Washington state has started addressing the imperative of sexual assault case attrition in a very unique way. Its first-in-the nation sexual assault case review program should become a national best practice for any jurisdiction that wants to reform the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault survivors and sexual assault cases.
Tag: Police Violence
U.S. Acts Decisively to Protect Asian Americans—But Drags Its Feet on Protecting Black Americans
The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act sailed through Congress with fanfare, while the human rights report on police violence was ignored by the U.S. media and government, and the bill to curb police violence is on life support in the Senate. What explains this combination of developments?
The unspoken message is that Asian American lives matter more than Black lives, and that the U.S government cares more about Asian Americans than it does about Black people.
Keeping Score: Olympics Ban Swim Caps Made for Black Hair; Abortion Restrictions Reach Record High in 2021; Biden Administration Boasts Narrowest Pay Gap in History
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 in this biweekly round-up.
This week: abortion restrictions skyrocket in 2021; Olympic policies disproportionately target Black women; Supreme Court rules in favor of free speech and gender expression; state legislatures endanger voting rights; and more.
Building a Future Without Youth Incarceration: “These Four Walls Aren’t the Answer”
The #NoKidsinPrison digital experience is one initiative working to reimagine a future without children behind bars. The interactive website—launched by a partnership with No Kids in Prison, Youth First and the Columbia Justice Lab—takes viewers through the history of youth incarceration, the immediate experiences of children who were incarcerated, and current youth activist efforts.
Darnella Frazier, Teen Who Filmed George Floyd’s Murder, Wins Honorary Pulitzer
Darnella Frazier was honored with an honorary Pulitzer Prize for her video of George Floyd’s police murder, which “spurred protests against police brutality around the world.”
‘The Trauma Keeps Coming’: How Black Girls Grapple With Witnessing Police Violence
Experts have noticed an increase in the severity of mental health conditions among Black girls who witness police violence—like the one who witnessed George Floyd’s murder.
Women Are Not Safe Until the Criminal Justice System Holds Abusers Accountable
In the 21st century, being female is still assumed to be a valid provocation for harassment and violence. Men who wish to harm women will continue to coexist with the rest of us until the large-scale systems, particularly the criminal justice system, stop protecting and shrugging away their crimes.
![Policing In America: A Deadly Disease Rooted in Slavery [Who Killed George Floyd? Part II]](https://msmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policing-In-America_-A-Deadly-Disease-Rooted-in-Slavery-Who-Killed-George-Floyd_-Part-II-270x145.png)
Policing In America: A Deadly Disease Rooted in Slavery [Who Killed George Floyd? Part II]
Policing is part of America’s origin story and its history of enslavement, kidnapping and trafficking of Black people.
This article is the second installment in a three-part series examining police violence as symptomatic of broader social and cultural injustice, racism and anti-Blackness—including in one of America’s most liberal communities.
Sexual Assault Victims Need to Believe They’ll Be Heard
April may be Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but every month—indeed every day—should be a time of awareness of the scourge of sexual assault and the pain inflicted on its victims.
It’s time to improve the systems already in place and to enact legislation that gives survivors the support, protection and justice they deserve.
Law Enforcement Officers Keep Arresting Black Women Elected Officials
“Black women’s bodies are a site for state-sponsored violence.”
A growth in Black women’s representation in statehouses and other levels of government in recent years has increased their political power. Black women elected officials often are the ones who challenge policies over issues like police killings, racist monuments and voting restrictions.
It has also led to increasingly visible resistance, with several Black women being arrested or facing criminal charges in the midst of their work in statehouses or in their communities.