Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Betsy DeVos Will Meet With Accused Rapists and a “Men’s Rights” Group

Today, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will meet with attorneys representing men who claim to have been falsely accused of rape. She will also meet with a former Navy serviceman who has been lobbying against what he calls the “military’s sexual assault witch hunt,” as well as another man who claims to have been falsely accused and is currently a representative for Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE.) SAVE may sound like a good thing, but it mostly argues that rape claims are false. Its website has features about topics like “rape hoaxes” and “rape culture hysteria.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center says that SAVE’s goal is to get rid of services for abuse victims, and to “return the focus to the ‘true victims of abuse’–the falsely accused.” SAVE and some other “men’s rights” groups have been known to publish names of rape survivors in order to shame them, and blame women for their assaults, according to Jaclyn Friedman, an expert on campus sexual violence.

“DeVos also plans to meet with groups…with a track record of intimidating rape survivors.“

This is a new low. https://t.co/Cu4hFmyrnp

— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) July 12, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: July 13, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Hashtag of the day: #FreeMelania has taken off on Twitter after a video clip from the inauguration started circling the internet. It shows First Lady Melania Trump smiling at her husband, but changing her expression completely the moment he turns away–what’s going on there? Now read on for some newsworthy rants!

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

The U.S. is Now a “Flawed Democracy”

For the first time ever, the United States has slipped down on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) ranking of democracies worldwide. The U.S. used to be considered a “full democracy” but is now labeled a “flawed democracy,” the same designation as countries like Singapore, India, and Italy. The index considers categories like the electoral process, pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of the government, and political participation. The threshold for being a “complete democracy” is 8.0 points. The U.S. fell from 8.05 in 2015 to 7.98 in 2016. According to the scale, we have an underdeveloped political culture, low political participation, and weak governance.

We know what you’re thinking, but it’s not all President Donald Trump’s fault—the U.S. has been slipping down this slope for years, according to the EIU. Mainly, this is because the public’s trust in the government has hit historic lows.

Leader of free world no longer a democracy, no matter how you look at it (Trump not reason but doesn’t help)https://t.co/atJDRvlJSl

— Danny Quah (@DannyQuah) January 25, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: January 26, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.