Author: Carrie N. Baker

Carrie N. Baker, J.D., Ph.D., is a Professor in the Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College. Her 2007 book The Women's Movement Against Sexual Harassment won the National Women’s Studies Association Sara A. Whaley Book Prize. Her second book, Fighting the U.S. Youth Sex Trade: Gender, Race, and Politics, tells the story of activism against youth involvement in the sex trade in the United States between 1970 and 2015. Baker is the President of the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts.
What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: On Work and Family

What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: On Work and Family

The work and family prong of Biden’s agenda for women includes high-quality, affordable child care for all families; free universal kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds; support for increased access to after-school, weekend and summer programs; programs to care for older Americans and people with disabilities; paid family and medical leave; and flexible, fair work schedules.

(This piece is the third of a multi-part series covering President-Elect Biden’s platform for women. New installations of the series will be released on Wednesdays.)

What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: on Economic Security

What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: On Economic Security

The economic security prong of Biden’s agenda for women includes fighting for equal pay and better wages for women, ending pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment, supporting women-owned small businesses, expanding women’s access to education and training, and providing pathways for women to enter higher-paying professions.

(President-Elect Biden’s platform for women promises to be the most ambitious presidential agenda yet addressing issues that affect women and girls in the U.S. and around the globe. This piece is the second of a multi-part series covering the agenda.)

How Telemedicine Startups Are Revolutionizing Abortion Healthcare in the U.S.

How Telemedicine Startups Are Revolutionizing Abortion Health Care in the U.S.

Telemedicine abortion startups are springing up across the country after a federal court in July temporarily suspended FDA restrictions on distribution of the abortion pill during the pandemic. In total, people in 19 states and Washington D.C. now have legal access to telemedicine abortion from a doctor within their state.

“This is a very safe early option. You can have a telemedicine appointment with a doctor in the comfort of your home and you get something mailed to your home. … To have that ability to be able to take care of yourself at home, I think that’s just an amazing service. And it should continue to be an option.”

What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: on Health Care

What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: On Health Care

President-Elect Biden’s platform for women promises to be the most ambitious presidential agenda yet addressing issues that affect women and girls. This is the first of a multi-part series covering the agenda.

The health care prong of President Elect Biden’s agenda for women includes protecting and strengthening access to reproductive health care, expanding access to high-quality, affordable health care, addressing maternal mortality and tackling health inequities. The platform focuses in particular on developing health care protections for LGBTQ+ women, women with disabilities, incarcerated women, women veterans and Native women.

A New Frontier in Domestic Violence Prevention: Coercive Control Bans

A New Frontier in Domestic Violence Prevention: Coercive Control Bans

COVID-19 has fueled a global surge in intimate partner violence. In response, two states—Hawaii and California—have recently taken the groundbreaking step of passing the nation’s first laws against coercive control.

“Coercive control is the first step in domestic violence. If we can identify it and stop it there, we can save lives,” said the bill’s sponsor, Hawaii Rep. David A. Tarnas.

Justice Department Seeks Immunity for Trump on Lies about E. Jean Carroll Rape

Judge Says Justice Department Cannot Defend Trump in E. Jean Carroll Rape Defamation Suit

Bill Barr’s Justice Department attempted (unsuccessfully) to argue in court that those harmed by Trump’s lies—such as rape survivor E. Jean Carroll—should not be able to sue him for the harm he causes.
“Nobody in this nation is above the law. Nobody is entitled to conceal acts of sexual assault behind a wall of defamatory falsehoods and deflections.” says journalist and writer E. Jean Carroll, who brought a lawsuit against the President.