Heena Sharma Blog

Students who are lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) are at a higher risk of self-harm when compared to heterosexual individuals, a recent study suggests. The research also shows that low self-esteem may explain the increased risk of self-harm in LGB students . Self-harm typically includes behaviour such as cutting, hair pulling, scratching, burning or non-lethal overdoses. "Young people's mental health is a national concern and this study confirms that lesbian , gay or bisexual young people have elevated rates of suicidality and self-harm compared with heterosexual youth. We know much less about how LGB young people seek help for their mental health problems, or what type of support would be effective," said Dr. Elizabeth McDermott, lead author of the study, which appeared in the journal of Archives of Suicide Research. Of the LGB students who completed an online questionnaire, 65 per cent had carried out non-suicidal self-harm over their lifetime compared

Lending his support to gender equality, actor Akshay Kumar said that strong women make stronger countries. Akshay along with a bevy of Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Vicky Kaushal, Rekha, Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Alia Bhatt, gathered on Sunday night to attend the 3rd Lux Golden Rose Awards to extend their support to the United Nations' campaign # HeForShe . Talking on the subject, Akshay said: " When women are strong, families become strong and countries stronger . I am happy to be a part of a family which has many strong women like my mother, my wife, my sister and my mother-in-law." The campaign celebrates the contribution of women to society. Talking about the role of female actors in the industry, Shah Rukh said: "These women have contributed to making me a better human." Gen-next stars like Taapsee Pannu, Nushrat Bharucha, Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan K

Union minister M J Akbar , facing charges of sexual harassment that go back to his time as newspaper editor, has not only refused to step down but insinuated that the approaching Lok Sabha elections had a bearing on the allegations. Speaking on Sunday after his return from his official visit abroad, he said he would take legal action against the women who had alleged sexual harassment by him. Akbar’s holding out, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said, stemmed from the seeming support he received from the party leadership. However, the sources also said Akbar was likely to be dropped as minister. Though there is little political cost to the BJP if Akbar goes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a track record since his time as chief minister of Gujarat of backing his ministers even when they have faced criminal charges and have been chargesheeted. For the time, Akbar has been given an opportunity to defend himself, party sources said. Read Complete Article

Women speaking out about sexual violence on social media and elsewhere in recent times marks a significant departure from the norm. Just how much so, can be gauged from the government-backed National Family Health Survey. The latest installment of the data that the International Institute for Population Sciences helped collect, was released in December 2017. It shows that that less than a fifth of women ever even told anyone about instances of sexual violence (see chart 1). There is also no distinction in reporting between urban and rural areas despite the former having better access to facilities like education. The median urban female completes seven years of schooling compared to 3.1 years for rural women. Less than 15 per cent of either category sought help following sexual or physical violence (see chart 2). Wealth also doesn't seem to matter when it comes to such instances. The percentage of those seeking help is the same for both the poorest and the richest-les

A new study has shed light on the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault and negative implications for women's mental and physical health. The # MeToo Movement , in addition to raising awareness, has provided people with a voice to speak out when they've been wronged, harassed, or assaulted. The study shows that not only are sexual harassment and assault highly prevalent today, but they may also have negative health consequences. The #MeToo Movement officially started in 2007 and was created as a way to publicly demonstrate the widespread problems of sexual harassment and assault in the United States. The movement gained momentum in 2017, largely as a result of the highly-publicized Hollywood scandals and has remained strong throughout 2018, forcing a number of accused, high-profile individuals to be fired or resign from their positions. While these repercussions have been largely positive, they fail to address the long-term consequences the victim suffer

After public transportation, local markets, private tuitions or roads leading to school were regarded as most unsafe among young girls Current Affairs News : India’s richest girls and young women, aged 11 to 18, felt the least safe among all income groups in public spaces, according to a new report that explored safety perceptions among adolescent girls. Across urban (47%) and rural (40%) areas, young girls reported feeling more susceptible to molestation or abuse while using public transport, said the report, Wings 2018: World Of India’s Girls, released by Save The Children in India, an international non-governmental organisation. This finding was particularly true for girls from higher income groups (53%), belonging to the other backward classes (OBC) and general castes (45%), according to the study Girls from medium and small towns (51%) reported feeling more unsafe than those in large cities (44%), small villages (42%) and large villages (39%). “A possible reaso