These milestones—key initiatives, events, court cases and more from the past two decades—brought about pivotal shifts in the public consciousness towards sexual assault and the experience of survivors, and how we as individuals and as a society can prevent it.
An All-Women Communications Team Will Lead the Biden-Harris Administration
Kate Bedingfield, Jen Psaki, Karine Jean-Pierre and Symone Sanders will be among those overseeing communications for the incoming administration—marking the first time in history these roles have been filled by all women.
Trump Races to Weaken Environmental and Worker Protections, and Implement Other Last-Minute Policies, Before Jan. 20
The Trump administration is rushing to approve dozens of eleventh-hour policy changes. Among them: The Justice Department is fast-tracking a rule that could reintroduce firing squads and electrocutions to federal executions.
These final weeks are solidifying conservative policy objectives that will make it harder for the Biden administration to advance its own agenda.
The Ms. Q&A: Actor-Activist Vanessa Marano on Shifting the Trafficking Narrative to Survivors
Conversations around sex trafficking experienced a resurgence following the investigation and indictment of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. However, the renewed spotlight on sex trafficking also helped popularize a plethora of unsupported conspiracy theories—leaving survivors in the shadows as powerful people continue to contort the narrative.
Restless Is the Social Media Platform Fighting Sexual Assault
Olivia DeRamus on Restless, her new social media platform for women and sexual violence survivors.
“I knew I had to find a way to empower myself again within the circumstances I couldn’t change. I thought that maybe if I couldn’t tell my own story, I could at least facilitate the stories of other women. That maybe I could speak indirectly through them, and feel like I was reclaiming my narrative, even if indirectly.”
“Women Doing Whatever We Want”: The Little-Known Fight for Women’s Financial Rights
The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18 has reignited a conversation about women’s rights—including financial ones, which modern Western women hardly question.
Now, with potential rollbacks looming, experts recall the decades of work to secure landmark women’s rights.
The Trump Administration’s Further Expansion of the Global Gag Rule and Its Impact on Global Health
In the midst of an uncontrolled pandemic, instead of focusing on policies to prevent death and disease, the Trump administration is pushing forward with its dangerous expansion of the global gag rule (GGR), which is a threat to health in so many countries.
We have a long way to go to ensure that the U.S. regains its position as a leader in global health.
“Why Isn’t Quawan Charles Trending?”: Another Grave Injustice in the Handling of Black Bodies
On Nov. 3, Quawan “Bobby” Charles, a Black 15-year-old, was found dead with his body dismembered in rural Louisiana. The handlings of his disappearance are being called “absent and negligent” at best.
Progress in Gender Violence Prevention Begins When the Trump Presidency Ends
Trump’s behavior has so dramatically lowered the bar for what is and should be expected of adult male behavior that it will take years to undo the regression. Come January 20, we will see if our nation’s “moral imagination” can be reignited—this time with infinitely more competent and enlightened 21st century leadership.
Singing the She-cession Blues: How the Pandemic Is Revealing Existing Fault Lines in the U.S. Economy
The Labor Department reported an alarming 865,000 women left the workforce in the month of September.
The Female Future of Work report shows how old the barriers faced by working women are and how seldom U.S. policymakers cared. The new report brings a recognition to working women’s history.