#General Law for Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence

[coochiequeens]

In early May, a reform to the General Law for Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence was finally signed into law, calling for women with disabilities to be included in policies aimed at preventing, prosecuting, and sanctioning violence against women."

Women with disabilities demonstrating on March 8, 2020 against violence against women. © 2020 Mexicanas con Discapacidad

Imagine being trapped with someone who is violent and abusive towards you and having no way to escape. You can’t call for help because you have a physical disability that prevents you from leaving your bed, your room, and your house. This is the reality many women with disabilities experience every day.

In 2020, Human Rights Watch documented the many ways in which people with disabilities in Mexico face severe abuse and neglect by their families with little protection or support from the government. Our investigation found that shelters for women who are survivors of violence were not accessible for those with disabilities, and that there was no legal obligation for shelters to provide services to this group.

Today, there are reasons for hope. In early May, a reform to the General Law for Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence was finally signed into law, calling for women with disabilities to be included in policies aimed at preventing, prosecuting, and sanctioning violence against women. This reform is the product of joint efforts by various organizations of women with disabilities, human rights organizations, and experts, who have pressed members of Congress for more than two years to make public policy more inclusive for women, including women with disabilities.

The reform requires that both Women’s Justice Centers—state-run facilities providing legal and psychological support—and temporary shelters for survivors of violence must be accessible to women with disabilities. This includes providing personal assistants to help women with disabilities do basic tasks like get out of bed, use toilets, and perform other daily life activities, enabling them to use the facilities on an equal basis with others.

There’s a long way to go for this reform to be fully realized in practice, but it represents an important step in tackling family violence against women by ensuring that psychosocial support, childcare, housing, and other policies to support women are inclusive of those with disabilities.

To ensure the reforms have a meaningful impact, the Mexican government should closely consult organizations of women with disabilities in rolling out these important measures.

** This article is part of a series marking the 10th anniversary of Human Rights Watch's Disability Rights Division.

[mexicanistnet]

Celebrating 17 years of the General Law for Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence, Mexico reflects on progress in combating gender violence. Academic María Elisa Franco emphasizes the need for cultural change, education, and genuine rule of law enforcement.

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

Susan Hawthorne’s In Defence of Separatism includes a chapter analysing the seven ‘forms of power’ identified by de Crespigny, insofar as they are represented in men’s power over women. I found this really interesting, and worth sharing, though there’s too much text to share the whole thing in a post. So I’m going to try and summarise her points here - but please bear in mind I am not a philosophy scholar, far from it, and this may be inaccurate or contain misinterpretation as a result. I’m going to try my best.

So, the seven forms of power according to de Crespigny, 1970:

Coercive power

Inducive power

Reactional power

Impedimental power

Legitimate power

Attrahent power

Persuasive power

Hawthorne analyses these as follows:

Coercive power: Someone using or threatening to use his power, in order to make someone else comply with his wishes. This could mean using physical force, or deprivation of access to resources. The example Hawthorne gives is domestic violence (using power), and victims’ reluctance to reveal domestic violence for fear of further attack (consequence of the threat of power). She adds that every time the powerful individual wields this power successfully, it empowers him and disempowers his victim.

Inducive power: Someone complying with a powerful person’s wishes because she believes she will benefit by complying. This benefit could be a reward, or the withdrawal of a threat/deprivation. This benefit may or may not materialise. Hawthorne gives the example of marriage, for security and social benefits. She argues that even if this is perceived as a choice, it’s not a free choice, so the complying individual’s autonomy is impaired and they lose power.

Reactional power: Someone complying with a powerful person/institution because of her beliefs about that person/institution, particularly when she refrains from doing what she would have done otherwise. One of the examples Hawthorne gives is someone refraining from behaving as she wishes at work, because she believes this would prevent her from getting a promotion.

Impedimental power: When a powerful person/institution puts obstacles or impediments in the way of a less powerful person. Hawthorne extends the example above - when the woman is in fact not promoted as a result of her behaviour, or due to discrimination against women generally.

Legitimate power: The ‘right’ to command and be obeyed. This is the power of law and government. Even if the powerless individual disagrees with the powerful individual/institution, she obeys because she believes their power is legitimate. The example Hawthorne gives is the woman successfully suing her employer for discrimination, where the power is in the hands of the law/court, and should be obeyed by the employer.

Attrahent power: Power resulting from wanting to be like, or be liked by, a more powerful individual. Hawthorne gives the example of a person complying with the wishes of someone she loves, just because she loves him. She notes this isn’t always a destructive or conflict-inducing form of power.

Persuasive power: This is split into rational persuasive power - where someone gives information and reasonable arguments to persuade someone else to comply with their wishes - and non-rational persuasive power - where someone gives misinformation, deception, or emotive arguments to persuade someone else to comply. Hawthorne gives the example of safe and accurate contraceptive education for the former, and dangerous advice to induce miscarriage for the latter.

I’ve found it interesting, since reading this book, to consider where and how the various forms of power appear in my life, so I thought it was worth sharing them in case others found this interesting too. Please feel free to add examples, or if any of you are more informed and would like to explain further/better or correct this please go ahead.

[good-old-gossip]

Gaza has shown the World the true face of WESTERN RULES BASED ORDER

When darkness falls in Gaza, no one can be certain if they will live out the night. If they do survive this collective punishment, Palestinians also risk being abducted and disappeared from their homes during the night.

As the world marked the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June, reports of widespread torture and abuse were emerging from all corners of Gaza and Israeli detention and torture centres in the desert.

In observance of the occasion, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated: "Torturers must never be allowed to get away with their crimes, and systems that enable torture should be dismantled or transformed."

Yet the institutions meant to prevent such crimes against humanity are either feckless or indifferent.

Thirty-seven years after the Convention Against Torture came into effect, violations of human dignity not only persist but have escalated.

In Gaza today, Palestinians are subjected to two types of mass torture: the first is the abduction from their homes by Israeli soldiers during night-time military raids - stripping them down of "anything that resembles human beings" in Israeli torture camps.

The second is the infliction of such horrific levels of violence on the entire civilian population that it constitutes torture.

It was early February when Israel launched an incursion into the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Abu Sultan family tried to flee their home during the day but were not fast enough. Israeli tanks had encircled their neighbourhood of al-Amal, sealing off any chance of escape.

A group of soldiers and their menacing dog stormed the home of Saada Abu Sultan, an elderly woman who stood frozen in fear in the hallway alongside her brother, Mohammed, and husband, Abdel Karim.

In what appears to have become a trend, the dog pounced on 72-year-old Saada, savagely mauling her as her brother tried to intervene.

Mohammed was shot in the chest and left bleeding on the floor.

As confirmed this week in +972 Magazine, Israel's "free-for-all" directive allowed soldiers to open fire and commit summary executions of civilians - a clear violation of the laws of war.

In the Abu Sultan home, the soldiers applied their "freedom" with vigour, spraying bullets indiscriminately and injuring several family members, including young children, who were taking cover on the ground floor.

Amid the pandemonium and terrified screams of women and children, the soldiers ordered the family to lie down on the ground.

The room erupted in gunfire, and the soldiers detained three of Saada's adult children: her eldest daughter, Nisreen, 52, and her two sons, Husam, 50, and Mohammed, 45, who was named after his uncle.

After an hour of horror, the soldiers left the house.

Bleeding profusely and unable to move, Saada's brother, Mohammed, who had been sheltering at his sister's home since December 2023, pleaded for medical help.

Saada did not want to leave her brother behind but reluctantly agreed to get him emergency care. In a journey that would have normally taken 20 minutes on foot but extended to an agonising four hours - as they dodged bullets and hid from relentless shelling - Saada, her sister-in-law and their children finally reached Nasser Hospital. Fuelled by adrenaline and the urgency to save her brother's life, Saada couldn't think of the severity of her own injuries.

The dog attack had torn the flesh and smashed the bones in her arm, requiring extensive medical treatment, including platinum implants.

Although Saada immediately notified aid workers from the Red Crescent of Mohammed's dire situation, they were unable to access the area until months later when the Israeli military withdrew from Khan Younis.

By then, Mohammed's body had decomposed in a city left in total ruins. After spending a week in a hospital that was also besieged and violently attacked by Israeli forces, Saada was discharged from the Nasser Medical Complex.

Weeks later, rescuers would unearth hundreds of bodies, including those of children, women, and the elderly, from the courtyard of the Khan Younis hospital. Saada and her surviving family members relocated to Rafah, where her youngest son, Ali, 42, had been sheltering with his in-laws.

Her detained children, Nisreen and Mohammed, had endured three days of torture and deprivation in an unknown location before being released and joining their family in Rafah. Husam, however, remained in detention.

Overwhelmed with grief over her brother being left to bleed out and ultimately killed for simply trying to protect her and for her abducted son held hostage by Israel, Saada's health rapidly declined.

On 23 February, after the family concluded their Friday prayers, her son Mohammed decided to take her to the hospital along with some of the children with him to help find transportation.

When they returned, the house in which they were sheltering in the so-called "safe zone" of Rafah was targeted in an air strike, killing Saada, her husband, Abdel Karim, and her daughter, Nisreen.

Three members of the host family, including two women and a child, were also killed, while many others were wounded and rushed to the hospital. Months later, Husam remains in Israeli captivity with no news of his fate or location.

His wife and children are imagining the unimaginable.

The stories emerging from Israeli prisons have been grim.

CNN exposed Israel's harrowing treatment of dozens of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza held hostage in the Sde Teiman desert camp-turned-detention centre.

In the report, which sparked widespread condemnation, Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp revealed that Palestinian hostages were subjected to "revenge" beatings, amputation of limbs due to injuries sustained from "constant handcuffing", and "extreme physical restraint" in an environment overwhelmed by the "smell of neglected wounds left to rot".

While disturbing, in Israel, such methods and abuse are not an aberration but were, in fact, devised and codified as standard legal practice 37 years ago.

In 1987, just months after ratifying the Convention Against Torture among 174 countries, Israel became the first - and, at the time, only - country in the world to legalise torture.

Following the death of two Palestinian prisoners, the government-sponsored Landau Commission, tasked with inquiring into the investigation methods of Israeli interrogators, issued a report that sanctioned the use of "moderate physical and psychological pressure" against Palestinian "suspects".

The commission was headed by former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Moshe Landau, whose interrogation guidelines were endorsed by the Israeli cabinet in 1987 and upheld by Israel's top court in 1999 and as recently as 2024.

In practice, it meant that Palestinian detainees could be "lawfully" subjected to extreme physical contortions and sleep deprivation - and coerced into false confessions - as standard procedure.

Detainees may also be shackled to a wall or pipes with their arms extended above their heads for days on end; each time they fell asleep, a bucket of ice-cold water would be thrown on top of them.

Alternatively, prisoners may be bent backwards sideways across a chair with their arms and legs handcuffed to the legs of the chair, prohibiting movement for extended periods.

This brutal practice came to be known as the "Palestinian chair" and was adopted by the US military during the Iraq war.

In 1994, the UN Committee Against Torture condemned the Landau Report and its authorisation of torture practices as "completely unacceptable to this Committee".

Torture is prohibited in both international humanitarian and human rights law through the Geneva Conventions, especially Article 27 of Geneva IV, and the Convention Against Torture, which reinforced prior international agreements prohibiting torture, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the absence of any enforcement of international laws and conventions, Israel has become emboldened to escalate its mass torture and abuse of Palestinians.

Following his release from detention, the head of Gaza's largest hospital described the "almost daily torture" to which he and others were subjected. Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, who was held for seven months without charge after his arrest at al-Shifa Hospital last November, reported extensive and repeated "assaults with batons and dogs, deprivation of food and medicine, as well as physical and psychological humiliation".

Even after nine months, Palestinians in Gaza ask themselves every day how the world can witness the constant torture, abuse, mass killing, maiming, and starvation and refuse to hold Israel accountable.

And not only do they refuse to intervene to stop a genocide, but the US, UK and much of Europe are actively supporting it.

As Craig Mokhiber, a former UN human rights official who resigned from his job in protest of the organisation's inaction and complicity, observed, not only are these countries "refusing to meet their treaty obligations" under the Geneva Conventions, but they are also arming Israel's genocide while providing political and diplomatic cover for it.

The Geneva Conventions mandate that all states "have an obligation to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) in all circumstances".

But in the case of Israel's genocide, torture, and humiliation of Palestinians, the reverse has been true: western countries are disrespecting and actively undermining IHL and the institutions designed to defend it.

We are witnessing an era of ineffectual, if not hypocritical and immoral, global leadership that allows the savage slaughter and oppression of a people to continue when it must end now.

✍️ byDr Ghada Ageel

[raraeavesmoriendi]

there is. Something. about the fact that trans people who are most often treated by the cisgender patriarchal state as Failed Cis Women are getting some serious ‘friendly’ fire in the conversations about peoples’ anxieties re: the state of modern feminism and how those issues have been treated as somehow sidelined

sure, they’re still capable of misogyny. but so is Everyone. it came Free with being raised in a Patriarchal Society. there is no gender, cis or trans, that is somehow immune to being misogynistic.

like, the fact that some trans voices are finally being spotlighted in the feminist movement is much needed and long overdue.

but spinning around to point at people who aren’t women, women-adjacent, or even aligned with any gender, and accuse them of being The Misogynist All Along like some sort of scooby doo villain feels like it’s still vastly missing the point.

like. the people who have the most access to patriarchal privilege are the same white supremacist perisex guys who are passing the laws to try to erase all of us from existence, and the same white supremacist perisex rich guys who have been funneling them money. it’s the cis perisex abled (usually) straight white guys who still get preferential treatment at our workplacss and are still making more money than all of us. it’s the guys who have a whole church congregation behind them. it’s the perisex cis (usually) straight men who are moving to fight feminism bc they think they’re losing something they’re entitled to, the ones who think that male privilege is their birthright. it’s the fucking judicial system. it’s the electoral college we’re staring down the barrel of in november, and the powers that be that want to keep it there.

it is not the guy who also gets misgendered when we both have to show up for our fucking planned parenthood appointments, or the rest of us who always get talked over when we say “please for the love of fuck can we call it reproductive rights instead of tying it to bioessentialist bullshit, there’s more people than just cis women that have issues getting proper care, trans women included” and then got told by well-meaning gen x feminists that “we have to call it women’s rights for now if we want to save roe, we can educate people later”

…and here we fucking are anyway, by the way, which is absolutely part of the reason that the general public needs their concept of feminism refreshed.

but. call me insane (and I am Mad so sure). I don’t think it should be somehow an offense to consider there are multiple types of transphobia to think about as we update this conversation, and the fact that a binarist perisex system will swing itself in different ways to best hit different targets. these discussions are all owed their due. I think there are more complex things at work here than, as typical, gets kicked around in snappy internet posts.

there’s this weird conception right now that people who figured out they aren’t actually women anymore (or never were, define thyself as thou wilt) are somehow amnesiac to misogyny, that suddenly there’s some huge gap there, when like. I don’t know any of us who ever actually escape it.

I still see post-op trans men - with full beards! - who get called poor mutilated, deluded women, and the violence towards them is gendered as such.

I have many, many non-binary or bigender or genderfluid colleagues and friends who, because they cannot afford to medically transition yet (or don’t want to, as is their right) have their social transition outright ignored. and then have the trauma that comes from having your actual self denied in every facet of your life treated as like, ‘woman lite’ or, more heartbreakingly, ‘easy mode.’

like it’s easy, being told from all sides “no you aren’t” when I have my proper pronouns posted every fucking where I can think of, personally and professionally, and there’s a 25% chance they ever get properly used and I ever get acknowledged as myself, because I still have my tits. that if I try to stand up for myself as often as I honestly should and deserve, I will be treated as a difficult and delusional woman. when people (usually cis men) threaten me with violence, it’s misogynistic violence. I am repeatedly misgendered as a woman when I try to see a doctor about anything to do with my uterine system that I did not choose and am actively trying to get rid of, because as long as I have it, people will overlook the part of me that is true for the part of me convenient to their system.

I am a scholar in my genre who specializes in researching the lenses of feminist and queer theory both. they have saved my life on multiple occasions when I did not have hope for my present. I have been aware of my place in the feminist struggle before I knew I was anything other than a woman. part of my gender struggle was a feeling of loss at realizing that maybe, actually, I wasn’t one, no matter how happy I am now in living authentically.

some of the most misogynistic people I have ever had the misfortune to meet are, in fact, cis women. me and the rest of the “theyfabs” are not the ones who are out here talking about “girl dinner” “girl math” “girl roman empire” “why did feminists fight for women to work I don’t want a job.” me and leaf and newt are not the people causing trad wives and stay at home girlfriends to do numbers on video apps. that is cis women. the majority of white cis women, demographically, tend to vote and pass legislature in anti-feminist ways, which is no surprise given the white supremacy involved there. but like. the call is still coming from inside the house, yet I don’t see them being reviled as perpetrators in these posts about feminism needing a revamp in the public eye. only deluded victims of the patriarchy who don’t know what’s good for them. which is also… not great, for misogynistic reasons.

like. I don’t know, this is long and not very articulate, but every so often I see a post circulate that I in theory should be very encouraged and relieved to see, as it affirms something I’ve always known —

only to wonder if I am suddenly going to be specifically charged with one of the main oppressions I have been struggling against my entire life and likely will be until I die, no matter how I try to assert my own autonomy over my life

or if I’m going to be talked over and have my autonomy rejected and ignored again, because I happen to have “what makes us girls.”

“well sock—” like. I apologize, but I don’t understand how I’m supposed to be in on the joke.

[dankusner]

Texas State Bar honors Fort Worth faith-based legal organization with Pro Bono Award

Methodist Justice Ministry, a faith-based family law nonprofit, received the 2024 Pro Bono Award from the State Bar of Texas on June 20, 2024.

This is the third time in the award’s 40-year history that a Fort Worth organization has been selected.

From left to right, Methodist Justice Ministry Executive Director Aaryn Landers Lamb, 2023-24 State Bar President Cindy Tisdale, Legal Director and Attorney Jodie Connaughton and Attorney Jonathan Turner. (Courtesy photo | Yajaera Chatterson)

Yajaera Chatterson remembers how a phone call from Child Protective Services changed her family’s life.

It was a Friday afternoon in 2015 when she found out her sister was under investigation.

Chatterson was faced with a decision:

She could become a voluntary caregiver for her nephew, Jovani, until the case was closed or let him go to foster care.

She and her husband, Aaron, didn’t hesitate to take him in.

Her experience propelled her into a world of family law, where she would end up becoming the development director for Methodist Justice Ministry, the faith-founded firm that helped her obtain custody of her nephew.

Now, the organization is being recognized for providing free legal representation and ongoing support to survivors of traumatic domestic violence and neglect on a statewide level.

The State Bar of Texas awarded Methodist Justice Ministry the 2024 Pro Bono Award on June 20, marking the third time a Fort Worth organization has been a recipient in the award’s 40-year history.

“It’s a nice validation that within our legal community, our work for the last 18 years is being recognized as a vital and crucial help for vulnerable community members,” Chatterson said.

Methodist Justice Ministry was established in 2006 by Brooks Harrington, an attorney and ordained Methodist minister.

The ministry’s attorneys file lawsuits in Tarrant and Johnson county’s family courts, including protective orders, custody and divorce.

Its client households are generally within 125% above the federal poverty line and cannot afford legal counsel.

The Pro Bono Award honors a volunteer attorney organization, such as a legal aid organization, local bar association or nonprofit that has made an “outstanding contribution toward guaranteeing access to the legal system by the poor,” according to the award’s nomination form.

The last time a Fort Worth organization was a recipient of the award was the Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans in 2019.

“MJM (Methodist Justice Ministry) has grown from humble beginnings to become a vital pillar of support within the Fort Worth community,” according to the State Bar of Texas’ annual meeting notes.

Currently, one in three women in Tarrant County will be affected by intimate partner violence at some point in her lifetime, according to the county’s criminal district attorney website. Methodist Justice Ministry has filed over 1,200 family lawsuits and represented more than 3,000 vulnerable community members impacted by family violence.

Aaryn Landers Lamb, the organization’s new executive director, said the award recognizes the work the staff has been doing since its mission started several years ago.

“Tarrant County is not small. Fort Worth is not small,” Landers Lamb said. “I feel really proud that Methodist Justice Ministry gets to represent the community in this way.”

[countryconditionswithshiro]

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Situation of human rights in El Salvador, (10/14/2021)

CW: human rights violations/sexual assault/gang violence

“The phenomenon of violence in the country is related to the presence and activities of different criminal structures, mainly gains and maras, such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and [Eighteenth Street (Barrio-18/B-18)] gangs. These groups reportedly have up to 60,000 members and a ‘social mattress’ of about 500,000 people, which account for eight percent of the total population of El Salvador.” P17

“Civil society organizations informed the [Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)] that the [Territorial Control Plan (PCT)] has not led to a substantial change with regard to the ‘[iron-fisted]’ policies implemented by previous administrations, such as the militarization of citizen security and the approach of punitive repression through criminal law.” P19

“According to a report prepared by Crisis Group, statistical information reveals that there is reportedly no direct correlation between the implementation of the [Territorial Control Plan] and the drastic reduction in homicides in the country. Since its implementation, police and military forces have been deployed in 22 prioritized municipalities; however, homicides have declined in other gang-affected areas in a similar manner.” P20

“Based on the information received during the on-site visit, the IACHR notes that the 2019 change of administration did not imply a substantial change in the policy of militarization of citizen security activities.” P24

“Within the framework of the public hearing entitled ‘Repression and militarization of public security in El Salvador’ held on October 5, 2020, civil society organizations informed that the permanent militarization of security tasks and the tendency to include the armed forces in activities that deviate from their constitutional and legal mandate had led to its undue use and to the denaturalization of the institution.” P26

“The Inter-American Commission received information on serious human right violations occurred within the context of the State’s response to the situation of violence and insecurity the country is currently undergoing, such as potential cases of extrajudicial executions perpetrated in purported armed clashes between agents and alleged gang members.” P26

“The IACHR has also been informed about the presence of ‘extermination groups’ or ‘death squads’ in charge of the social cleansing of gang members. Such groups reportedly act with the knowledge, participation or acquiescence of the State security forces.” P28-29

“During its visit the IACHR received alarming information on the lack of response by the state officials to the high number of complaints of disappearances in the last few years. According to the information provided by the Office of the Attorney General 3,289 disappearances were recorded in 2018 and 3,030 complaints of disappeared persons were reported between January and December 2019…” P30

“Considering the absolute criminalization of abortion, the IACHR also notes that the application of provisional detention and the absence of alternative measures to imprisonment may have a disproportionate impact on criminalized women facing obstetric emergencies.” P61

“The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has shown concern about the conditions of women in detention facilities due to the lengthy pretrial detention periods, the difficulties that women face in receiving legal advice and the problems in gaining appropriate access to accommodation, health and sanitary facilities…” P61

“During its visit, the Commission received information on the prevalence of misogynistic, sexist and discriminatory sociocultural patterns that permeate the Salvadoran society as a whole and impact the rights of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender-diverse and intersex (LGBTI) persons to live a life free of violence and discrimination.” P76

“The Commission notes with concern that El Salvador continues to be the country with the highest number of murders of women in the region.” P76

“The IACHR warns that the violent deaths of women show signs of special hatred and cruelty, such as cases of suffocation, hanging and machete attacks.” P77

“According to data from the Office of the Attorney General, 6,142 women were victims of sexual violence in 2018, including 2,600 rapes. In 2019, the Office of the Attorney General recorded 6,421 cases of sexual violence, while in the first half of 2020, 2,491 cases were recorded.” P77

“In 2018, the Violence Observatory under the Ministry of Education reported 87 acts of sexual violence against female students and recorded a total of 173 pregnant students. For its part, the Office of the Attorney General recorded 70 and 25 acts of sexual violence against girls in schools or educational centers in 2019 and the first half of 2020” P77

“The Ministry of Health reported 710 pregnant adolescents, including four 10-year-old girls. In 2019, 614 pregnant adolescents were recorded; while 243 cases were recorded during the first half of 2020.” P78

“Despite the high prevalence of sexual violence, the Commission was informed that these acts are normalized and overlooked, that there is no effective approach to eradicate them for good, and that they are characterized by a very high level of impunity.” P78

“Although many of these pregnancies occur in girls below the legal age of sexual consent and therefore constitute rape, the health care providers who take care of these pregnancies apparently do not duly report the cases to a public prosecutor.” P78

“The Commission notes that teenage pregnancies and relationships between girls and men who are 20 years older than them continue to be naturalized, leading to the idea that teenage pregnancy is not the result of sexual violence, and therefore, it is not a crime and need not be reported or punished.” P78

“The Commission has highlighted that a marked difference in the ages of the spouses in a child marriage can mean different levels of maturity, education and skills to function independently in a community. In that sense, a notable difference in age further deepens the inequalities in historically unequal power relations between women and men, and makes victims more helpless against different forms of violence based on the intersectionality of gender and age.” P78

“The Commission has also emphasized the serious impact that forced pregnancy, in particular resulting from sexual violence, could have, including social isolation and suicide.” P78

“At least 32 pregnant women have committed suicide in El Salvador between 2011 and 2018. One-third of the women who die from suicide in El Salvador are reported to be girls or adolescents. These deaths have been associated with cases of pregnant girls who end their lives when faced with the lack of options for unwanted pregnancies resulting from rape, which lead to discrimination and social stigma.” P78

“Violence against children has multiple consequences, including ‘psychological and emotional consequences (such as feelings of rejection and abandonment, affective disorders, trauma, fears, anxiety, insecurity and destruction of self-esteem),’ which can even lead to attempted or actual suicide.” P79

“While gang violence against women, including threats, disappearances, murders, rape and sexual slavery, is publicly known, the Commission has been informed that the relationship between gangs and violence among women, as well as the impact on their rights, has not been analyzed in depth.” P79

“The Commission has established that violence and discrimination do not affect all women equally and has considered that there are women who are exposed to a heightened risk of enduring the violation of their rights, as a result of several factors in addition to their gender, such as being indigenous, Afro-descendant, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex women; women with disabilities, migrant women and older women…” P81

“According to data from the 2017 National Survey on Violence against Women, women show a very low level of confidence in the administration of justice, as only 6 out of 100 women report acts of violence against them.” P83

“The Commission is concerned about reports that at least 36 women have died from preventable chronic diseases and another 13 from ectopic pregnancies. Such deaths could have been prevented if women had the possibility of legally interrupting unsafe pregnancies…” P84-85

“The prevalence of discriminatory gender patterns limits education on, access to and distribution of contraceptive methods, particularly to women, girls and adolescents.” P85

“The Commission reiterates its concern about the legislation that currently criminalizes abortion in all circumstances in El Salvador. While the Criminal Code establishes sentences of up to 12 years for the crime of abortion, the Commission has learned that at least 74 women who have suffered obstetric complications have been convicted of aggravated homicide and sentenced to 40 years in prison.” P85

“In seeking medical assistance in cases of obstetric emergencies, women are at risk of being reported by medical staff, some of whom act for fear of the consequences that this prohibitive legislation can have, and it prevents such staff from providing adequate medical care.” P86

“After the Secretariat for Social Inclusion was eliminated in 2019, the Gender and Diversity Unit was created under the Ministry of Culture, but it lacks the resources, and mandate and the approach of its predecessor.” P96

“The Commission is concerned that the little progress achieved so far is at risk of backsliding or disappearing, since, according to the information obtained, there is no budget allocated to this issue…” P96

“The IACHR has learned that over the last 5 years at least, hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender-diverse and intersex persons have been threatened, murdered, forcibly disappeared or forcibly displaced across international borders to save their lives…” P97

“As of November 2019, hate crimes, assaults, acts of discrimination, exclusion, denial of services, stigma and marginalization remain the reality for Salvadoran LGBTI persons, who face high poverty rates, low levels of education, murders and low life expectancy beyond 33 years of age.” P97 “The impact of violence and its resulting impunity is particularly serious for individuals living in poverty, migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and internally displaced persons, women, children, and adolescents, among other groups, who are commonly affected by sexual violence, threats, extortion or the violence that ravages the country.” P132

[kusnorio]

Wave 4 feminism and active role in dealing with sexual violence: the latest steps

Wave 4 feminism and active role in dealing with sexual violence: the latest steps

Introduction Feminism has become an important movement in the struggle for gender equality throughout the world. In recent decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the movement of feminism known as feminism of waves 4. Wave 4 feminism emphasizes the importance of an active role in dealing with sexual violence. This article will discuss the latest steps in the struggle of feminism 4 waves in dealing with sexual violence. I. Definition of Wave Feminism 4 Before discussing the latest steps in wave 4 feminism, it is important to understand what wave 4. Wave Feminism 4 Wave Feminism is the movement of feminism that is focused on solving problems that have not been resolved in the previous feminism movement, especially in terms of sexual violence against women. This movement seeks to overcome gender stereotypes that are detrimental and promoting gender equality in all aspects of life. II. The latest steps in wave 4 feminism A. Awareness and Education The first step in dealing with sexual violence is to increase awareness and education about this issue. Wave 4 feminism realizes the importance of broader education about sexual violence, including recognizing signs and their impact. Through an effective awareness campaign and educational programs, women and society as a whole can better understand the importance of preventing and dealing with sexual violence. B. A stronger legal approach Wave 4 feminism also emphasizes the need for a stronger legal approach in dealing with sexual violence. This includes changes in existing laws, increasing justice for victims, and more stringent law enforcement against perpetrators of sexual violence. By applying a more severe punishment and ensuring better protection for victims, Wave 4 feminism seeks to create a more just and more effective legal system. C. Support for Victims Wave 4 feminism also focuses on providing greater support to victims of sexual violence. This includes providing counseling services and emotional support, access to medical and court facilities, as well as assistance in the process of recovery and recovery of victims. By providing comprehensive support, Wave 4 feminism seeks to help victims overcoming the trauma they experience and rebuild their lives. D. Women's Empowerment One of the latest steps in Wave 4 feminism is women's empowerment. Empowerment of women involves giving women greater access to education, work, and public life in general. By giving women equal opportunities and increasing their role in decision making, Wave 4 feminism hopes to reduce gender inequality that is the root of sexual violence. III. Conclusion Wave 4 feminism is an important movement in dealing with sexual violence and promoting gender equality. Through the latest steps such as awareness and education, stronger legal approaches, support for victims, and women's empowerment, Wave 4 feminism seeks to create a society that is free from sexual violence and gender discrimination. It is important for all of us to support this movement and play an active role in dealing with sexual violence in order to achieve a more just society.

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[marveltrumpshate]

Women's Rights

As the saying goes, women’s rights are human rights. Despite growing threats to autonomy and agency, women are forcefully declaring their place in the world and actively working to ensure equity for themselves and future generations. The following are organizations whose focus is on doing just that. 

For more information on donation methods and accepted currencies, please refer to our list of organizations page.

Center for Reproductive Rights

The Center for Reproductive Rights is the only global legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person. With local partners across five continents, they have secured legal victories before national courts, UN Committees, and regional human rights bodies on issues such as access to life-saving obstetrics care, contraception, maternal health, and safe abortion services and the prevention of forced sterilization and child marriage.

Girls Who Code 

There is a massive gender gap in technology, and Girls Who Code is actively seeking to end that—and they're on track to close the gap in new entry-level tech jobs by 2030! Girls Who Code also focuses on historically underrepresented groups, not just gender diversity; half of the girls they serve are from those groups, including those who are Black, Latinx, or from low-income backgrounds. Through clubs, college programs, and summer immersions, GWC reaches girls of all ages (elementary school through college) and all knowledge levels (beginner to advanced) to teach them coding, expose them to tech jobs, and provide a community with other women in tech. We imagine this would be close to the hearts of several of our favorite characters, so choose this one if it's close to yours as well.

Global Fund for Women

Global Fund for Women is the largest global organization for gender justice. They support grassroots feminist movements and organizations around the world for maximum local impact and have provided over $184 million in grants to 5,000+ women’s funds in 176 countries over the past three decades. Their recent focus has been providing mobilization and networking resources for women and girls in their own communities and amplifying those voices so they’re heard in the global community.

National Network of Abortion Funds

The National Network of Abortion Funds builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice. They provide their grassroots base of over 80 autonomous, diverse organizations/abortion funds in the U.S. and abroad with leadership development, infrastructure support, and technical assistance. Some fund procedures while others cover abortion pills, transportation, lodging, childcare, doula services, and other forms of support.

Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network

RAINN is the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S. and operates a 24-hour national phone/online hotline as well as a DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense that provide support for survivors. They partner with over 1,000 local organizations nationwide and coordinate with state and federal departments to ensure that sexual assault is prevented, perpetrators are held accountable, and survivors get justice. They also educate the public, media, and entertainment industry about sexual assault. While we put RAINN in this post because women and girls experience sexual violence at high rates, people of all genders can be victims and RAINN helps everyone regardless of gender.

Red Umbrella

Red Umbrella Fund is the first and only global fund dedicated to supporting the rights of sex workers. Their aim is to ensure that all sex workers can live free from criminalization, stigma, and violence, and the majority of their governance and grantmaking structures is composed of sex workers. In response to the lack of funding in this space, they focus on grantmaking and grant application and planning assistance for sex worker-led community groups and national/regional networks. 

Room to Read

Room to Read focuses on literacy and education for children, particularly girls, in historically low-income communities around the world. They collaborate with local governments and educational providers to ensure that their solutions are sustainable as they work to decrease the rate of illiteracy and increase gender equality in education worldwide.

[hardynwa]

EU report sparks fresh controversy on 2023 polls

Nigeria’s 2023 general elections comprising the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state houses of assembly elections might have come and gone, but the echoes have continued to reverberate; they are not in a hurry to fizzle away. Following the outcome of the elections, particularly the presidential election, and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s eventual declaration of the then candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the winner, tongues have been wagging and discussions have continued around the process. The two major opposition parties- the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Labour Party, LP, and their presidential candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, as well as about three other political parties, disagreed with the outcome of the elections and have since gone to the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal to challenge it. Recall that many Nigerians, particularly the youths who trooped out in their numbers to make a change for the first time with their voters’ cards, were disappointed at the level of violence that characterised the process. The elections have been described by some local and international observer missions as having fallen below the minimum standard of what free, fair and credible elections should be. However, the APC has maintained its stand that the exercise was credible and a true reflection of the wishes of the people. As the tribunal’s decision is being awaited, the hornet’s nest around discussions on the elections outcome appeared to have been stirred once more with the recent release of the final report on the findings by one of the foreign elections observer missions, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM), on the February 25 and March 18 elections. The EU-EOM, which worked for three months in Nigeria, between January 11 and April 11, 2023, had a total of 110 accredited observers from 25 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada. Interestingly, they were in Nigeria at the behest of the country’s electoral umpire, the INEC. According to the Chief Observer of the Mission and member of the European Parliament, Barry Andrews, the Mission was pleased to present its findings and recommendations after a three-month-long observation across Nigeria. The report, which he said was in accordance with the EU-EOM’s usual practice, noted that shortcomings in law and electoral administration hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections and damaged trust in the INEC. The Mission, however, offered 23 recommendations for consideration by the Nigerian authorities as part of its contribution to improve the future elections in Nigeria. “We are particularly concerned about the need for reforms in six areas, which we have identified as priority recommendations, and we believe, if implemented, could contribute to improvement in the conduct of future elections,” Andrews said. According to the report, the six priority recommendations include the removal of ambiguities in the law, establishment of a publicly accountable selection process for the INEC members, ensuring that there is a real-time publication of and access to election results, providing greater protection for media practitioners, addressing the discrimination against women in political life, as well as addressing the impunity of the electoral officers. Andrews further reiterated the need for political will to achieve improved democratic practices in Nigeria, stressing that dialogue between all stakeholders on electoral reforms remained crucial. “The European Union stands ready to support Nigerian stakeholders in the implementation of these recommendations,” he submitted The report was received with mixed reactions. While the presidency and most supporters of the ruling APC cried wolf about the report, describing it as biassed and fraudulent, other well meaning Nigerians applauded it, saying that it only corroborated what most Nigerians already knew about the elections. Since the report was released a few days ago, it has become a case of different strokes for different folks. Reacting to the report, the presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake, in a statement, dismissed it as an attempt to ridicule the Nigeria electoral system and its umpire, the INEC. The statement noted that the processes that produced the report were faulty and the parameters used by the body exposed its inadequacies and inability to conduct credible monitoring. Describing the report as predetermined, Alake alleged that the EU-EOM had manifested bias earlier in the run up to the elections, and that the report was merely collated to justify the group’s already manifested bias against the system. The presidency, therefore, rejected the report for its inability to adequately reflect the largest and true picture of the election, especially the presidential election. It also claimed that the body was only able to deploy 40 observers to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, even as it equally noted that the report was based on incidences from less than 1000 polling units out of 176,000 polling units. It also described the 2023 general elections as the freest and most credible in the country since the advent of the current democracy in 1999. Part of the statement from the presidency read: “With the level of personnel deployed, which was barely an average of one person per state, we wonder how EU-EOM independently monitored elections in over 176,000 polling units across Nigeria. “We would like to know and even ask the EU how it reached the conclusions in the submitted final report with the very limited coverage of the elections by their observers who, without doubt, relied more on rumours, hearsay, cocktails of prejudiced and uninformed social media commentaries and opposition talking heads. “We are convinced that what EU-EOM called the final report on our recent elections is a product of a poorly done desk job that relied heavily on a few instances of skirmishes in less than 1,000 polling units out of over 176,000 polling units where Nigerians voted on Election Day. “We have many reasons to believe that the jaundiced report, based on the views of fewer than 50 observers, was merely to sustain the same premature denunciatory stance contained in the EU’s preliminary report released in March. “We strongly reject, in its entirety, any notion and idea from any organisation, group and individual, remotely suggesting that the 2023 election was fraudulent.” The presidency, however, expressed satisfaction that other observers of the elections from both local and international organisations, which it dubbed credible, had affirmed that the last general elections were the freest since 1999. However, some analysts are of the view that President Tinubu should not have bothered himself with the EU-EOM’s report since he did not conduct the elections. As a participant in the elections, it is their belief that INEC and former President Muhammadu Buhari, not Tinubu, would have been in a better position to react to the report since they were the ones involved with the conduct of the election. One of those who hold this view is a journalist and public affairs analyst, Lemmy Ughegbe. He expressed surprise at the reaction of Tinubu and his team to the report, saying it was nothing but just a rehash of what the Nigerian civil society organisation’s situation room had released as their findings on the election. “I am worried because Tinubu did not conduct the elections; he was a candidate. So, why should he even bother about jumping into this discussion when he should leave the INEC and Buhari of course, to deal with it? It is not his business because he didn’t conduct the elections. He should just concentrate on issues of governance,” he said. He added: “The worry in all of these is the fact that Tinubu on inauguration day and thereafter has spoken as if the election was perfect, which is a disservice to honesty, and a slap on the face of Nigerians, who participated in the elections and are witnesses. “The National Assembly elections and the presidential elections were held on the same day and time. The INEC officials were able to upload real time election results for the National Assembly, but when it came to that of the presidential elections, there emerged a glitch suddenly. “The danger in Tinubu and his men describing the election as perfect is that the 2027 elections will be worse, because if you don’t admit to the flaws and the gaps, then there is a problem. No human endeavour is perfect but Tinubu and his men are saying that theirs is perfect. “I am also worried that people like Dele Alake do not understand that by responding to this, they are even making sure that this controversy continues to fester. If they had kept quiet on it, it would just go. “It is worrisome and makes one to nostalgically recall Nigeria’s patriot, the fine and noblest of gentlemen, late Umar Musa Yar’adua; a man who on his inauguration day in 2007, on the podium on a day that he should just bask on the euphoria of his inauguration as president, said that the elections that brought him to the presidency were fraught with irregularities and was prepared to commence electoral reforms. “That is how the noble speaks on a matter like this. The work of human endeavour is never perfect; Tinubu and his minders, including Alake purport to say that the elections were perfect. They were never perfect, as they were riddled with irregularities, including voter suppressions.” The LP has also reacted through its national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh, describing the report as impeccable and a reflection of the true position of the majority of the electorate. He described the Presidency’s attempt to discredit the report as a failed attempt at face-saving. Also, the PDP’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in a statement through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, has thrown his weight behind the report that the election was rigged in favour of Tinubu. He affirmed the report that the election was marred by irregularities and failed to meet minimum standards of credibility. A statement by Shaibu said: “Even the dead knew that the last elections lacked credibility. Even the electoral body has not been able to explain nearly five months after the election, why it has refused to upload the full results on its viewing portal. Even primary school children who did not vote know that INEC failed woefully and that Tinubu rigged the last elections.” Shaibu wondered why the government would receive billions of dollars from the EU as an election fund but rejected the body’s comment. He said: “the EU not only provided training for the INEC staff, but it also donated equipment for the INEC to conduct the polls. So, why would Alake claim that the EU has no right to speak when it was the largest single donor to the INEC? Mr. Alake should be quiet rather than try to defend the indefensible.” For the publisher of CNK news and public affairs analysts, Chris Nwandu, he was not surprised at the presidency’s reaction as it was expected. “You don’t expect the government to commend the report; after all they are the beneficiaries of that flawed election that is being contested. “Practically, all the organisations that monitored the elections, including the situation room comprising various CSOs under the leadership of Madam N. Obi, have described it as tardy elections. “What did they say? They said that contrary to the INEC’s promise, there was no real time upload of the presidential election result and that is the fact because even INEC has not disputed that. “But, what the Federal Government is saying through the presidential spokesperson, Alake, is that you cannot use the infractions in about 10,000 polling units to rubbish the results of over 176,000 polling units. “So, to him, 10,000 is not high enough and the figure is even more than the 10,000 they are talking about. The fact is that the election was flawed and anybody that says otherwise is only trying, like an ostrich, to bury his head in the sand,” he said. He further disagreed with the presidency, saying, “These are independent observers; the EU observers are not Nigerians, who came to monitor the election and they wrote their report after the elections. “What I expected the government to have done was to accept the result and look at the way it can ensure that such infraction doesn’t happen again. “The INEC should also sit down and take a holistic look at the report given by, not only the EU, but also other election observers who have also turned in their reports.” Read the full article

[nj-ayuk1]

NJ Ayuk: How Africa’s Biggest Energy Lawyer Follows His Moral Compass

NJ Ayuk understands criticism better than most. Although he serves as chairman of the African Energy Chamber and the CEO and founder of the international firm Centurion Law Group, Ayuk grew up as a self-described “radical” whose ambitions revolved around social justice and raising up the disadvantaged. 

“Most people don't even realize the level of hate mail I get,” he shares. “But I get it. I understand it, I do. Because I was that kid that went to every protest. I understand the anger, the frustration.”

So how does a man go from being mentored by civil rights icon Dr. Ronald Walters to working with oil companies? 

In NJ Ayuk’s case, it came down to doing the most good.

“I worked with the United Nations at the start of my career, thinking about human rights and gender-based violence,” he recalls. “I felt I was part of an African generation that wanted to see how we could improve the continent. But every time that I thought I want to do something with our work, I started to realize that energy was part of it. 

“Unfortunately, I had no idea what energy was. If you gave me a class in energy law when I was in law school, I'd have run away. Because I went to law school in the United States, I had a rhetoric ingrained in me to be against big oil. I thought they were the problem.”

It wasn’t until he returned to Africa, full of idealism, that he discovered to achieve progress, he’d have to work with the “enemy.”

“I was traveling around Africa, I was in Khartoum [Sudan] actually, when I realized that a lot of our problems came from lack of energy,” he says. “We needed energy to industrialize. We needed energy to drive education. We needed energy to make hospitals work. And the severe lack of energy across the continent, I realized that it’s part of the problem.”

NJ Ayuk: ‘Nobody’s Talking About Their Issues’

NJ Ayuk realized Africans needed energy to improve their lives, which meant that he had to find a way to work with energy companies if he wanted to transform his home continent and raise the standard of living for millions. 

“In Africa, there is a silent majority that nobody talks about,” he shares. “There are 600 million people without access to electricity, 900 million without access to clean cooking technologies, most of them women. Nobody's talking about their issues, nobody's talking about their causes. And I felt I'm going to use the legal skills I've been blessed with, I'm going to put their issues on the front burner on every single politician. Whether it is a minister, a president, whether it's a corporation — they are going to have to listen to these people. Because I know these people. They are like my grandmother, who was raised basically burning biomass. Firewood.”

The best outcome, Ayuk reasoned, was to become a new kind of lawyer, one who could serve as an advocate for disadvantaged people while in the room with big energy companies. 

“There is a bigger calling to this job, especially when it comes to the issues of driving the free market. As an African, I believe in the role of free markets, limited government, individual liberty, and human rights. If I could still get a chance to continue driving these issues across Africa, then that is the better resolution and that commitment stays.” NJ Ayuk continues, “I think the voice that I carry with my work on Centurion and even the African Energy Chamber is so important. Because you bring these critical issues to a lot of important people that will traditionally just listen to ‘yes-men.’ But then they've got to deal with the crazy kid who keeps telling them, ‘Mr. President, you've got to think about these poor people.’”

Working for Generational Change in Africa

Bringing affordable energy to Africans creates a generational change in circumstances. It allows for better medical outcomes, greater educational opportunities, better quality of life. 

But even that’s not enough for NJ Ayuk.

“We do a lot of pro bono work at my firm, and it's something that sometimes I don't like to talk about,” he says. “In South Africa there are a lot of issues and across Africa, around femicide, gender-based violence. One of my jobs when I started was work on female genital mutilation issues. Our firm has taken on a lot of those cases and it's one matter that I personally participate on. A lot of gender-based violence cases, female genital mutilation advocacy work, and doing a lot with a lot of prisoners in various prison cells that need legal representation.

“I think that kind of work is so important,” NJ Ayuk adds. “Because when you look at this kind of work, what I call innocence projects and liberty projects, there are a lot of people across Africa who are sitting in jails for various human rights abuses that do not really need to be there. To have a law firm with capabilities and abilities — and also the financial support that we can come right in and provide the kind of support they need — is really critical.” 

[sky-cow0]

Opinion: How to End Abortion

People don’t seek out situations where they will need an abortion. It is an undesirable action to get out of even worse situations. Making abortions illegal will backfire in a similar way that making a positive Covid test illegal would backfire: it will punish a lot of innocent people and prevent doctors from giving the best care to their patients. Similarly, efforts to reduce the number of abortions is admirable, but they must actually work at destroying the root of what drives people to seek abortions.

The courts have prevented Utah from fully falling into the Christian Nationalist movement by temporarily blocking Utah’s abortion ban, but, unless we elect politicians who will overturn this egregious violation of religious freedom, Utah will be joining the movement of pushing the younger generation to seek out more permanent sterilization procedures instead of preparing to be future parents. This election cycle we need to vote for politicians who prioritize pro-family policies over punishing innocent women and doctors. Luckily the solutions fall on both sides of the political spectrum so all we have to do is choose candidates who put families above preserving profit for corporations and Christian Nationalism.

In order to make surprise pregnancies a happy event instead of the end of financial stability and the ability to continue living a fulfilling life, healthcare and childcare need to be accessible instead of a luxury only the rich can afford. We could follow the proven European model and socialize both healthcare and childcare so that everyone has access to both as stagnant wages and inflation prevent those most in need from accessing healthcare and childcare. Or we can regulate job-creators to provide on-site childcare and healthcare benefits that keep maternity and child healthcare affordable for the lowest earners regardless of whether or not they work part-time.

Next we need politicians who will fight against big businesses that make having children feel like a luxury. Airlines are really out there charging a premium to allow parents to sit next to their 18 month old instead of finding a way to make flying fun for families with children. Social media companies, in pursuit of profit, curate their platforms to pressure parents to be perfect and create a toxic environment of bullying and harassment for parents who do not live up to an impossible ideal. Car seat companies lobby to make sure laws force parents to buy expensive equipment new for each child when lawmakers could instead legislate car manufacturers to provide seat belt modifications to better fit young children (and female bodies for that matter) in every vehicle they sell. The “free” market has shown it doesn’t care for families and so if we care, we need to stop corporations from making parenting a luxury more and more Americans can no longer afford.

The largest factor in preventing abortion that both political parties need to be behind is comprehensive sexual education. It prevents grooming by helping elementary students have words for their body and teaching them that they can say no to unwanted touching. It reduces sexual violence by teaching how to give and receive consent. It produces healthy marriages by teaching healthy sexual practices for married couples so they can move on to building families instead of spending years in therapy getting over their phobia of sex caused by abstinence only sexual education. Comprehensive Sexual Education plus free birth control for minors with no questions asked will do a lot to stop teen pregnancies and prepare teenagers to become stable parents as adults.

These ideas are only meant to be first steps on a long road of changing society and culture to make becoming a parent less of a negative change in lifestyle. Being a parent is very rewarding, but it is also a sacred responsibility. People who religiously believe in the importance of abortion see abortion as mercifully keeping unborn children from living in environments lacking the love and support they require. We need to respect that belief and use love to change minds, not tyranny. Parents do their best when they choose to be parents of their own free will and choice.

September 21, 2022

[balkanradfem]

I’ve had this idea for a book a while ago, and started thinking of it again today. I don’t feel like I can write it, but I can at least present the concept in a text post.

The book begins with an underground temple of an ancient female goddess; she’s been watching the state of her wards, and she’s angry. She’s been sealed underground, but she’s been festering anger and power, and finally, her seal breaks. The night sky lights up, and consequently, every m*n on the surface on the earth finds that he can no longer move.

Some are motionless on their beds, some have fallen to the floor, finding themselves completely immobile. They cannot speak either. They’re found by their flatmates and wives who are concerned, but ultimately unable to do anything about it; they can bring water and food, but he’s not able to eat or drink. Women quickly realize it’s all of them, and it’s not an individual illness. Female researches, scientists and doctors hurry to figure out what is wrong; but there’s no cause whatsoever, they’re all just immobile and mute. They can’t go to work, they can’t eat or drink, they can’t do anything.

In absence of m*n in the work force, women are quickly forced to take over their shifts and get their work done for them; some work is taken over by co-workers, and sometimes it’s a sister or a wife who is called to guess his passwords, and stays for the job. A lot are facing unpleasant discoveries about the m*n in their life, such as their p**n habits, proofs of pedophilia, stalking, exploitation of prostituted women, cheating, grooming younger women, misogynistic ideas online. The women get even less friendly-feelings towards their male counterparts once they have access to all of their finances - they quickly figure out just how selfish and secretive they’ve all been.

Meanwhile, there is some progress in the male condition. Some males have managed to move around a little, not to speak, but some have realized that the bed/floor they’re laying on, has gotten pretty dirty, and decided to clean it. As soon as they had this thought, an ability of movement was granted to them, and very relieved, they were managing to drink water and wash themselves, only to find themselves immobilized once again, this time on their bathroom floors. Few of them have managed to get up again. Few of them figured out just why. None of them have been able to get out of the house, or to get to work.

Women taking the places of CEO’s get access to the financial records of the companies, and very clearly see just how much it’s possible to pay the workers, vs what they’re actually paid, in order to increase the profits. And women decide to put that practice to the depth of hell. New laws are made where all the profits are equally redistributed to the workers, giving them all a chance for a safe and comfortable life. And these workers, are now women only, so for the first time ever, women are the only ones with significantly big buying power.

Women generally use their money to provide food and safety for their families, so with the increased availability of food, furniture, clothes and weather-protective items, the economy is experiencing a new type of boom, where things geared towards women are now sold easily, and women are gaining the power to purchase their own land, houses, farms.

The women are also having some angry confrontations with the still-immobilized, still speechless m*n on the floor; about their misogyny, about the cheating, about the lies, sexualizing minors, leading businesses that cause massive damage and harm to the workers, about how life is suddenly, easier somehow, instead of being harder and more miserable. Domestic violence victims, for the first time, are safe to walk out of their homes, to report, to start their own lives, because now the entire earth is a safe place. Victims of pedophilia, incest, rape, imprisonment, pimping, are now free to speak up, to do in fact, whatever they wanted to the now motionless abusers who are lying on the floor, unable to hit, rape, abuse, murder, talk back, unable to deny anything.

The m*n who did realize they can move, have managed to figure out how to do it more. They won’t be able to move if they’re thinking about their jobs, or what they need to say to their wives to make sure things go their way, they don’t get to move if they want to do anything for their own satisfaction. But, they can move if they decide to wash the floor. Or wash the toilet. If they think about making a meal for his wife. If they’re doing laundry. Same as it appeared, the ability to move disappears as soon as they fail to be doing that specific tasks. They’ll be allowed to eat or drink, but only as much as it’s necessary for them to be doing the manual labour.

They women notice, and convey this information; m*n, if you want to move, think about domestic labour. Some m*n are just grateful to move, and start cleaning the houses, washing the windows, doing laundry, making meals - but they also don’t get to do meals they like themselves. They get to move if they make food their wives like. Some m*n decide this is beneath them, and refuse to do anything until they’re at the very brink of death by dehydration. Some decide to die rather than to take this role upon themselves. They go angrily, but quietly. They don’t get to yell their indignation at their housemates. The women sadly realize there’s nothing they can do at this point - the m*n have chosen their own destiny. They could have lived, if they just did a bit of housework.

The world is looking for an explanation of what is going on, and the book follows a team of female archeologists, who have recorded some explainable findings, patterns and rocks leading close to the underground temple, that we have seen in the beginning. They feel they’re onto something, and their exploration is being reported on social media, the women hoping to find out what has caused this world-wide event of m*n losing their power to move.

Some women decide this is an act of god and something that cannot be influenced or explained, and the reasoning for it is mysterious, but they’re doing the best they can to keep leading their lives, now free of harassment and sexual abuse. Some women decide, that since it destroyed their relationships and love, it must be an act of a demon or a devil, and they gather and start a cult of blaming other women for it, trying to find which horrid witch was evil enough to do this to them, personally. They’re wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable women in the population, before they’re seized and stopped in their tracks, other women refusing to tolerate the religious nonsense, and violence towards their own. 

The women  gain power to reduce carbon footprint and exploitation of the third-world workers and resources; now that the goal is no longer to increase profit, these issues become resolvable by paying for the resources fairly, and quitting the practices that cause insane amounts environmental damage. The women are taking several months to get it down, but within a year, practices have changed, and new laws have been put into motion to prevent the development of more harm.

It’s now months since the m*n have been rendered motionless, and some have started recovering, and walking around to some point; but never outside their house. They’ve been grateful they’re allowed to eat meals, and sleep in a bed. They’re spending their days doing housework, and they also found out, that there’s differences in what each of them has to do in order to move. If this specific one had a woman continuously cook for him, and clean for him, then these specific actions are what he has to do. If the woman has been taking care of his child around the clock, now he has to do it, in the same way she would, or he goes limp again. If he wasn’t specifically counting on a woman to do these tasks, then he’s recovering a little bit faster than the others, allowed to get some free time, only unable to tell when it’s going to end.

They discover they can talk, if they’re saying pleasing and loving things to women. They can clean themselves, as long as the soaps they use are nice-smelling to women. They can fix their appearance, as long as women like to see them like that. They can make themselves sexually appealing, but only if a woman is in the mood for that. If they reach to touch her, to make her, the ability to move is denied for days. Some of them learn the first time; some of them fail to survive this.

The team of the female archeologists, after going through multiple perils, finally find their way down into the ancient goddess temple, and they’re rewarded for their effort; they’re allowed to speak to the goddess directly. They ask, for how long is this going to last? And she replies “For as long as the opposite lasted.”

-

With a book like that, I’d want to put all m*n into a situation where all women have been at one point or another. Where their survival depends directly on being useful and convenient to m*n. Where their appearance, demeanor and behaviour is allowed to exist, only while it’s convenient and attractive to m*n. Where their only option is to appeal to m*n, offer up their labour, their time and energy, their love and compassion, to be rewarded with nothing but continued survival. Where the only place they’re allowed to exist in, is a property of a male. Where the laws are being made not for their success, but for them to be stripped from protection and rights. Where people in power have no regard for their interests.

This is not a revenge fantasy; no m*n is murdered, tortured, raped, dismembered, sold into sex slavery, or turned into a corpse against his own will, they all have a choice, and it’s a choice women have been invisibly making for centuries. I’d like m*n to be aware, just for a moment, what that position feels like, what it means looking at a life of servitude, versus ensured silence and death.

It also calls attention to how bad our situation really is, or was at some point in our lives. We had all but no choice, but to do housework for males at some points in our lives. To cook for them, to clean their property, to take care of their children/animals/possessions, to comfort them, to please them, to appeal to them, to endure whatever abuse they put our way, if we want to keep living and to be acknowledged as human beings. We don’t get rights if we don’t prove to be useful. That is painful. That feels like being motionless and useless and in danger of perishing, unless we do as we’re told, as we’re conditioned to. I want us to be aware as well, that this is a crime against our humanity. We never should have been in that position. Nobody should.

[room-archive]

By now, some of you might have heard about the situation in Poland. The following text was posted on FB by a Polish friend of mine following the events of 07. August 2020 in Warsaw. It describes what happened, and the context of what led to the events of yesterday. Please reblog and share this post to spread awareness about the current situation.

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For a very long time it has not been easy for me to write and talk about my country. Publicly, for a very long time I haven't. Disagreeing with most of what the current government stands for, that would have become a full-time job. Feeling that one is powerless, one can easily become indifferent and either emigrate abroad or immigrate inside to the bubble of like minded friends, trying to just go on with life regardless, to wait out the storm, to hope for the world to change one day on its own. I am guilty of doing both. But yesterday, I believe that Poland came to its turning point. We went to sleep in a troubled democracy and woke up in an authoritarian country that uses the full force of the state apparatus to oppress and unjustly prosecute members and allies of the LGBT+ community.

No good person can stay indifferent facing these circumstance.

General context:

👉 It all began members of the activist collective "Stop Bzdurom" (eng. Stop the Bullshit) spray-painted and cut the tires of an anti-abortion van. This van was taped with graphic images of dead fetuses and frequently driving through the streets of Warsaw. While the activists spray painted the van, the driver intervened and it came to a light physical quarell with pushing and elbowing. This is the video of this altercation: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1324521857722944&id=137358556439286

👉 On the basis of that, the Public Prosecution (which is under total political control in Poland - the Minister of Justice IS the Attorney General) decided to press charges of violent assault and destruction of property against one of the members of the collective - Margot. Margot identifies as a non-binary person (it will be important later in the story). Under those charges Margot could face up to 7 years in prison.

👉 Some weeks ago, Margot was dragged out of her apartment by police in civil clothing. At that point, police refused to give any information about her whereabouts or charges. It took many hours to establish that she was taken to the prosecution office for interrogation and to provide her with a lawyer. The prosecution filed for two months of arrest, awaiting trial. The court initially denied prosecution's request and released Margot. At that stage, this story could have ended as yet another, relatively harmless episode in our disfunctional democracy - unjust and infuriating of course, but at the end smoothened out by the somewhat independent parts of our judiciary.

👉 In between that and yesterday, the same collective hanged rainbow flags from monuments in Warsaw. One of those was a statue of Jesus. This was follwed by a wave of arrests under the charges of "desecrating monuments and offending religious feelings". The arrested were charged while our prime minister and president were visiting desecrated monuments and placing commemorative flowers.

And then yesterday happened:

👉 The prosecution appealed the court's denial to put Margot under arrest. Another court, for reasons still unclear, reversed the decision and decided to put Margot in jail for two months before any trial. There could not possibly be any reason to make such a decision legitimate. Margot is a special case because Polish arrest and correctional facilities are an extremely dangerous place for a (visibly) queer person like her.

👉 When Margot learned of the decision, she happened to be in the office of the biggest Polish LGBTQ+ NGO - Kampania Przeciw Homofobii (eng. The Campaign Against Homophobia). With the police on the way to arrest her (quite symbolic, isn't it), a few NGO’s asked people to gather in front of the office in a demonstration of solidarity. A few hundred people and plenty of journalists showed up, including multiple members of parliament from left and center opposition parties.

👉Margot decided that if she has to go, she won't just go quietly but as publicly as she can. She walked through the demonstration up to the police officers, offering herself to be taken away. They refused to arrest her. We thought they got scared of the public support and the cameras. It looks like we couldn't have been more wrong.

👉 The spontaneous demonstration moved to a nearby allegedly desecrated monument. There, peacful demonstrators were met by an excessively large police force seperating them from the monuments. And then someone has given an order to make an example out of demonstrators and turn the arrest into a show of power.

👉 First, an unmarked car approached. A bunch of police officers in civil clothing dragged Margot inside. For all that has happened later the crowd remained non-violent.

👉 Then, demonstrators sat down around the car to prevent it from leaving. (see Photo) The police attacked with an unprecedented brutality. Tens of undercover police officers arrived and together with their colleagues in uniforms they begun brutally attacking, beating, suffocating and throwing the demonstrators into police cars driving away with them. All that during broad daylight, in front of TV cameras. Without any shame or hesitation. Multiple photos of police brutality bellow. All questions about the basis of the detention were met with laughter. The protestors were not even called upon to disperse. Just faced with violence for the sake of power - no law, no order. TV cameras have caught police officers giving eachother orders to arrest "three random people from the crowd". Bystanders and people passing by were also arrested.

Yesterday in Warsaw is was enough to be in a wrong place, wrong time. We witnessed a straight up round up.

👉To paint the picture of the excess of the police brutality in more detail, I'll quickly describe one of the detentions. During that whole time, MPs (Member of Parliament) were present at the site. Now, they hold immunity from being arrested, but I don't believe anyone in Poland ever imagined that this immunity would have to be used in such a way. Among the photos below, there is one of a blonde woman, holding her hand on the back of a demonstrator, who's being pushed to the ground by the police. That women is an opposition MP who left yesterday's protests injured by the police and described in detailes what had happened. She saw police officers throwing the protester in the picture to the ground and kneeing her down. Her head was bleeding on the pavement. The MP run torwards them screaming to let go and pushing the police away. She lied down on the protester to guard her with her own body. Only then the police let the MP to put her purse under the bleading head of the protester (seen photo) and take care of the head-wound. The protester was then taken away by the police to an unknown location. That story is just one among many horrifying stories from yesterday.

👉 Later, noone knew where exactly the detained people were taken. We guess that around 50 people were arrested.

50 political prisoners.

Police has been refusing any information. The demonstration has moved under the main police stations and the second wave of random arrests happen (you can see it on the video: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=295720058542451&id=107750507339408).

👉Members of parliament and attorneys have been present at the police stations all night trying to get any information and to provide legal help to the detainees. In order to prevent this contact, police has started to move the arrested people out of Warsaw- a tactic straight up from the harshest repressions of the communist times. On one of the photos below you can see two MPs standing in the way of a police van in the middle of the night to prevent that from happening. People were being dragged out of the police stations to the transport vans. They were shielded on the way to the car by other police vehicles to make identification impossible. Few of them managed to scream out their last name. Attorneys were immediately requesting access to their clients, and were met by police officers bluntly lying that such a person was never there.

👉 To paint the picture in more detail, again, of what was happening on the police stations- below you have a photo of a lady reading a piece of paper standing in a window with bars. That's yet another Polish MP, reading a list of the people being held at that particular station to the desperate families searching for their loved ones.

As for today, we are still unsure about what is going to happen.

We know that the arrested people are being presented with bullshit charges, citing ”the participation in an illegal gathering with an aim of violently assaulting a person or a property". Those charges don't stand on any grounds - not only we have photos and videos - the whole peaceful protest was on live TV.

We know that the Polish Ombudsman and the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture has started visiting the police stations.

We know that the first international institutions have started to speak out. Example is in the photos below. With the gravity of what is happening, I'd urge for more and sooner.

Poland is not living up to any standards of a free country. Poland is below anything, that should ever be accepted within the European Union. The long-standing aspiration of my country to become a part of the "West" has shifted towards countries like Russia in a matter of a night.

I will fight this, my friends will fight this. We will not let this go gently into silent night.

But I am not sure how much more fight we have in us.

I'll end with asking all of you abroad for support. Let people in your countries hear about this. We in Poland may not be enough.

[earthly--truth]

What I believe in

These are my beliefs as someone who aligns with democratic socialism and progressivism. Feel free to critique it, challenge it, even just a few sections, whatever, but this is what I believe will make the world a better place, because people (and animals) deserve to live the best possible lives they can live with the only chance at life they got. This is going to be super general and long, and not get into nearly everything, but I hope it sheds a positive light on leftism.

Strong unions so that workers (the majority of people in society) have the ability have better footing to negotiate better wages, work hours, vacation days, benefits, etc. I also believe that in instances where it’s pragmatically viable that there should be a push for more worker co-op’s, in which every employee has a stake in the company they work at, and the ability to give their input (all companies should strive for more democracy). Both of these contribute to healthier, happier, and, and better payed people.

Raising the minimum wage in the U.S to $15 an hour. The current wage of  $7.25 is way too low. It’s just not a livable wage. There’s a reason why McDonald’s and Walmart are called corporate welfare queens, and it’s because they’re employees require welfare to survive, despite being the biggest corporations on the planet with multi-billionaire CEO’s. The richest in society should also pay more in taxes.

Stop investing so much in the American military, cut it by a third if you can. (Firstly this frees up a lot of money for other things) Get the military out of the middle east, and create other more peaceful avenues to ensure it doesn’t crumble like every single time the military pulls out and doesn’t try to actually fix the mess they created. The people in the middle east deserve to be able to rebuild and they’ll need help to do that (just not the type of help where america installs their own leaders).

Healthcare should be universal, paid for by taxes. Every developed nation is capable of doing it. Many developing countries are doing it. Americans pay more in taxes for healthcare than so many other countries, yet a trip to the hospital still can put you in debt for the rest of your life. That is inhumane, and people shouldn’t have to choose between crippling debt and their health.

There’s also an argument to be made for free/way cheaper university, since countries like Canada or America force people to get a degree if they want to live a decent life, yet in order to do that you have to pay $15,000 a year for university. A system like that either forces people to skip out on uni, or again go into major debt. If Europe can figure it out, I think the U.S and Canada can figure it out too.

Black Lives Matter. To be more specific, I want police/criminal justice/prison reform. I want police de-militarized and to stop acting so abusive towards to civilians and real justice for the police that do, I want an end on the war on drugs (this helps drug addicts get help and delivers a blow to gangs and the cartel). I want an end to mass incarceration and laws that make it easier to throw people in jail for years for basically nothing. I want an end to for profit prisons. I want an end to the policy of retribution rather than rehabilitation for inmates (countries who rehabilitate are way more successful at non-returning inmates). I want an end to treating prisoners like slaves so corporations can get cheap labour. I also want the government to actually start caring about the poorest communities, many of which are predominantly black and latino (in cities anyways). (Also the indigenous in Canada). Better infrastructure, better public works programs. These all contribute to the proliferation of these communities and helps lessen the potential for criminality by making their lives better.

The dismantling of gender norms and roles, and de-stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people. I want people to be whoever they want to be. For far too long we have expected men and women to act a certain way. Women have come a long way, but there are still remnants of the old way of looking at things. We still have a lot of social stigma about how women should look, and that they are not worth even paying attention to if they aren’t conventionally attractive. We still have social stigma about sexuality and sex work. We hyper sexualize women in the media, yet shame women as sluts if they have a lot of sex. We shame women who choose abortion as murderers, yet don’t offer any support for the mother once the child has arrived. On top of that, the positions of power are still predominantly very old men. I also believe in helping men. Men are lonelier, men are increasingly staying sexless (not by choice), men are getting more suicidal. I want to address this two ways. One, by tackling toxic masculinity (not masculinity itself, just the bad parts). TM is telling men to man up and not to cry, TM is telling men not to act feminine or gay. TM is telling men to bottle up their emotions and resolve their problems through violence. The second way to address this is through my beliefs about workers. Men are the most suicidal in countries where there is a heavy work culture, like Japan and South Korea. Where they can’t have lives, and live to make money for the company they work at. That isn’t good.

When it comes to LGBTQ+ people, we need more positive representation in the media. We need people to see gay, trans, and non-binary people as normal people. When it comes to trans people specifically, we need to end the constant wars against them. Whether you’re talking about bathrooms, or sports, or children/teens receiving trans affirming healthcare. Let trans people be the gender that they say there are in the places they want to be, and allow them to receive the healthcare they need which is just the overwhelming medical consensus. This, combined with more supportive parents. all goes a long way to reducing the suicide rate amonst trans people.

The proliferation of the developing world. I want developing countries to be more autonomous, and to stop being under the boot of western corporations. I want an end to sweatshop labour or borderline sweatshop labour. I want the west to stop treating these actual people like their robots for pennies to produce our ungodly amounts of junk, and to actually pay these people decent wages. I want the world bank to stop giving money in an exploitative way to poor nations so that they cave to western business interests. These are people, human beings, and they deserve to develop and live good lives just like us. I also want them to fight for democracy in their countries.

Environmentalism. To go off the last section, 100 Corporations are contributing 71% of greenhouse gases. That needs to change. Corporations are participating ungodly amounts of devastations to eco-systems and the atmosphere. Ecosystems destroyed, and the exacerbation of the climate crises. I want a green and blue earth, and that can start by a) changing to green energy as much as humanly possible; solar, wind, and even nuclear (and whatever we come up with in the future) are far better than the fossil fuels we use now, which we’ll run out of anyways. And second we need to hold corporations accountable for destroying the planet. If we don’t do this, we risk the climate crises getting really bad. Oceans rising which will flood coastlines, creating millions of refugees, more periods of extreme dry (no water/bush fires) and extreme cold (look at what happened to texas). Something needs to be done about it.

Finally, veganism, for many reasons. One, the switch to veganism will be a big contributor to saving the planet. Whether you’re talking about the devastation we do to places like the Amazon Rain forest and other ecosystems to clear the way for animal farming, or whether you’re talking about reducing emissions. Most emissions and waste from agriculture are from the production phase of animal farming. So much food, water, and energy is wasted by giving it to billions of animals that we purposefully breed into existence, then slaughter, rinse and repeat, every single year, when we could just grow food and give water to people and skip out the middle man (think about how many people are hungry and without water in the world).

Philosophically, it is also wrong to kill a living creature that desires to live, that is able to connect with other living things and it surrounding, to form bonds. A cow, pig, chicken, lamb, sheep, are no different than a dog, cat, or rabbit, and they should not be killed, exploited, and tortured (confinement, abusive conditions in industrial farms) for pleasure. I know it’s pleasure for most people, because vegans are living proof that you can live happy and healthy lives without animal products. Vegans are statistically healthier than non-vegans, and we can get all the nutrients we need, even on an inexpensive diet. There are exceptions of course. A very small portion of people literally cannot eat plants and can only eat meat, and the developing world doesn’t have the same access to vegan products as the developed world does. Those people are valid, but many many people can make the switch and they should, especially in the developed world

All I see from this is making the world better. Hopefully you can too.

[jennymanrique]

COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens the Mental Health of Minority Children

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that surveyed more than 7,000 high school students, revealed that 55.1% described suffering emotional abuse, 44.2% reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and 9% attempted suicide. More young women and LGBTQ+ youth saw a rise in suicidal behavior, more Asian kids confronted racism and hate, more Black youth and Native Americans experienced hunger and economic devastation and along with Latinos, suffered mental stress due to the pandemic.

A panel of experts convened by Ethnic Media Services explained that to avert a “pandemic” of future adults with serious emotional and mental disorders, it’s important to foster a positive ethnic racial identity. They argue that civic engagement in particular, can be a mental health intervention: building opportunities for young people to speak truth to power and connect with their communities is key for their development.

Angela Vasquez, MSW, policy director for mental health at The Children’s Partnership:

“Nearly 50% of youth who are severely impaired with a major depressive episode did not receive treatment… Black and Latino children were about 14% less likely than white youth to receive treatment for their depression… Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Native youth, so nearly three and a half times higher than the national average. And high school girls across all races and ethnicities made plans to attempt suicide more than boys.”

“Over half of Latina girls are worried about a friend or family member being deported. Nearly a quarter have been harassed because of their family name, or country of origin. Since the pandemic started, Asian youth have been experiencing harassment and bullying.”

“Family separation harms children’s mental and physical health; children of undocumented parents are at risk of behavioral problems. Having parents taken away undermines family economic security. The climate of fear further restricts children, access to education, public benefits, and other services.”

“Direct and vicarious exposure to police violence, including immigration enforcement are contributors to toxic stress…There is a large growing campaign for police free schools.”

Dr. Ilan Shapiro, Pediatrician, chief medical affairs officer of Altamed federally qualified health centers, Los Angeles

“As a pediatrician, they never tell you about all the tools that you need to bring on board for a pandemic, especially on the suffering of a community that has lost so much from life complications. And it’s not just the Latino Hispanic community… We need to make sure that we create structural changes.”

“There’s something called the Internet that most of my patients don’t have… There was a year that they were at home doing nothing, eating whatever, they were feeling depressed, anxious without moving, the (pandemic) ramifications were horrible.”

“At least 50% of the patients that I take care of, were directly touched by COVID-19: they were sick, they had a family member that was close to them that actually died, or they were harmed because of the pandemic.”

“We need to translate medical terms to an actionable language that our community can actually do something with… It’s up to us to make sure that we create open conversations and resources with media with healthcare providers.”

Dr. Myo Thwin Myint, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Tulane University School of Medicine, He serves on the American Academy of Child and Adolescent (AACAP) Training and Education Committee New Orleans, Louisiana:

“Disparity exists in terms of racial minoritized groups, as well as a gender and sexual minoritized groups. Particularly our LGBTQ and trans kids suffer disproportionately from the mental health challenges because of the unjust societal challenges. Across the country, many state legislatures are discussing passing laws that add additional stress to get appropriate care.”

“Our Surgeon General has put out a general mental health advisory and (recognized that) a crisis is happening. It was really good to see that there’s recognition from the federal government and we hope that what follows will be an investment in our youth’s mental health.”

“We should being able to go out to the youth where the challenges are happening rather than waiting in our clinic and ivory towers where we know there are systemic challenges such as transportation. We need to be thinking very creatively how we are going to be providing care.”

Sydney McKinney, PhD, Executive Director of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute based in Brooklyn:

“Addressing the mental health and wellness of black women and girls is really vital to reducing their risk of coming into contact with the juvenile legal and the criminal legal system… Among black teenage girls, suicide death rates increased from 2001 to 2017 by 182%.”

“Nearly 2 million young people are arrested by police every year. And data show that 75% of those have experienced traumatic victimization in their lifetime… Black girls account for 43% of girls who are in youth detention which is more than any other racial group.”

“The pandemic has exacerbated the mental health needs of black girls and gender expansive youth who are directly impacted by the foster care, the child welfare system and the juvenile legal system.” “Media can elevate and bring attention to mental health and wellness programs and services that are culturally affirming and gender-responsive. So much of what people know is clinical modalities, which many of the folks in our communities are reluctant to engage in for very well-founded reasons.”

Originally published here