Date Rape: The Story of an Epidemic and Those Who Deny It

Date rape is one of the most underreported crimes on college campuses. So much silence surrounds this kind of crime that many women are not even aware that they have been raped. In 1985, Ms. conducted a three-year study among college-aged women to learn more about their experiences.

(For more ground-breaking stories like this, order 50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION (Alfred A. Knopf)—a collection of the most audacious, norm-breaking coverage Ms. has published.)

War on Women Report: Anti-Abortion Group Tracks Planned Parenthood Visits; Texas Man Will Spend Five Months in Jail for Slipping Pregnant Wife Abortion Pill

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report: Modern surveillance tools pose an increasing threat to pregnant people and those helping them access care; a groundbreaking study proving the safety and effectiveness of telehealth abortion; in rare bipartisan move, Congress expanded the child tax credit for the next three years, lifting 400,000 children above the poverty line by 2025; rest in power, Nex Benedict; and more.

From a Psych Hospital to Harvard Law: One Black Woman’s Journey With Bipolar Disorder

I am a successful dual-degree student who is smart like you are, capable like you are, kind like you are and feeling like you are. I just also live with bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

So next time you think—as one of my professors did—that there’s no one at Harvard Law School whose brain works “like that” and that people who plead guilty by reason of insanity are “not like us,” please know that we are among you, your friends, loved ones and community, contributing to society.

Dark Alleys, Empty Spaces: How Construction on College Campuses Impacts Young Women

Last semester, I realized how much construction on my college campus impacted my daily routines at Vanderbilt. In the early morning, when the sun had not yet risen, I would fear walking in areas near the construction of Kirkland Hall, one of the areas of our campus under renovation.

Well before women started stepping foot on college campuses, they have been adhering to the rape schedule—the ways women are culturally conditioned to make changes in their daily lives in order to avoid sexual assault. This brings to light what steps colleges and universities should take in order to aid students who are negatively impacted by living in a rape culture.

Project 2025: The Right’s Dystopian Plan to Dismantle Civil Rights and What It Means for Women

Wealthy right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation has published a detailed plan for the next Republican president to use the executive branch of the federal government to attack the rights of women, LGBTQ people and the BIPOC community, by eliminating the agencies and offices responsible for enforcing civil rights laws and placing trained right-wing ideologues in staff positions throughout the federal government. 

To develop this plan, the Heritage Foundation organized a broad coalition of over 90 conservative organizations—a who’s-who of groups that have led attacks on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, gender studies, the Equal Rights Amendment and #MeToo initiatives.

Keeping Score: E. Jean Carroll Wins Defamation Case; 64K Pregnancies from Rape in Abortion Ban States; U.S. Congress Members Urge SCOTUS to Protect Abortion Pill

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: E. Jean Carroll wins defamation case; over 64,000 pregnancies from rape in abortion ban states; Taylor Swift targeted by deepfake attack; House passes CTC expansion; states implement anti-trans laws; abortion rates have risen since 2020; Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed the first anti-LGBTQ bill of the year into law; more than three in five Americans support Congress passing a law guaranteeing the right to an abortion; and more.

Is Academia Safe for Black Women? How Bias and Racism Affect Faculty Mental Health

Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey, a beloved professor at an historically Black University in Missouri, committed suicide on Jan. 8, reportedly as a result of racism by the school’s president. Harvard University president Claudine Gay recently resigned amid accusations of plagiarism. Many view her resignation as an illustration of the broader issue of marginalizing Black women within the predominantly white male academic space.

Academia is not inherently designed for the success of Black faculty. These institutions were initially created for and catered to white people, placing BIPOC in a position where they must succeed within systems not designed for their success. Centering Black scholars in roles critical to the institution involves challenging the role of white supremacy addressing systemic issues within academia that create unrealistic expectations.

The Anti-Abortion Movement Is in Crisis Communications Mode

The anti-choice movement’s decision to focus their messaging on crisis pregnancy centers—both in the streets of Washington and the halls of Congress—in response to mounting evidence that abortion bans cause women severe harms reflects the movement’s longtime public relations strategy for navigating political obstacles and bad publicity. With daily reports of horrific abortion-ban injuries, polls repeatedly showing that most Americans oppose abortion bans, and the political reality that abortion rights have won in every state where they’ve been on the ballot, anti-abortion strategists are not eager to remind the public of their plans to criminalize all abortion, or of the consequences.

Miseducation and the Project of Panic, Propaganda and Power

As a Black woman academic, it has been painful to witness the attacks on the character of Claudine Gay—Harvard University’s former president and its first Black leader—and their after-effects. However, as a scholar of education, race and the law, these attacks also ring familiar. The project of white supremacy is to instill panic, to distort history and facts, to erase the contributions of Black and other minoritized people.

White supremacy appeals to the basest parts of us by stoking our fears, stereotypes and biases. It relies on disregard for the truth. It relies on resistance to recognizing the humanity of Black and other minoritized people. It appeals to the worst in America. And I believe it will take the best of America to affirmatively defeat it.