Women Prevail Against Violence
Mama Joyce and Josephine are unlikely heroines. Both women were brought low by abusive husbands who beat them, took away their dignity and choices, and left them with AIDS. Yet both women emerged as heroines in "SASA! A Film About Women, Violence and HIV/AIDS." This film tells the story of how these courageous women triumphed over gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS and gained power that helped them organize, become activists in their communities, and build meaningful and rewarding lives. (January 2008)

Challenges and Opportunities—The Population of the Middle East and North Africa

 This Population Bulletin looks at recent demographic trends in the Middle East and North Africa and how they interact with social and economic forces of change. It shows how this high-profile region is being transformed by mortality and fertility declines and a veritable revolution in marriage patterns and family planning use. The Bulletin  also considers the effects of immigration and refugee movements on the labor force as well as on the age and sex composition of country populations. (BUL62.2; June 2007)

Do Parents Spend Enough Time With Their Children?
Recently published research concludes that today's mothers and fathers spend at least as many hours caring for their children each week as parents did four decades ago. But many parents believe they spend too little time with their sons and daughters, which some researchers suggest could reflect today's beliefs in "intensive parenting." (January 2007)

Families, Fathers, and Demographic Change
Husbands and wives, as well as fathers, mothers, and children, now spend more years in each other's company, creating opportunities as well as challenges. This change has profound implications for relationships between parents and their adult children, as well as between men and women.  (October 2006)

What the American Community Survey Tells Us About Marriage and the Family
The American Community Survey (ACS)—a relatively new Census Bureau monthly survey that provides communities reliable and timely demographic, housing, social, and economic data—can provide information about the wide variation in family structure in different parts of the United States. (April 2006)

The Concentration of Negative Child Outcomes in Low-Income U.S. Neighborhoods
This analysis of 2000 Census data finds that negative child outcomes in the United States are highly concentrated in poor neighborhoods as well as significant racial, ethnic, and geographic differences in both the proportions of children residing in poor neighborhoods and in the concentrations of negative child outcomes. (March 2006)

Reforming Family Laws to Promote Progress in the Middle East and North Africa

 Morocco recently adopted an entirely new family law that is consistent with the spirit of Islam, yet based on equal rights for both men and women. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (February 2006)

Marriage in the Arab World

 Universal, early marriage is no longer the standard it once was in Arab countries: The average age at marriage for both men and women is generally rising, and more Arab women are staying single longer or not marrying at all. These trends are introducing new issues into Arab societies that confront deeply rooted cultural values and raise legal and policy challenges. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (December 2005)

In Tamil Nadu A Drive to Reverse Tubal Ligations After the Tsunami
Parents who lost children in the disaster hope that the procedure will help them conceive again. But analysts say the program points up India's failure to promote easily reversible contraceptive methods. (July 2005)

New Marriages, New Families: U.S. Racial and Hispanic Intermarriage (PDF: 593 KB)

 This Population Bulletin details the growing numbers of interracial marriages and children in the United States and their implications for future demographic and social trends. (BUL 60.2, June 2005).