Keeping Score: Fighting Florida’s Book Bans; Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom Gather Signatures for November Ballot Measure; HIV Infections Down 12%

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Rhode Island expands guaranteed abortion coverage; PEN America and Penguin Random House file lawsuit against Florida book ban, while NAACP issues Florida travel ban; Michigan protects abortion patients from employment discrimination; rock fans mourn the death of star Tina Turner; South Carolina votes to pass six-week abortion ban; HIV infections decreased in the U.S.; and more.

‘Hidden Horrors’: When it Comes to Domestic Violence, the Real Monsters Are Hiding in Plain Sight

A new campaign from Safe In Harm’s Way, DomesticShelters.org and Neon is exposing domestic violence abusers as master manipulators. Since domestic violence perpetrators don’t always fit the “wife-beater” mold, “Hidden Horrors” is calling attention to how most people have likely been deceived by an abuser at some point in their lives—especially if they haven’t experienced the abuse first-hand.

Ms. spoke with Caroline Hammond, CEO of Safe In Harm’s Way, and Sam Lauro, group art supervisor at Neon, to discuss the campaign’s creative process, how to expose the real monsters hiding in plain sight, how to support survivors and how to navigate healing.

Here’s How Companies Can Protect the Privacy of People Providing or Seeking Abortion Care

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Center of Democracy & Technology has released a set of best practices for companies to adopt in order to better protect the privacy and safety of people seeking, providing or otherwise supporting abortion care.

Without transparency, companies could sell data to law enforcement and civil litigants which could help prove a person sought, received, aided or provided an abortion. The best practices call on companies to consider and closely review the types of individual user data they have access to, and minimize the collection of revealing information.

Remembering Catherine Kassenoff and Continuing the Fight for Fair U.S. Child Custody Outcomes

Why would a brilliant attorney and mother of three take her own life? Because the dysfunctional U.S. family court system took her kids and drove her—like so many others—over the edge.

If a superwoman like Catherine Kassenoff—who had grit, plus training as an elite legal mind—was defeated by our American family court system, what does that say for the rest of women terrorized and victimized?

‘Between Two Moons’: A Love Letter to Arab and Muslim Communities, by Aisha Abdel Gawad

Aisha Abdel Gawad calls her first novel, Between Two Moons, “a love letter to Arab and Muslim communities.” The story centers around the Brooklyn, New York-based Emam family, American-born twins Amira and Lina, their older brother Sami, and their parents, Mariam and Kareem. 

It’s an emotionally rich and revelatory portrait, set in a post 9-11 world that is still feeling the aftershocks of that unprecedented attack. But despite this grim overlay, humor and joy exist in the struggles Gawad documents.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Stereotypes Can Be Fatal, Especially for Black Women; Be Wary of ‘Rainbow Capitalism’

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: the medical racism, bias and inattentive care that Black Americans endure; Israel is ranked the lowest for gender equality of all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries; how to find qualified and knowledgeable women experts in the democracy reform space; the nuances of “rainbow capitalism“ during Pride Month; and more.