how an ‘s own legitimacy—in terms of credentials and abilities—affects the choice between chemistry and resources.

In three separate analyses—ranging from profiles on an entrepreneurial matchmaking platform to surveys of partners in a startup incubator—they found a consistent set of lessons.

  • Entrepreneurs who prioritized partners with high-level experience and skills received higher ratings from potential investors.
  • Entrepreneurs who prioritized interpersonal chemistry with a co-founder had more stable ventures and were less likely to disband during the first year.
  • Women changed their co-founder strategies depending on their personal levels of legitimacy.

When female founders had high levels of experience and skill, they tended to seek co-founders with whom they could work well. But where their personal legitimacy was low, they tended to look for partners with resources, who could boost their legitimacy in the eyes of evaluators.

Both approaches have their advantages, Gray says. What’s striking is that  pick a strategy that fits the circumstances. Male founders, by contrast, may be shortchanging their ventures by seeking only credentials and placing little importance on personal compatibility.

“We couldn’t find a scenario in which men came to prioritize or value, to a greater extent, the chemistry side of the equation,” he says. “When you think about pulling together a founding team, you really need both ingredients.”

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EuropeHealth

Study examines how pregnancy shapes perception and identity

by Narges Mohammadi

In a recent study published in npj Women’s Health, researchers investigated the cognitive constructs of the self during pregnancy compared to never-been pregnant women.

Their findings indicate that first-time pregnancy is associated with higher levels of body agency, visibility, and estrangement, along with poorer accuracy in learning new associations, suggesting significant shifts in self-representation and agency during pregnancy.

Background

During pregnancy, the body undergoes dramatic changes to accommodate the development of the fetus.

At the same time, widespread transformations occur at both a cognitive and social level to prepare for birth and subsequent parenthood. For example, pregnant people are placed in an unfamiliar social role – that of ‘mother.’

These are bound to profoundly impact the pregnant individual’s sense of self and identity. However, little is known about how one’s perception of self changes during pregnancy.

About the study

Researchers investigated how pregnancy influences the self-model, which encompasses self-concept clarity, sense of agency, general self-efficacy, body representation, and self-biases in learning. These are considered essential for understanding the self and choosing one’s actions.

Researchers hypothesized that pregnancy induces significant shifts in self-representation, leading to differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women across multiple measures.

To test this hypothesis, they recruited first-time pregnant and never-pregnant participants through word of mouth and an online platform.

The participants were assigned female at birth, over 18 years old, not menopausal, fluent in English, with normal vision, no previous pregnancies or children, and no neurological disorders.

Participants completed demographic surveys and questionnaire measures assessing self-concept clarity, general sense of agency, general self-efficacy, and body experiences during pregnancy.

They also performed two cognitive tasks: shape-label matching and intentional binding. Statistical analysis was conducted using Bayesian statistics, including independent samples t-tests and repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA), to compare measures between groups and across trimesters for primigravida participants.

The analysis included planned comparisons as well as exploratory analyses to examine potential trimester effects, with default prior distributions for Bayesian analyses.

Findings

The study compared 100 primigravida (first-time pregnant) and 102 nulligravida (never-pregnant) participants across various measures related to self-concept, sense of agency, general self-efficacy, body experiences during pregnancy, and cognitive tasks.

Only one participant reported being gender non-conforming; all others were cisgender females.

Participant demographics revealed no significant age difference between groups but showed differences in education level, mental illness history, employment, and study hours. Results indicated no difference in self-concept clarity between groups or across trimesters.

While there was no difference in the positive sense of agency between groups or trimesters, evidence suggested higher negative agency feelings in pregnant participants, particularly in the first trimester. Feelings of negative agency are associated with the experience of being out of control of one’s actions.

General self-efficacy showed minimal differences between groups and trimesters. Primigravida participants reported significantly higher body experience scores than nulligravida participants across all three trimesters.

Specifically, pregnant participants felt more self-confidence, competence, pride, femininity, and attractiveness during the second trimester than non-pregnant individuals.

However, they also felt more estranged from their bodies, in terms of less ownership and control and a lack of boundaries, and felt that their bodies were evaluated, touched, and stared at more, particularly in later semesters.

Cognitive task results indicated that pregnant participants had lower accuracy in associating self-related stimuli and longer reaction times compared to nulligravida participants. However, these effects varied across trimesters, with impairments observed mainly in the first and third trimesters.

There were no significant differences in intentional binding effects between groups or trimesters, indicating consistent perception of agency across pregnant and non-pregnant individuals.

Overall, the study provides insights into the psychological experiences of pregnancy and their impact on self-perception and cognitive processes.

Conclusions

The results of this study demonstrate how pregnant women may experience feelings of reduced control over their lives.

Body experiences during pregnancy, including feelings of body estrangement and visibility, were significantly different between pregnant and non-pregnant women, reflecting changes in self-perception during pregnancy.

Cognitive task results indicated a cognitive bias towards self-related stimuli in both groups, but accuracy in recognizing self-associated shapes was poorer in pregnant women.

Trimester analysis suggested dynamic changes in self-related constructs throughout pregnancy, with notable differences observed in the first and second trimesters.

The study’s strengths include its comprehensive investigation of various facets of the self-model during pregnancy and the inclusion of trimester analysis. However, limitations such as the lack of a multiparous cohort and the predominantly cisgender female sample were acknowledged.

Further research directions include exploring the postpartum period’s impact on the sense of self, considering diverse gender identities in pregnancy research, and comparing body experiences across primigravida and multiparous cohorts.

Overall, the study highlights the complexity of self-experiences during pregnancy, influenced by physiological and psychological transformations. Trimester effects suggest unique developmental stages in the self-model during pregnancy.

Source: News-Medical.net

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Central AmericaHealth

Study reveals perceived risk of weekly cannabis use among women of childbearing age with disabilities

by Narges Mohammadi

A growing number of states and territories in the United States have legalized medical and recreational cannabis use. As such, recreational cannabis has been associated with a lower perception of risk of harm in the general U.S. population.

However, in women of childbearing age, evidence has shown that cannabis use may increase the risk of adverse reproductive and perinatal health outcomes. Furthermore, research on the perception of risk from using cannabis among vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities is lacking.

Using data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine conducted a study to assess the perceived risk of harm associated with weekly cannabis use in a sample of 20,234 women ages 18 to 49 by disability status.

Disabilities included sensory (hearing and vision), cognitive (difficulty remembering and concentrating) and daily activities (e.g., walking and self-care). Researchers included race/ethnicity, age, marital status, federal poverty level, past-year health insurance gap, and whether the state of residence legalized medical cannabis.

They also assessed perceived overall health status, past-year major depressive episode, past-month tobacco/alcohol use, and illicit drug use.

Results of the study, published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, showed that approximately 60% of women with disabilities who used cannabis in the past 12 months perceived no risk of harm from weekly cannabis use. A significantly higher percentage of women with any disability perceived no risk associated with weekly cannabis use (37.9%) compared to those with no disabilities (26.1%).

More than one-quarter (27.4%) of women perceived no risk of harm associated with weekly cannabis use. Overall, perceiving no risk associated with weekly cannabis use was evident among women ages 21 to 29 (34.4%), those who were never married (32%), were non-Hispanic Black (32.2%), living in poverty (31%), perceiving their health as fair/poor (35.1%), and experienced a past 12-month major depressive episode (36.4%). The likelihood of perceiving no risk also was higher among women using tobacco and those using both alcohol and tobacco.

Overall, women with disabilities and cannabis use in the past 12 months had 2.9 times higher odds of perceiving no risk associated with weekly use of cannabis compared to women without any disability and no cannabis use. The odds also were higher for those who did not have a disability but used cannabis in the past year, which indicates that cannabis exposure, in general, may increase a woman’s likelihood of not perceiving any harm to her health from weekly use.

Exposure to cannabis use during pregnancy has been associated with adverse birth outcomes including low birth weight, preterm delivery, small for gestational age, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit and infant death. Cannabis use also may affect sex hormones essential to fertility and the timing of ovulation in reproductive age.

“As legalization of cannabis use becomes more prevalent across states, attitudes regarding the risk of cannabis use are changing,” said Lea Sacca, Ph.D., co-author and an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health and Social Medicine, FAU Schmidt College of Medicine.

“A multi-pronged approach to address cannabis use among vulnerable populations such as women of childbearing age with disabilities will require clinical guidance, provider and patient education and evidence-based public health programs.”

Although research evidence shows that residents in states where cannabis is legal are more likely to believe that cannabis has benefits than those living in states with just medically legal cannabis or nonlegal states, this study suggests that living in a state that has legalized medical cannabis was associated with a decreased likelihood of perceiving no risk from using weekly cannabis relative to states with no legalized use of medical cannabis.

“There is an urgent need for effective cannabis screening and subsequent dissuasion of cannabis use for reproductive-aged women at risk of substance use. Obstetrician-gynecologists can play an important role by informing patients about healthy behaviors and encouraging long-term adoption as well as identifying patients abusing drugs for proper referral to addiction treatment professionals,” said Kitsantas.

“Importantly, health policies should include holistic programs to proactively educate the population, pharmacists, medical and public health professionals of the associated benefits and risks of cannabis use among reproductive-aged women with disabilities.”

Study co-author is Salman M. Aljoudi, a health data analyst, a Ph.D. researcher and an instructor at George Mason University.

Source:

Florida Atlantic University

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EuropePolitics

While Ukraine’s men have been mobilized for war, women have taken on the job of reporting it

by Narges Mohammadi

Nastya Horpinchenko is staring out at the plains of Chasiv Yar, a city in eastern Ukraine, through a cracked car windscreen. “Are you scared?” asks cameraman Andriy Dubchak. “I’m always scared,” she replies.

She has good reason. Nastya, a 26-year-old investigative reporter from Ukrainian news site Slidstvo.info, is travelling with a film crew towards the front line. Their destination is just a few kilometers from where the Russian forces are advancing. 

Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region, is 10km west of occupied Bakhmut. It’s a strategically important area that Russia has vowed to capture. If Chasiv Yar falls, so too could the rest of Donetsk.

“I want to show the work of the military, because they are now actively holding back the offensive,” she says. “It’s scary to go, but we will be with the military and it should be safe with them. But we will be very close and if the Russians attack, they’ll shoot with everything they’ve got.”

Over several months, Foreign Correspondent has been filming with Nastya and a number of other Ukrainian women who are reporting from the front line and running regional newsrooms. While men have been mobilized for war, many women have taken on the task of reporting on it.

It’s a dangerous assignment. They’ve been under attack, evacuated from their homes and have lost loved ones. But they see their roles as critical as they continue to document the devastation the conflict has brought.

Nastya has been reporting from the front line since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. She views herself as an eyewitness to the conflict and a recorder of something that can go missing in war: the truth.

The soldiers she meets often ask why she has come to the front line. “Some say, ‘You are as delicate as a flower; it would be safer for you to stay home, you still have children to give birth someday,'” she says.

But being a war correspondent in this conflict was an important decision for Nastya. At the beginning of the war, she considered becoming a medic or doing something more hands on. She even considered joining the army.

“But then, after about a month, I thought, ’Listen, your work is actually very valuable too.’ We have the opportunity to document some stories that may be useful for judicial processes [to document war crimes] in Ukraine later on.”

A view from the front line

Nastya arrives in Chasiv Yar to a city decimated by constant shelling. The Ukraine military quickly escort her to an underground bunker where she meets soldiers from the 93rd brigade, who are on a break awaiting their next orders.

“The emotional state of the soldiers is brutal, especially for those who have been fighting there for two years. Everyone is very exhausted and really worn out,” she says.

“They say, ‘We do not sleep. We do not have enough people … We work every day. We only got a day off today because a cluster bomb fell near us.’ And like that, his hands were shaking, his eyes were red, and he says, ‘We are barely holding on.’

“When you realize that each of them that are going out to their positions could be their last one … I don’t know how people cope with it, how they manage it.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the Russian invasion two years ago. Western intelligence officials believe the figure is far higher.

The severe strain on soldiers at the front line has forced the Ukrainian government to pass laws lowering the age of conscription from 27 to 25. The move is expected to add tens of thousands of additional troops to the military.

Nastya knows first-hand how important the additional troops will be. Her partner is a drone operator for the Ukrainian military. They both worry about each other’s safety.

“They (the soldiers) fight with the realization that they may die and you don’t know what to do about it,” she says. “It’s something that you can’t just take and change. I personally don’t have an understanding of what I could do to make things better. It’s sad also because you don’t see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel.”

Newspapers back in print

Svitlana Karpenko is walking through the rubble of a building that used to be her office. Her name is still hanging on a sign on the door. “I used to sit here,” she says, gesturing to where her desk once was.

Svitlana is the editor of Trudova Slava, the local newspaper for the town of Orikhiv in south eastern Ukraine. She was forced to leave in April 2022 with her husband and elderly mother when Russian missile attacks made it no longer safe to stay.

Like many other residents, they moved an hour away to Zaporizhzhia City. Now around a thousand people remain.

“My house and my parent’s house were destroyed,” says Svitlana. “Almost 99 per cent (of the city) is destroyed. I miss my own home; I miss what has been built throughout the years.”

Orikhiv is only a few kilometers from the front line. Russian forces have occupied villages nearby. Svitlana is determined to deliver the news to the remaining residents every couple of months, when it’s safe to travel.

She returns with printed copies of the newspaper. With no internet and unreliable electricity, in Orikhiv, getting information can be difficult. Svitlana revived the print edition of the newspaper to ensure her cut off community can read local stories and get information from the outside.

As she drives into town, the buildings that once lined the streets she played on as a child lie in ruins. “This is our life, this our reality,” she says. “And you realize that maybe we will never rebuild it.”

The remaining locals are happy to see her. One likens the newspaper delivery to “a downpour after a heatwave.”

In her old editorial office, Svitlana takes a moment to remember the life she had here. “An entire era has just been destroyed. What can I say? Only sorrow, great sorrow and pain,” she says, looking at the crumbling walls and broken windows. “I worry that it will never be the same again.”

Newsrooms at breaking point

Lesya Lazorenko is listening intently during a regular editorial meeting in the newsroom she runs in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine. A colleague is discussing a difficult story she is covering.

“I talked to a girl who was raped by the Russian occupiers,” the reporter says. “She told me everything in great detail. I’m very worried about not causing another trauma.”

Lesya is the chief editor of the Kremenchuk Telegraph. The story she’s hearing is sadly all too familiar. She advises her colleague to talk to a psychologist. “We need to make sure that she doesn’t get hurt anymore,” Lesya says.

She worries about her reporting staff, predominantly women, who now spend a considerable amount of time talking to victims of trauma.

“It’s very important for me as an editor to understand the level of burnout of each of them,” she says. “I see tears in the eyes of journalists after the interview. I see tears in the eyes of video operators who edit material and who cannot hold themselves back.

“We are working with POWs. We are talking to women who were raped in captivity. Now we are talking to parents who have lost their children, not only on the front, but during shelling in our hometown. And it’s terrible.”

It’s very personal for Lesya. Her eldest son Bohdan could be deployed to fight at any time. Her 10-year-old daughter Yaroslava, who now spends many school days in a bomb shelter, is having nightmares. She dreams of explosions and losing her family members.

“At the age of 10 she knows the sound of an explosion; she knows what a bomb shelter is,” she says. “I’m afraid of losing my children.”

Some days the strain of keeping her family safe, her staff supported and her newspaper operational takes its toll.

“When you lead the team, I as a woman and as an editor have certain weaknesses and I close the doors of my office. I can cry sometimes. But I will cry so they do not see any of my emotions. I have to go out with a smile, to say that we are doing well, that we will handle everything.”

Source: ABC News

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CultureEurope

Members of London’s Garrick Club vote to let women join for first time

by Narges Mohammadi

The members of the men-only Garrick Club in central London have voted to allow women to join for the first time.

The Garrick Club holds a remarkable collection of art works representing the history of the theatre, much of which is displayed throughout the building. There are over 1000 paintings, drawings and sculptures, a fascinating selection of theatrical memorabilia, and thousands of prints.

The Garrick Club is a private members’ club in London, founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members’ clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include at least 160 senior legal professionals and members of the judiciary including King’s Counsel (KCs), Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges, at least 10 serving members of parliament (MPs) and dozens of members of the House of Lords, many heads of public institutions alongside many actors, members of the arts, and businessmen. 

The Garrick was a gentlemen’s club with membership restricted exclusively to men. However, in May 2024 the club voted to allow women to be members.

New candidates must be proposed by an existing member and seconded by another member, before supporting signatures are collected from members and the prospective member goes in front of a series of committees followed by a secret vote on membership. According to the club website, the original assurance of the committee is “that it would be better that ten unobjectionable men should be excluded than one terrible bore should be admitted”.

In May 2024, the club voted to accept women as members for the first time.

The exclusion of women from membership generated disagreement within the club and criticism from wider society, especially as many figures were seen as members of the British establishment, or cultural elite; this criticism increased after a membership list was published in March 2024.

The 193-year-old club’s membership remains a closely guarded secret, but the Guardian newspaper revealed in March that it included about 1,500 men, mostly prominent members of Britain’s establishment.

The report fuelled anger that so many influential men – from King Charles to actor Benedict Cumberbatch – had joined a club that continued to ban women.

On Tuesday evening, amid a bitter dispute over the issue, members met to review the legal wording around the club’s constitution and said there was nothing to prevent women from joining.

About 60 percent of members then voted to allow women to join, according to the BBC and the Guardian.

The last vote on admitting women took place in 2015 and failed narrowly.

Tuesday’s decision was generally welcomed although the Right to Equality campaign group expressed disappointment that it rested “on a legal technicality rather than representing a profound desire by members to associate with women”.

The Garrick, in Covent Garden, was founded in 1831 for actors and “men of refinement and education”. It was one of the last private members’ clubs in London not to allow women to join.

After the membership list was revealed, some members resigned, including spy chief Richard Moore and the head of the Civil Service, Simon Case.

Source: Al-Jazeera

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English restaurants and offices must include single-sex toilets from now on

by Narges Mohammadi

Women and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said the move would end “the rise of so-called ‘gender-neutral’ mixed sex toilet spaces, which deny privacy and dignity to both men and women”.

According to PA, the legislation will mean that new non-domestic buildings must install separate toilet facilities for men and women, or, if there is not enough space, self-contained universal toilets, a fully-enclosed toilet room containing a sink and hand dryer.

Ministers said a consultation on the proposals showed 81% agreed with the intention for separate single-sex lavatories, while 82% agreed to provide additional universal toilets where space allows.

The regulations will also apply to businesses and hospitality venues undertaking “major refurbishment”.

There will be exemptions for schools, residential homes and premises used mainly for early years provision.

In schools, separate toilets for boys and girls aged eight years and over must already be provided.

Last week, Ms. Badenoch appeared to suggest gender-neutral toilets at a school could see young girls avoiding using those shared facilities and ending up with urinary tract infections.

It came after Health Secretary Victoria Atkins announced plans to overhaul the NHS Constitution, ensuring hospital patients in England have the right to request to be treated on single-sex wards, with transgender people placed in rooms on their own.

In a statement about the new legislation, Ms Badenoch said: “These regulations will guide organisations to design unisex and single-sex toilets, ending the rise of so-called ‘gender-neutral’ mixed sex toilet spaces, which deny privacy and dignity to both men and women.

“Today’s announcement will also create better provision for women so that our particular biological, health and sanitary needs are met.

“This is following our work last week limiting the use of mixed-sex wards in the NHS and demonstrates how this Government is committed to ensuring single-sex spaces are protected for all.”

“Today’s announcement will also create better provision for women”

Housing minister Lee Rowley said: “We know all members of society value safety, privacy and dignity, and this new legislation will help ensure the right facilities are in place for everyone.

“It is vital that new buildings, particularly in public spaces, are serving the community with right toilet provision.”

Mermaids, a transgender youth support charity, said in response to Government proposals:

“In order to ensure ‘everyone is served fairly’, and that everyone can feel comfortable using public toilet facilities, not only are gender-specific facilities in which trans people can feel safe in using vital, but gender-neutral facilities are also greatly necessary to ensure non-binary people’s experiences with toilet facilities are one of comfort.”

Source: Yahoo News

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