by Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation For the eleventh #HERvotes blog carnival, we’re joining together to urge the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Domestic violence results in over two million injuries every year. Three women die every day in the United States as the result of domestic violence. Since the passage of […]
Two members of congress are calling for the Secret Service to increase the number of female agents. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Senator Susan Collins spoke out about the importance of women in the Secret Service in light of the recent scandal in Colombia in which agents were accused of misconduct involving prostitutes. Paula Reid, a […]
A Wisconsin state law that went into effect on Friday has prompted Planned Parenthood clinics in the state to stop providing non-surgical abortions. Governor Scott Walker signed the law, “The Coercive and Web Cam Abortion Prevention Act” earlier this month. The law requires women seeking non-surgical abortions to visit the same doctor three times before […]
A man who hacked into Britain’s largest abortion provider’s computer system and stole information on 10,000 women has pleaded guilty to the charges. James Jeffery was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for stealing the information from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). He said he was prompted to steal the information […]
A Florida woman is facing 20 years in prison after being convicted on three counts of Aggravated Assault for firing a gun in the air to scare off her abusive husband. Marissa Alexander was arrested in August 2010 after a fight with her husband, who she says was abusive for many years. She said in […]
Three Planned Parenthood Branches announced this week that they will merge into one organization to create a more efficient women’s health resource center. Planned Parenthood of North Texas, Austin, and Waco will now become Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas. The merger will also help Planned Parenthood in light of budget cuts and anti-abortion legislation. Ken […]
Oklahoma’s proposed Personhood bill will not come to a vote, the state House said on Thursday, but earlier this week the House passed a fetal heartbeat bill that is now awaiting the governor’s signature. The House Republican Caucus announced they will not to take up the controversial Personhood bill, saying the decision was based on […]
The Vatican has appointed a bishop to reform a group of American Nuns that it says is promoting “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.” The Vatican investigated the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), a group that represents most of the US Catholic nuns. The investigation concluded that the US nuns were not […]
The Republican members of the Ohio House introduced a bill Wednesday night that would defund Planned Parenthood in the state. House Bill 298 would allocate federal funding to health centers within the state. Under an introduced amendment, funding would be cut off from organizations that provide abortion services. Ohio lawmakers and women gathered on the […]
President Obama signed a memorandum (PDF) yesterday requiring federal agencies to create comprehensive policies to assist employees who are victims of domestic violence. Federal agencies will be expected to have policies for preventing and intervening in domestic violence cases, both against or by employees. The agencies will also need to have specific guidelines for assisting […]
Vice President Joe Biden will hold a forum today with other senior officials to discuss the importance of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. According to MSNBC, those speaking at the forum will include Attorney General Eric Holder, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Lynn Rosenthal, the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, and Sharon Love, […]
A gay airman, who was discharged from the US Air Force under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law, won the right to be reinstated in the military this week. Staff Sergeant Anthony Loverde filed a lawsuit after being discharged under the law in 2008. The case, Almy v. US was filed in 2010 and challenged […]
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) announced on Tuesday that it would disband its task force that pushed legislation such as the Stand Your Ground laws and the voter-ID laws. The “Public Safety and Elections” task force of ALEC focused on non-economic issues and most recently gained attention for its advocacy of the Stand Your […]
Mississippi’s governor, Phil Bryant, signed an anti-abortion law on Monday that could effectively shut down the state’s only abortion clinic. The law, House Bill 1390, puts new restrictions on doctors who provide abortions and the facilities in which abortions are performed. The law requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and they […]
Today is Equal Pay Day, the date that marks the extra days that a woman would have to work in this year in order to earn what a man earned last year. The symbolic day is marked each year to draw attention to the gender pay gap. The American Association for University Women (AAUW) reports […]
Approximately 150 Afghan girls drank poisoned water on Tuesday at a school in the northern Takhar province. Afghan officials said that conservative radicals who oppose girls’ education are to blame for the poisoning, though they would not name a specific group. A spokesman for the education department of Takhar, Jan Mohammad Nabizada, said, “We are […]
The Pentagon released its annual report (PDF) on sexual crimes in the military last Friday, finding a slight increase in the number of sexual assaults. The number of sexual assaults in fiscal year 2011 increased by 1% from fiscal year 2010. The number is a slight decrease from 2009. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he […]
Ten companies have pulled their support from the American Legislative Council (ALEC), a conservative organization that lobbied states to pass Stand Your Ground laws. The Stand Your Ground law in Florida is being cited as a defense by George Zimmerman, the man charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year old Trayvon Martin. […]
Fawzia Koofi is the first person to announce an intention to run for the presidency in Afghanistan. Koofi, a women’s rights advocate, was elected to parliament in 2005 and was reelected in 2010. Earlier this year, she received acclaim for her memoir, “The Favoured Daughter,” in which she details how she was left outside to […]
The Catholic Bishops announced a new “religious freedom campaign” on Thursday, partially in response to the Obama Administration’s recent announcement that employers’ insurance plans must include contraception coverage. The Bishops said that the campaign will stretch over a number of years and will include a “Fortnight for Freedom” prayer and study campaign leading up to […]
