Last Thursday, I attended the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting when they voted to send the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011 to the Senate floor for a vote. Every Committee Democrat voted yes and every Republican voted no. Most of the Republicans didn’t even show up to cast their no votes, but did so by proxy. I was outraged by this vote: as a woman; as an advocate for women’s rights; and as someone who has worked directly with survivors of family violence and sexual assault.
I know that we are in a political environment when just about anything to do with women’s rights is used by the right wing to achieve some totally unrelated goal. But, how did freedom from violence become a partisan political issue? When did politicians decide it is okay to vote against preventing family and sexual violence and assisting survivors of these crimes? This has never been a partisan issue before.
No matter what politicians think, women’s health and lives are not negotiable. First, they made everything about abortion, attaching riders to unrelated bills; then they decided to move against birth control, trying to defund family planning clinics; now beating and sexually abusing women is a partisan issue.
When does it stop? And when do we tell them that enough is enough and we will not allow this to continue? I think that time has come, don’t you?
5 comments
The Lunk says:
Feb 16, 2012
No one was voting against “preventing family and sexual violence;” they were voting on sending a bill to the Senate floor. Disagreeing with the tenets of the bill does not constitute support for beating and sexually abusing women. That is black-and-white thinking.
This article misrepresents a political issue as an ethical one, exclaiming that, “No matter what politician’s think, women’s health and lives are not negotiable.” It is this assertion that showcases the article perfectly. While it would be ethically and morally dubious to disagree with the statement were it without context, its application here, and indeed, the author’s evaluation at large, is irrelevant, misdirected, and emotionally inflammatory.
Sonya Bierbower says:
Mar 9, 2012
I just don’t understand how someone could vote NO. It doesn’t make sense that you can say No to a bill for Violence Against Women. Someone please explain how as either a man or a woman, you could be against this.
Lynn Fairweather says:
Mar 12, 2012
I think violence against women has always been a political issue because it’s intrinsically tied to the patriarchy that Republicans support. The only difference now, is that the GOP presidential race (and certain proposed legislation) have sparked an “open season” on women’s rights with misogynistic positions becoming common place. I agree that the time to respond with action is upon us. In politics and violence, women need to stand up and speak out for ourselves. We need to learn to keep ourselves safer from abuse through empowerment and knowledge, concepts that can be applied to political strength for women as well. Thanks for the excellent post!
Casey Hymel says:
Apr 15, 2012
It should have become political years ago. Maybe the violence against women would have been much closer to being stopped than it is.
It is also needed to be made public that violence against women is not just physical. Rape is not just sexual.When will it become public that women are being raped financially by men in the system. Women being mentally abused is as deadly as physical abuse. Ladies face the fact that women are treated as second class citizen and sometimes below that. The justice system does not enforce the laws made to protect us. They push us to the side for bigger more important things. Things like having the grass cut along the highways.
Comments like this are sad…..
The Hypocrisy Continues…
Once again, President Obama and his fellow Democrats are making patently false accusations about a contrived ‘war on women.’ With each passing day, their hypocrisy becomes more and more outrageous. This desperate attempt to distract voters from their record of failure is not only cynical but also insulting to women across America.
And now Democrats are attacking women who make a choice to stay at home and raise a family
This is sad because there is a war on women. This war needs to stop. We are all equal no matter our gender, religion or sexual choice
Amy says:
Apr 18, 2012
I am surprised that this act was not passed and that no republican voted yes. Violence against women, reproductive rights, and many other acts associated with women are not taken seriously even though they are just as important and politically relevant. It seems that by now with all of the things feminists have brought to attention and achieved, it would no longer even be a question to vote yes in support of ending violence against women. If it continues to take so long for feminist actions and achievements to be recognized, the United States may still have a few decades before females have equality in all aspects of life.