Tag: COVID-19

How Congress Can Help Women and Girls in Conflict Zones

U.S. foreign policy prevents the protection of refugees, those in conflict zones, and those impacted by natural disasters. Yet the House Appropriations Committee has chosen to pass a budget that will defund the agencies and programs that are most prepared to expertly respond to the needs of girls and women on conflict zones.

It is far past time that Congress passes the Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act, which will repeal the Helms Amendment; and the Support UNFPA Funding Act, which would restore funding to UNFPA for the next five years. With the stroke of a pen, the Biden administration also has the power to issue guidance to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Helms Amendment interpretation, preventing a chilling effect and expanding the agency’s reach.

Girl Bond Summer: Taylor, Barbie and Power of Collective Joy

Girls are showing up, shaping popular culture for the better. Their choices tell us about friendship, connection, and how to forge joy in this world.

Of course, the power of girls as consumers and taste-makers isn’t new. And life remains pretty damn hard for young people. But when I see the Swifties in their ecstatic thrall, or the pink-clad Barbie hordes stampeding toward the theater, I think: We could all use a little more of that sincerity and exuberance in our lives.

Dance as a Form of Personal Healing: The Ms. Q&A With Tara Rynders

Burnout and stress have caused approximately 100,000 nurses to leave the workforce since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes as no surprise to Tara Rynders, a Colorado-based registered nurse who has created a series of workshops for medical staff to address the sorrow and the joy of caring for others. The workshops—which combine movement, writing, play the arts and debriefing—also focus on how workers can provide what she calls “courageous care” to themselves.

Rydners’ workshops aim to “give nurses a way to debrief and process their feelings. … Nurses and other medical workers need to be able to stand up to power and celebrate themselves, not for being self-sacrificing, but for being able to set boundaries, say no, and not comply with every request.”

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.”

On World Refugee Day, 110 Million People Must Leave Home to Flee Conflict and Persecution

Compounded crises—including conflict, climate and COVID-19—are driving unprecedented levels of human suffering, economic vulnerability and forced displacement. 

Tuesday, June 20, we celebrate World Refugee Day—honoring the strength and bravery of those who have been forced to flee their homes. With the 2023 theme of World Refugee Day, “Hope away from home,” we must question whether we, as humanitarians, are effectively using our resources to create an environment for refugees to become self-sufficient.

Women Workers Can Help Rebuild the U.S. Economy—If We Can Solve Their Care Challenges

The United States has significantly fewer supports for caregivers than our peer countries. We lack paid family leave and public childcare. Our long-term care infrastructure is a mix of private and public, means-tested programs. Persistent low wages across the care industries have ensured that supply is unstable and insufficient.

If the U.S. is serious about bringing women into the workforce permanently, we need a robust suite of care policies—including fully public childcare, reentry programs for women who have taken time out of the workforce for childcare, and more robust long-term care options.

Our Crisis in Maternal Healthcare Is Uniquely American

Maternal healthcare in the U.S. is largely not accessible, equitable, affordable or person-centered. When maternal health suffers, so does newborn health and future child health.

For this Mother’s Day, policymakers, administrators, medical practitioners and healthcare providers need to demonstrate to mothers in the U.S. that they are a priority and advocate for legislation that promotes comprehensive maternal healthcare.