Migration Category: Feminist Newswire

Stories from the Feminist News Wire.

Immigration Courts to Stay Open During Coronavirus Pandemic

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The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review declared “operations as usual” for proceedings involving non-detained immigrants on Sunday night.

The decision comes after Seattle’s immigration court was shut down last week after a report of second-hand exposure to coronavirus; it will remain shut until April 10. The order states that master calendar dates, which often include dozens of people in a single courtroom, will be postponed until April 10 as well. Filings and hearings in the 67 other immigration courts across the country will operate as scheduled, including in coronavirus-affected cities such as San Francisco and New York City. Such proceedings include asylum interviews and green-card applications.

A collective of immigration judges and lawyers, as well as the union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutors, have called for the immediate shutdown of immigration courts for at least two to four weeks.

“Our nation is currently in the throes of a historic global pandemic. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) current response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its spread is insufficient and not premised on transparent scientific information. The DOJ is failing to meet its obligations to ensure a safe and healthy environment within our Immigration Courts,” the groups said in an official statement. An epidemiologist and public health expert the groups consulted said, “It is irresponsible to do anything other than close our courts until sufficient testing has been conducted.”

The efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus in immigration courts has been lackluster, as also evidenced by confusion and outrage over CDC posters placed in courtrooms last week. The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) suggested that their judges place posters, which identified common symptoms of coronavirus and explained steps to stop the disease’s spread, up in their courtrooms last Monday. The acting chief immigration judge, Christopher A. Santoro, sent an email to judges expressing the Trump administration’s stance on the posters: “Per our leadership, the CDC flyer is not authorized for posting in the immigration courts.” The directive has since been reversed, allowing the posters to be put up.

Immigration courts already have a backlog of about 1 million cases, and the response to coronavirus’ toll on the existing backlog and future proceedings will be seen in the months to come.

Sources: Department of Justice 03/15/20; Associated Press 03/13/20;  Buzzfeed News 03/15/20; National Association of Immigration Judges 03/15/20; Slate 03/10/20.

Richest 10% Using 20 Times More Energy than Bottom 10% of the Global Population

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An international study led by researchers from the University of Leeds studied global energy inequality of income classes from 86 countries. The study concluded that the richest ten percent of people consume nearly 20 times more energy than the bottom ten percent.

The researchers combined World Bank and European Union data to analyze how diverse economic classes spend their money. The collective information was used to calculate the distribution of carbon footprints, along with the type of energy-intensive goods and services the different groups pay for. Researchers claim that this is the first study of its kind.

The study reveals that “energy footprints grow with expenditure” as a result – energy consummation is economically unequal. In simple terms, as an individual’s income rises the individual spends more of this increased money on energy-intensive goods mainly in travel.

The study concluded that the majority of energy consumption came from Gulf travel. The results indicate that just from the wealthiest 10% transport, this exclusive group consumes more than half the energy expended in transportation of the 86 countries. To present this in comprehensible numbers, the top 10% economically consume 187 times more fuel than the poorest 10%.

Julia Steinberger, a co-author of the study and leader of the Living Well Within Limits project stated, “There needs to be a serious consideration to how to change the vastly unequal distribution of global energy consumption to cope with the dilemma of providing a decent life for everyone while protecting climate and ecosystems.”

Sources: Environment Journal 3/17/20; BBC News 3/16/20

Biden Pledges to Pick a Woman for VP; Will Appoint a Black Woman to SCOTUS

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During Sunday night’s CNN-Univision debate, former Vice President Joe Biden said that he would choose a woman to be his vice-presidential running mate.

According to Biden in a piece by CNN, “If I’m elected president, my Cabinet, my administration will look like the country, and I commit that I will, in fact, appoint a, pick a woman to be vice president,” as, “there are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow.”

Kate Sullivan, Politics Reporter for CNN, explains that, “on the campaign trail, Biden has expressed openness to choosing one of his former 2020 rivals, including Klobuchar, Harris, and Warren. Harris and Klobuchar have both endorsed Biden for president. Biden has also talked about former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates in conversations about a potential vice presidential pick.”

During the debate, Biden also reiterated a pledge to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court if he is elected this November. Vox Senior Correspondent Ian Millhiser notes that, “only two African Americans, Justices Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have served on the Supreme Court. And only one woman of color, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, has joined the Court. If Biden is elected and follows through on that promise, his nominee would be the first black woman to serve as a justice.”

According to Millhiser, “if a seat were to open up on the Supreme Court early, one obvious contender for such a nomination is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who currently serves on the US District Court for the District of Columbia.” Other potential appointees include Justices Leondra Kruger, Michelle Alexander, Sherrilyn Ifill, and Melissa Murray.

Since the presidency of George H.W. Bush, there have been thirteen Supreme Court nominations. Out of those thirteen nominees, only four have been women – Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Miers, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. Out of those four women, three were appointed and only one was a woman of color.

Sources: CNN 3/15; Vox 3/15; senate.gov 3/2020; supremecourt.gov 3/2020

Women Face Food Insecurity in the Wake of Coronavirus Outbreak

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Abby J. Liebman and Liza Lieberman are the President and CEO and Director of Public Policy at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Learn more about their important and vital work here.

Many of us are stunned by the coronavirus outbreak, unsure exactly what to do or how to proceed. Should we stockpile food? Work remotely from the couch? Cancel weekend plans?

But what if you don’t have enough money to feed your family in the first place? What if you can’t afford not to show up for work? What if you work in the service industry, where you can’t just work remotely? What if your community is still struggling to recover from the last financial crisis, and you have been out of work for months or years? What if your children’s school closes and they don’t have access to their usual free or reduced-price meals?

These are questions facing millions of low-income Americans—and particularly women—as we face growing uncertainty and tumult.

Urgent Need for Thoughtful Policy Responses

We know that women will be particularly impacted by the coronavirus crisis because the feminization of poverty is a persistent reality playing out every day in communities across the country.

Even on a good day, women face heightened barriers to food security and economic stability due to a variety of longstanding issues ranging from employment discrimination to caregiving responsibilities to long-term effects of the wage gap. With a stunning 40 percent of single mothers in the U.S. currently struggling to afford food for their families, these women are now facing new pressures to patch together plans to keep their children safe and fed in the wake of school closures.

So far, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue has said, “If schools are closed, we are going to do our very best to make sure kids are fed.”

However, currently, USDA will only grant flexibility for areas where the majority of children receive free or reduced-price lunch. In the face of a pandemic, this is unacceptable: No child should be going without food because their school is closed. To address this, several Members of Congress have introduced bills to encourage broader use of USDA’s waiver authority—so that more children and families can get the nutrition assistance they need.

Several of these proposals were included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)—which also provides additional funds for nutrition assistance programs for women, infants and children (WIC), as well as home-delivered services for seniors and other programs. While this is a vital initial proposal, many questions remain about whether this legislation will be voted on by both chambers and whether the president will actually sign it into law.

Harsh Realities of Women Facing Food Insecurity

The reality is that women struggle with food insecurity for a variety of reasons. Our lives are laced with complex intersections, and it would be myopic to suggest that the only answer to help women and their children thrive is to shore up the nutrition safety net.

We must also address the various circumstances and systemic challenges that push millions of low-income women to need the safety net in the first place. The issues are intersectional, and our government’s response must be comprehensive. Even among anti-hunger advocates, we know that any discussion about poverty must acknowledge the realities of working families—particularly single parent households—including high costs of childcare, lack of paid sick leave and limited access to affordable healthcare.

As colleges and universities across the nation close, far too many students will find themselves without adequate resources to access nutritious food.

And students affected by college and university closures are not exclusively teenagers who live in dorms and can go stay with their parents for a few weeks: They are also student mothers who are trying to keep a semblance of normalcy for their children. They are women who support their families—parents, children and others—while trying to keep up with their studies. These women might regularly visit the campus food pantry just to make sure they stay awake in class. These students need consistent access to affordable food during this crisis, and we must do more to connect them to resources that can help.

Furthermore, we know that as women get older, they are more likely to age into poverty and become newly poor, often in need of government resources like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal nutrition benefits.
Older women are also more likely to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 virus and have few resources to help them weather a health crisis—particularly one that by its nature requires them to be even more isolated. Older women living in rural or remote communities often live alone, without family support, where their vulnerability to illness could intensify with unique barriers to food security.

Charity is Not the (Only) Answer

Sadly, women living in or near poverty are often overlooked by policymakers, as we have seen this week with the Trump administration’s prioritization of the needs of businesses over low-income families in its coronavirus response. Consistent with this Administration’s hateful attempts to restrict SNAP and other federal assistance programs, there seems to be a mythology that the charitable sector can meet the needs of millions of hungry families.

Let’s dispel that myth right now: Charity alone cannot meet the needs of Americans facing hunger. This has never been more true than now.

Nearly 40 million Americans struggle to put food on the table on a regular basis, and the coronavirus has real potential to exacerbate their struggles. While some community-based service providers are exploring tactics like grab-and-go food packages, they will not be able to address the full scope of this problem.

A democratic society must provide for the needs of those unable to provide for themselves. Charitable organizations will continue to play a vital role in addressing hunger and poverty, but we know that the overwhelming majority of food assistance in this country has historically come from—and must continue to come from—federal programs.

Our safety net was created for moments like this. So let’s come together to expand benefits and flexibility to meet the needs of low-income women and their families.

Regardless of a person’s circumstance, nobody deserves to be hungry.

Idaho Senate Passes Bill Banning Transgender Women and Girls from School Sports

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The Idaho State Senate passed a bill on March 16th which would ban transgender girls and women from playing on high school and college sports teams. The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” would force students to compete on teams that correlate with their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. If there is a “dispute” over which team a student belongs to, the school can “provide a health examination and consent form or other statement signed by the student’s personal health care provider.” According to the bill, one’s sex could be verified through a health care provider examining the student’s physical anatomy, levels of testosterone the body produces, or genetic makeup.

Opponents of the bill argue that it subjects students in invasive exams, as well as subjecting trans students to further ostracization. Mistie Tolman, Idaho State Director at Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, states that “Transgender people, and transgender youth in particular, just want to be able to live their lives free from harassment and with community…Today, instead of acknowledging their humanity, the Senate chose to give the trans community yet another cold shoulder.”

This bill is not the first that has targeted trans individuals in Idaho. There is a bill advancing in the Idaho State Legislature that prevents trans people from changing the sex on their birth certificates.

This bill will reach the Idaho House before it reaches Governor Little.

Sources: Local News Eight 3/16/20; Idaho House of Representatives 2/13/20; Idaho Press 3/16/20; The Hill 2/28/20

U.N. Report Shows Increase in Sexual Misconduct Claims

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A United Nations report released on Friday showed that accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) rose significantly in 2019.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that, despite progress and policies in place to prevent sexual misconduct, “significant challenges” persist.

In 2019, there were 80 allegations of SEA in U.N. peacekeeping and political missions, an uptick from 56 in 2018. 41 of those were related to a peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic, and 15 were related to a mission in Congo. Three-fourths of the remaining 24 allegations are from peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Lebanon, Liberia and Haiti. Allegations involving civilian personnel numbered 25 (up from 13 in 2018), and allegations involving military personnel numbered 49 (up from 39 in 2018). There were 95 allegations involving staff working for U.N. agencies (up from 93 in 2018), as well as 37 related to paternity claims.

More than 190,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serve in more than 30 bodies in the U.N. system. In 2017, Guterres shifted the international organization’s SEA focus from conduct and discipline of officers to victims’ rights, focusing on practical assistance for victims and speeding up investigations of allegations.

The first Victims’ Rights Advocate, Jane Connors, described a major component of the work of herself and her four field-based Victims’ Rights Advocates who support her as dealing with paternity claims: “They often involve several jurisdictions, require us to work with Member States, so we are working on ways for the women to gain access to the legal support they need to pursue those claims.” A report about U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti shed unfavorable light on such claims in December, with claims of girls as young as 11 years old being paid with small amounts of money and food in exchange for sex.

Paula Donovan, the co-director of AIDS-Free World and the organization’s Code Blue campaign on stopping SEA by the U.N., said, “The U.N. is failing, […] the secretary-general’s new approach is not succeeding.”

Connors emphasized the fact that progress had been made to support victims, but not nearly enough: “There have been some positive outcomes, but there is a lot more work to do.”

Sources: Washington Post 03/13/20; United Nations 03/13/20; Washington Post 12/18/19.

French Priest Confesses to Abusing Dozens of Children

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Earlier today Bernard Preynat, a 75-year-old ex-priest, was convicted and sentenced to prison for five years for sexual assault. Preynat admitted to abusing dozens of boys for nearly 20 years in Lyon, France. The case highlights the profound corruption within the Church’s establishments with the guilt of a top cardinal deepening the world’s understanding of clerical sexual abuse.

Preynat was formerly a Boy Scout leader and used his position to assault dozens of Boy Scouts for nearly two decades, from the 1970s to the 1990s. It is estimated that Preynat assaulted at least 80 boys between the ages of seven and 15. The trial lasted four days with ten of the victims testifying against him. The maximum sentence is 10 years; prosecutors asked for an eight-year sentence, but only a five-year sentence was handed down because of Preynat’s old age.

The case highlights the Church’s systematic issues of covering up sexual abuse. Last year, Phillipe Barbarin, Preynat’s superior, was accused of covering up Preynat’s history of abuse and was found guilty of failing to report the abuse. Barbarin was acquitted in January on appeal, and earlier this month Pope Francis accepted his resignation. In the past few years an immense amount of clerical sexual abuse has come to light, bringing more speculation about the Church’s handling of allegations, repercussions, and the safety of the children.

Sources: BBC News 3/16/20; New York Times 3/16/20

As Coronavirus Spreads, So Does Inequality Among Infected Persons

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The coronavirus is deepening economic inequality throughout society, especially among those infected with the virus.

Research suggests that those of lower incomes are more at risk to catch the disease, die from it, and even if they manage to remain healthy they are more likely to suffer income loss. Additionally, inequality itself may be creating a multiplier effect on the spread of the coronavirus and it’s mortality rate.

As past research on influenza indicates, poverty and inequality often exacerbates transmission and mortality rates during an epidemic for people of all economic classes. Far from being a problem which only impacts persons of “lower economic strata,” this will affect the mortality rate universally. Wealth inequality, a problem that has plagued the U.S. for decades, is receiving attention now because it is not simply impacting low-income people.

This “mutually reinforcing cycle,” may be increasing the virus’s toll, as it effectively widens the socioeconomic divides that are major factors in the prevalence of right-wing populism, racial animosity, and deaths of despair. Public health experts confirm that these pre-existing vulnerabilities within society only get worse during a disaster, with the current pandemic being a prime example.

Each low-income family is at a higher risk of exposure, which can infect others. These consequences of inequality are most felt by the poor but have the ability to put broader society at risk. Two major factors that make the virus deadlier for those who become infected by it are old age and pre-existing health conditions. An underlying third factor is low socioeconomic status.

Sources: NY Times 03/15/2020; NY Times 03/06/2020

Women Resist, but Continue to Suffer Under Boko Haram

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Over 500 women have been used by Boko Haram as suicide bombers during the decade-long war that has occurred in Nigeria and has spread to three neighboring countries. According to terrorism experts, this number is higher than any other conflict in history. Boko Haram is one of the most lethal terrorist organizations on the planet, particularly to women.

The New York Times has interviewed dozens of women who reported the choice given to them by Boko Haram: “marry” one of the group’s fighters or be a bomber. Some women choose to blow themselves up.

Some women have resisted these deadly efforts, however. Balaraba Mohammed is one of these women, and she had been told to go blow up a mosque. Mohammed and 5 other young women decided to lower their bombs into a well using their hijabs in order to try and avoid killing anyone, including themselves. They told their captors that they had lost their hijabs because they had run so quickly, which was believed.

After forcing the returned women to practice using weapons on live targets, Mohammed was once again sent on another bombing mission with other women captives. Lowering the bombs into a well again, the fighters were surprised they had returned so soon and shot one of the women who was supposed to be the group’s guide.

Boko Haram continues to terrorize Maiduguri, the location of the origin of the movement. Militants killed over 30 people there last month. Boko Haram’s terrorist campaign has displaced over 2 million people since 2009.

Balaraba Mohammed is only one of hundreds of women who were given only bad options. For women who manage to escape and survive Boko Haram, they face stigma when they return; some people believe the women may still be loyal to Boko Haram. Many women face harassment. One of Mohammed’s neighbors told her that it would be best if she were killed.

However Mohammed, like many other forgotten women in this conflict, continues to fight to survive.

Sources: New York Times, 3/13/20; Al Jazeera, 3/4/20.

‘Progressive Vanguard’ of LGBT Voters Showed Up for Democratic Primaries

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Even though LGBT people make up about 4.5 percent of the entire US population, they made up more than 9 percent of voters who turned out for the Democratic primary elections. The “disproportionately high number” of LGBT voters who turned out were both younger and more liberal than non-LGBT voters in the primaries, according to data from an NBD News Exit Poll with data from 18 states that have already held their primary election.

 When LGBT Democratic primary voters were asked what “candidate qualities” they sought in a 2020 potential, 36 percent of LGBT voters said they wanted a person who “can bring about change,” 27 percent said somebody who “can unite the country,” while 26 percent said a candidate who “cares about people like me,” and 8 percent voiced their desire for “a fighter.”

Other demographics within this powerful 9 percent of voters, includes ages generally under 44 years of age (64 percent), and self-identified ideology of “liberal” (79 percent). 72 percent of LGBT Democratic primary voters were in support of “Medicare for All.” Additionally, when asked about President Trump, 83 percent described their feelings as “angry,” while 13 percent said they were “dissatisfied.”

After the 2016 election, results from an NBC News Exit Poll found that 78 percent of LGBT voters voted for Hillary Clinton, while 14 percent chose Trump. These voters come from California, Florida, Texas, New York in the highest numbers. Though there are many factors to be considered within this voting population, it’s clear that if LGBT voters continue to turn out in such high numbers, they will have the ability to create change in the 2020 election.

Sources: NBC 03/11/2020; NBC 11/15/16

Transgender Minors in NY Now Allowed to Change Their Gender Marker

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Transgender individuals born in New York can now change their gender marker on their birth certificate before their 18th birthday thanks to a lawsuit by a 14-year-old trans boy, known only as M.H.W.

 

“Effective immediately, transgender individuals born in New York will have the right to make this deeply personal decision without the government’s unwarranted denial or without having their privacy violated,” announced New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday, “We will not allow an outdated policy to stop us from providing every individual with equal dignity and respect”.

 

According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey nearly one-third (32 percent) of respondents “who have shown an ID with a name or gender that did not match their gender presentation were verbally harassed, denied benefits or service, asked to leave, or assaulted.”

 

Now that the policy has been changed, M.H.W. called this “awesome” and said that “Now all my identity paperwork matches, and I can go forward not having to worry about legal documents conflicting with who I am again. I get to just go on being me” according to the statement from Lambda Legal, the LGBTQ civil rights group who filed the suit for the teen.

 

Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, one of the Lambda Legal attorneys who worked on the case, claimed this win as a victory for all transgender individuals, saying “Every person should be recognized and respected for who they are, It shouldn’t take a minor and his family suing the state to get their rights recognized, but with this announcement, New York State eliminates an outdated and unjust barrier to transgender minors’ ability to be themselves and have accurate, essential identity documents”.

 

Transgender people formerly had to submit medical documentation to prove they had transitioned before being allowed to make changes to documents. The update is effective immediately.

 

 

NBC News 3/12/20; U.S. Transgender Survey 12/1/2016; LGBTQ Nation 3/12/20

Patients Seek Out-of-State Care as Missouri’s Only Abortion Clinic Threatened with Closure

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Missouri’s strict abortion laws have begun pushing patients out of the state to seek reproductive healthcare, reports Planned Parenthood. The state’s only remaining abortion clinic has seen a severe drop in patients as it fights a legal battle against the state government to stay open.

The clinic, Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, provided just three abortions in February of 2020, down from 174 in February of 2019. The clinic has been embroiled in a licensing dispute with the state government since 2019, when officials claimed to find “deficient practices” at the clinic in a state audit. If the St. Louis Planned Parenthood closes, Missouri will become the first state without an abortion provider.

Missouri’s restrictive abortion laws have already forced most patients to cross state lines to receive abortion care. Missouri has imposed laws designed to discourage people from seeking abortions, including requiring patients to view an ultrasound and read a booklet including the line, “[t]he life of each human being begins at conception.” After patients meet those requirements, they must wait an additional 72 hours to receive their abortion. Patients must pay for everything out-of-pocket, as Missouri has banned insurance coverage of abortions.

The effect of these laws is a denial of access to abortion care. Many patients without the time or money needed to satsify Missouri’s requirements are travelling to nearby states with more liberal abortion laws, like Illinois. “When they are weighing their options, the majority of patients are clearly seeing that abortion access is so unmanageable that they’re choosing to cross state lines,” said Yamelsie Rodriguez, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri.

A state commission is expected to issue a decision on the licensing of the St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic in the next few weeks.

Sources: NPR 3/12/20; Vox 10/28/19; The Kansas City Star 10/24/17

Menstrual Equity Movement Spotlights Period Inequality

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The movement known as menstrual or period equity aims to eliminate taxes on menstrual products as well as provide supplies to people who need the products the most, such as in homeless shelters, schools, and prisons. Proponents of menstrual equity point to challenges facing people who are unable to access menstrual supplies, some of which include being unable to attend work or school, or health issues like infection or toxic shock syndrome.

“A human being should not have to choose between food and tampons,” said Geoff Davis, volunteer executive director of Period Kits, who added he has heard stories of women putting newspaper, cotton balls or T-shirts in their underwear because they could not afford menstrual products. Period Kits is a non-profit in Colorado that supplies a bag of tampons and pads that will last three months to people in need.

Out of the 50 states in the United States, only 13 in addition to the District of Columbia do not tax menstrual supplies. Introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) last March, U.S. House Bill HR 1882 called for more affordability and availability for menstrual supplies, but the bill remains in committee.

“Period poverty,” or insufficient supplies during one’s menstrual cycle, is more well-known in developing countries, but it exists in the United States as well. Federal safety-net programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, do not provide tampons or pads. Those who argue against repeal of the tampon tax point to the loss in revenue for states that would occur.

“Menstruation is not out in the public. It’s covered up. We don’t talk about it a lot,” Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, associate professor at St. Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, said. “It hasn’t entered our conversation about basic needs.” Kuhlmann, one of the first to quantify period poverty in the United States, discovered that at some point in 2017 nearly two-thirds of low-income women were unable to afford period supplies.

Many advocates for repealing the tampon tax ask why tampons are taxed yet Viagra is not. “The tampon tax amounts to sex-based discrimination,” said Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, a co-founder of the nonprofit Period Equity, which is leading a campaign to eliminate the tax.

Sources: Kaiser Health News, 3/12/20; New York Times, 7/12/19.

Colorado Replaces Columbus Day with A Paid Holiday That Celebrates a Woman

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Colorado passed a bill this week to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day in an effort to better represent the diversity of its community. It will now be the first paid state holiday in the country to celebrate a woman.

The holiday now honors Frances Xaxier Cabrini or Mother Cabrini, an Italian American Roman Catholic nun, revered for her work creating schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the Americas. She was the first US citizen to be canonized as a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her work is celebrated in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and countries throughout Latin America all places where she founded institutions. Senator Chris Hansen, one of the bill’s sponsor’s stated, “We need holidays to recognize the contributions of women across history.”

Although some women have gained days of recognition, this will be the first paid state holiday, a notable change in how states honor history. The holiday can now be celebrated in a positive light. Columbus Day nationwide is a controversial holiday and some states have stopped observing it. Campaigns of indigenous people and allies have demanded Columbus Day be changed to Indigenous People’s Day in a multitude of states. Representative Adrienne Benavidez, another bill sponsor, said it was a step forward in properly honoring history.

Legislation for the bill began in 2007 and now passed will take effect near August. The last step needed is the governor’s signature. He has previously stated he will sign it and is a supporter of the bill.

Sources: CNN 3/11/20; The Denver Post 3/10/20

Guatamalan Refugee Maria Celeste Ochoa Yoc de Ramirez Dies in ICE Custody

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22-year-old Maria Celeste Ochoa Yoc de Ramirez died in ICE Custody in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday. This marks the eighth death in ICE Custody since October.

The cause of death was “autoimmune hepatitis, complicated by septic shock and acute liver failure,” according to an ICE Press release. Ochoa Yoc de Ramírez had been hospitalized in the Texas Health Fort Worth hospital since February 28.

Ochoa Yoc de Ramírez was first apprehended by Border Patrol agents in September, near Hidalgo, Texas. Over the course of her detention, Ochoa Yoc de Ramírez was hospitalized several times–once for surgery, once for abdominal pain, and once before her death.

Like many of the immigrants who died in ICE Custody, she was seeking humanitarian protection. ICE noted that Ochoa had already passed a crucial first step in seeking asylum, her “credible fear” interview.

Over the past year, conditions in ICE facilities have come under increased scrutiny. Congress began an investigation into ICE detention and border patrol practices, citing concerns about family separations and medical abuse of immigrants. In December, Buzzfeed News reported a whistleblower complaint, which showed widespread medical abuse in ICE facilities. There were “reports of detainees being given incorrect medication, suffering from delays in treating withdrawal symptoms, and one who was allowed to become so mentally unstable he lacerated his own penis and required reparative surgery.”

ICE maintains that deaths in the agency’s custody are “exceedingly rare and occur at a fraction of the national average for the U.S. detained population.”

Rafael Ochoa wants justice for his sister. “We are heartbroken,” Ochoa, stated in an interview with the Dallas Morning News, “We want justice. She is not the first Guatemalan to die…We want justice.” He added, “My sister did not suffer from any disease. My little sister was full of life at only 22 years old.”

[ICE, 3/9/2020] [Dallas Morning News, 3/10/2020] [CBS News, 3/9/2020] [Buzzfeed News, 12/12/2019] [Dallas Morning News, 3/10/2020]

Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison

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Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday morning.

The sentencing comes after a jury found him guilty of rape and a criminal sexual act on February 24. He was acquitted of two counts of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape. Justice James A. Burke of the New York State Supreme Court could have sentenced Weinstein to anywhere from five to 29 years in prison. Weinstein will be formally registered as a sex offender but will be eligible for supervised release after 23 years.

The lead prosecutor for the case, Joan Illuzi, said that a long list of allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein showed “a lifetime of abuse toward others, sexual and otherwise” and a “total lack of remorse for the harm he has caused.” She praised the six women who testified against Weinstein, saying that without their words, “the defendant would have never been stopped from hurting and destroying more lives.”

Jessica Mann, one of the survivors who testified, said of Weinstein, “This was a known offender.”

The allegations against Weinstein were a landmark in the #MeToo movement, which has exposed widespread sexual misconduct across various industries. On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article describing how Weinstein paid off sexual harassment accusers for decades. In the days after, more than 100 women came forward to describe their experiences of harassment, misconduct and abuse at the hands of Weinstein, who was fired from his multimillion dollar production company. Ronan Farrow of the New Yorker published two articles (here and here), and later a book entitled Catch and Kill, investigating how Weinstein and other powerful men abused their power, fame and money to suppress their survivors.

Actress Mira Sorvino, who has spoken about her experience being harassed by Weinstein and later her experience with helping expose him, described her reaction to his conviction: “I literally cried tears of amazement, gratitude that the justice system has worked on behalf of all of his victims today.”

Sources: New York Times 03/11/20; New York Times 02/24/20; Hollywood Reporter 03/11/20; TIME 03/11/20; New York Times 10/05/17; The New Yorker 10/10/17; The New Yorker 11/06/17; New York Times 10/11/19; Hollywood Reporter 12/08/17; Mira Sorvino 03/11/20.

Canada Proposes Comprehensive Nationwide Conversion Therapy Ban

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In a landmark move, Canada’s federal government has proposed legislation to criminalize forced conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. The legislation would also prohibit conversion therapy for minors.

“Conversion therapy” is a range of abusive practices performed to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. These practices, based on the antiquated idea that LGBTQ identities are curable mental illnesses, have been condemned by national health associations and widely debunked. In the United States, about 350,000 LGBTQ people underwent conversion therapy as minors, typically in the form of talk therapy. It can have detrimental effects on those who are subjected to it, including depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide.

The proposed legislation would amend Canada’s Criminal Code to make it illegal to force someone to undergo conversion therapy against their will, advertise or profit from conversion therapy, subject a minor to conversion therapy, or take a minor out of the country to do so. It would also give courts the power to order the removal of digital and physical conversion therapy advertisements.

“Conversion therapy has been discredited and denounced by professionals and health associations in Canada, the United States and around the world,” said David Lametti, Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General. “It has no basis [in] science or facts.”

Beginning with Ontario in 2015, four Canadian provinces have banned or restricted conversion therapy. In 2018, the federal government rejected two petitions for a nationwide ban put forward by the public.

If this legislation passes, Canada will join Ecuador, Brazil, Malta, Germany, and Taiwan to become the sixth country in the world to ban conversion therapy. Nearly half of all US states—including California, Rhode Island, and most recently Virginia—have passed legislation banning or limiting conversion therapy.

Sources: NBC News 3/3/20, 3/10/20; BBC News 3/9/20; EuroNews 11/22/19

UN Commission on the Status of Women Reaffirms Plan to Achieve Gender Equality

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On March 9, the Commission on the Status of Women, the primary United Nations body promoting women’s rights, reaffirmed a 1995 plan to achieve gender equality and has pledged to work rapidly to meet rising levels of gender inequality and conservative hostility.

According to a release from the Associated Press, the plan is a “political declaration” that backs a “150-page platform for action adopted by 189 countries at the 1995 Beijing women’s conference.” During an annual meeting, “diplomats and civil society representatives in the General Assembly hall burst into applause when Armenia’s US Ambassador Mher Margaryan, the commission chair, banged a gavel signifying the declaration’s approval by consensus by the commission’s 45 member nations from all regions of the world.”

During the event, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said that “gender inequality is the overwhelming injustice of our age and the biggest human rights challenge we face.” And before the adoption, he said to the commission that “change is urgently needed” as “centuries of discrimination, deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny have created a yawning gender power gap in our economics, our political systems and our corporations.”

The release also noted that today’s declaration was an act to reaffirm the Beijing document and express that “progress has not been fast or deep enough… that major gaps remain and that obstacles, including structural barriers, discriminatory practices and the feminization of poverty persist” and shows that there is a formal plan to take and institute “concrete action to ensure the full, effective and accelerated implementation” to combat gender inequality.

In a statement to the commission, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Nguka declared that, “we are impatient and cannot yield even an inch to push-backs,” as “we have to push forward.”

Sources: NY Post 3/10, Associated Press 3/2020, UN Women 3/2020

Hillary Clinton: Abandoning Afghan Women’s Rights is Not Just Morally Wrong – It Is Dangerous

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At a UN meeting on the recent deal between the U.S. and the Taliban about the role of Afghan women’s rights today in New York, Secretary Hillary Clinton emphasized that “encouraging women’s participation is not only the right thing to do; it is the strategic and necessary thing to do for peace, prosperity and security.”

In her speech at the UN, sponsored by the Group of Friends of Women in Afghanistan and led by the Afghanistan Mission to the UN, she stated that Afghans from all walks of life have made it clear that they want peace and an end to violence and casualties. “Yet it is difficult to have an agreement when you leave out the government of the country that you are expecting to uphold it and live under that agreement. And it is difficult to sustain an agreement if you leave out half the population in forging it,” stated Clinton.

In the meeting, many other prominent members of the group along with Afghan women leaders spoke of the achievements of the Afghan women in the last 18 years as well as the dangers of losing their rights once again. In her remarks, Nargis Nehan, an Afghan advocate for women’s rights reminded the audience, “Please don’t look at Afghanistan as a failed project. It has been difficult because of the many complexities, but it is not failed. Much has been achieved in education, maternal mortality, women’s leadership and role in society.”

Orzala Nemat also reminded everyone that “inclusivity” does not mean only the representation of women in the peace process, but that there are Afghan women experts in every field, civil society, economics, developments, etc. “Afghan women must be in every field,” emphasized Nemat.

As the former secretary of state, Clinton said that she knows how difficult this negotiation must have been because from the very beginning the Taliban rejected to talk to the Afghan government but that, “we must simply not accede to those wishes, leaving the Afghan government on the hook.”

Secretary Clinton advocated for Afghan women’s rights as a First Lady and then as a Senator and Secretary of State. She recognizes the plights of Afghan women and the progress they have achieved. “It is clear that Afghan women are rightly afraid not just for their rights and the Constitution that was written to protect them,” she said, “but literally afraid that the gains they have made with all of our help will be washed away in a rush to achieve a peace that will not hold anyway. This is not just morally wrong. This is dangerous.”

As a strong supporter of women’s human rights, she told that audience that, “We must not allow a reign of terror against [Afghan] women and girls. The women of Afghanistan have come too far to be excluded from the negotiation table while their rights are being stripped away. It is also true that we cannot allow that to happen to Afghan women and girls because there is a direct correlation between what will happen in the country, in the region, and indeed the world because of that.

The Group of Friends of Women Afghanistan was created by the Afghanistan Mission at the UN last year to emphasize the importance of women’s rights and underscore that women’s protection and empowerment are critical pillars of a just and fair society. The Group is working to ensure that the UN resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security will be implemented throughout the negotiations process in Afghanistan.

UN, 3/10/20

UN Secretary-General Points to Gender Equality as Biggest Challenge

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On Friday, before the observation of International Women’s Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asserted that gender equality is “the biggest human rights challenge we face” in the midst of men who abuse their power. Guterres added that he himself is a “proud feminist.”

A report by UN Women found that millions of women across the globe continue to experience poverty, violence, and discrimination; even 25 years after 189 countries adopted a 189-page road map to achieve gender equality. The report points to numbers that demonstrate the lag, such as how nearly half a million women and girls over the age of 15 are illiterate, or the fact that over 70 percent of lawmakers, parliamentarians, and managers are men.

The UN Development Program’s Gender Social Norms Index also reveals that nearly 90 percent of men and women are at least somewhat biased against women. About half of the world believes that men are more suitable political leaders, and about 28 percent believe it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife, according to the index.

“Deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny have created a yawning gender power gap in our economies, our political systems, our corporations, our societies and our culture,” Guterres said. “Women are still very frequently denied a voice; their opinions are ignored and their experience discounted.” Citing recent examples such as high-profile peace agreements and emergency health care meetings on the new coronavirus, the secretary-general said there are no or few women participating in leading critical issues.

Francoise Girard, president of the International Women’s Health Coalition, noted how critical it is for governments to be committed to reproductive rights and body autonomy. “Controlling your body — sexual and reproduction and free of violence — is critical to everything else,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s critical to education, to employment, to political participation, to sitting on boards of companies. All these things won’t happen unless you control your body.”

Sources: Politico, 3/8/20; UNDP, 2020.

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