Migration Category: NCWP Old Site

Two fatal school shootings in the past week share a disquieting common factor: the shooters singled out girls. In Monday’s shooting in an Amish schoolhouse, the gunman sent boys and adults outside before shooting girls execution-style; last week in Colorado, a man took hostage and sexually assaulted six female high school students, killing one.

Targeting of women and girls in school shootings is not new. Many have noted the similarities between the recent shootings and a 1989 massacre at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, during which a rejected applicant to the school opened fire on a classroom of female engineering students, screaming “I hate feminism.”

In general, school shooters are nearly always male and their victims are predominantly female, says Dianne Cyr Carmody, an Old Dominion University professor who has studied gender and school shootings, in an interview with Ms. She looks at such massacres as ‰a spillover of violence [against women] from the private sphere.‰

Few mainstream press accounts of the recent shootings have noted the gender trend, instead focusing on schools’ lack of security or killers’ “mental problems.” The feminist blogosphere, however, has spoken out on the issue: Page Rockwell of Salon’s Broadsheet likens the attacks to “terrorism” and calls them “a queasy reminder of what true, deranged misogyny looks like.” Other feminist bloggers, including Echidne of the Snakes and Feministing, have also weighed in.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) introduced the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act in the Senate last week. The CARE Act (SB 3945) would require hospitals to routinely offer emergency contraception (EC) and post-exposure treatment for sexually transmitted infections to sexual assault victims.

According to the bill, between 25,000 and 32,000 rape and incest victims become pregnant every year. It is estimated that 22,000 of these pregnancies could be prevented if victims had timely access to EC. While exceedingly safe and effective if taken within 5 days, EC is most effective (95%) if taken within 24 hours.

The bill provides for risk assessment of sexual assault victims and appropriate treatment such as antiretroviral drugs, which have been proven to prevent infection of HIV. The bill would require that risk assessment and treatment be available to all victims, regardless of ability to pay.

Los Angeles fire captain Alicia Mathis filed a complaint against her department last week, claiming gender discrimination, a hostile work environment, and harassment. According to the Los Angeles Times, this could be the first class-action lawsuit brought by female firefighters against the department. In front of the Los Angeles City Hall, Mathis recalled her experiences, including having a fellow firefighter climb in to her bed and kiss her at night, being denied a transfer in favor of a less qualified man, and her fear of speaking out against the male harassers in her department, according to the Times. She said that, while her decision to make her complaint public could possibly end her career, her stories and the stories of her fellow female firefighters have propelled her to step up as the public figure in this case.

“It took a lot of courage for her to step forward like this and she has my support 100 percent … I’ve been fighting racism and sexism in this department for 31 years – the system is broken,” said Captain Jerry Thomas, reports the Los Angeles Times. In the past, African-American and rookie firefighters have been the most vocal about the discrimination they have experienced; a 1995 report also found rampant sexual harassment and discrimination, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Mathis and her attorney may not pursue the lawsuit if the fire department adopts certain internal systems, such as creating a procedure to document harassment complaints and the formation of a panel to investigate complaints.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill designed to protect patients and employees of reproductive health clinics from anti-abortion extremists who may use violence against them. Introduced by Assembly Member Noreen Evans in February and signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger on Tuesday, the bill, AB 2251, codifies that “no person, business, or association shall knowingly publicly post or publicly display on the Internet the home address, home telephone number, or image of any provider, employee, volunteer, or patient of a reproductive health services facility” with the intent to incite or threaten violence against the identified individual.

Too often, patients, employees, and supporters of abortion clinics become the target of violence. Assembly Member Evans commented on the necessity of the bill, saying, “Women should never face vigilante justice for exercising their reproductive rightsÉ The same goes for those who work to enable women to exercise those rights,” CBS reports.

Other bills relating to women’s health signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger included a law to protect a women’s right to timely access of prescription drugs, regardless of a pharmacist’s ethical concern; a law to mandate health care coverage for the HPV test; and a law to raise standards for hospitals that collect breast milk from mothers for their own children, CBS reports.

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The US Senate Armed Services Committee may vote as early as tomorrow on two pieces of legislation that could greatly reduce the rights of victims of sexual assault and rape. The Military Commissions Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Warner (R-VA), and The Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Frist (R-TN), aim to clarify how suspected terrorists should be treated, interrogated, and prosecuted. Groups such as the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), however, are concerned that the bills’ content could significantly redefine sexual crimes such as rape.

Under the Geneva Conventions, which articulate how uniformed prisoners of war should be treated, rape and sexual violence are considered torture; sexual violence and abuse are considered cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; and “outrages upon personal dignity” are considered crimes. Both bills on the Senate floor omit these three principles of the Geneva Conventions, making it difficult to prosecute perpetrators of rape and sexual violence. According to CCR, the definitions of rape in the two proposed bills are inconsistent with definitions in international law and other US law. The definitions also exclude sexual abuse that is not characterized by genital or anal penetration, such as other forms of physical contact and non-physical abuses, like forced nakedness, humiliation, and harassment, which were prevalent in the Abu Ghraib scandal earlier this year.

During the month of September, Camp Democracy will be set up on the National Mall in Washington, DC in an effort to bring attention to the situation in Iraq and restore peace and democracy. Those attending the non-partisan Camp Democracy will have the opportunity to participate in activist workshops which will focus on a variety of subjects, including ending the war, human rights, and media training.

This Wednesday, the women’s peace group CodePink and the National Organization for Women are sponsoring Women for Peace Day at Camp Democracy. CodePink, a group that aims for compassion-based policies and a focus on international law while rejecting the Bush administrations “fear-based policies,” has been promoting the “Troops Home Fast,” a hunger strike to expedite the return of US soldiers. On Wednesday, some participants will break their fast at Camp Democracy. Other activities on Wednesday include a discussion on how to end violence in Iraq, an update on the violence against women in Juarez, a panel discussion by military women, and a history workshop led by Howard Zinn.

A man drove his car into the lobby of a women’s health center in Davenport, Iowa on Monday, attempting to destroy what he thought was an abortion clinic. David McMenemy, a Detroit native, crashed his car into the Edgerton Women’s Health Center, driving into the building’s interior. He poured gasoline inside the car, hoping to create a blaze that would create significant damage to the building and kill himself, too, the Detroit Free Press reports. He has been charged with second-degree arson and is being held without bond; according to the Macomb Daily, McMenemy has pled not guilty.

The clinic, which has a large obstetrical program and runs the local Women Infant Child (WIC) program, does not offer abortion services or referrals for women seeking abortions. In his affidavit, McMenemy said he thought the center was an abortion clinic, the Detroit Free Press reports. Police are concerned that McMenemy may be connected with others who frequently commit acts of violence against women’s clinics, though no links have been established.

The health center sustained severe damage and will require a week or more before reopening for repairs. The crash occurred in the early morning when the building was vacant; no one was hurt.

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