Honestly, they brought it on themselves. I also praise guys so hang on until the end.
A week ago, a march organized by women brought out 4.8 million demonstrators around the world and was the largest single day demonstration in the U.S. ever. As I write this Thursday night, #womensmarch and #protest are among the tags used most often on Daily Kos (listed across the top of the Front Page). So is #Resistance. We have begun to #resist. Each week there always is more to resist, but the rate of new horrors and their severity accelerated alarmingly this week due to some white (orange) guy.
As usual, I’m not reporting everything that happened. None of us could read that — it’s too depressing. Here’s a sample of the week’s events in the war on women. At the end, we jump into the next phase that builds on the activism and hope we rekindled so powerfully last Saturday.
Russia and the U.S. plan to slack off preventing violence against women
Russia. Nearly 20 percent of Russians openly say it’s okay to sometimes hit a spouse or children. The government thinks these folks’ personal beliefs deserve legal protection so the lower house of parliament has approved a bill decriminalizing domestic violence. This bill says that violence must stop short of serious bodily harm and rape. That means battery is okay as it only results in bruises and scratches. If this bill passes, battery on a family member would be a minor offense, punishable by a fine of less than 30,000 rubles ($500) or a 15-day arrest.
Russia has one DV hotline for a population of 144,221,000 and it’s only open from 7am to 9pm. They received over 5,000 calls last year. Many women in Russia don’t even know that DV is an offense. Since Russian police view taking action on DV calls as interfering in family affairs, why bother calling? One woman asked the police for help due to her boyfriend’s aggression and was told the police would come only if he killed her. He did.
The other available DV data is discouraging. About 1 in every 240 women are abused at home (and that’s just what has been counted).
Official data on domestic violence in Russia is very limited, but estimates based on regional studies suggest that each year 600,000 women face physical and verbal abuse in the home and 14,000 die from injuries inflicted by their husbands or partner.
United States. The 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) uses 94 grant programs to help reduce DV, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The programs offer support services to women and work to hold offenders accountable. Eight years of progress against domestic violence was threatened this week when the funding that supports VAWA was yanked. This also ends law enforcement training on how to respond to domestic violence and sexual assault.
The Bureau of Justice determined that, in the decade-plus after the VAWA passed, the overall rate of intimate partner violence in the U.S. declined by 64 percent. This means 9.8 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older before VAWA reduced to 3.6 per 1,000.
white male politician wants women to be “more responsible about sex”
(If he isn’t getting any I think we’ve got responsiblity nailed down perfectly.)
Texas. A Republican State Representative has introduced a bill criminalizing abortion because he wants women to know there are repercussions to having sex. The Abolition of Abortion in Texas Act is a House Bill from Tony Tinderholt. It bans and criminalizes all abortions including those resulting from rape, incest or fetal abnormalities. It directs state officials to ignore “any conflicting federal” laws, and allows the law to consider women who get abortions and their providers as murderers.
“Right now, it’s real easy. Right now, they don’t make it important to be personally responsible because they know that they have a backup of ‘oh, I can just go get an abortion.’ Now, we both know that consenting adults don’t always think smartly sometimes. But consenting adults need to also consider the repercussions of the sexual relationship that they’re gonna have, which is a child,” Tinderholt said.
Fact-checking Tinderholt. No it is not “real easy” to get an abortion in Texas. Women in Texas (and many other states) do not have the handy backup of “oh, I can just go get an abortion” as if popping out to buy bread.
Last week a judge blocked the rule forcing Texas abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal tissue, including that from a miscarriage that takes place at the provider’s clinic. This rule is one of many frivolous requirements intended to make abortions less accessible and to shame women who seek them. In 2015 the number of abortion clinics in the state was 19 (previously there were 44). Many women must travel hundreds of miles to reach the nearest clinic. And distance is just obstacle number one.
Planned Parenthood reports that at the beginning of this year, Texas House Bill 3994 took effect and adds an additional obstacle. All women are assumed to be minors and the abortion provider must ascertain their adulthood using only the forms of identification listed in the bill. Previous rules still in effect require women to have two visits to the clinic (a major hurdle when the clinic is far from home) so they can have an ultrasound 24 hours before an abortion. The advanced timing is unimportant. PP says that ultrasounds have always been part of an abortion and are done before any procedure. The 24 hour rule is intended as an obstruction.
The "Women's Right To Know Act" requires the doctor to give women seeking abortions state-mandated information about medical risks, adoption alternatives, and developmental stages of the fetus (calling it “your baby”) 24 hours before the actual abortion. The information was prepared by anti-abortion advocates and at least 30 percent is wrong, medically inaccurate, and skewed to alarm and shame women. For example, the booklet claims that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, and women who have abortions are more likely to become depressed or suicidal.
white male god politician decides the moment life begins
Georgia. U.S. Congressman Jody Hice has introduced a bill to define life as beginning at conception. This violates Roe vs Wade and potentially makes miscarriage murder. Hice is dedicated to ending “the plight of abortion on our nation.” Probably won’t pass, although if the SCOTUS shifts and we lose Roe vs Wade, disgusting laws like this won’t have any barriers. However, enforcing this could be a job creator. We will need a lab on every corner testing menstrual blood to be sure there’s no zygote involved.
not recent, but representative of this week’s erudite white men
#notallmen
Yes, I know this ragged on white men, but I don’t make the news. I also know that not-white men can be sexist and that #notallmen are entitled bullies who wish to silence and dominate women. That’s not the point. If not all men who look like those white guys ^^ are sexist jerks, how do we know who is/isn’t? You don’t wear labels, although your actions and speech are signs.
Everyday Feminism illustrated problems with the not all men syndrome.
We know what you mean by “not all men” – because on a basic level, we agree with you.
But the socialization of men is such that even a good man – a supportive man, a respectful man, a trusted man – has within him the potential for violence and harm because these behaviors are normalized through patriarchy.
1. All Men Are Socialized Under (And Benefit From) Patriarchy
2. All Violations (Big and Small) Are Part of the Same Violent System
3. The Impact of Your Actions Is More Significant Than the Intent
4. The Depth of Work to Be Done Is Avoided By Most Men
If you are any variety of human male, write these four reminders on your arm. Read them before typing a comment or speaking to justify yourself against accusations of sexist behavior. Remain silent and continue reading them until you forget your justifications.
Here’s a + sign from men that tells us yes they get it
This song from women’s justice organization JASS was written by the Executive Director’s husband (yeah I identified him like that intentionally). Strong women ‘bout to walk across the line was inspired by the election horrors and the assassination of Honduran activist Berta Caceres.
other REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS NEWS in which the rights part is trashed
Global. The reinstatement of the global gag rule on abortion was covered on Daily Kos earlier this week.
Guess what? This is more white (and orange) men taking charge of women, but now internationally because these Republican men in the U.S. knows what is best for ALL women everywhere.
The new regime acted this week to reinstate the ‘global gag rule’ on international health groups offering abortion counseling. Just in case you think it’s not as bad as it could be, we learned that this global gag rule is way worse than Reagan’s.
In response to this action, and the damage to international reproductive health care in developing countries, Netherlands government has established an international abortion fund. Canada, Belgium, other governments, businesses and social organisations will be involved to compensate for the loss of funding. Dutch Minister Lilianne Ploumen noted data that suggests up to 14 women could die each day as a result of this gag rule and said, “Banning abortion does not lead to fewer abortions. It leads to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and more maternal deaths.”
Arkansas. The state passed a bill banning D&E, the most accepted second trimester abortion method and it’s now up to the Governor to sign it. He will. Six other states passsed similar legislation but the courts blocked implementation in four states. The ban is still in effect in Louisiana and Mississippi.
National. The first congressional bill under the new president would make the Hyde Amendment permanent instead of requiring it be renewed each year.
The amendment, a congressional resolution that must be renewed annually, forbids the spending of government revenue for abortion except in cases where a pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or when it endangers a woman’s life. This bars government abortion funding for federal employees, residents of the District of Columbia, women in federal prisons, patients at the Indian Health Service, and for women in the military. But the broadest impact is the harm it causes women on Medicaid.
women’s imprisionment rates and substance abuse
With all that legislating and regulating of women’s bodies and rights, it’s surprising that more of us aren’t in prison. We have amazing will power and tolerance. But abuse, low pay, and lack of parity are stressful.
Although the U.S. incarceration rate has declined in the past 10 years, the rate of women sent to prison has not decreased and it’s because more white women than ever are being incarcerated. The rate for Black women decreased by 50 percent over the past 15 years, while the rate for white women is probably an all-time high. More Black women still are imprisoned than white women, but the ratio was about 7 to 1 in 1985 and is about 2 to 1 in 2015.
Alcohol is the drug most closely tied to arrests, violence and incarceration. Alcohol use has increased for white women but decreased among black women. White woman are more likely to use methamphetamine and prescription drugs, behaviors that increase the chances of contact with law enforcement. More white women are drinking alcohol and dying, too.
… we know from the consumption and death data that white women are leading the way in drinking and dying from alcohol. The important pattern we see from people getting treatment for alcohol intoxication at emergency rooms is that middle-aged women lead the way. You might think getting so drunk you end up at the hospital is the sort of thing college kids do, but it happens more frequently with people in the 35-to-54 age group. The rate of women treated for alcohol at the hospital has gone up since 2006.
Dismantling the patriarchy will take many generations. But we began many generations ago and we aren’t stopping now.
Women Resist Domination — We Invite You to Join Us
remember why we marched. let’s continue to take action, together.
march — organize — empower
together, we’ve got this
because we are THE UNITED STATE OF WOMEN
#StateofWomen.
Join us for a Week of Action February 18th through 25th → The United State of Women
First we marched. Now we organize. The Women's March was just the beginning - it's time to bring the organizing to your communities! And there's no better time to do it than the first Congressional recess. Join us for a Week of Action February 18-25th. Sign up here to show your commitment to the movement and we'll send you updates and resources for specific action items.
As always, more happened this week than is reported here, and the WOW Stream shared the news. Go to our profile page and click on Follow to have the curated collection of each day’s feminist news from Daily Kos in your Stream. Thanks to Eyesbright, elenacarlena, Tara, and ramara for helping collect this week’s news and our behind-the-scenes discussions.
build movements not walls
since the title gripes about white guys, here’s one to heed for his good advice.
(This, along with the fine song in the middle, is the guy praise I promised at the beginning.)