1 in every 5 divorces by Facebook

Now… Why am I not surprised?????

Bangalore: Social networking site Facebook, which connects old friends and allows users to make new ones online, is being blamed for an
increasing number of marital breakdowns, reports the Telegraph.

Divorce lawyers claim that the explosion in the popularity of websites such as Facebook and Bebo is tempting to people to cheat on their partners. One law firm, which specializes in divorce, claimed almost one in five petitions they processed cited Facebook.

Suspicious spouses have also used the websites to find evidence of flirting and even affairs which have led to divorce. Mark Keenan, Managing Director of Divorce-Online said, “I had heard from my staff that there were a lot of people saying they had found out things about their partners on Facebook and I decided to see how prevalent it was I was really surprised to see 20 percent of all the petitions containing references to Facebook. The most common reason seemed to be people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to.”

Flirty emails and messages found on Facebook pages are increasingly being cited as evidence of unreasonable behaviour. In fact, computer firms have even cashed in by developing software allowing suspicious spouses to electronically spy on someone’s online activities.

One 35-year-old woman even discovered her husband was divorcing her via Facebook. Conference organiser Emma Brady was distraught to read that her marriage was over when he updated his status on the site to read: “Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady.”

Around 14 million Britons are believed to regularly use social networking sites to communicate with old friends or make new ones. The popularity of the Friends Reunited website several years ago was also blamed for a surge in divorces as bored husbands and wives used it to contact old flames and first loves.

(source: SiliconIndia)

[Bell Bajao] Bring Domestic Violence to a Halt

very impressive and important campaign. I support this!!! The videos below are part of the campaign. They are short, simple, sweet and make a powerful impact! Visit http://www.bellbajao.org for more info.

Top of  the list of ‘ok-I’ll-tell-you-what-all-this-is-about’ is … YOU!

It’s time to remove those earplugs. The campaign asks you to take a stand. Kill the “it’s not my business” mentality. Tell your Mom. Tell your friends. And more importantly, speak out and tell all to the World Wide Web. We’ll provide you the platform, the equipment — the works.

You are the voice of Bell Bajao!

Bell Bajao is an awareness and intervention campaign against domestic violence. It uses media, education and pop culture to reach out and cause change in the zeitgeist.

How can you make a difference?

Your speaking out against domestic violence will give a voice to one out of every three women who face domestic violence behind closed doors. World over, Domestic Violence is a serious concern. It’s not just happening to the woman who’s beaten by her husband; it’s also happening to the girl whose brother curses her and calls her names, and the elderly lady whose son won’t give her money because, “she doesn’t need it”. Only men and women acting together can make a difference.

Click here to learn about how men can take the initiative.

The campaign

Bell Bajao campaign launches on August 20, 2008. This is a 360 degree media campaign with TV and radio spots, print ads, mobile video vans and an online campaign. This is being released in collaboration with the  Ministry of Women and Child Development.  It has been created pro bono by Ogilvy & Mather. Zenobia  Pithawalla, Sr Creative Director, O&M, spearheaded the campaign. The two TV spots have been directed by Bauddhayan Mukherji of Little Lamb Films. All the images on the website have been given by Devansh Jhaveri and Abhigya Shulka.

Click here to meet our partners.

The force of youth and community leaders

This media campaign is being supported by on the ground force of youth and community leaders. Breakthrough reaches out to thousands of youth and members of NGOs and community based organisations. Our intensive training on human rights, gender, sexuality, prevention of HIV, and right of HIV positive people has equipped 70,000 people to be change agents in their community. Going forward, all new leaders will carry with them the pledge to Ring the Bell and violence against women.

Click here to meet our advocates.

bellbajao.org invites you to:

Comment on our brand new campaign. Watch our TV spots. Check our print ads. See how you can stop domestic violence.

Respond to blog posts. See what the celebrity bloggers have to say. Read reviews and posts from other bloggers. Write your own posts.

Learn more about domestic violence on our wikipage and help create a knowledge pool.

Act now! Become a virtual rights advocate.

Reclaim your voice. You’ve been silent for too long.

Couple’s fight or attempted homicide?

This is not a fight getting messy. This is deliberate attempt of murder. When would Indian journalism start using the right words in the right place?

They literally destroyed Aarushi’s father in the pune case just as they have done in the past and in this case, they have belittled the seriousness of the crime committed by labeling it as a domestic fued!!!!

Couple’s fight turns messy
20 Aug 2008, 0701 hrs IST,TNN

BANGALORE: It was a usual fight between a husband and wife, but for Eshwari (24), a resident of Doddabettahalli near Vidyaranyapura, the fight turned out to be a near life threatening experience.

Her husband Srinivas (30), a TV mechanic, always suspected his wife which led to frequent fights.

On Monday, at around 8.30 pm, they got into an argument over the issue and Srinivas attacked her with a chopper, injuring her severely . Eshwari was later admitted to a private hospital where she is recovering . The Yelahanka police have registered a case against Srinivas.

[ Original news from TOI's site ]