Opinion

Changing the face of domestic violence

Muskegon Opinion, August 23, 2009

Chances are, we'd never have heard of Anthony J. Peters, a 20-year-old thug, if he hadn't beaten up Milwaukee's mayor last week outside the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. If Peters had pounded and pummeled and bullied his intended victim -- the grandmother of his 1-year-old daughter -- he'd have been just another assailant in a long list of men who terrorize women every day of the week.  More

Presentation : Keynote

Human Rights Framework for Addressing International Violence Against Women

Sheila Dauer, April 29, 2008

Human rights constitute a value system and a system of norms established by the international community that assumes the inherent dignity and equality of every human being. Human rights are an evolving body of international law beginning with the UDHR and the treaties and declarations that are derived from it. These agreements require governments to ensure that the conditions necessary for all people to fully enjoy their rights are met.
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Opinion

A Homespun Safety Net

The New York times, July 11, 2009

If nothing else, the recession is serving as a stress test for the American safety net. How prepared have we been for sudden and violent economic dislocations of the kind that leave millions homeless and jobless?   More

Opinion

Femicide: There's not enough outrage

Toronto Star, August 12, 2009

"There's not enough outrage," lamented one women's rights activist at a candlelight vigil for the three women cut down last Tuesday night in a Pittsburgh-area aerobics class.

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted, only 75 people showed up to mourn Heidi Overmier, 46, Elizabeth Gannon, 49, and Jody Billingsley, 38, massacred by a man, who didn't know them, simply because they were women.

That's unusual as the vast majority of femicide victims are killed by their intimate partners or male relatives.  More

Opinion

Women at Risk

The New York Times, August 7, 2009

We’ve seen this tragic ritual so often that it has the feel of a formula. A guy is filled with a seething rage toward women and has easy access to guns. The result: mass slaughter.
We have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that the barbaric treatment of women and girls has come to be more or less expected.  More

Opinion

Opinion

Shakesville Blog, August 20, 2009

From whom are the world's women being saved? From themselves? From just the women and girls in the developing world? Or are those the only women and girls who need saving? Everything's peachy in the developed world, is it? And then there is this: Can the lives of women and girls, anywhere, be changed if the lives and men and boys aren't changed, too?  More

Action Alert

Victims Lives in Speaker Bass' Hands

August 26, 2009

Last month, Governor Schwarzenegger terminated state funding to domestic violence programs to balance the California budget. Senator Yee has introduced legislation that will restore funding to these life-saving programs. The only thing needed is the support from Speaker Karen Bass to allow the bill to be brought for a vote. Time is running out!  Speaker Bass MUST act this week so that there is time to bring the bill to a vote before session ends.  More

Action Alert

Marriott's latest: too little too late

The Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa, being sued by a woman raped at gunpoint in its parking garage, claimed she was careless, negligent and "failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities." Now Marriott International has stated they will stop the "blame the victim" legal defense. Let them know this is too little too late, and tell them how they can truly support the survivor and all women.  More

Action Alert

Urgency Legislation to Restore Funding to CA Domestic Violence Programs

URGENT ACTION ALERT!! On July 28, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed all state funding for California Domestic Violence programs. Senator Leland Yee has written two bills to restore this life-saving funding, but they need the support of the Speaker of the Assembly, Karen Bass, before they can move forward for a vote.   More

Action Alert

CA Governor Eliminates State Funding to Domestic Violence Programs

URGENT ACTION ALERT!! On July 28, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed all state funding for California Domestic Violence programs. Senator Leland Yee has written two bills to restore this life-saving funding, but they need the support of the Speaker of the Assembly, Karen Bass, before they can move forward for a vote. ACT NOW to send Speaker Bass a free, pre-written message urging her to support these bills.  More