More Than A Magazine, A Movement
The United States’ system of mass incarceration has imprisoned millions since the 1980s, with enormous racial disparities. During this period, women have become the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population.
Despite Florida Black girls making up only 21 percent of the state’s female population ages 10–17, they account for 45 percent of all girls arrested.
The Pace Center for Girls, based in Jacksonville, Fla., envisions a better, more equitable future for the Sunshine State’s young women, especially its Black girls. Ms. sat down with CEO Mary Marx to discuss Pace’s work, impact and goals.
Texas plans to put Melissa Lucio to death on April 27, which would make her the sixth woman executed in the U.S. in the last decade and the first Hispanic woman in Texas history. Lucio was convicted of murder in 2008 for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, which she and her family claim was instead a tragic accident. Her attorneys are fighting to overturn her conviction and set aside her execution date based on her continued innocence claims and other procedural issues.
“Research shows prosecutors frequently trivialize women’s experiences as victims of gender-based violence when they are charged with crimes,” said Sandra Babcock, director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide and one of Lucio’s attorneys. “Yet Melissa was a victim long before she was a defendant.”
From extreme flooding in Florida from Tropical Storm Elsa in July, to the wildfires that ravaged California last year, climate change is being realized in our everyday lives—with no end in sight. In fact, in the next 30 years, the cost of flood damage is expected to rise by 26 percent.
Those who are incarcerated are more likely to be impacted by climate change and environmental toxicity.
Although only 5 percent of the world’s female population lived in the United States, it accounts for nearly 30 percent of the world’s incarcerated women. Inadequate and inaccessible menstrual products remain a pervasive issue in the U.S. carceral system. Our research shows few states have taken action to address the issue and enforcement lags behind laws that mandate access to menstrual supplies.
(This is the second article in a three-part series on the Period Project, which examines the scope and consequences of period poverty and assesses state progress toward achieving menstrual equity through legislation.)
Access to affordable menstrual products remains a persistent issue. That’s why we’re launching the Period Project—which uses original research to develop “Period Project Report Cards,” assigning each state and the District of Columbia a grade on an A–F scale to evaluate their progress toward menstrual equity.
(This article is the first in a three-part series introducing the Period Project, which examines the scope and consequences of period poverty and assesses state progress toward achieving menstrual equity through legislation.)
After months of negotiations, a bipartisan group of senators announced Wednesday that they had reached a deal to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)—which has been expired since December 2018.
The Equal Rights Amendment, which is stuck in a tug-of-war with the U.S. archivist and the Senate, would provide the basis for Congress to enact stronger laws on gender violence, including restoring the civil rights remedy in VAWA.
I’ve spent the last few months scouring catalogs and websites, receiving hundreds of books and even more emails from authors, publicists and publishers, reading your book Tweets and DMs, all to find out what books are coming out in 2022 that I think you, my exceptional, inquisitive and discerning Ms. readers, will want to hear about.
There are 101 incredible books on this list. I’ve been a professional book jockey for 15+ years and I am encouraged to see more books each year that reflect the lives we actually lead. There’s always more work to be done and more to be written, but I’ve reason to be hopeful. So let’s get to it!
It’s been 20 years since the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay. Adapted from the bestselling memoir Guantanamo Diary, The Mauritanian reveals how America’s intense need for retribution in the aftermath of 9/11 resulted in the imprisonment and torture of hundreds of Muslim men at Guantanamo Bay. More importantly, though, it highlights why President Joe Biden must indefinitely close the notoriously violent prison.
The Marea Verde—or “green wave” in English—is a collective of feminists based in Mexico. The group provides legal, psychological, moral and social support with the goal of eliminating and eradicating violence against women and advocating for the decriminalization of abortion.
“Thousands of women die every year from clandestine abortion because it is seen as a crime here in Mexico. We are sick and tired of seeing our sisters go to jail and being made to look like second-class citizens,” said Yunitzilim R. Pedraza, legal counsel to the group. “Abortion is a personal decision. Women should be supported and not criminalized for it.”
As abortion restrictions increase, clinics close, and the cost of abortion goes up, more and more women are ordering abortion pills online and taking them safely at home, with and without telehealth support. Traffic has spiked on the website of the abortion pill advocacy group Plan C, which shares information about how to buy abortion pills online and get them by mail in all 50 states. Over the last several months, Plan C’s website has had over 200,000 visitors with 88 percent new visitors. A quarter of them have come from Texas.
But is it legal to purchase abortion pills online?