Migration Category: Feminist Newswire

Stories from the Feminist News Wire.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Responds to Trolls After Going Public with Alopecia

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley has a message for those who called her Mr. Clean after she went public with an autoimmune disease.

Last month Representative Ayanna Pressley publicly revealed her hair loss from alopecia, which is an autoimmune disease. In the video interview, Pressley opened up about the medical condition which in her situation, resulted in total hair loss. She also detailed the loss of identity she felt about losing her signature Sengalese twists, which as she explained, “have become such a synonymous and conflated part of not only my personal identity and how I show up in the world, but my political brand. That’s why I think it’s important that I’m transparent about this new normal and living with alopecia.”

When mentioning her political brand, Pressley is referring to the work she has done on behalf of black girls and their hairstyles, introducing the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (CROWN Act) with several other Reps to ban hair discrimination. Since this Act, Senator Cory Booker has released a companion to it in the Senate, and other states have passed similar bills. To be sure, the loss of Pressley’s hair means more to her than her own identity, though that itself is a loss of which many are familiar with.

In the video released by The Root last month, Pressley allowed herself to be vulnerable in describing this great loss as well as feelings of betrayal to her culture. She explained that she needed to go public for all the little girls who come up to take “#twistnation” selfies with her, feeling that she owed them an explanation.

Since then, Rep. Pressley has experienced an outpouring of support from family, friends, and members of the public. However, internet “trolls,” as Pressley referred to them, have taken this opportunity to bully her online for her medical condition, calling her “Mr. Clean.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez immediately voiced her support for Pressley, saying, “They’re just mad because you pull off any and every look throw at you, meanwhile they can’t even put on a hat on their head without looking like baby peanut.” Pressley also had something to say, tweeting, “Dear Trolls. You really think I look like “Mr. Clean” ? Please. He never looked THIS clean. Sorry not sorry unapologetically rockin’ my crown triggers you. Proud #alopecian.”

Sources: CNN 02/09/2020, 01/16/2020; Boston Globe 12/05/2019; Pressley House of Reps. Website 12/05/2019; The Root 01/16/2020; Twitter 2020

 

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite Makes History at the Academy Awards

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The South Korean film Parasite made history last night at the 92nd Oscars when it was named Best Picture.

“This is very first Oscar to South Korea,” director Bong Joon-ho said in his first acceptance speech of the night, after he and fellow writer Han Jin Won won for Best Original Screenplay. The cast and crew of the film took home a total four awards, including Best Director and Best International Feature Film, the latter of which was recently renamed from Best Foreign Film. Bong stated that he “applauds and supports the new direction this change symbolizes”.

Parasite, a comedy-drama that follows a poor South Korean family that infiltrates the household of an upper-class family, has been a critical and commercial success. It won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language at the Golden Globes, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Writers Guild Awards. Since its release in October, it has grossed over $163 million globally and $30 million in the United States.

The film’s major wins come in a year that saw diversity problems in the Academy’s nominee selections. Five years ago, #OscarsSoWhite pointed out the lack of racial diversity in the film industry, and since then, there has been more attention than ever on issues of inclusivity. Only one of the 20 nominations for acting this year went to Cynthia Erivo of Harriet. Female directors, like Greta Gerwig of Little Women and Lulu Wang of The Farewell, were also snubbed. Similarly, the cast of the character-driven Parasite weren’t nominated for any acting awards, making it the first movie since 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire to win Best Picture without any cast members receiving a nomination.

The film’s producer, Kwak Sin Ae, said last night that she hoped that winning the award would “signal the beginning of a different kind of change for international cinema.”

Sources: NPR 2/10/2020; REV 2/9/2020; Good Morning America 2/10/2020; The New York Times 2/7/2020; Vox 1/13/20.

Switzerland Passes Amendment Banning Homophobia

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On Sunday, Swiss voters participated in a referendum deciding whether they wanted to extend Switzerland’s racism statutes to sexual orientation, and 63.1 percent voted in favor of it. Previously, Switzerland did not have a law protecting the LGBTQ community, but this amendment is a big step in the right direction.

Nearly two years ago lawmakers voted to include sexual orientation to discrimination laws based on race, ethnicity and religion. Because of the Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, the public has the right to call for a referendum putting a legislation to the citizens’ vote. Opposers of this movement declared that it violated freedom of speech rights. Despite the opposition’s attempt to hinder the legislation’s progress through referendum the majority voted to make homophobic comments punishable by law. Public discrimination and inciting hatred in speech, text, and images would be punishable with up to three years in prison.

Switzerland now joins other European countries like Denmark and the Netherlands making homophobia a criminal offense. Discrimination against sexual orientation is now official, but although same-sex partnerships are legal, same-sex marriage is still not. The opposition to the newly passed amendment voiced their concerns. A conservative political party, Federal Democratic Union labeled the legislation a “censorship bill” and claimed that people have the right to express unpopular opinions. An expert and researcher on preventing violence and discrimination, Caroline Dayer, clarified that the law would not restrict freedom of speech since “it would not penalize arguments held in private circles” and  “insulting and promoting hatred is not discussing.”

Sources: The New York Times 2/9/20; USA Today 2/8/20; DW 2/9/20

Trump to Cut Safety Net Programs, Increase Security Spending in Proposed Budget

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President Donald Trump is expected to propose a $4.8 trillion budget that includes cuts to safety net programs, government agencies, and foreign aid and increases to national security programs, according to a senior administration official.

Trump is proposing a $4.4 trillion spending cut to safety net programs over 10 years. The budget includes $130 billion in changes to prescription-drug pricing for the Medicare program for older Americans, $292 billion from cuts in safety-net programs like food stamps and Medicaid, and $70 billion by adjusting federal disability benefit rules.

Trump’s $4.8 budget blueprint seeks an 8 percent cut to USDA’s budget, 8 Percent cut to the Education Department, 15 percent cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 21 percent cut to the State Department’s budget, 27 percent cut to the EPA’s budget, and 37 percent cut to the Commerce Department’s budget.

In contrast, the Department of Veterans, NASA, National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security are set for budget increases, ranging from 3 to 19 percent.

Trump is also set to ask for a spending increase for the Pentagon and billions for his border wall project. Trump will ask Congress for an extra $2 billion for border wall construction, $1.4 billion for Customs and Border Protection, and $1.9 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Fiscal Year 2021 budget request is predicated on robust economic growth, at three percent over the next decade. Trump believes his policies will not only drive this economic growth but shrink the federal deficit to 261 billion by 2030.

Washington reporters believe that the budget is unrealistic, especially given the deep cuts, democratic control of the house, and upcoming election. Politico Reporters Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes stated, “Democrats will never agree to carve up domestic programs for savings, and it will be up to Congress to decide on final fiscal 2021 spending levels.”

Reuters reporter Jeff Mason echoed the sentiment, “The two sides are unlikely to agree on any major legislation this year, though, as they fight for control of the White House and Congress in the November elections.”

[Kaiser Health News, 2/10/2020] [Reuters, 2/9/2020] [Politico, 2/9/2020]

Karen Pierce Appointed First Female British Ambassador to US

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Karen Pierce has been appointed as Britain’s first female to hold the prominent position of ambassador to the US. Pierce is currently serving as the UK’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Pierce, has served as a diplomat for much of her career, joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981, and holding diplomatic posts in several countries since, including Switzerland, Japan and most recently Afghanistan-where Pierce served during 2015.

After Pierce’s stint in Afghanistan she returned to London, where she worked as the FCO’s political director and chief operations officer until her appointment to the UN. Pierce commented “I am honoured to have been asked to represent the UK in the US. I think it is the UK’s single most important relationship. There is a deep bond between Britain and the US, built on many pillars.  We have a fantastic cross-government team across the US and I look forward to working with them to strengthen and even further deepen the special relationship between our two countries and peoples.”

Pierce will be the first UK ambassador in the US since Kim Darroch. Darroch resigned in July following leaked emails dating back from 2017, which were critical of the Trump Administration. In turn, President Trump criticized Darroch and pushed for his resignation as US ambassador.

This rift, and recent events following Brexit-including a decision by Britain to allow a Chinese telecommunications firm (Huawei) a part in construction of Britain’s new 5G broadband network, despite American warnings against it-are likely to create challenges for Pierce’s dealings with the Trump Administration. Pierce will be aiming to help assist in securing a trade deal between the US and “post-Brexit” Britain, which she will have to navigate cautiously.  Britain’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab is confident in Pierce’s abilities to do so, commenting, “We’re proud to be sending to Washington such an outstanding diplomat, and I warmly congratulate her on her appointment.”

Sources: The Guardian 02/07/2020; BBC 02/07/2020; New York Times 02/07/2020

Virginia Senate Passes Bill Banning LGBTQ+ Discrimination

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Yesterday the Virginia Senate passed the “Virginia Values Act”, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the commonwealth’s anti-discrimination law, with a 30-9 vote.

The Bill (SB 868 in Senate and HB 1663 in the House), makes sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in regards to discrimination for things such as housing, employment, and other public accommodations. It also gives the attorney general the power to prosecute anyone “engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance” to the rights guaranteed by the new law. While the bill still must be passed in the opposite chamber and signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam, the bill has received bipartisan support and will almost certainly be passed very soon.

The ACLU and other human rights groups such as Equality Virginia, which has led the fight for codified equality on behalf of Virginia’s LGBTQ Community are ecstatic at the probable passing of the bill.  Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, said there is “much to celebrate” at the organization’s annual lobby event, despite being “cautiously optimistic” at the beginning of the legislative session.

There are multiple other bills supported by the LGBTQ community currently in the Virginia Legislative Session. This includes SB 245, which bans practice of conversion therapy for patients under the age of 18, SB 657 making it easier to change a person’s name and gender on a birth certificate, and SB 161 regarding the creation and implementation of policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in Virginia public schools, among a few others.

This is a historic move as Virginia will be the first southern state to enact any type of legislation that will protect the LGBTQ community.

Sources: WHSV3 2/6/20; Virginia’s Legislative Information System 2/6/20

One Year after Peace Deal, Many Children in Central African Republic Still Suffering

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Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the most recent peace deal between the government of the Central African Republic and the 14 major armed groups involved in a civil war.

The peace deal of February 2019 was the eighth agreement regarding the civil conflict in seven years. The African Union and United Nations took on a leading role in negotiations and implementation, optimistic that this particular agreement would finally promote peace processes. Despite extensive preparations and significant international support, the threats of violence, hunger, and poor health persist. In the first six months following the agreement, Central African armed groups and local militias were involved in a total of 83 violent events that caused 267 deaths.

In particular, many children continue to suffer. Although many armed groups have pledged to prevent further violations against children, those who have been released from armed groups lack access to resources to reintegrate into their communities, prioritize their health, and/or become financially stable. Furthermore, many children must endure the persistent trauma of sexual violence committed by armed groups as a war tactic.

UN News, 2/6/20; Amnesty International, 2/5/20; UNICEF, 2019; United States Institute of Peace, 10/17/19

U.S. Jobs Report Includes Data on Same-Sex Couples in Historic First

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Today, the U.S. government has released their monthly jobs report of historical significance. This monthly report will be the first time which the Bureau of Labor Statistics will include same-sex couples in its count of workers within the U.S. economy, allow for greater LGBTQ+ representation in government statistics.

This is not the only significant change occurring in government data, but this will be the first year that the census will include “same-sex husband/wife/spouse” and “same-sex unmarried partner” on its questionnaire. According to Meghan Maury, the policy director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, these numerical counts of LBGTQ+ people are important because this data can allow this community to build political power and have access to more services.

By knowing the number of LGBTQ+ people there are in the workforce is necessary because these individuals are more likely to experience poverty. However, this data does not separate heterosexual couples and same sex couples’ employment rates and other statistics, making it difficult to understand the economic experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals.

In the future, Maury hopes for there to be a collection of sexual orientation and gender identity in all surveys to fully understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ people.

Source: CNN 2/6/20; Market Watch 10/23/19

California Governor Pardons Gay Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin 67 Years After Arrest

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Governor Gavin Newsom of California has posthumously pardoned Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader convicted under anti-LGBTQ laws in 1953. Rustin worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and was the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.

Rustin was arrested for having consensual sex with a man in a parked car and convicted under a vagrancy law used to target LGBTQ people. He spent 60 days in a Los Angeles County jail and had to register as a sex offender, making finding jobs difficult and providing fuel for efforts to delegitimize the civil rights movement.

Rustin’s arrest is one of many cases of police and prosecutors using laws to criminalize LGBTQ people. Loitering laws, for example, are still used to persecute transgender people through what have been called “walking while trans” arrests. The pardon is part of a Newsom administration initiative to offer clemency to those targeted by anti-LGBTQ policing.

“In California and across the country, charges like vagrancy, loitering, and sodomy have been used to unjustly target lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people,” said Newsom’s office. “Law enforcement and prosecutors specifically targeted LGBTQ individuals, communities and community spaces for criminal prosecution. Now, as a proudly LGBTQ-allied state, California is turning the page on historic wrongs.”

Rustin died in 1987 after a lifetime of activism, mainly in the civil rights movement. He was arrested for anti-war organizing during World War II and for protesting segregation in the South. He helped organize the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott and was one of the key figures behind the push for nonviolence in the civil rights movement. In the 1980s, Rustin took on gay rights advocacy. Barack Obama awarded Rustin a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

Sources: New York Times 2/5/20; The Guardian 2/5/20; CNN 2/5/20

Astronaut Christina Koch Returns to Earth after Record-Breaking Spaceflight

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On Thursday morning NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth, marking the end of her 328 day-long journey in space. Koch follows in the footsteps of Peggy Whitson, who previously held the record of 288 days for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

During her time in space, Koch achieved yet another milestone for women in science: she and her colleague Jessica Meir completed the first-ever all-female spacewalk in October. The pair spent seven hours outside of the International Space Station replacing a failed unit.

Reflecting on their achievement, Koch commented, “We’re in sort of a new chapter now, where we’ve crossed that line, and now two women have done it. And so hopefully it’ll become commonplace and it… [won’t be] a big deal down the road.”

Koch’s long-term spaceflight provides useful information about the effects of microgravity on human health to NASA in preparation for planned explorations of the moon and Mars.

Additionally, Koch and her colleagues conducted experiments yielding useful results due to their microgravity conditions. For example, they studied the crystallization of a protein that promotes cancerous growth to develop treatments that could target the protein. Furthermore, they conducted experiments that indicated potential for producing whole human organs in space, where capillaries form more easily.

CNN, 2/6/2020; NBC, 2/6/2020; BBC, 10/18/19

Grassroots Activists Work to Find Solutions to End Female Genital Mutilation

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Recent efforts in Gambia show the success of frontline activists fighting to end female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is a global human rights’ issue that has affected nearly 200 million women and girls worldwide.

Although frontline activists receive little to no funding, their efforts have seen promising results in countries from Kenya to Gambia. Kenya banned FGM in 2011 and efforts to enforce the ban in all regions of the country have had growing success through grassroots education programs.

Samburu Girls’ Foundation provides education, rescue centers, and outreach programs to Somali, Maasai, Samburu and Pokot communities that are working to overcome language barriers so they can unite against FGM and child marriage. Similar efforts in Gambia led by Jaha Dukureh, founder of Safe Hands for Girls, hope to prove the capabilities of frontline activists with anticipated prevalence statistics. The data will be released later this year and is expected to track the decrease in FGM in Gambia.

Activists have been calling for aid reform in the efforts to end FGM. There are barriers to building trust between grassroots and large organizations like the United Nations. From 2016 data, development initiatives estimate that less than 2% of international aid reaches the frontlines.

Many view management consultancies and international organizations as colonial approaches because of their tendency to ignore local efforts. But with the success of grassroots efforts in Kenya and Gambia, there has been a larger push to collaborate with and fund frontline activists rather than relying on outside charities to provide a solution.

Sources: The Guardian 2/6/20; CNN 2/6/18

Fact Check: Trump’s State of the Union Address

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President Donald J. Trump delivered his third State of the Union address this Tuesday and spent approximately one and a half hours lying to the attending members of Congress, witnesses in the gallery, and the American public.

Early on in his speech, Trump remarked that “jobs are booming” and “incomes are soaring,” but NPR Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley noted that in reality, “in the 38 months since the 2016 election, the U.S. economy has added 7.3 million jobs”- which is “an impressive feat, but certainly not unprecedented.” According to Horsley, “the pace of job growth has slowed” as “employers added an average of 176,000 jobs a month in 2019 compared with an average of 233,000 the year before.”

According to Trump, “in eight years under the last administration, over 300,000 working age people dropped out of the workforce” and “ in just three years of [his] administration, 3.5 million people, working age people, have joined the workforce.” NPR Correspondent Jim Zarroli notes that, “comparing the labor force participation rate under President Barack Obama with the number of jobs created under his own administration” is like “mixing apples and oranges” while also noting that in reality, “job creation has increased at a slightly lower rate under Trump.”

Trump said that as a country, “we are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back.” In response to this lie, Horsley said that while “the U.S. economy grew 2.3% last year” that statistic matches the average annual rate for the last 10 years while also falling “short of the 3% growth target set by President Trump and his advisors.”

Trump also noted that once elected, he personally “moved rapidly to revive the U.S. economy.” However, Zarroli made sure to note that “since the Great Recession, the economy has been growing at a steady, moderate pace” that actually matches “the growth rate in 2016.”

Trump remarked that he and his administration have “made an ironclad pledge to American families” that they “will always protect patients with preexisting conditions.” Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR Health Policy Reporter, refutes this statement by pointing out that that the Trump administration is currently engaging in a legal battle to strike down the Affordable Care Act that already and explicitly “ensur[es] that people who have preexisting conditions can access health insurance.” This statement is ridiculous as Trump has proven to be against healthcare for those with preexisting conditions and has not offered up a health plan with details on how exactly these conditions would still be covered if the ACA were to be struck down.

Trump stated that he addressed the increasing cost of health insurance premiums by “mov[ing] quickly to provide affordable alternatives” and that “new plans are up to 16 percent less expensive, and better.” NPR Health Policy Reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin noted that Trump’s cheaper plans “don’t have to offer up the 10 essential benefits required by insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act.” While these plans do have low premiums, their deductible rates are extremely high and “if you get really sick or into an accident, you could be in serious financial straits. Trump urged people “stand with [him] and pass legislation to prohibit free government health care for illegal aliens” in order to combat “forcing American taxpayers to provide free unlimited health care to illegal aliens.”

Once again, Simmons-Duffin of NPR responded by saying that, for starters, “no health care is free” and that “many undocumented people are uninsured, but they still have health needs” and that with this in mind, “they often delay care and utilize emergency rooms.”

According to Trump, his administration is “taking on the big pharmaceutical companies” to “approv[e] a record number of affordable generic drugs.” NPR Pharmaceuticals Correspondent noted that “many newly approved generics have not come to market,” and with this in mind, “can’t drive prices down.” On this note, Trump also claimed that “the cost of prescription drugs actually went down [last year],” but according to Simmons-Duffin, “drug spending overall has continued to climb.”

Sources: NPR 2/5

Congresswomen Wear Suffragette White to State of the Union Address

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Dozens of Democratic congresswomen wore white to last night’s State of the Union address in honor of the American suffragette movement and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The symbolic move references the white outfits 20th-century suffragists often wore to represent purity and nonviolence as they fought for women’s right to vote.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus announced the decision to wear white at a press conference ahead of the address. The move was intended as a demonstration of unity and support for women’s rights, reproductive freedom, and equality for all disenfranchised groups. Congresswomen also wore white to last year’s State of the Union, a statement organized by the House Democratic Women’s Working Group.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) called the white outfits a “sign of women empowerment and unity,” and said “It is important for everyone, including the president, to understand that we play an important role here in the Congress and elsewhere.”

2020 marks a century since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which forbids abridging the right to vote due to sex. However, women of color did not gain equal voting rights until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Many congresswomen also wore “ERA YES” pins provided by the Feminist Majority and ERA Coalition in support of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA would mandate equal legal rights regardless of sex, formally embedding gender equality in the Constitution.

Last month, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, making it the crucial final vote of approval needed to add the amendment to the Constitution. In January, three state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to add the ERA to the Constitution, arguing that the ratification deadline is arbitrary and not required by the Constitution. Next week, the House of Representatives will vote on whether to rescind the deadline.

Sources: Time 2/5/20; CNN 2/4/20; The Hill 2/4/20

New York, California Legislatures Introduce Bills Banning “Virginity Testing”

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Lawmakers in New York and California are considering new legislation that would ban virginity testing—the first such bills in the nation.

The two bills were introduced after rapper T.I. said he subjects his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah Harris to an annual gynecological exam to see if her hymen is “still intact.” The practice is condemned by three separate United Nations agencies for being medically unsound and abusive.

Despite the condemnation “virginity tests” receive, a 2017 study of nearly 300 U.S. OB-GYNs found that about 10 percent reported having been asked to perform a “virginity test” in the past year, and 34 percent of those asked agreed to perform it. Assemblymembers Michaelle Solages of New York (D-Elmont) and Lorena Gonzalez of California (D-San Diego) want to make those numbers zero.

New York State Assemblymember Solages introduced her bill late last year. In an interview with Elle Magazine, Assemblymember Solages explained, “I want hymen examinations to be a class D felony. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t even have to submit legislation like this. In a perfect world, women are treated as equal beings.”

California State Assemblymember Gonzalez introduced a similar bill Jan. 8. Both proposals would classify the exams as “unprofessional conduct” and would discipline doctors who performed or supervised the exams.

“So-called ‘virginity testing’ is a form of violence and harassment against young girls and women,” Assemblymember Gonzalez said in a statement. “There is no medical reason for this examination. It’s time for California to listen to calls from the international community and ban this traumatizing, sexist and unnecessary practice.”

[USA Today, 2/5/2020] [The Guardian, 11/7/2019] [World Health Organization, 10/17/2018] [Elle, 12/5/2019] [New York Assembly, 11/8/2019] [California Legislative Information, 1/8/2020] [NCBI, 8/31/2017] [Courier Journal, 1/31/2020]

Finland Introduces Reforms to Paid Parental Leave Program

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Finland’s government announced reforms of the country’s paid parental leave program, giving both partners in a family equal amounts of leave and increasing the total amount of leave available to both.

Under the old system, maternal leave was 4.2 months, and parental leave was 2.2 months. The new plan is gender-neutral, referring only to parental leave. It increases the amount of leave for each parent to 6.6 months, combining to 13.2 months. Parents will be allowed to transfer about 2 months of their leave to their partner. Pregnant women will receive 7.6 months, one extra for the month leading up to the expected birth. Single parents will be allowed to use the full allowance of 13.2 months.

The new plan comes from Finland’s new government, led by prime minister Sanna Marin. Marin, 35, was sworn in in December 2019. She is Finland’s youngest prime minister to date and its third female prime minister. Four of the five parties in her coalition are led by women, four of whom are under the age of 35.

Marin said that despite Finland’s status as a “pioneering” country for gender equity, it still had changes to make. She spoke about the reasons behind the parental leave reform, noting that “too few fathers were spending time with their children while they were young.” She and her husband split their parental leave in half, each spending 6 months with their daughter. Reform of the program, she said, was “benefitting everybody, so we need everybody on board.”

Finland’s Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Aino-Kaisa Pekonen, echoed Marin’s claims: “This enables better equality between parents and diversity among families.” She also pointed to other European countries’ paid leave programs as evidence of success: Sweden and Iceland saw increases in their birth rates after offering more parental leave; Finland’s birth rate fell by a fifth from 2010 to 2018 and it’s expected that the reformed policy will help. A 2019 directive from the European Union gives member states three years to provide each parent with at least four months’ leave.

Sources: BBC 2/5/2020; The New York Times 12/9/2019; CNBC 1/23/2020; National Post 2/5/2020.

Actor and Gay Icon Billy Porter Gives LGBTQ State of the Union

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“Pose” star Billy Porter gave an LGBTQ state of the union hours before Donald Trump’s speech last night. Porter criticized the president ad highlighted the many issues that LGBTQ people are facing in the United States.

Sponsored by Logo TV, Porter quickly called out the President as having “painted himself as a friend of the LGBTQ community, while revealing his true colors at every malicious turn”. Porter then described the many acts, including banning transgender people from serving in the US military, and expanding the “conscience rule” that allows healthcare providers to discriminate against queer people. He also mentioned the many anti-LGBTQ judges Trump has appointed whose “influence will be felt long after Trump has left office”.

Porter then highlighted the up rise in hate crimes, citing an FBI statistic saying that hate crimes have hit a 16-year high. He went on to highlight the murders of trans people, which disproportionately affects trans women of color, calling it “no short of an epidemic”. He then suggested that we needed to do more to face this issue, and that we need to “elect officials who recognize it for the crisis that it is”.

Porter also mentioned that LGBTQ rights are not the only ones under attack. He lists “the erosion of the truth, to the normalization of white supremacy, to the assault on women’s reproductive freedom, to the dangerous othering of immigrants and people of color, to the inhumane treatment of migrants at the border, to the rampant injustices of our criminal justice system, from denying the very existence of climate change, to the frustrating and incredibly disappointing of inaction on gun control” as other pressing issues that “hang in the balance” of Trump’s presidency.

“If now is not the time for drama, child, when is?” Porter lamented. He discussed the danger of being queer in many countries besides the United States, criticizing the “blind eye” turned to queer refugees who are trying to escape their homophobic countries. While listing the lows, such as the law upholding the illegality of gay sex in Kenya, he also mentioned the highs, like the legalization of gay marriage in countries like Taiwan and Northern Ireland.

He closed the speech on a high note, saying that he is proud of those who are speaking out and engaging with their local governments, who are “speaking out in hopes of righting the wrongs occurring all around them”.

Porter’s speech serves as a reminder that LGBTQ rights, as well as so many others are still under attack. He encourages viewers to use the “power of the voting box” come the 2020 elections and ended with the sentiment that “we have far more that connects us than sets us apart”.

USA Today 2/4/20; YouTube 2/4/20

Women and Children Make Up Majority of Deportees to Guatemala Under New Deal

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The majority of the nearly 400 asylum seekers that are being deported back to Guatemala under the Trump administration’s controversial deal with the country are women and children.

U.S. immigration officials have denied the opportunity to seek asylum of 378 migrants from Honduras and El Salvador as of Tuesday of this week, forcing them to pick to go home to the countries from which they are fleeing or seek refuge in Guatemala. According to numbers provided by the Guatemalan government, the deported include 144 children, 136 women and 98 men.

Unaccompanied minors are the exception under the agreement between the United States and Guatemala, signifying that the deported children to Guatemala are traveling with at least one parent. Precise numbers of families are, however, unclear and not provided by the U.S. government.

The agreement started to be enforced last November, and the deal is one of three “Asylum Cooperative Agreements” the U.S. attempted to establish in northern Central America and the only agreement to have taken effect. The agreement says that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials can deny migrants the opportunity to seek protection at the border of U.S. and Mexico. Migrants must prove that they will more likely than not face persecution in Guatemala; if they are unable to do so, they are deported within days.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others have filed a lawsuit that seeks to cease implementation of the agreement. The agreement has also faced heavy criticism from immigration advocates who point to Guatemala’s own difficulties with migration due to poverty and violence. There are worries that Guatemala will be unable to deal with the sheer number of people being deported within its borders, particularly families with children.

“We’re talking about forcing people to remain in these countries where the government is unable to protect them, locking them there and throwing away the key,” said Ursela Ojeda, a migrant rights and justice policy adviser at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “It is unprecedented in the sense that the idea that we would consider these countries safe is laughable. People will suffer and people will die.”

Sources: CBS News, 2/4/20; Vox, 11/20/19

Despite Recommendations Against the Practice, Unnecessary Pelvic Exams are Still Common

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A recent study from JAMA uncovered that although there are clear guidelines against the practice, U.S. doctors continue to perform an estimated 2.6 million unnecessary pelvic exams and pap smears on girls and young women costing nearly $123 million annually. The statistics spark new movements against healthcare practices that harm specifically young women and girls.

Healthcare professionals are speaking out about communication issues that perpetuate these practices. There are issues regarding what patients are aware of, but also many doctors “are just not aware of the guidelines.” Young women and girls are at more of risk because they are not informed about proper OB/GYN practices. There are concerns the trust needed between doctor and patient can be misused and lost due to unnecessary pelvic exams and pap smears. What most do not know, but what is extremely important to note is that young women do not need to see a gynecologist regularly before age 21.

New legislation is in the works to protect patients from dangers concerning these practices. Due to revelations from the Larry Nassar scandal, 10 states passed measures requiring consent for anesthetized patients to undergo pelvic exams. While legislation is moving forward in certain states, some wonder why this is not a national movement. Women are receiving improper healthcare, millions annually are being wasted, and there is a greater risk for the safety of patients, but despite these harrowing facts there has been little attention to these astounding statistics.

Greater publicity has come with Evelyn Yang, wife of presidential candidate Andrew Yang, recently opening up about being sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN during her pregnancy.

Sources: Ms. Magazine 2/3/20; NBC News 1/7/20; NPR 1/9/20

New Report by Doctors for Choice Asserts That Abortion Access is Healthcare

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

Tomorrow there will be a report released by Doctors for Choice, a worldwide pro-choice group of medical providers, regarding their stance on abortion being a healthcare issue and that bans on abortion would risk the lives of women. Doctors for Choice previewed its paper by describing their position with “the complete ban on abortion is a risk to women’s lives… as shown by observational scientific studies, denying women an abortion on request has negative repercussions on their physical health, mental health, and social situation.” Further, the group describes how abortion is a safe procedure, as it has lower rates of morbidity and mortality than childbirth.

Doctors for Choice was founded in May 2019 to advocate for comprehensive reproductive health care, including access to safe abortion and contraception. This organization aims to connect physicians from various disciplines globally to fight for access to reproductive health care and for women to have autonomy over their lives and bodies.

Globally, 700 million women and girls of reproductive age are unable to access safe and legal abortion services. Further, legal restrictions on abortions do not decrease the rates of abortions, but rather women risk their lives and health in order to seek unsafe abortions.

Sources: Malta Today 2/4/20; Doctors for Choice About Page; Center for Reproductive Rights 2020.

Healthcare Tops List of Iowa Voter Concerns

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

An exit poll from NBC News, CNN, and the Associated Press shows that healthcare is a top voter concern among Iowan Democrats; ranking ahead of issues like climate change or foreign policy. However, healthcare policy may not be the deciding factor of who people are going to vote for.

According to Kimberly Leonard, senior healthcare writer for the Washington Examiner, data from the AP poll found that 88% of caucus-goers said that “electability was important for the Democratic nominee” while 66% said that “having the best policy ideas was most important.” This shows that while healthcare is a top concern, voters are willing to overlook policy in order to have their party win this November.

Luckily, all of the candidates competing for the Democratic nomination are looking to expand federally funded healthcare, even though their policies and plans may differ.

According to Leonard, “Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have chosen to back Medicare for all, which would enroll everyone living in the United States into a private plan and abolish private insurance.” Senator Amy Klobochar, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg have all endorsed a system where individuals would have the option “to buy into a government plan instead of a private plan.”

Sources: Washington Examiner 2/4; CNN Politics 2/4; Associated Press 2/4; NBC News 2/3

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