Author: Feminist Newswire

The Feminist Newswire has provided a daily feminist perspective on national, global, and campus news stories since 1995. You can receive a weekly feminist news digest when you subscribe here.

Demand for Vote-By-Mail Grows as November Elections Loom

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In the midst of a global public health crisis, the outcome of the November U.S. election is uncertain and steeped in partisan politics. Republicans argue that Democrats’ efforts to enact vote-by-mail are undermining and remaking democracy while Democrats argue such efforts are, in fact, to protect democracy and voter’s rights.

Across the country, people are expressing concern about voting in the fall. As “open-up” demonstrations energize and mobilize the conservative base ahead of the election, California voters are worried that stay-at-home orders might get in the way of get out the vote efforts, but are also worried about shelter-in-place orders ending too soon. In California, which has a special election tomorrow for Katie Hill’s vulnerable former House seat, voters are preoccupied with illness, death, unemployment, childcare, and stress; tomorrow’s special election is not a high priority on many lists.

As concern for voting rights mounts, lawsuits ensue across the country. Voting rights groups are fighting a law in Oklahoma requiring absentee ballots to be notarized, and in Florida where felons are being forced to pay all fees and fines before having their voting rights restored. Democrats want same-day voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting, and no photo ID laws and are suing to make it happen. Republicans, claiming worry about the extremely rare phenomenon of voter fraud, are suing in Virginia to stop it from removing its absentee ballot witness requirement and in Arizona to forbid third-party absentee ballot collection. Court decisions affecting voting rules could greatly shape the outcome of the November election.

While stay-at-home orders and concern for health and safety persist, vote-by-mail is growing in demand. In Georgia, 1.2 million voters have requested absentee ballots for their June primary. In 2016, Georgians requested 36,200 absentee ballots. A Pew Research Center poll finds that 3 of 4 Americans support universal access to voting by mail and that 2 of 3 think the election will be “significantly disrupted” by the pandemic. Confidence in the legitimacy of the election is projected to be another issue exacerbated by the virus. In Pennsylvania, Democrats are working to convince skeptical voters that vote-by-mail is safe while President Trump continues to actively attack the Postal Service and just last week installed one of his top financial supporters as postmaster general.

In Wisconsin’s April primary, voters were forced to stand in long lines, risking their health in order to vote in person. What happened in Wisconsin is likely to be the norm across the country in November, but Wisconsin Democrats are advocating for intense digital outreach and well-organized vote-by-mail operations because these efforts were successful in one Wisconsin race and could work nationwide in November.

Sources: NPR 05/10/20, NPR 05/02/20, NPR 04/28/20, New York Times 05/10/20

South Dakota Sioux Tribes Refuse to Remove Checkpoints Despite Governor’s Threats

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The Oglala Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux tribes have refused to remove their coronavirus checkpoints on roads passing through their reservations after South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem threatened to take them to federal court if the checkpoints remain in place. The two tribes argue that the checkpoints are the only way to prevent a potentially devastating COVID-19 outbreak in their communities, which have limited healthcare facilities.

Tribe leaders erected the checkpoints to limit the spread of COVID-19 by controlling who comes and goes from their reservations. Residents must complete health questionnaires when passing through a checkpoint and may only travel for essential activities and locations that have not been identified as coronavirus hotspots. The Oglala Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux tribes have also both issued stay-at-home orders and established curfews, measures to reduce the virus’s spread that Noem has not implemented for the state.

Tribe leaders argue that their communities are not equipped to respond to a coronavirus outbreak and that the checkpoints are their best preventative tool. The Cheyenne River Sioux reservation has just one eight-bed healthcare facility for a population of 12,000, and that facility has no intensive care unit. “The nearest health care, critical care is three hours away from where we live,” said Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier.

Last Friday, Noem issued a statement threatening that her office would “take necessary legal action” if the two tribes did not remove the checkpoints within 48 hours. When tribe leaders refused to do so, Noem issued another statement claiming that the checkpoints are illegal and that she would seek intervention from a federal court if the checkpoints remain in place. In response, a group of South Dakota legislators sent a letter to the governor urging compromise and arguing that the state does not have jurisdiction over roads passing through reservations.

“We will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death,” said Frazier in his response to Noem’s statement.

 Sources: BBC News 5/11/20; CNN 5/11/20

Georgia AG Asks DOJ to Lead Investigation into Handling of Ahmaud Arbery Murder

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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has formally requested that the Department of Justice helm the investigation into the handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case. Arbery is an African American man who was murdered by a white father and son while out jogging on February 23 near Brunswick, GA.

“We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,” said Carr in a press release. “The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.”

Authorities waited over two months to arrest Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael. On May 5th, a graphic video surfaced showing a confrontation between the two men and Arbery that resulted in his murder. Public outrage at the lack of action from authorities and accusations of a racially motivated hate crime prompted the May 7 arrest. McMichael and his son have been charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Two prosecutors have recused themselves from the case so far, due to ties to Gregory McMichael. Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself, citing McMichael’s former position investigator in her office. Next, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill, recused himself because his son worked in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit DA’s office and worked with Gregory McMichael on a prior case.

The case was then transferred to a third prosecutor at the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, but when the video of Arbery’s death surfaced the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it would be taking the case.

“I think had we not seen that video, I don’t believe that they would be charged,” stated Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “It’s heartbreaking that it’s 2020, and this was a lynching of an African-American man.”

Sources: Poltico 5/11/20; CNN 5/11/20

Betsy DeVos Releases New Title IX Rule Favoring Accused Sexual Assault Perpetrators

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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has issued the final version of a new rule governing how K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The new 2,033-page regulation increases privileges for students and faculty accused of assault and requires colleges to conduct live hearings to adjudicate allegations, a drastic change from the more survivor-friendly Obama-era policies.

“This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process,” said DeVos in a statement. But women’s rights and survivor advocacy groups have condemned the rule changes since they were first proposed in 2018. They argue that the new rule unfairly favors those accused of assault, reduces schools’ responsibility for addressing harassment, and discourages survivors from coming forward.

The regulation gives college students accused of assault the right to have representatives cross-examine their accusers in a live hearing, which advocacy organizations say will discourage survivors from coming forward. The regulation also reduces colleges’ responsibility to investigate allegations, only requiring investigations for complaints made to certain designated employees such as Title IX Coordinators, through a formal process. The live hearing and some of the other mandated procedures do not apply to K-12 schools covered by Title IX.

The final regulation includes some changes in response to critiques from activist groups and the over 120,000 public comments mostly objecting to the proposed rule published in November 2018. Changes from the proposed regulation include requiring universities to investigate incidents at certain off-campus sorority and fraternity houses and including dating violence and stalking as allegations schools must investigate. The new regulation clarifies that any person may report sexual harassment even if they are not the victim and that schools must prominently display on their websites the contact information for the Title IX Coordinator. However, limits on the extent of the schools’ coverage such as study abroad programs and off-campus housing are still a problem.

Many of the most heavily criticized aspects of the proposed rule remain in the final regulation, including the live hearing process and a narrowed definition of sexual harassment that critics say allows schools to avoid responsibility for harassment on their campuses. The rule will go into effect in August 14, 2020 if it is not blocked by lawsuits or other actions from members of Congress such as provisions to delay the implementation of the new regulation in new coronavirus pandemic or other legislation.

“Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration are dead set on making schools more dangerous for everyone—even during a global pandemic. Releasing this rule during the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 unveils a disturbing set of priorities,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center. “We refuse to go back to the days when rape and harassment in schools were ignored and swept under the rug. And we won’t let DeVos succeed in requiring schools to be complicit in harassment, turning Title IX from a law that protects all students into a law that protects abusers and harassers. We will fight this unlawful rule in the courts.”

Sources: The New York Times 5/6/20; The Hill 5/6/20, The Washington Post 5/7/20

First ICE Detainee Covid-19 Death Occurred This Week

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 A 57-year-old man from El Salvador who was being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in California died from Covid-19 on Wednesday. This is the first confirmed death from the coronavirus at an ICE detention center.

Carlos Escobar-Mejia has been detained at the center since Jan. 10 after having lived in the U.S. for 40 years. While at the detention center, he was on a list of people who are medically vulnerable to the virus and are therefore eligible for immediate release but was hospitalized before the list was fully put together.

According to ICE, 705 out of 1,460 detainees tested positive for Covid-19. At the Otay Mesa center alone, there are 140 cases of Covid-19 out of the 649 detainees there, making it the facility with the largest number of positive tests among detainees. The Otay Mesa center is owned by the private prison company CoreCivic, which has not commented on the situation there.

ICE maintains that it is caring for its detainees in light of the pandemic, but detainees have said that they do not have enough space to socially distance, that they do not have enough clean masks, and that guards are not adhering to CDC guidelines to wear masks and gloves. They have reported that sick detainees are not being tested and have instead been told to gargle with salt water, and have then been sent back to the other detainees. In April, detainees at Otay Mesa went on a hunger strike to protest pandemic conditions in the ICE detention center. In March, advocacy groups donated hundreds of masks for detainees at the center but the donation was refused.

Two medical experts contracted by the Department of Homeland Security in March warned about the dangers of Covid-19 in ICE detention centers both to detained populations and to the general population as a whole. Because of demands from immigrant rights advocacy groups, hundreds of ICE detainees have been released due to the pandemic, but an estimated 30,000 remain in custody according to reports from ICE.

Sources: NPR 05/07/20, CNN 05/06/20, KPBS 04/17/20

Transgender Woman Nina Pop Murdered in Missouri

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On Sunday, May 3rd, the body of 28-year-old transgender woman Nina Pop was found in her apartment in Sikestown, Missouri. She had been stabbed multiple times, according to police.

While police have not determined a motive, they are looking into the possibility of a hate crime. The LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign reported that Pop’s murder is at least the 10th violent death of a transgender or gender nonconforming person this year, and the fifth in the past month. All five of the recent victims were transgender women of color.

Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative, wrote in a blog post, “for the past four weeks, we have seen the deaths of five transgender women of color in this country. We are seeing an epidemic of violence that can no longer be ignored. Transgender and gender-nonconforming people, especially trans women of color, risk our lives by living as our true selves — and we are being violently killed for doing so”.

Transgender and gender nonconforming people lack expansive, explicit federal legal protections to safeguard against the vast discrimination they receive. While they are covered under the state’s hate crimes legislation, they are not explicitly protected in housing, employment, or public spaces. 

Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, wrote in her statement, “Transgender people — and particularly transgender women of color — are facing a wave of violence…Police and other government officials must do more to keep transgender people safe, to thoroughly investigate crimes against out community and to stop enacting laws that enable transgender people to be targeted.”

Sources: AP News 5/5/20; Human Rights Campaign 5/5/20; The Advocate 5/6/20

Supreme Court Considers Affordable Care Act Religious Exemption Rule

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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will consider yet another case regarding whether employers can decline to cover contraceptives in their health care plans. Reproductive rights groups warn that depending on the outcome of the case, tens of thousands of American women could lose vital contraceptive coverage.

The case, Little Sisters of the Poor and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, involves a 2017 Trump administration rule change that significantly broadened who can claim an exemption to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contraceptive coverage mandate. The 2017 rule change, issued without a notice of proposed rulemaking or public comment opportunity, expanded the scope of religious exemptions and added an additional moral exemption claim.

States had successfully challenged the rule, calling it a violation of the constitution, federal anti-discrimination law, and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). A federal appeals court issued an injunction, preventing the Trump administration from enforcing the rule until the case was decided. Both the district court and the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed that states were likely to succeed on their APA claim.

The court will now consider whether the Little Sisters of the Poor have standing and whether the Trump administration lawfully exempted religious objectors from the regulatory requirement to provide contraceptives. Like several other cases taking place during COVID-19, oral arguments for Little Sisters of the Poor will take place via teleconference and made available on C-SPAN.

The Justice Department argues that exceptions should be broadened, citing that many employers believe any use of their health plans to provide contraceptives to employees— even if the employer is not directly involved in the process — violates their religious beliefs.

Opponents argue that the Administration overstepped their bounds. In an interview with Roll Call, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said, “They clearly overreached. They violated the rule of law. This case isn’t about forcing a church to provide access to birth control. Look, they’re already exempt, and we’re not challenging those exemptions.”

Additionally, opponents note the expanded rule would allow publicly traded companies and large universities to claim religious objections for refusing to provide the coverage. Furthermore, the rule would exempt employers and schools with any moral objections from the ACA requirement.

Reproductive rights organizations worry that if these changes to the mandate are upheld, tens of thousands of women could lose access to contraceptives. In their amicus brief, the Guttmacher Institute asserted, “More than 99% of the women aged 15–44 who have ever had sexual intercourse have used at least one contraceptive method … the Final Rules would make it more difficult, once again, for those receiving insurance coverage through companies or schools that use the exemption … to access the methods of contraception that are most acceptable and effective for them.”

Sources: SCOTUSBlog, 5/6/2020; NBC News 5/6/2020; C-SPAN 5/6/2020; Roll Call, 5/5/2020; Amicus Curiae, Guttmacher Institute 4/8/2020

Police Brutality in the Time of Coronavirus

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Covid-19 is shining yet another spotlight on American systemic racism as African Americans face higher rates of death from coronavirus, as well as policing in the form of social distancing patrols, which are often racially disparate, inequitable, and aggressive.

A majority of businesses have reduced operations or closed, but the NYPD has not slowed operations at all during the pandemic. Even in the midst of a historic crisis, the police oppression of Black and Brown communities perseveres.

Earlier this week in New York City’s East Village, the violent arrest of a Black man allegedly defying social distancing orders was captured on camera by a witness. This was one of three arrests in the area that day by unmasked officers breaking the very social distancing rules they were ostensibly enforcing. All of these arrests have been condemned by the Legal Aid Society which is asking the NYPD to reconsider their selective social distancing enforcement. The NYPD is currently investigating the incident.

In Philadelphia last month, mask requirements on public transportation led to the accosting of a Black bus rider by eight or nine police officers who then forced him off the bus instead of handing him a mask as they have been doing for white people gathering in crowded public parks in blatant disregard of social distancing policies. Armed, white anti-lockdown protesters across the country have gathered in defiance of social distancing orders without any reports of aggressive policing, while Black and Brown Americans face pepper spray, harassment, and arrest for failing to adhere to social distancing measures.

Black Americans are more likely to use public transit and hold essential jobs, meaning that Black people have to be out in public more and are forced to involuntarily serve on the frontlines of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Sources: NPR 05/05/20, Gothamist 05/03/20, Truthout 04/29/20, The Guardian 04/15/20

Universities Face Decision Between Medical Disaster and Financial Ruin This Fall

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Amidst great economic and political pressure to reopen in the fall, American colleges and universities must choose between enormous risk and liability if they do open and bankruptcy if they do not.

Colleges and universities are among the most vulnerable institutions to disease outbreaks and would serve as efficient grounds the spread of coronavirus as students on campus share close spaces. Students are in close contact in classes, dining halls, clubs, sports, dorms, parties, events, games, assemblies, and meetings. Students could bring the virus to campus upon arrival and bring it home during breaks and holidays. Schools are worried about lawsuits in the case of outbreaks on campus, adding to the risk of reopening in the fall.

If schools choose not to reopen this fall, they could lose half of their revenue and ultimately not recover, either filing for bankruptcy or closing permanently. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are being hit the hardest by the financial burden of the pandemic and because African Americans are bearing a disproportionate share of the pandemic, school populations of HBCUs are more likely to be impacted by Covid-19.

In response to political pressure from the GOP to reopen in the fall, schools are working to formulate plans. Some schools are considering shortened or staggered school years while others are considering reducing the number of students in classrooms and campus housing. Some schools have decided to press on with in-person classes in the fall, at least half-filling classrooms, while others have opted to go online or do a blend of both. Stanford, for one, is considering holding classes in tents. Many schools will not announce a decision until summer. Even schools currently planning to reopen, of which there are quite a few, acknowledge that things are subject to change depending on the state of the pandemic.

While schools’ plans for the fall are presently shrouded in uncertainty, if schools do return in the fall it will be a very different, and perhaps undesirable, college experience. Extreme vigilance, testing, temperature checks, and contact tracing could become a normal part of everyday life on campus and will be necessary in order for schools to reopen. Students would have to self-quarantine at both the start and the end of the term, entire dorms would need to be reserved for quarantine and recovery, and parties would be strictly forbidden. Older faculty and staff will have to trust and hope that young students will force themselves to abide by the strange, stringent new rules.

Students might accept the altered college experience and university status quo and return to campus, or they might take a gap year and hope that the schools are still operating when they can eventually go back.

Sources: Politico 05/02/20, Inside Higher Ed 05/04/20, The Chronicle of Higher Education 04/23/20, The Atlantic 04/27/20

U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Equal Pay Claim Dismissed by Federal Judge

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A federal judge dealt a significant blow to the U.S. Women’s national team’s fight for equality on Friday. While the U.S. women’s team’s claim of unequal working conditions can go forward, a federal judge rejected the player’s claims of pay inequality.

In March 2019, the USWNT filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The suit alleges the U.S. Soccer Federation’s has federally discriminatory payment practices, arguing that they pay women less than men “for substantially equal work and by denying them at least equal playing, training, and travel conditions; equal promotion of their games; equal support and development for their games; and other terms and conditions of employment equal to the MNT.”

Judge R. Gary Klausner wrote in his decision that USWNT members did not prove wage discrimination under the Equal Pay Act because the women’s team played more games and made more money than the men’s team. Furthermore, the women’s team also rejected a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) where they would have an identical pay structure to the men’s team in favor of a different CBA. This CBA guarantees players are compensated regardless of whether they play, while the men’s CBA does not.

“This approach — merely comparing what each team would have made under the other team’s CBA — is untenable in this case because it ignores the reality that the MNT and WNT bargained for different agreements which reflect different preferences, and that the WNT explicitly rejected the terms they now seek to retroactively impose on themselves,” Judge Klausner wrote.

While claims by the players of unequal working conditions based on travel conditions, specifically charter flights and hotel accommodations, and support services, specifically medical and training support, will still go to trial, the USWNT intends to appeal the ruling.

“We are shocked and disappointed with today’s decision, but we will not give up our hard work for equal pay,” Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the USWNT, said.”We are confident in our case and steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that girls and women who play this sport will not be valued as lesser just because of their gender. We have learned that there are tremendous obstacles to change; we know that it takes bravery and courage and perseverance to stand up to them. We will appeal and press on. Words cannot express our gratitude to all who support us.”

US Soccer released a statement saying it looks forward to “working with the Women’s National Team to chart a positive path forward to grow the game both here at home and around the world.”

 

CNN 11/8/2019, 5/2/2020 ;

ACLU Challenges Arkansas’s Latest Attempt to Restrict Abortion Access

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Arkansas’s only in-clinic abortion provider, Little Rock Family Planning Services, is suing the state to challenge a rule requiring patients to get a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of their abortion procedure. This is the second time Arkansas abortion providers have had to fight a legal battle to protect abortion access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing Little Rock Family Planning Services, argues that the Department of Health rule severely restricts abortion access, especially for patients who are close to Arkansas’s 20-week gestational limit. Little Rock Family Planning Services reports that it has been unable to find any COVID-19 testing location that will test asymptomatic people and provide results within 48 hours.

“For women who cannot obtain access to COVID-19 NAAT testing within 48-hours of their procedures, the Directive entirely bars them from exercising their constitutional right to receive pre-viability abortion care in Arkansas,” wrote the ACLU in the lawsuit.

Last month, Arkansas tried to halt all but “immediately medically necessary” abortions during the coronavirus pandemic. The ACLU challenged that order, and a federal judge issued a restraining order to allow abortion care to continue as normal. A week later, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban, but the new testing requirement order has since replaced it.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson never issued a statewide stay-at-home order and has allowed restaurants and gyms to reopen without testing requirements, instead limiting restaurants to one-third their normal capacity. Hutchinson has claimed his approach to the pandemic has been effective, but COVID-19 tests remain so scarce in Arkansas that coroners have been unable to confirm the true number of coronavirus deaths in the state.

Sources: CNN 5/1/20; The New York Times 5/1/20

COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights Preexisting and Underlying American Racism and Sexism

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As with most issues in the United States, Black Americans and female Americans are the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

On April 6, Louisiana was the first state to release data on Covid-19 broken down by race. Its report showed that while African American’s make up 33% of the state’s population, they accounted for 70% of those dead from the virus at the time.

Other cities and states soon followed suit with their own reports as the federal government remained silent on the issue. These reports showed, one after another, that areas with large populations of Black people have been ravaged with disproportionately high numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths. Wisconsin reported that while Black people make up 7% of the state’s population, they made up 33% of the state’s deaths. In Michigan, the numbers are 14% of the population versus 40% of the deaths. In New York, Black people are twice as likely to die from the virus as white people.

The pandemic has further exposed the stark racial divide in health in our nation. Black American communities face extreme situations of environmental racism which leads to underlying health issues like which make these communities more vulnerable to Covid-19. Asthma, cancer, and other respiratory issues are common effects of prolonged exposure to pollution, just one of many symptoms of environmental racism. Covid-19 attacks the lungs and is especially harmful to those with existing respiratory conditions. Further, studies show that racism and racist experiences cause adverse health effects as well including high levels of stress and heart disease. Tying it all together is the face that the American healthcare system provides disparate qualities of care to patients based on race. Black patients consistently receive poorer-quality care that white patients.

Relatedly, women are bearing a disproportionate burden of Covid-19. The vast majority of those on the front lines of the pandemic response are women. 76% of the healthcare workforce is female as well as the majority of service workers. Two-thirds of U.S. minimum-wage workers identify as female and are now either out of work or being forced to jeopardize their lives by working on the frontlines. 39% of small business owners are women who face great uncertainty for their businesses going forward. Women are disproportionately saddled with child care and caring for the elderly. Women stuck at home are facing higher rates of domestic violence.

Racist and sexist practices and disparities are not symptoms of the pandemic but have been exposed by it on a much deeper level. Measures need to be taken by states and the federal government to address the social and economic gender gaps like paid sick leave, equal pay, childcare funding, tough domestic violence laws, equitable access to healthcare, ending environmentally racist practices, and providing more pathways to elected office, higher-wage jobs, and opportunities to be lifted out of poverty for people of color and women.

Sources: New York Times 04/29/20, The Hill 03/31/20

Hawaii Introduces COVID-19 ‘Feminist Economic Recovery Plan’

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The Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women has introduced a ‘feminist economic recovery plan’ that is designed to help women recover from the economic hardships created by the coronavirus pandemic. The plan is the first of its kind in the nation.

The plan, called “Building Bridges, Not Walking on Backs: A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for COVID-19,” centers women from the most marginalized groups that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The plan not only proposes measures that will help aid in recovery from the economic fallout of the virus, but also introduces fundamental changes to the way women’s work is valued and compensated.

“I have not seen any state or nation propose a feminist economic recovery, a recovery that explicitly centers women or attempts to counteract patriarchy,” said Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of the commission. “Even proposals from left movements in the U.S. are missing this. They are bold on race and class, but gender is taken for granted. People don’t seem to understand the fundamental role of patriarchy, and how to tie gender in with race and class. So, I turned to the people with real power — women organizing in our communities who are active inside and outside government.”

The plan recommends that the formulation of the response and subsequent recovery must include “input from the impacted, essential sectors that employ a majority of women and organizations that serve women, girls and people who identify as women, femme and nonbinary.”

The plan calls for a restructuring of Hawaii’s economy, moving away a heavy reliance on military, tourism, and luxury development “by identifying opportunities for Hawaiʻi to support and benefit from sustainable PPE manufacturing, design or other opportunities and ensuring women have access to “green jobs” in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental management and construction jobs (89.9% male workers) through stimulus programs that promote gender and racial equity.”

Strengthening education, childcare, and healthcare programs is also proposed as research shows that this “boosts employment, earnings, economic growth and fosters gender equality.”

To address and eradicate gendered economic inequalities the plan implores the state to “Raise the minimum wage to a living wage ($24.80/hour for single mothers), adopt universal basic income, universal single payer health care, paid sick days and paid family leave, restructure the regressive tax system through increased property taxes and corporate taxes once the recession ends, develop innovative programs to address houselessness, and center food system workers and farmworkers, not just larger-scale farmers, in agricultural and food self-sufficiency programs, widening access for low-income consumers.”

The plan also calls for the inclusion of midwifery to strengthen Hawaii’s maternal and neo-natal care resources, as well as measures that will “incorporate gender-based violence prevention in the immediate response and long-term recovery.”

Khara Joabola-Carolus is optimistic about other states being able to recreate something similar to Hawaii’s plan. “We have the tools now — like Google Docs and Zoom — that enable a democratic process in real time, but we need to create onramps for women with disabilities. Build your feminist army and go beyond advocates and legislators,” she concluded. “Involve women who are connected to and well-versed in the struggles of women living on the edge in your community. Look for women economists and economists critical of neoliberalism. Most of all, think big picture and be aspirational.”

Court of Appeals Lifts Oklahoma Abortion Ban

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On March 27th, Oklahoma Kevin Stitt issued an executive order postponing elective procedures and surgeries, including “any type of abortion services… which are not a medical emergency… or otherwise necessary to prevent serious health risks” to the pregnant person. 

On April 6, Judge Charles Goodwin of Oklahoma’s Western District Court placed a temporary stay on the governor’s mandate, allowing some abortions, including medication abortions, to continue.

On April 21, Judge Goodwin issued a preliminary injunction blocking Oklahoma’s COVID-19 abortion ban.

This week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the state’s request to stay a preliminary injunction. The injunction allows abortion access to resume as normal in the state. 

Nancy Northup, president & CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, stated that the Governor has exploited the coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to ban abortion. “In the wake of this latest ruling, it’s past time for Oklahoma to respect the essential needs of women seeking abortion care,” Northup said. “This attempt to ban abortion is an abuse of emergency powers.”

Oklahoma is one of thirteen states where executive orders have been issued to deem abortion care “nonessential” and limit access. The mandates have been blocked or lifted in eight of those states, and are currently still in effect in five– Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia. 

States Tell Workers Return to Work During Pandemic or Lose Unemployment Benefits

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Some states, including Iowa and Texas, have begun to reopen their economies amidst the coronavirus pandemic and have warned residents that employees who refuse to return to their jobs will be ineligible for unemployment benefits. These policies force workers to decide between their health and unemployment insurance and could facilitate the spread of COVID-19.

Congress established a pandemic program expanding unemployment eligibility to workers whose employers have temporarily closed, who have been quarantined, or who have to care for family members. But the US Department of Labor has said that concerns about catching COVID-19 only qualify a worker for unemployment insurance if they “have been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine as a result of such concerns.” Thus, millions of furloughed and laid-off workers could be left to decide whether to risk returning to work when states allow businesses to reopen.

Texas Governor Greg Abbot permitted stores, malls, and movie theaters to reopen last week, but the state requires workers to be “willing and able to work all the days and hours required for the type of work you are seeking” to qualify for unemployment benefits. After relaxing social distancing measures in most counties, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds told employers that if their workers refuse to return, it would be considered “a voluntary quit. Therefore, they would not be eligible for the unemployment money.” Tennessee and Oklahoma have adopted similar policies.

While businesses like restaurants and retail stores are desperate for workers, labor activists argue that many people do not want to risk their safety to return to low-paying jobs. But with policies like those in Iowa and Texas, workers will not have much of a choice. “These states are offering people the choice to endanger your life or starve,” said Damon A. Silvers, the director of policy and special counsel for the AFL-CIO, the US’s largest federation of labor unions.

 Sources: The Hill 4/28/20; CNN 4/29/20; Newsweek 4/29/20; The Washington Post 4/30/20

COVID-19 Compounds The Struggle of Addiction During Pandemic

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The novel coronavirus is creating many complications and hardships to current daily life. One often overlooked challenge faced by families and individuals is struggling with substance abuse and addiction issues.

Covid-19 is putting more stress on families and people already dealing with addiction as the taxing physical and emotional burdens of unemployment, isolation, boredom, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and hunger mount. These issues are especially intensified for children of families dealing with addiction,.

In Vinton County, Ohio child abuse reports are down by 48%, according to prosecutor Trecia Kimes-Brown, but that decline is likely due to the fact that children are no longer able to go to school, church, and other places from where reports of abuse would normally come. Many teachers in Vinton County are making efforts to reach out to children and families in order to maintain an important personal connection, but that does little to change the fact that many children in households dealing with addiction are not being fed or clothed properly and are often being mistreated.

Food insecurity is another tremendous issue facing families across the country, particularly those with addiction issues. Children who typically received two hot meals a day from school no longer have access to them. Schools are trying to provide bagged lunches for kids, but hunger and food insecurity continue to loom.

For many communities like Vinton County which has been a major hub of the opioid crisis for several years, isolation is not a new phenomenon. However, the new social restrictions imposed due to the pandemic are enhancing challenges of life by causing more stress and mental health issues and for many, using is a coping method.

Due to social distancing rules, AA and NA meetings have been cancelled or moved online, but not everyone has access to internet or computers, and the benefits of in-person therapy sessions are not easily replaced. Isolation is even harder for people struggling with sobriety because group support is so important and people in recovery are told not to isolate themselves, but now have no choice otherwise.

Addiction experts are concerned that what the pandemic is doing to those battling addiction will lead to more overdoses and overdose-related deaths, both of which have been declining in recent years until the pandemic hit. The pandemic is affecting people in all spheres of the addiction community, from those who attend AA and NA meetings, to those who receive addiction treatment medication from clinics, to those who live on the street and rely on clean syringes provided by community aid workers.

While some support networks and even the federal government have begun to act by issuing new regulations and guidelines for people with addiction issues, more still needs to be done. According to Dr. Dave Fiellin, an addiction medicine expert at the Yale School of Medicine, doctors will need to loosen office rules to allow patients to get the addiction medications they need. Drug courts will need to adjust procedures as well because thousands of people have to submit to regular urine screenings or attend meetings in order to avoid incarceration. AA and NA meetings should have more accessible online and phone meetings and should take into consideration those who might not be able to access them but still need help and support. Programs created to help people without housing should not be closed or limited because that puts those people at an even higher risk of overdose and overdose death.

Sources: NPR 04/29/20, New York Times 03/26/20

Meatpacking Facilities Forced Open by Trump Executive Order, Endangering Workers

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

Late on Tuesday, April 28, President Trump issued an executive order forcing meat processing plants to stay open despite the severe public health risk involved in operating as usual under the coronavirus outbreak. In states across the country, meat plants have become hot spots for the virus, with at least 20 known deaths and more than 5,000 cases.

As of last week, 13 meatpacking and processing plants had experienced closures at some point over the last two months, which resulted in a 25% reduction in the country’s pork slaughter capacity. In response to these closures, Trump declared the processing plants “critical infrastructure” in order to keep facilities open and prevent food shortages.

A New York Times article from ten days prior, April 18, reported that “some meat companies have expressed reluctance to test workers, saying such targeted testing creates the false impression that meat plants are the main culprits for the spread of the virus. The more aggressively employees are tested, the more cases emerge, putting pressure on plants to shut down”. 

As is the case with many other low-wage, dangerous, and difficult jobs in the US, the work in meat processing plants is mostly done by the most marginal communities across the country. Many of these workers are women, most are people of color, and nearly one-third are immigrants, many of whom are undocumented. 

Unions and labor activists have pushed back against the reopening of plants, where workers stand inches apart to maximize productivity. While the CDC and OSHA issued voluntary guidelines to encourage workers to stand the recommended six feet apart, food safety experts argue that these are unenforceable and futile. 

Marc Perrone, International President of United Food and Commercial Workers, America’s largest meatpacking union, issued a statement on April 28 demanding that these essential workers are safe by providing personal protective equipment, enforcing physical distance, making daily testing available to workers and communities, providing full paid sick leave for infected workers, and ensuring constant federal monitoring and access to representation to protect workers from exploitation. 

Because the plants are opening under inadequate public health standards, workers have to choose between losing pay and risking contracting COVID-19. In many states, governors are warning that laid off workers will lose unemployment benefits if they refuse to return when their employer allows them to work.

These state unemployment mandates are impacting and will continue to impact the most marginalized communities most– women, people of color, immigrants, and undocumented people.

 

Sources: New York Times 4/28/20; UFCW 4/28/20; New York Times 4/18/20; Human Rights Watch 9/04/19; KTTC 4/28/20

Supreme Court Cases May Leave Many Without Insurance Coverage for Birth Control

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear two cases, Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania and Trump v. Pennsylvania, that could significantly limit birth control access in the United States. The Court’s conservative majority may use these cases to allow most employers to claim religious or moral exemptions to providing contraception coverage in their employee health insurance plans.

With more conservative justices on the bench, the Court may go beyond the limited Hobby Lobby ruling and uphold the Trump administration’s more expansive religious exemption rules. If those rules are upheld, many low-income people will be left without access to affordable contraception.

Currently, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), most insurance plans must cover all types of birth control approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration without a co-pay. The Court’s decisions in the two Pennsylvania cases may undo that requirement by upholding Trump administration regulations that allow employers to claim religious or moral exemptions to contraception coverage. A federal court struck down those regulations in 2019.

The Supreme Court heard a similar case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, in 2014. Then, the Court ruled that under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a for-profit company does not have to directly provide birth control coverage for its employees if its owners have a religious objection to contraception. After that ruling, the Obama administration adopted a more indirect approach to guarantee employees access to birth control. If a company had a religious objection to contraception, the government would work with the company’s insurer to establish an alternate plan to provide birth control coverage.

Sources: Vox 4/29/20, 1/4/20; The Hill 4/2/20

Domestic Violence on the Rise Globally Due to COVID-19 Lockdowns

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

This week, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), along with their partners Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University, and Victoria University, published a report predicting a 20 percent rise in the rate of domestic and gender-based violence around the world due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

According to the report, “For every 3 months the lockdown continues, an additional 15 million additional cases of gender-based violence are expected.” Already, countries around the world are reporting an increase in calls to domestic violence hotlines. In some cases, women are texting and emailing domestic violence prevention groups because they are trapped with an abusive partner at home and are unable to make a phone call.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is also expected to increase levels of violence. In the immediate term, the largest contributor is likely to come from the effects of stay-at-home orders and movement restrictions, which could increase women’s exposure to violent partners,” the report continues. “Mounting household tensions and economic stresses could also play a role.”

The report predicts a one-third reduction in response to domestic violence cases due to a decline in resources available prior to the pandemic. The figures in the report “account for the high levels of underreporting seen with gender-based violence.”

“It’s a calamity. Totally calamitous,” said Natalia Kanem, executive director of the UNFPA. “It is so clear that Covid-19 is compounding the no longer subterranean disparities that affect millions of women and girls.”

Numerous countries, including Germany, Italy, Greece, and India have responded by enacting new programs and policies intended to support women and girls who may be experiencing domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources: The Guardian 4/28/20; The Guardian 3/28/20; UNFPA 4/27/20

Navajo Nation Has Third Highest Rate of Coronavirus Cases in U.S.

Posted on by Feminist Newswire

As of Tuesday, the Navajo Nation had the third-highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the country, with 1,873 confirmed cases and 60 confirmed deaths, third only to New York and New Jersey. Tribal officials cite “broken promises” for the disproportionately high rate of cases.

“We are United States citizens but we’re not treated like that,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez told NPR. “You can hear the frustration, the tone of my voice. We once again have been forgotten by our own government.”

Over 150 years ago, the Navajo and other tribes were forced to sign treaties with the U.S. government. In exchange for their land, tribes were supposed to receive funding for housing, infrastructure, and health care. However, for decades Tribal Nations have only received small portions of what they were promised.

 Now, the Navajo Nation and ten other tribes are suing the federal government for their fair share of Coronavirus relief funds. In March, Congress passed the $2 trillion CARES Act, which included $8 billion for tribes. The coalition is suing over how the Treasury Department and Indian Health Service (IHS) is doling out CARES Act funds. The coalition is arguing that they shouldn’t have to share relief funds with for-profit, Alaska Native corporations.

As reported by Alyssa Becenti with the Navajo Times, “It was reported the Secretary of the Treasury intends to fund over 230 Alaska Native Corporations using the funds. Alaska Native Corporations are for-profit corporations organized under state law and are owned by shareholders, including non-Indian shareholders. The 12 regional Alaska Native Corporations alone have over 138,000 shareholders, employ more than 43,000 people worldwide, and generated more than $10.5 billion in revenues in 2018.”

Tribes and watchdog groups also point out that IHS money is insufficient for the size of the population it serves and the scope of health issues such as diabetes and asthma that the population faces. For comparison, recent data shows the federal government spends just $2,834 per person on health care in Indian Country, while it spends $9,404 per person on veterans’ health and $12,744 per person on Medicare.

“Native American communities are often invisible in terms of their health inequities. When you look at IHS per capita spending, it is much lower than we see for veterans medical spending or Medicare spending,” Dr. Laura Hammitt, the director of Infectious Disease Programs at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, told NPR. “IHS is chronically underfunded.”

Sources: NPR, 4/24/2020; Navajo Times, 4/6/2020, 4/22/2020

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