Migration Category: Feminist Newswire

Stories from the Feminist News Wire.

25,000 Teachers Strike in Chicago for Increased Resources in Public Schools

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Chicago Public School teachers have gone on strike with a list of changes that they wish to see in the city’s education system, including reducing class sizes, tackling the increasing rates of homelessness among students, and hiring more nurses, social workers, and bilingual educators. More than 25,000 teachers and 300,000 students are out of the classroom after the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not reach a consensus on the demands.

This is Lightfoot’s first major challenge as leader of the city since winning the mayoral race last April. She has said that the city simply cannot afford the teacher’s demands, like hiring a restorative justice coordinator for every school or hiring more special education aides, librarians, and teacher’s assistants, telling the Chicago Tribune that she “must be responsible for the taxpayers who pay for everything that goes on.”

The housing crisis in Chicago has been a major element in the strikes. In 2018, more than 16,000 students were counted as homeless. Many students, particularly low-income Black students, face threats of gun violence and rely on free or reduced lunch in school. Housing inequality has also had a major impact on school faculty and staff. Teachers and teacher’s assistants have had to pick up extra jobs just to make ends-meet in the face of Chicago’s rising cost of living.

Chicago Public Schools have offered a raise of 16% for all teachers’ salaries. Additionally, Mayor Lightfoot said that school community representatives would be put in schools to address the homelessness problem and that $1 million dollars will be set aside to help reduce class sizes. During the strike, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided to students who need it, but there will be no transportation to and from the schools. While students will not be required to go to school, administrators and nonunion staff will be present.

Sources: Washington Post 10/17/19; CNN 10/17/19

Art Exhibit Uses Women’s Pantyhose To Explore Feminist Issues

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22 international artists came together to create an art exhibit in the U.K. that uses women’s stockings to explore feminist issues.

The Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate showcases the work of these artists whose subject matter is traditionally stockings. The exhibit is meant to explore themes of race, gender, femininity, and subversion.

The curator of the show is Zoe Bedeaux, who is known for working with fashion and “the conversation of clothes.” Bedeaux brought together artists from a range of countries including Belgium, Mexico, China, the United States, and many others.

Bedeaux talks about loving “the disparity and the breadth … And then you’ve got all these other dialogues going on … Tights are the base material, but this show is not about the tights.” Women’s pantyhose are traditionally symbols of femininity, being both strong and fragile in the way that stockings will stretch far until they begin to break apart at the seams. Bedeaux goes on to explain that nude pantyhose can also be seen as symbols of race because of the limited shade options that are available.

Some exhibits include a range of commentary on feminist topics. Some art pieces focus on social topics such as women’s sexual behavior in public places and images of men wearing stockings. Others focus on more political topics such as the women who were murdered in Mexico in the 1990s.

Bedeaux talking about the pantyhose says, “Tights are highly transformative, loaded with all sorts of socio-political connotations. The show is complex, it’s not a show about tights per se: it’s about possibilities that can come from using a particular object outside of its utilitarian function. This show explores the alchemy of hosiery.”

Sources: Independent 10/11/19, Guardian 9/27/19

LGBTQ+ Activist Killed in Uganda

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Queer activist Brian Wasswa was killed in his home in Jinja, a city in Eastern Uganda. He had been working with the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), a legal aid organization that does outreach work for the LGBTQ+ community.

His murder was followed by the Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity announcing that the government plans to introduce a bill criminalizing homosexual acts. This proposed bill is similar to a 2014 Anti-Homosexuality act which was annulled by the constitutional court. Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is widely prevalent in Uganda and the government constantly capitalizes on it.

Africa researcher at the Human Rights Watch, Orem Nyeko said, “In the wake of the horrific murder of Brian Wasswa, the Ugandan government should be making it crystal clear that violence is never acceptable, regardless of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, a government minister charged with ethics and integrity is threatening to have gay people killed at the hands of the state.”

HRAPF reported that the police have opened investigation into the killing and interviewed one witness who saw another man in Wasswa’s house several hours before he was murdered. The killer has not been identified yet and no further progress has been made on the case.

Edward Mwebaza, executive director of HRAPF said three other gay and transgender people have also been found dead in recent months. Given the climate of widespread homophobia, Nyeko added that the “police should conduct thorough investigations and political leaders should refrain from any rhetoric that might encourage violence.”

Source:  HRW 10/15/19, CTV news 10/15/19

Fort Worth Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Atatiana Jefferson in Her Own Home Charged with Murder

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The Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black woman in her own home has been charged with murder.

Early Saturday morning Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, 28, was shot and killed by a police officer inside her own home after a neighbor called a non-emergency police number for a wellness check on her.

After seeing that two doors of her home were ajar, Jefferson’s neighbor, James Smith, called a non-emergency Fort Worth police number around 2 a.m., asking for a wellness check on Jefferson, who had been living with an aunt who had been in the hospital and her 8-year-old nephew.

In a statement, the Fort Worth Police Department said that officers from its central division responded to the call at 2:25 a.m. and searched the perimeter of the house on the 1200 block of East Allen Avenue. After seeing someone through the window of the home, one officer drew his weapon, yelled for the person to put their hands up and fired the one shot that would kill Jefferson — all in less than four seconds.

“The individual, a black female, who resides at the residence succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased on the scene,” the Fort Worth Police Department wrote in their statement. “The officer, a white male who has been with the department since April of 2018, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome [of] the critical police incident investigation.”

The officer, Aaron Dean, was immediately put on administrative leave and later resigned before he could be fired. Following his resignation, he was arrested and charged with murder. Over the weekend, Dean was booked into the Tarrant County Correction Center and later released on $200,000 bond, according to jail officials.

“Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations of several policies, including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy and unprofessional conduct,” said the Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus. Body camera footage provides some details of the shooting, including how quickly it happened. The footage also reveals that the officers did not identify themselves to Jefferson before she was killed.

“Nobody looked at that video and said there was any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately,” said Chief Kraus. “I get it. We’re trying to train our officers better.”

However, community members still have concerns. Hundreds of people gathered in front of Jefferson’s home Sunday evening, chanting and calling for Dean to be prosecuted. Monday, after the former officer was charged, many were cautious about declaring victory. “Fort Worth has a culture that has allowed this to happen,” said S. Lee Merrit, a lawyer representing Jefferson’s family. “There still needs to be a reckoning.” The Fort Worth Police Department is familiar with criticism: the previous police chief was fired in May and Fort Worth officers have fatally shot six people since June.

In response to a task force’s recommendations, in September the City Council created a police monitor position, set up a police cadet program and began a diversity and inclusion program. After Jefferson’s death, Mayor Betsy Price said the city was planning to have national experts review the Fort Worth Police Department and its policies.

The death of Jefferson comes less than two weeks after Amber Guyger, a former police officer in nearby Dallas, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting a man in his home that she mistook for her own last year. In both instances, the officer was white, and the victim was Black, raising nationwide questions about police practices and the danger of racial profiling.

Sources: Twitter 10/12/19; NBC News 10/14/19; NY Times 10/15/19

Esther Duflo Wins Nobel Prize in Economics for Work Addressing Global Poverty

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Esther Duflo, a researcher from Cambridge, Massachusetts, alongside two others, has been awarded this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize for economics.

Duflo is part of a trio of researchers from Cambridge, Massachusetts, including her husband Abhijit Banerjee and colleague Michael Kremer, to win the prestigious prize for their work in addressing global poverty. “This year’s Laureates have introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize, said in a statement. The researchers’ primary innovation has been breaking the issues of global poverty into smaller questions that can be more easily addressed.

“Our goal is to make sure that the fight against poverty is based on scientific evidence,” Duflo told reporters Monday. “It starts from the idea that often the poor are reduced to caricatures and often, even people who try to help them do not actually understand the roots of the problem.”

The Nobel committee said the researchers’ experimental approach — pioneered by Kremer in the 1990s — which is now followed by hundreds of nonprofits and researchers around the world, has been an important guide for policymakers. “It provides evidence of what works and why,” said Stockholm University economist Jakob Svensson. “Some interventions have been scaled up. Others have influenced policy more indirectly, and some policies have been abandoned simply because they were proven to be ineffective, thereby saving resources that governments or NGOs can use on more productive or effective policies.”

Duflo said the prize is a tribute to collective effort.

“I think the three of us stand for hundreds of researchers who are part of a network that work on global poverty that we created together 15 years ago,” she said. “It really reflects the fact that it has become a movement, a movement that is much larger than us.” Duflo is only the second woman to win the prize since it began in 1969, and at 46 years old, she is also the youngest recipient of the prize. She has said she is “humbled” by her success in winning this year’s Nobel Prize for economics and hopes it will inspire other women.

“Showing that it is possible for a woman to succeed and be recognized for success I hope is going to inspire many, many other women to continue working and many other men to give them the respect that they deserve like every single human being,” Duflo said.

This year’s prize is worth nine million Swedish krona ($915,300). When asked how she intends to spend her share, Duflo referenced a story she read as a young girl about Marie Curie, who used the proceeds of her first Nobel Prize to purchase a gram of radium and continue her research. “I guess we’ll talk between the three of us and figure out what is our gram of radium,” Duflo said.

Sources: BBC 10/14/19; NPR 10/14/19

Planned Parenthood Super PAC Announces 2020 Push to Back Pro-Choice Candidates

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On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood announced its’ plans to spend at least $45 million to support pro-choice candidates in local, state and national races. “This year what we’re finding is that people really understand exactly what’s at stake. The stakes are higher than ever, and our donors and our supporters understand that very clearly,” said Kelly Robinson, the executive director of the Planned Parenthood super PAC. The group has announced its withdrawal from the federal Title X family planning program earlier this year after the Trump administration enforced a domestic gag rule on abortion referrals.

Following the institution of many anti-abortion policies at the federal and state level, Planned Parenthood’s super PAC has decided to embark on its largest electoral effort yet. It will be using the money to fund digital, television, and radio ads later this year, then focus on direct mail and voter canvassing in the beginning of 2020. The campaign is hoping to target 5 million voters nationwide with a focus on key states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Anti-abortion groups have also announced their 2020 plans, with Susan B. Anthony List planning to invest $41 million in the upcoming election cycle. Other anti-abortion groups like the Pro-Life Action League will support efforts like giving voter guides at churches and educate Christian pastors to encourage their congregations to vote.  

While anti-abortion groups will use recent stances taken by the current administration to remind their bases the importance of turnout, pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood will highlight the importance of voting in an era where reproductive rights are under constant attack.

Source: The Hill 10/09/19, NPR 10/09/19

Women In Saudi Arabia Allowed To Join Army

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In a series of social and economic reforms, Saudi Arabia will allow women to enlist in the army for the first time.

Mohammad bin Salman, the prince of Saudi Arabia, has approved a series of new reforms, the latest being allowing women to enlist. Possible ranks for women now include private to sergeant in the army, navy, air defense, missile sources, and medical services. Hassan al Srihiri, an ex-official at the Defense Ministry, stated, “Women’s admission into the most important ministry in the kingdom is a major step in the right direction. There are vast prospects at the ministry that can absorb thousands of women who can make a difference in their positions.” The Defense Ministry added that this is “another step toward empowerment” for women.

Saudi Arabia has been making major strides in women’s rights including allowing women to join security forces last year, such as drug combat, prisons, and criminal investigations. Other reforms include allowing women to drive cars, travel abroad without a man present, and apply for a passport.

However, despite Mohammad bin Salam taking steps to empower women, his regime has been arresting prominent women’s rights activists in the country. Such women’s rights activists include Loujain al-Hathloul, who was arrested, tortured, then told to deny being tortured in exchange for release. Some claim that Saudi Arabia is only using these social reforms to improve its worldwide image and attract tourists, therefore diversifying its economy.

Sources: Aljazeera 10/9/19, Gulf News 10/3/19, Aljazeera 08/14/19

Aisha Khurram Selected as Afghanistan’s 2019 Youth Representative to the United Nations

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Aisha Khurram, a law student at Kabul University, has been selected as Afghanistan’s Youth Representative to the United Nations for 2019, joining a group of other young representatives from across the globe seeking to make their voices heard at the world governing body.

Khurram — who was selected from among 80 candidates — is tasked with representing Afghanistan at the UN for one year. As a youth representative, she will engage with other young Afghans and communicate the problems that youth face in her country to world leaders.

Khurram is also expected to represent her peers at international events, including engagements at the Security Council. A number of students have asked Khurram to use her new position to highlight the issues Afghan youth face. “Our expectation for Ms. Aisha is to raise the voice of millions of young people — and young women —  who have been deprived of education,” said a student named Amin.

A young woman herself, Khurram outlined some of her goals for the year as they relate to Afghan women and girls, as well as young people in the country. “My red line is not only the women who live in the center and have access to education, but my red line is all those women who live in the provinces, those women who live under the control of the Taliban and those women who do not even thinking of getting an education,” said Khurram.

“We must raise the voice of Afghan youth in the international community and outline programs for our youth so they can learn more in areas of governance, politics and other important subjects that will influence their future,” added Khurram.

In the upcoming weeks, Khurram will travel to Germany to meet the German Youth Representative, government officials and civil society. Currently a member of the Security Council, Germany is sponsoring the Youth Representative program. Khurram’s selection follows a multi-stage process involving video and in-person interviews, as well as a debate that took place on October 7th in Kabul, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

The panel of judges for the selection of representatives included Peter Prugel, Germany’s ambassador to Afghanistan; Idrees Zaman, Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sofia Ramyar, Executive Director of Afghans for Progressive Thinking; and Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

Khurram will officially start her work with the UN in two months.

Sources: UNAMA 10/7/19; TOLO News 10/8/19

Canadian Women Launch a New Project for Afghan Women

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Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan.ca) just completed their annual conference in British Columbia. The three-day long conference was packed with inspiring speakers and workshops. During the event, CW4WAfghan launched their new project called Gender Equity in Teacher Training to Improve Girls’ Education in Afghanistan (GETT). This $1.3 million project will train women teachers.

Canadian women emphasized the importance of Afghan women’s participation in Afghanistan’s peace process. Participants learned how to better support Afghan women and share their voice with community and Canadian government. Marzia Nawrozi, Feminist Majority Foundation staff member and Afghan women’s rights advocate, participated in the conference. She described FMF’s outreach to the Afghan Women Network in Afghanistan, and to members of Congress, as well as FMF’s work to continue U.S. support for the inclusion of Afghan women and Afghan government in the peace process.

Among the speakers was Shakila Zareen, a survivor of domestic and sexual violence. Now a women’s rights activist and fighter against child marriage and domestic violence, Shakila was born and raised in Afghanistan. At the age of 17, she was forced to marry her first cousin who repeatedly abused and sexually assaulted her. When Shakila refused to be abused anymore, her husband shot her in the face. Shakila has undergone 10 reconstructive surgeries. While sharing her story to the audience, Shakila said that she is not going to be silent and she will use her voice to lift up other women and give them the strength and courage to speak up. As she stated: “I was strong then because I always fought back and I always stood up for myself. But I’m stronger now… I’m not going to be silent.”

Founded in 1998 with volunteer chapters across Canada, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan is a member-based non-profit organization. Their goals are to advance education and educational opportunities for Afghan women and their families, and to educate Canadians about human rights in Afghanistan. Their current project portfolio includes schools and school equipment, teacher training, educational resources, literacy classes and libraries in eight provinces.

More Than 700 Women Lost in ICE Detention

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More than 700 women were moved out of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, some with serious medical conditions, and lawyers have no information as to where they are.

Starting in September, women were moved out of the Karnes County Residential Center and sent to detention centers around the country so the Texas center could be used to detain families. Lawyers soon after began to report not knowing where these women are and not having access to updated information on the ICE online tracking system.

The tracking system that ICE uses is often unreliable and inaccurate, only helping lawyers find their clients around “50% of the time, in part because names and birthdays are often entered incorrectly,” according to Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, a Texas immigration attorney. While the law does not require ICE to report where the detainees are, the system is supposed to inform the attorneys within 24 hours of relocation. However, lawyers have reported that it can take up to weeks, if at all. Some have stated that the system often simply does not work, that the tracking system can show that there are “no results found” for someone who is still detained.

These women’s lawyers report that some of them have serious medical conditions that, when untreated, could lead to death. Some of these medical conditions include HIV, cancer, and psychiatric issues. One immigrant reported that she was HIV positive and had not received any medical attention from doctors even as her symptoms worsened.

This is not the first time that ICE has neglected to give medical attention to detainees. One detainee in May was diagnosed with the flu and isolated from others. He did not receive the adequate resources and medical care and was found dead within 24 hours of being moved.

Another concern is that the lawyers will not be able to find their clients in time for trial. The detainees would then have to go through their cases without their lawyers or any legal representation. Immigrants are five and a half times more likely to not be deported if they have legal assistance, according to the University of Pennsylvania Law Review in 2015.

With more immigrants being held in ICE detention centers than ever before, some immigration lawyers and advocates worry that there will be no improvements on the current locator system because the system would help lawyers find their clients, therefore helping keep them from being deported.

Sources: Huffington Post 10/8/19, Huffington Post 5/22/19

Jeffrey Epstein Victim Jennifer Araoz Names More Defendants in Sex Trafficking Ring

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Jennifer Araoz, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, filed a new complaint Tuesday that names multiple women and more than 20 corporate entities she says enabled the wealthy businessman’s sexual assaults of herself and other young women throughout the mid-2000s.

The complaint accuses four people of facilitating Epstein’s abuse of Araoz when she was 14 years old, naming them as defendants: Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s long-time companion; Rosalyn Fontanilla, a former housekeeper who died in 2016; Lesley Groff, who worked as Epstein’s secretary, and Cimberly Espinosa, a former executive assistant to Epstein.

Maxwell and Groff have been named in previous court documents alleging that they enabled Epstein’s abuse of young girls, but the amended complaint filed by Araoz is the first public allegation against Fontanilla and Espinosa.

The executors of Epstein’s estate and several companies owned by him were also included as defendants in the complaint.

The complaint alleges the defendants “participated with and assisted Epstein in maintaining and protecting his sex trafficking ring, ensuring that approximately three girls a day were made available to him for his sexual pleasure,” the lawsuit says.

“The co-conspirators provided organizational support to Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, identifying and hiring the recruiters of underage girls for Epstein’s sexual pleasure, scheduling appointments with these underage girls for Epstein’s sexual pleasure, intimidating potential witnesses to Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, and generally providing administrative oversight of his sex trafficking operation and ensuring it remained secret.”

Araoz alleges that she alone was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Epstein at his New York City townhouse when she was 14 and 15 years old, including a rape in 2002. Araoz says she was recruited outside her New York City high school by a 20-something year old brunette woman who remains unknown.

In the new court documents, Araoz claims that Groff often reached out to her to set up sexual encounters with Epstein. Espinosa, an employee of an Epstein-owned company called NES, would also contact Araoz to schedule visits, the lawsuit says.

Araoz told reporters in August that Epstein and his “’network of enablers’ stole her youth, identity, innocence and self-worth.”

Epstein had pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking of minors, and any defendants or representatives of defendants that have been contacted have denied all claims made against them.

The former financier and accused sexual predator died by suicide inside his federal jail cell in New York on August 10th while he was awaiting trial on charges of running a sex trafficking ring in the mid-2000s.

Sources: NBC News 10/8/19; CNN 10/8/19

Supreme Court to Hear Louisiana Abortion Case Next Term

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The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will take up a controversial abortion case next term, a first since Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Grouch have joined the court. Many are worried that the now conservative majority court will use this as an opportunity to rule against abortion rights. 

The Louisiana case, June Medical Services v Gee, concerns a local Louisiana law passed in 2014 that requires abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges from a nearby hospital. The law which had been struck down by a federal judge in 2017, has been argued by the state as being necessary for providing a higher quality of healthcare to patients.  

Critics on the other hand believe this is en effort to further restrict access to reproductive care. The Center for Reproductive Rights said that if the law goes into effect, it will leave “only one doctor for every woman seeking an abortion in the state.” 

The court struck down a nearly identical Texas case, Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt, in 2016. However that was before the retirement of swing justice Anthony Kennedy, and the admission of Justices Kavanaugh and Grouch. 

Many fear the new composition of the Supreme Court could put the 1973 landmark abortion rights decision, Roe v Wade, at risk. 

Source: Huffpost 10/4/2019 , CNN 10/4/2019

Abstinence-Only Medical Clinic Receives Title X Federal Funding

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Obria Medical Clinics, a Christian chain of family health facilities, has received $1.7 million in federal family planning funding. The program, known as Title X, is meant to help low-income families and individuals prevent unplanned pregnancies. Additionally, clinics that receive this funding are expected to prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases and provide resources like condoms and other forms of contraceptives.

Because of its faith-based mission, Obria instead provides abstinence-based family planning. Their services offer health screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and cancer, as well as pregnancy testing, prenatal care, and ultrasounds. They do not, however, provide condoms for their clients, instead focusing on the “100-percent method to prevent pregnancy and STDs.”

While other clinics that receive Title X funding, such as Radiant Health Centers in California, have been fighting to reduce rates of STIs through providing as many resources and education as possible, many religion-based medical facilities believe that less is more. Theresa Notare, assistant director of the Natural Family Planning Program, stated that “contraception is seen as harming the gifts God gave us. You can’t put physical barriers like condoms or chemical substances that are going to obstruct the natural design of the ovaries.” She went on to say that if one has a life-threatening disease, such as HIV, not having sex with a partner is the only option.

Obria, like many other religious-based medical centers, does not clearly indicate that they have a religious affiliation on their website, as these types of facilities are not required to inform clients of this. While half of the top ten hospital systems by net patient revenue are affiliated with the Catholic Church, more than one third of women who visit a Catholic hospital for reproductive healthcare are unaware of its religious affiliation. This has made many activists and public health advocates worried that many women are not receiving exhaustive resources for family planning, STD prevention, or pregnancy prevention.

Sources: Huffington Post 10/2/19; Washington Post 7/29/19

Charities Dedicated to Women and Girls Receive Only 1.6% of All Donations, Study Finds

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A new report finds that American philanthropic support dwindles when it comes to nonprofits dedicated to addressing breast cancer, women’s entrepreneurship, domestic violence and childhood malnutrition — all primarily women’s issues.

According to a comprehensive report released Thursday from the Women and Girls Institute, Americans gave $6.3 billion to nonprofits focused on women and girls in 2016, only about 1.6% of the total charitable donations made by Americans in 2016.

The Institute identified more than 45,000 organizations in the United States that it considered as “dedicated to serving primarily women and girls” or causes closely-associated with women and girls such as domestic violence, said Tessa Skidmore, the project manager for the report.

This includes organizations such as the National Women’s Law Center, the Planned Parenthood Federation, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and YWCA chapters around the nation. Of the total charitable funding directed toward women and girls, the Women and Girls Institute found that the health-care sector received the biggest portion.

In 2016 American individuals, corporations and foundations donated a total of $396.5 billion, with the largest segment, $123.8 billion, pledged to religious organizations.

“There is a lack of investment in women and girls in this country,” said Teresa Younger, the president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women. “The Women’s March and some of these other movements are heightening a conversation, but I’m not sure how that’s trickling down to the small grassroots orgs that are doing the work within their communities.”

About 71% of nonprofits dedicated to women and girls have budgets of less than $50,000, including staff wages and benefits. The report theorizes this may be due to a heavy reliance on volunteer work, but Skidmore says more research is needed.

Sources: The Women and Girls Index 10/3/19; CNBC 10/3/19

Actor Dakota Johnson Launches New Podcast To Share Sexual Assault Stories

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Actor Dakota Johnson launched her new podcast, The Left Ear, where she shares sexual assault survivor’s stories.

The initiative began when Johnson posted her cell phone number on social media asking followers to leave her voicemails of their sexual assault, harassment, and gender-based inequality stories. Johnson, one year later, has now taken these stories and compiled them into a podcast. She stated, “To protect anonymity the voices have been slightly pitched, and any identifiers have been removed. Other than that, they have not been edited. These are real stories from real people around the world.”

Johnson explained that the podcast is titled “The Left Ear” because the left ear is the ear closest to your heart and “by listening with your heart, you can save someone even just a little bit.”

In the creation of the podcast, Johnson said, “I didn’t want to speak on their behalf, I just wanted to listen to them. I wanted to create a space where the listener is listening just as honestly and bravely as the speakers who had the courage to call.”

The actress also urged that listening to sexual assault stories can be “intense. So, take care of yourself if you choose to listen. And I hope that you do listen, because listening is the most important thing you can do for someone.”

The first episode of The Left Ear is available for streaming now, and new episodes will be released every Monday starting October 7, 2019.

Sources: Independent 10/1/19, Metro News 9/30/19

In Mixed Ruling Virginia Court Upholds Two Abortion Laws, Overturns Two Others

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On Monday, a federal judge gave a mixed ruling on Virginia abortion laws, overturning two restrictive laws, but upholding two.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled on the case that challenged four Virginia laws that restrict abortion access, commonly known as TRAP laws, or targeted restrictions on abortion providers. Hudson overturned two laws, one law that would have required all second-trimester abortions to be performed at a licensed out-patient hospital, and a law that would have required clinics that perform first-trimester abortions to meet the same facility requirements as general and surgical hospitals.

Hudson upheld two restrictive abortion laws, one law that requires all abortions to be performed by licensed physicians, and one that requires an ultrasound 24 hours before an abortion, otherwise known as a two-trip mandatory delay law. Mandatory delay laws require women to make two trips to a clinic, one trip for the ultrasound and another for the abortion.

In his official opinion, Hudson wrote, “The Supreme Court recognized that within the right to privacy exists a woman’s right to make decisions … whether she chooses to bear a child at all … The state has profound interests in protecting potential life and protecting the health and safety of women. The state, therefore, may take measures to further these interests so long as it does not create a substantial obstacle that unduly burdens a woman’s right to choose.”

In his decision to uphold the physician-only law, Hudson cited that the Supreme Court has continuously ruled that states are allowed to decide what medical procedures can be performed by physicians. Additionally, he stated that the evidence “has not shown that such a [physician-only] restriction has caused an undue burden on a significant number of women seeking abortion care … Therefore, the Court cannot conclude that the Physician-Only law, as it applies to first trimester abortion procedures, is unconstitutional.”

In upholding the two-trip mandatory delay law, Hudson claimed that while the law “poses additional burdens, particularly with respect to poor and low-income individuals, [the evidence] is insufficient for the Court to conclude that it amounts to a substantial obstacle to abortion access.”

Dr. Mark Nichols, medical director of a Planned Parenthood in Oregon and a gynecologist, testified that such restrictive laws are not medically necessary, but simply add layers of regulation. The state defended the laws, claiming that such restrictive laws make abortion practices safer. Emily Munro Scott, an attorney representing Virginia, stated “inconvenience is not an unconstitutional burden.”

Women’s rights groups and abortion providers have expressed discontent with Hudson’s rulings. Rosemary Codding, founder of the Falls Church Healthcare Center, stated, “We’re disappointed that our patients did not get their constitutionally-protected right to accessing health care without legislative interference that they are entitled to and that they deserve.” Additionally, Paulette McElwain, president of the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, said, “Today’s decision includes some real progress in breaking down barriers to safe, legal abortion in Virginia … At the same time, the decision leaves in place several burdensome, medically unnecessary restrictions that will continue to post hurdles to patients.”

Sources: The Hill 9/30/19, Huffington Post 9/30/19, Richmond Times 9/30/19

19 Women Rescued From Baby Factory in Nigeria

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19 Nigerian women were rescued from being trafficked in Lagos, where they were raped, became forcibly pregnant, and had their babies sold.

On September 19, police busted a human trafficking hub in Nigeria. They rescued 19 pregnant women, aged between 15 and 28, and four children from four properties in Lagos they described as one “baby factory.” The police were tipped off by locals who reported an abnormal amount of pregnant women on their street. The woman who ran the operation, known as Madam Oluchi, escaped shortly before the raids and is suspected of trafficking girls all around the region. Authorities are still searching for Ms. Oluchi. However, two young women, acting as nurses for the victims yet had no medical training, were arrested.

The trafficked women were being abducted and brought to this factory where they were forced into sex slavery until they became pregnant. They were told they would stay until their babies were carried to term, and then would have the option to leave. One victim reported she “slept with seven different men before [she] discovered [she] was pregnant.”

These babies were being sold by the traffickers at a rate of $1400 for a boy and $830 for a girl. A few women signed up voluntarily and were told they would be “paid handsomely,” but never received any money.

Baby factories are not uncommon in Nigeria. In 2018, one factory was busted in Lagos saving 160 children.

Police authorities report they are working to rehouse and rehabilitate the victims.

Sources: Independent 9/30/19, BBC 9/30/19, BBC 4/26/18, Metro 10/1/19

Trans Woman Fired for Coming Out Awaits Supreme Court Judgement

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

Aimee Stephens was fired from RG and GR Harris Funeral Homes in 2013 for coming out as trans to her (now ex) boss, Thomas Rost. Rost testified in court documents that he fired Stephens because she “wanted to dress as a woman” which would be a “distraction not appropriate” for grieving families. 

Following her firing, Stephens reached out to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which agreed to sue the company. After many mixed decisions in lower courts, the case has now been taken up by the Supreme Court. In what could be a landmark decision for civil rights in this country, the court will decide after hearing this case, whether or not the federal civil rights law barring job discrimination based on sex can apply to transgender people. 

This decision comes at a time when policies protecting the transgender community such as being allowed to use school bathrooms based on one’s own identity and serving openly in the military have been rolled back. 

Stephens’ case will be heard in court on October 8 and will be followed by two other cases dealing with the discrimination of LGBTQIA+ people. Along with deciding if the law protects transgender people, the justices will also decide if it covers sexual orientation.  

Despite serious health problems over the years, Stephens has continued her legal fight. “I felt what they did to me wasn’t right. In fact, it was downright wrong. But I also realized it wasn’t just me, that there were others in the world facing the same tune,” emphasized Stephens while talking about her continued legal battle. 

Source: NBC 9/30/19, The Guardian 9/30/19

Study Shows Women Are Dying From Heart Attack Gender Gap

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

A new briefing from the British Heart Foundation says women are dying of preventable heart attacks from a gender gap in treatment and a stigma that heart attacks mostly affect men.

A study, funded by the BHF charity, found that over 10 years, 8,200 heart attack related deaths in the UK would have been prevented if women had received equal medical treatment. Chris Gale, a cardiovascular medicine professor at the University of Leeds and a lead author on several of the studies covered in the briefing, says “on their own, the differences in care are very small, but when we look across the population of the UK, it adds up to a significant loss of life.”

Heart attacks have never been more treatable. In the 60s, seven out of of ten heart attacks in the UK were fatal. Now, seven out of ten people who have heart attacks will survive. Yet, women are suffering from these preventable heart attacks. According to Dr. Sonya Baba-Narayan, associate medical director of the BHF, the studies done “revealed inequalities at every stage of a woman’s medical journey, and although they are hard to dissect, they suggest unconscious biases are limiting the survival chances of women.” The results show women are 2.7% less likely to be prescribed statins and 7.4% less likely to be prescribed beta blockers when leaving the hospital after being admitted for a heart attack. Additionally, as well as being more likely to receive substandard treatment, women suffer 50% higher rates of misdiagnosis.

In conjunction with a difference in medical treatment, the stigma around heart attacks and a lack of information are also affecting women. Heart attacks are often seen as a man’s disease and this stigma is proving detrimental. Julie Ward, a senior cardiac nurse at British Heart Foundation, says that “most women don’t recognize the symptoms. They don’t seek medical treatment and they don’t get help.” Women take longer to arrive at the hospital after experiencing symptoms, according to the BHF study. Women are also 80% more at risk for heart disease if they have high blood pressure, and 50% if they have type two diabetes.

Gale claims that “this problem is not unique to the UK — studies across the globe have also revealed gaps in treatment, suggesting this is a deeply entrenched and complex issue.” The BHF report states “unconscious biases are limiting the survival chances of women.”

Sources: Independent 9/30/19, BBC 9/30/19, CNN 9/30/19, SkyNews 9/30/19

Protests Erupt in Indonesia Over Bills that Would Ban Extramarital Sex

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

In cities across Indonesia, protesters have gathered to speak out against a new set of proposed legislation that would ban extramarital sex. This would, in effect, ban any sort of same-sex activity since the country does not recognize same-sex marriage. Additionally, the bill would ban abortion except in cases of rape or incest. These measures are only two of the changes that the Indonesian Parliament is trying to make to the country’s criminal code. Other proposed changes include limiting free speech by criminalizing speaking in opposition to the president.

The protesters are urging President Joko Widodo to halt legislation. As for the crime bill, however, they demand that the president cancel it altogether. Many feel that he has not lived up to his promises since he won re-election last April. Usam Hamid, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, stated that “He is saying he wants democracy, human rights and free expression, but on the other hand the police keep arresting and criminalizing people,” referring to those who have been arrested from protesting or trying to organize demonstrations.

Widodo told reporters that the bills were delayed in order to get better input and gain a better understanding of what the citizens of Indonesia want. Some religious groups claim that the bills are more in line with Indonesian society than the protesters are saying. Many local officials hope that changes are made to bill before it becomes law, while some members of Parliament who only have one term left hope that the bill remains the way it was originally written before they leave the governing body.

Sources: NYT 9/30/19; Reuters 9/23/19

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