Author: Michelle Onello

Michelle Onello is a human rights lawyer and senior counsel at the Global Justice Center, a nonprofit advocating for gender equality and reproductive rights in international law, and a signatory of the letter urging President Biden to repeal the Helms Amendment.

Sexual Assault Accusers Can Be Sued for Defamation. This Will Discourage Survivors from Coming Forward.

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has allowed Saifullah Kahn, a student accused of sexual assault, to sue his accuser for defamation, relying on a Connecticut Supreme Court opinion finding that the accuser was not entitled to absolute immunity for statements she made during a Title IX proceeding.

This decision will have a chilling effect on sexual assault survivors’ willingness to come forward, as they are now vulnerable to defamation and other civil suits, which are increasingly used to silence and intimidate victims. But the ruling also could impact how schools conduct future Title IX proceedings, and influence proposed new Title IX regulations, which the Biden administration has been working on since 2020.

Archdiocese of Baltimore Files for Bankruptcy to Evade Sexual Abuse Cases

The archdiocese of Baltimore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 29 to preempt child sexual abuse lawsuits which were expected to be filed once a new Maryland law removing the statute of limitations took effect on Oct. 1.

The scheme allows the church to protect its assets, limit financial settlements, and stop civil lawsuits which would air unsavory information about decades of child sexual abuse and the church’s complicity. 

Maine Is the First U.S. State to Center Survivors of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Legal Reforms

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed two laws last month empathetic toward people who engage in prostitution, while expanding criminalization for sex buyers and those who sexually exploit vulnerable populations, including children and people with mental disabilities.

The two new laws in Maine were inspired by the movement against domestic violence—which aims to center victims, hold abusers accountable and eliminate victim-blaming.

Supreme Court Decision on Reckless Speech Will Cost Victims of Stalking and Harassment

The Supreme Court issued a ruling on June 27 in Counterman v. Colorado, holding that a speaker’s subjective intention must be considered when determining whether speech is a “true threat” and thus punishable notwithstanding the First Amendment. The decision requires that a speaker must have been aware of the “threatening character” of the speech but delivered it anyway, and was thus reckless in their actions. The holding will limit protections for victims of stalking, verbal abuse and online harassment and increase the burden on prosecutors who must now provide evidence of the speaker’s state of mind.

The Court’s decision will have a disproportionate impact on the mostly female victims of stalking and verbal abuse who turn to the legal system for protection.

Biden Administration Takes on Intimate Partner Violence, Releasing New Clinical Guidance

The Biden administration’s Office on Violence Against Women (a division of the Justice Department) last month issued clinical guidance on how health professionals can provide comprehensive, trauma-sensitive care to patients experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV)—part of a coordinated, comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to preventing and addressing IPV, sexual violence, stalking and other forms of gender-based violence. Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States—totaling more than 10 million people annually.

“This means better diagnosis and treatment for the physical and mental injuries inflicted by an abuser, better support for survivors’ efforts to seek safety and better collection of evidence that can help survivors pursue protection and justice.”

Ohio Court Overturns Conviction of Pregnant Woman for Drug Use

An Ohio court of appeals unanimously overturned a pregnant woman’s conviction under the state’s “Corrupting Another with Drugs” law last month in a rare post-Dobbs win for the rights of pregnant people. Prosecutors in Ohio—and elsewhere—have increasingly sought to “protect” fetuses by manipulating state laws initially passed to protect pregnant people themselves from harm.

Though prosecutors have vowed to appeal the ruling vacating Hollingshead’s conviction, the Ohio court’s decision could help slow the march towards criminalizing pregnant women.

A Pioneer in the Fight for Pregnancy Justice: The Ms. Q&A With Lynn Paltrow

In 1987, Attorney Lynn Paltrow defended Pamela Rae Stewart, a California woman criminally charged for failing to follow medical advice while pregnant. This case was one of the first attempts to criminalize a pregnant person for their actions and argue that fetuses have constitutional rights. In 2000, Paltrow started National Advocates for Pregnant Women, now called Pregnancy Justice, to defend pregnant people against criminalization and other deprivations of their rights.

“With half the population capable of pregnancy, what we have to do is change the conversation so that it is clear we are not just defending abortion, we are defending the personhood of the people who sometimes need abortions, but who always need to be treated as full rights-bearing, constitutional persons.”

When Is a Threat a Threat?: A Forthcoming SCOTUS Ruling Could Have a Sweeping Impact on Gender-Based Violence

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 19 in a case that could have a sweeping impact on the ability of victims of stalking, verbal abuse and online harassment to be protected from their abusers.

In the case, Counterman v. Colorado, the Court appeared willing to increase the threshold for identifying speech that rises to the level of a “true threat” and ignore the collateral damage of protecting harassers—which will have devastating consequences for victims of abuse.

Why a Global Treaty Would Help End Violence Against Women and Girls

Ms. contributor Michelle Onello and co-founder of Every Woman Treaty, Lisa Shannon, discuss the causes and consequences of the recent rise in violence against women and girls, why a global treaty is necessary to meet their needs worldwide, and the prospects for moving forward with a treaty in the current political climate.

“In the absence of a global framework, we are allowing generations of frontline women’s rights activists to be stalked, harassed, beaten, murdered and chased out of their countries and forced to live in exile.”

U.S. Overturn of Roe Will Embolden Anti-Abortion Movements Abroad

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ruled that there is no U.S. constitutional right to abortion, will have ripple effects around the world. It will embolden anti-abortion movements abroad, contribute to global stigmatization of abortion, cause confusion for policy implementation and open the door for new restrictions—all of which will negatively impact the health, economic resources and well-being of women throughout the world.