The first week of February is National Gun Violence Survivors Week. Let’s bring the gun industry out from the shadows, and shine a light on their reckless business practices. It’s time to hold them accountable for the nation of gun violence survivors that they have helped create over decades. A country that feels safer from gun violence is exactly the ’90s nostalgia America should be idolizing.
Tag: Domestic Violence
Thirty Years After the FMLA, Lawmakers Must Guarantee Paid Leave for People Facing Violence
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) signed into law 30 years ago this week was the first time our country’s laws recognized that working people are also family caregivers and human beings who face illness themselves. But the FMLA was not enough, then or now.
Currently, leave is not available to people facing domestic and sexual violence if they need time off to go to court or seek other protections or support, which can cost them their jobs. Every state must consider adopting what is known as safe leave — leave for a worker subjected to sexual or domestic violence to seek a restraining order, relocate to safety, or take other protective measures — or help a close family member do so. This leave must also be paid.
New U.S. Global Gender-Based Violence Strategy Says All The Right Things—But Action Is Next
On Dec. 12, the U.S. government launched its updated and long-awaited Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally. On paper, the strategy looks great. But, as always, the questions we’re left with are: What does the U.S. government do with this document now? How is it implemented? Will funding increase and be sustained?
As the halfway mark of this administration’s current term approaches, we need to ensure that words are backed up with action.
How We Avoid the Rise of Another ‘Andrew Tate’
Most of Andrew Tate’s alleged criminal conduct took place in private. But his rise to fame—or infamy—took place in full public view. It is important to understand how and why all of this happened. Here are four “teachable moment” topics raised by the Andrew Tate saga:
1. Tate’s normalization of misogyny harms girls and young women.
2. The ideal of “manhood” Tate promotes harms boys and young men.
3. 3. For many uninformed young men, feminism is a hostile philosophy and feminists are caricatured villains.
4. There is a strong connection between misogyny and right-wing politics.
Denying Access to Abortion Is Femicide
It has been just over two years since the imposition of a near-total ban on abortion across Poland. The ban removed almost all conditions in which a woman can access abortion care, leaving millions of women in the dark when it comes to deciding what happens to their bodies.
It is more critical than ever that we stand up to support access to life-saving abortion care, especially those with the power to liberalize laws. There are millions of lives depending on it.
Meet the New Feminists in Office
Meet the diverse group of progressive women being sworn in this month. (Aaaany day now, boys.)
Texas Ruling on Second Amendment Puts Domestic Abuse Victims at Greater Risk
U.S. District Judge David Counts, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, ruled last week that banning those under a protective order from possessing a gun infringes on their Second Amendment rights. A domestic violence victim’s risk of death is five times higher if their abuser has access to a firearm.
(This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune.)
Rest in Power: Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Icon and Activist
Pioneering feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes died on Dec. 1, 2022, at the age of 84. Hughes became an icon of the women’s movement when Esquire published an image of her and Gloria Steinem in 1971 standing side by side with fists raised. That image has since been recreated, reinterpreted and reproduced on everything from mugs to T-shirts. A copy even hangs in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Dorothy Pitman Hughes’ life of activism, however, transcended this image.
The War on Women Report: Republicans Blame Unmarried Women for Midterm Results; 80% of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Can Be Prevented
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.
This month: Brittney Griner is released from a racist and homophobic penal colony; abortion access is still in shambles despite midterm victories; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to step down; three high-profile mass shootings in a matter of weeks; and more.
Most Girls in the Juvenile System Experience Abuse Prior to Incarceration. Their Stories of Abuse Don’t End There.
Over 80 percent of girls in the juvenile justice system in multiple U.S. states are sexually or physically abused prior to incarceration. But their stories of abuse do not end there. Many young women continue to experience sexual and physical abuse by juvenile justice employees after being placed in juvenile detention.