Author: Marcelle Edenlord

California Takes Action to Address Housing Barriers for Survivors

Posted on by Marcelle Edenlord

More than one in three women and one in six men in the United States have experienced sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. For survivors trying to leave abusive relationships, finding safe, stable housing can be a major obstacle.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), first enacted in 1994, established federal resources to address domestic violence and sexual assault. In the decades since, advocates and policymakers have worked to expand protections and services for survivors. However, access to these resources remains uneven, and recent reductions in federal funding have placed additional pressure on organizations that provide critical support.

From 2020 to 2024, violent crimes involving domestic relationships have increased by 1.9%, disrupting the consecutive decline in violence we saw in previous years. One factor we can attribute this to is the dramatic decline of the federal Victims of Crime Fund. This fund ensures countless crisis centers across the country serve their communities. In its depletion, the numbers speak for themselves.

So what are states doing about it?

On September 27th, California enacted Assembly Bill 1573, known as the Unseen and Unheard Housing Act. This law ensures future housing plans in the state will accommodate and plan for the housing needs of survivors of violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. ⁠This is monumental, as housing is a huge barrier victims face when attempting to leave their abusers, as it’s common for abusive partners to control their partners’ lives through financial resources, such as keeping assets and in their name.

Housing can be a massive barrier to freedom and safety, especially in a state like California, which has one of the highest costs of living, where rent can exceed thousands of dollars in metro areas. This is evident as one in five unhoused women in California left their most recent residence to escape domestic violence. 

In metro areas, these numbers can be significantly higher; in Los Angeles, almost half of unhoused women are domestic violence survivors and approximately a quarter of these women attribute becoming houseless to the violence they experienced. Additionally, 17% of unhoused women report experiencing domestic violence within six months before being homeless, showing the clear connections between the two.

When housing is available, it’s often unable to meet survivors’ full needs. In California alone, almost 75,000 survivors are unhoused, but there are only approximately 100 units that are designed to meet their needs. 

Additionally, the majority of domestic violence shelters that offer emergency housing can only accommodate one to three month stays. Realities like these make it clear that legislation like AB 1573 are life-saving to reduce barriers to escaping domestic abuse and create pathways towards freedom for survivors.

The violence inflicted on survivors of domestic violence should not define the trajectory of their life and their ability to obtain safe long-term housing. California is paving the way by taking violence against women seriously and creating long-term state-level solutions in light of federal funding shortfalls. As federal dollars for crucial services continue to be cut, it’s on state legislatures to support and provide for their communities.

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Has Ended, ​​But the Need for Research Remains

Posted on by Marcelle Edenlord

September marked Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, but the need for greater research, better treatment, and improved early detection does not end when the month does. Ovarian cancer is expected to cause nearly 14,000 deaths in the US this year. Despite the burden of the disease, detecting ovarian cancer early remains a significant challenge.

Ovarian cancer is actually the deadliest cancer among women and the number one cause of gynecologic cancer deaths. Additionally, only 15% of patients are diagnosed in early stages. Meaning the vast majority of individuals are diagnosed in advanced stages, their survival rate of 30.8%. This tragic reality is largely due to a lack of early detection testing. 

Other cancers, such as breast cancer, have preventive measures, such as mammograms routinely recommended; so what’s preventing ovarian cancer from having similar life-saving services? 

Breast cancer is the most funded women’s health condition, surpassing ovarian cancer funding levels by billions. Over a span of 25 years, the federal government funded prostate cancer 5.5 times more than ovarian cancer, allocating $276.5 million to the ovarian and $1.53 billion to the prostate. 

Given this, you may assume prostate cancer has more detrimental effects than ovarian cancer. However, ovarian cancer actually has under half of prostate cancer’s survival rate. Additionally, when comparing funding levels between the two cancers, relative to the amount of life lost due to each, prostate cancer was funded 19 times more than ovarian cancer over seven years. This significant absence of funding makes it difficult to attract young researchers to pursue new initiatives, let alone sustain ongoing research.

Unfortunately, this phenomenon does not exist in a vacuum. Despite women making up over half of the US population, women’s health as a whole is disproportionately underfunded. 

Between 2013 and 2023, the National Institutes of Health’s budget increased by 58.7%; however, within the same period, the Women’s Health Research Agencies’ budget decreased from 9.7% to 7.9%. Additionally, out of the US’s $2.9 trillion budget, a measly 6% is spent on conditions affecting women. Internationally, we see the same trends, as women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health or with disabilities when compared to men. This reality has caused women to lose 75 million years of life globally. 

Outside of preserving millions of years of life, supporting women’s health would significantly add to the economy. Domestically, a $350 million investment in women’s health would add $14 billion to the economy. Additionally, globally addressing women’s poorer health outcomes would add a minimum of $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040.

Women’s lives deserve to be valued. The absence of funding for ovarian cancer is just one example of the neglect women experience due to a globally broken system. Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is over, but the international neglect of women’s health is not. Women’s health should not be limited to a month on the calendar. Research, treatment, and prevention efforts must continue throughout the year.

The Absence of Affordable Child Care is Keeping Women Out of the Workforce

Posted on by Marcelle Edenlord

On September 1, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing titled “Supporting Working Families: State-Led Child Care Solutions.” The hearing examined how states are addressing the labor and child care crisis and highlighted the growing need for affordable, quality child care and its relation to women in the workforce.

Women have long played a critical role in the US workforce, but in 2025 alone, more than 455,000 women exited. During the same period, the labor-force participation rate for women with bachelor’s degrees fell from 70.3% in September 2024 to 67.7% in July 2025. 

Affordable, quality child care is essential for parents who want to remain or enter the workforce. During the hearing, Rep. Bonamici (OR-1) stated, “when parents can’t find quality child care, they reduce their hours, turn down promotions, or leave the workforce entirely.” Limited access to child care can make it more difficult for women to advance their careers, but also detrimental to the economy. The lack of affordable child care costs the US economy an estimated $172 billion annually in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.

For many families, the cost of child care makes remaining in the workforce difficult. The cost of infant childcare now exceeds rent in 17 states and the cost of public college tuition in 38 states. The average cost of child care in the US has increased by more than 40% over the last decade with 29% of that increase occurring between 2020 to 2024.  

Witnesses and members of Congress during the hearing cited that the country faces a shortage of child care workers, making it difficult for providers to expand their capacity even when families are looking for care. 

From 2025 to 2035, an estimated 160,200 child care provider positions will open each year due to turnover. The national median pre-tax income of a child care provider is $30,370. On top of low wages, 23% of early educators rely on Medicaid for their health care. 

Child care is also physically demanding and often provides workers with limited opportunities for breaks. At the same time, federal funding programs such as the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) do not reach all eligible families. CCDBG provides federal funding to states for child care subsidies for low-income families with children under age 13. Current funding levels allow about 14% of eligible children to participate in the program, leaving the vast majority of eligible children without access to CCDBG-supported care.

The child care workforce shortage is only projected to intensify due to recent, historically aggressive immigration enforcement that continues to impact working legal immigrants. Approximately one in five child care workers is an immigrant and 97.6 percent of immigrant child care workers are women. Changes to the immigrant workforce could therefore have consequences for an already strained child care system, particularly if providers leave the field or are unable to continue working.

States have begun developing programs to address some of these challenges. During the hearing, a representative from Kentucky discussed using CCDBG funding to provide free child care for all child care providers. Since the program was enacted, 5,300 families have received assistance. 

Iowa has implemented a similar program and served 2,400 families since 2023. The state has also implemented Iowa Childcare Connect, a dashboard that shows families real-time child care availability by age, location, and commuting route. The program supports ending the child care shortage while providing policymakers with data to better address gaps within the system and provide needed resources. 

CCDBG funding is essential for these programs to continue and to end the shortage of affordable child care. As Congress considers fiscal year 2027 appropriations, funding decisions will directly affect families and child care providers across the country. The bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act would strengthen the child care system by improving how states determine provider reimbursement rates.   

The lack of affordable, accessible child care directly affects women’s ability to enter and remain in the workforce. Childcare continues to be underfunded while federal funding for child care declined significantly in 2025, leaving families without access to affordable and quality care. Ensuring that families can access reliable child care is essential to ensuring that women can enter the workforce, maintain their careers, and pursue opportunities for advancement.

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