A number of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet-level nominees have been accused of sexual harassment and assault, and one has faced allegations of child sex trafficking.
Here is what we have found.
Sexual Assault
War on Women Report: 27 Women Accuse Trump of Sexual Assault; Louisiana’s Controlled Substances Law Criminalizing Abortion Medication Takes Effect
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:
—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the city of Austin over its abortion travel fund.
—The number of women who have accused Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump of sexual assault is now up to 27.
—Louisiana’s law reclassifying the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as “controlled dangerous substances” took effect on Oct. 1.
—In Manhattan, a 20-year-old woman is facing criminal charges for miscarrying in a restaurant bathroom.
It’s Time We Reckon With Our Discriminatory Economy
The women whose work our economy relies upon, yet devalues, feel the rising cost of living the most—a dynamic that is pushing more women, particularly women of color, to the brink of poverty. This is no coincidence; it is structural discrimination.
Give the Gift of Ms. Magazine to Women in Prison and Domestic Violence Shelters
We send Ms. to 5,547 federal, state and county prisoners, and hundreds of shelters across the country. That’s a fraction of the total, but it’s a number we’re very proud of and hope to keep growing. Over the 19 years since this program’s birth, we’ve discovered that even this small gesture of recognition, support and information means a lot.
‘The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam’: Larry Nassar and the National Nightmare
An excerpt from Exposed: The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam:
“Tasha Schwikert unwittingly entered the ranch at one of its most intense times. ‘We were all so broken down and injured,’ remembered Jeannette Antolin, who was a member of the U.S. national team from 1995 to 2000. ‘No one was taking care of their bodies. We were all malnutritioned. Most of us had eating disorders at the time. Most of us were being abused by Larry and not knowing it.'”
Gisèle Pelicot, the Woman at the Center of France’s Mass Rape Trial, Takes the Stand for the First Time
“I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr. Pelicot or those other men.”
Halfway through the mass rape trial in France that has been shocking the world and brewing feminist rage since September, survivor Gisèle Pelicot took the stand for the first time on Wednesday to share her nightmarish story.
On why she’s taking a stand: “I wanted all woman victims of rape—not just when they have been drugged, rape exists at all levels—I want those woman to say: Mrs. Pelicot did it, we can do it too.”
Half a Century After Title IX, Universities Are Still Failing Survivors: The Ms. Q&A With Nicole Bedera
Ms. spoke with Bedera about her research for her newly released book, On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence, and how Title IX has fared in the 52 years since its passage.
Her findings are appalling.
“The average college expels just one perpetrator of sexual assault every three years.
“One of the administrators … told me that he hesitated to consider something as rape unless it involved ‘a stranger jumping out of the bushes.’ Survivors’ experiences were consistently misunderstood and minimized.”
Why We Need to Prioritize Pleasure-Centric Approaches in Sex Education
With a new school year in full swing and elections around the corner, it’s only normal that we’re feeling anxious about what could happen this fall. This is especially true for young people, whose sexual and reproductive freedom hangs in the balance as we face abortion bans, attacks on trans care, birth control and more. But what’s a better antidote for anxiety, than empowering youth with pleasure-centric tools and resources that allow them to reclaim control of their bodily autonomy?
By centering peer-to-peer conversations on what makes us feel good—physically, mentally and emotionally—we establish a culture where joy, freedom and autonomy are prioritized and healthier schools, communities and relationships are created.
Not a ‘Groom,’ but ‘Grooming’: It’s Past Time to End Child Marriage in the United States
There’s no romance in being a child bride. And whether the “groom” is R. Kelly, with his marriage to 15-year-old Aaliyah, your great-grandmother, or Justine (name changed for protection)—a minor married to a man twice her age in the state of Maryland—more often than not, these marriages are a form of child abuse … government-sanctioned child abuse, in some states.
Child marriage remains legal in well over half of all U.S. states, with over 300,000 minors married between 2000 and 2018. Every year, hundreds of children of every gender, ethnicity and religious background are married, with no regard for their consent. “Groom” might be the technical term in these marriages, but “grooming” is more accurate.
Surprised a Colorado Mom Was Jailed for Protecting Her Kids? Don’t Be.
Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins was jailed for objecting to court ordered “reunification therapy” that sought to mend the relationship between her children and their father, a man charged with sexually assaulting three of their daughters and physically abusing their son.
As a divorce coach and coercive control expert, who are both domestic abuse survivors, we see these mind boggling, trauma-inducing decisions by family courts every day. This Colorado mom could be any mom. That’s why it’s time that America deals with our family court crisis head on.