Shot in Spain, Nepal, Mexico and the U.S., “Sands of Silence” explores the spectrum of sexual violence—from sex trafficking, to child molestation, to trusted adults sexualizing the young people in their care. journalist and filmmaker Chelo Avarez-Stehle delves into the devastating and long-lasting impact of this violence, showing how childhood experiences of abuse make women vulnerable to future violence, and the ways girls and women are silenced or encouraged to deny the impact of this violence.
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.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Legacy—as a Lawyer, on the Bench and in Dissent
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has had a tremendous impact on the law, both as a lawyer and as a judge, for women’s rights and the rights of all people.
The Difference Women Voters Make
Women vote at higher rates than men, and there is a growing gender gap in partisan affiliation and presidential voting, fueled largely by Black and Latina women’s strong identification with the Democratic Party.
Yet despite the fact that women are over 53 percent of voters, they are just 23.7 percent of Congress, 29.2 percent of state legislators, and 28.9 percent of statewide executive officeholders.
We have a long way to go to achieving women’s equality.
#MeToo Update: Fighting Forced Arbitration at Best Buy
Survivor Sarah Tremblay was a Best Buy “Geek Squad” employee until 2018, when she was fired for complaining about a customer who sexually assaulted her.
In the male-dominated field of tech, women experience high rates of sexual harassment. And women working in retail tech jobs are particularly vulnerable.
Luckily, Tremblay and her fierce feminist lawyer Susan Crumiller are fighting back.
“When Women Vote”: Celebrating Protest, Power and Progress
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the suffrage amendment, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened up a new digital exhibit: “Rise Up LA: A Century of Votes for Women” on August 18.
The virtual discussion series is organized around three questions:
How have women’s protests changed history? Why don’t women’s votes put more women in power? And what are today’s women fighting for?
How Some Universities are Bypassing Trump’s New Title IX Rules
If schools follow the Trump administration’s new Title IX rules, survivors no doubt will be reluctant to report sexual harassment and assault.
While some schools are accepting the rules and adopting restrictive policies, others are finding creative ways to get around the rules by designing policies that will minimize these harmful effects. We examined a few of these new policies—here’s what we found.
Policing and Punishing Pregnant Women: The Case of Chelsea Becker
For over nine months, 26-year-old Chelsea Becker has been sitting in jail, under a $2 million bail, for giving birth to a stillborn baby.
Becker is one of hundreds of women who have been arrested and prosecuted nationwide after experiencing miscarriages or stillbirths on a range of charges, including fetal assault, child abuse and chemical endangerment.
Rest in Power: Nadine Taub, Unsung Architect of Sexual Harassment Law
On June 16, pioneering feminist attorney Nadine Taub passed away at the age of 77. Taub played a pivotal—though largely unrecognized— role in the development of sexual harassment law in the United States.
Misogyny, Murder and the Men’s Rights Movement
The anti-feminist men’s rights movement advocates for a male supremacist ideology, and is described as “a thinly veiled desire for the domination of women and a conviction that the current system oppresses men in favor of women.”
The irony of a men’s rights activist murdering two men to get back at feminists goes to show, no one is safe from violent misogyny. Toxic masculinity kills.
The Abortion Pill Mifepristone Just Became Easier to Get
Last week, a federal judge in Maryland issued an 80-page decision temporarily suspending enforcement of an FDA restriction on the abortion pill, forcing patients to make an unnecessary trip to their health care provider just to pick up the medication and sign a form. U.S. District Court Judge Theodore Chuang ruled the FDA requirement of in-person visits during the pandemic imposes a “substantial obstacle” to abortion health care that is likely unconstitutional. Judge Chuang’s order allows patients to receive mifepristone from their doctors through the mail.