Gender-bias suits enjoyed a banner year in 2004 despite an increasingly unfriendly legal and political climate. Successful litigants, lawyers say, often measure victory more in terms of boosted confidence than dollars.
Laci Peterson drew shocked attention to the idea of a man murdering his pregnant wife. However, a medical journal quietly reported a more shocking reality; that murder by an intimate partner is the leading cause of death for pregnant women.
Long overlooked by researchers, the subject of female alcoholism is now attracting greater attention as women face some higher risks from the disease and can have a harder time finding appropriate treatment.
Harvard University reversed its decision to make reporting a sexual attack on campus more daunting. Elsewhere, however, students receive little support for prosecuting their assailants and may be actively discouraged from pursuing a claim.
The State Department says the Iraq war was fought in part to improve the lot of women. Yet, experts on the status of women in Iraq are concerned that the relative freedom women enjoyed will be lost as conservatives gain power in the new government.
Sexual assault is a very real threat for American prisoners of war in the Iraqi conflict, but little is known about how the military prepares to deal with that trauma.
Beauty salons are intimate gathering places where women chat, confide and nourish more than hair and nails. Now, some are playing potentially life-saving roles in a network helping battered women take care of beauty and bruises, body and soul.
Tipper Gore promises to be an activist and adviser. The reticent Laura Bush would be strictly a wife. Regardless of the election results, the next first spouse is likely to find the task of being the nation's chief volunteer a profound challenge.