More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Ms. offers stories about the abuse of children related to feminist issues and the pursuit of human rights for all. Abortion, adoption, sexual abuse, criminalization of women, drug criminalization and harmful legislation all intersect with the issue of child abuse.
Anti-abortion and right-wing prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are warping child neglect, abuse and endangerment statutes to criminalize behavior during and after pregnancy.
Dobbs “will further accelerate an existing crisis, putting anyone who is pregnant or has the capacity to become pregnant at even greater risk of arrest, prosecution, and conviction,” according to a new report from Pregnancy Justice.
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.
This Indigenous Peoples Day, as we honor the rich tapestry of Native culture and celebrate the diversity and enduring spirit of Native communities, let us also acknowledge the legacy of Native American boarding schools and remember the Native children who were taken from us far too soon.
At least 523 institutions were part of the Native American boarding school system—408 of which received federal funding. These schools were in at least 35 states, yet most Americans know nothing about this history.
On Saturday morning in Austin, a group of parents, kids and allies gathered for what may be the last drag story hour ever in the state of Texas. A ban on drag performances is slated to take effect on Friday, Sept. 1. Under the law, businesses that host drag shows where minors are present face up to a $10,000 fine per violation, while drag performers and participants face misdemeanor penalties.
“I want to expose my daughter to this, and make her feel and know that this is completely normal and good, and celebrate diversity,” said a parent at the story hour named Anna.
Another parent, Margie, who is queer herself, said she wished Texas lawmakers understood that drag “is not inherently sexual. Queerness is not inherently a sexual experience. To close kids off from exploring their identity is fascistic.”
On Sept. 1, 2023, a ban on drag performances will take effect in Texas. Anti-drag laws—including legislation with sanitized language that takes aim instead at “adult performances” or “cabaret” shows, an anti-drag dog whistle—are already on the books in three states: Arkansas, Florida and Montana.
The GOP-led movement to limit who can see drag performances and where, is part of a larger nationwide push to stigmatize any content with LGBTQ themes, presenting it as a danger to kids. Rather than protect children, the frenzy around drag shows and at-large attacks on the LGBTQ community have detrimental effects on trans, gay and queer youth.
Southern Baptists are at it again, targeting women pastors in the next round of an ongoing battle over ordination and leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
Never mind that more and more people are leaving churches and identifying as religious “nones.” Never mind that there is a clergy sex abuse scandal among Southern Baptists. The possibility of women’s leadership is such a threat, it has to be eradicated. So rather than dealing decisively with its clergy abuse scandal, the SBC’s annual meeting this June chose to spend its time pummeling women pastors and once again delaying necessary abuse reforms.
Pretty soon, they may just be sitting alone in their empty sanctuaries on Sunday mornings—because no one else is right enough to belong with them.
Catherine Kassenoff made it crystal clear. She resorted to an assisted suicide in Switzerland because she endured the most heart-wrenching agony a mother can face: losing her children.
Catherine was a smart, tenacious attorney, whose story has gone viral on social media—where many have asked: What will happen to her three daughters now?
The Taliban has introduced a cloak of fear and violence that threatens the rights, freedoms and livelihoods of the women and girls fighting to survive under looming security threats, humanitarian crises and gender apartheid in Afghanistan.
Idaho’s anti-abortion legislature and governor created a new crime this year: “abortion trafficking,” a fallacious and deliberate attempt to spread misinformation on abortion. Laws like this will likely begin to appear in another anti-abortion states and state legislatures.
Equating abortion-seeking to ‘trafficking’ undermines the brutal and inhumane realities that youth trafficking survivors endure. Ultimately, for vulnerable children, so-called anti-‘abortion trafficking’ laws codify the human rights and bodily autonomy abuses that true anti-trafficking laws aim to reduce. Adolescent health professionals and advocates must remain vigilant and continue to mobilize a multi-strategy response to ensure adolescents’ reproductive rights amid current assaults.
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 Markel 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.
