From Australia to the United States, the 16 Days of Activism Through My Eyes

By Rachel Sandler, JWI Intern

November 25th marks the beginning of the vibrant international campaign known as the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. JWI is joining this campaign to address the issue of violence against women and girls on a global level and, we challenge you to do the same.

The aim of the campaign is to galvanize the international community around the issue of violence against women, and to bring the international movement together to form one united front working to end abuse. The 16 Days campaign goals include: raising awareness about gender-based violence; strengthening local efforts around this issue; establishing a link between local and international work; providing a forum for activists to develop effective strategies; demonstrating solidarity with women around the world; and creating new tools to pressure governments to eliminate violence against women.

Since the 16 Days campaign began in 1991, over 3,700 organizations in approximately 164 countries have participated. I have personally felt the global scope of this campaign. Before coming to Washington, DC, I was working on the campaign in Australia, my home country. There, I was organizing a film festival to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence. After flying across the world, I am honored to be working in the United States on this powerful campaign.

JWI encourages you to partner with us on this important issue by participating in our 16-Day Challenge, and we hope you’ll share your own ideas for bringing the 16 Days campaign to life. We are proud to be a partner in this far reaching effort.

Shocked by a child sexual abuse case in Happy Valley? Why not?

by Rochelle Sufrin

Rochelle Sufrin, a public relations and marketing consultant, Penn State alumnus and former president of the Penn State Collegian Alumni Interest Group, is a domestic violence advocate. She is a co-chair of JWI’s Council of Jewish Domestic Violence Coalitions, former interim director of the Jewish Domestic Abuse Task Force of Pittsburgh and domestic violence prevention consultant for Ladies Hospital Aid Society.  She can be reached at rrsuf@aol.com. This originally appeared in Pittsburgh’s The Jewish Chronicle.

The story of our children — our communities’ most vulnerable members, being abused sexually or otherwise, by someone they trusted, someone with intrinsic power and control over them, is not new.

The story of those in control who choose not to use their power to help others by calling suspected violators in question is not new.

The story of how abuse can occur from a brother to a sister, a caretaker to an elder adult, a teacher to a student, a parent to a child, a spouse to his/her partner, a clergy member, politician, manager or superior to an underling, is not new.

The story of a community within a community, insulated from consequences from the outside world, is not new.

The story of witnesses and victims finding the courage to “tell” just to learn it did not bring justice for their pain or protect the innocent, is not new.

The story that no amount of good deeds or community standing can take away the physical and psychological pain one person can inflict upon another, is not new.

The story of a victim mustering the courage over decades of silence and fear to face his/her offender and the community that will serve as judge and jury, is not new.

What is new is the shock and hurt of a story, which brings such shame, as it should, to so many at one time, that it provides a crystal opportunity that cannot be ignored.

What is new is that one of the largest, most respected universities in the country must be an example for others to learn that no individual is beyond reproach; that crimes must be adjudicated, ignorance must be eradicated and innocence must be protected.

What is new is that so many Penn State fans from around the world will learn from this story that abuse is a cycle of behavior inflicted from someone with power and control over someone in a less powerful position and where signs of physical violence is not always present.

What is new is that as educators, parents, clergy, business leaders and individuals of all ages we must help create safe environments to communicate and understand the real definitions of abuse and learn ways to identify, stop and prevent it.

What is new is that abuse of any kind is not just a family, school or private business matter any longer.  It’s everyone’s business.  It’s a violation of human rights. It’s criminal.

What is new is the tremendous opportunity our business leaders, media, parents and educators now have on the heels of National Domestic Abuse Awareness Month [October] to raise awareness of the definitions of abuse, how to escape an abusive relationship and where to turn for help.

Learning from Penn State

By Alexandra Huss, JWI Intern

As a college student, it’s impossible to ignore the constant attention drawn to the Penn State scandal. If you were to only watch television or read the newspaper, you would assume that all agree that anyone involved in enabling the child abuse to continue is guilty beyond measure, and morally repugnant as well.

All, that is, except for Penn State students. I have many friends at Penn State and it is from them that I first learned of the occurrence, and have seen their desire for the media to “leave them be.” Be it an “angry” status on Facebook at “Joepa’s unfair treatment” or a changed profile picture to the image of this blindly beloved coach, many Penn State students’ affections seem to lie with the coach not the victims.

In speaking with a friend from Penn State, however, I learned that my friend and other Penn State students are concerned about what they perceive as an unfair image of the school in the media. “We are all embarrassed by the rioters, and I think the rioters are realizing that they are embarrassed themselves,” my friend said. She added that the new president sends out regular emails assuring that this can never happen again, and that he will do whatever it takes to make sure students are safe. Students themselves are taking action as well; “Student organizations are collecting money, even at football games, and selling blue ribbons to stop child abuse.”

I hope that this horrific instance serves as a wakeup call for colleges and for systems that allow for the cover up of abuse. In fact, in 1991, Mr. Sandusky almost came to my school, the University of Maryland, to coach. This, of course, leads me to wonder, could it have been my school? Could it be your school, or your child’s school?  There is now word of an incident at Syracuse University. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence.

It is through awareness and sensitivity that events such as these can be stopped in their tracks. I hope that these efforts at Penn State do more than lead to a new awareness; they must be the first steps towards lasting change.

Women’s Basic Health Coverage Is Not For Sale

By Miri Cypers, JWI Senior Policy & Advocacy Specialist

Nearly one week after the defeat of the Mississippi “personhood initiative,” when the state of women’s reproductive rights in our country seemed like it could not be any more threatened, various news outlets have published an incredibly troubling story that requires our immediate attention. This Monday, the New York Times printed a story about the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ renewed fight against abortion, casting it as an issue of “religious liberty” against a government encroaching on the church’s rights.

 After meeting with President Obama, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the president of the Catholics Bishops, indicated that the President might be considering expanding a troubling religious exemption adopted under the new health care law that allows certain religious employers to opt out of the new federal requirement. This federal requirement, to be implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledges that birth control is a preventative service and qualifies as basic health care.

 According to Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, in a Huffington Post piece, the expansion of this exemption to include religiously affiliated colleges, universities, medical schools, hospitals, social service organizations, etc. would be “…nothing short of tragic for millions of Americans and their families. Nearly 800,000 people work at Catholic hospitals and there are approximately two million students and workers at universities that have a religious affiliation. This expansion would impact all of these individuals — as well as their dependents, denying them a benefit that finally makes an essential health care service affordable.”

 Get ready for another battle. And urge the President to protect women’s  fundamental right to  preventative health care.

Let’s Speak Out

By Deborah Rosenbloom, Director of Programs

On Tuesday, I attended a briefing for the release of the American Association of University Women’s (AAUW) new study on sexual harassment experienced by girls and boys in grades 7 – 12 during May and June 2011. Unsurprisingly, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School found that sexual harassment is a part of school culture. Disappointingly, it found that only a fraction of the students who experienced sexual harassment reported the incident to an adult at school.  Rosalind Wiseman, one of the panelists at the briefing, posited that this could be because all too often the adults don’t react in a helpful way, speaking to the need for training for all educators, not just Title IX administrators. Reporting sexual harassment may result in consequences for the harasser, but often the victim is the one who needs to move her or his seat in class or be accompanied down the hall by an adult. She also suggested that another reason students don’t speak out is because they share a code of silence.

So how can that world where harassment is just part of the day, like homework and exams, be changed? How can we change the culture of silence – not just the code of silence that teens may share, but the code of silence that adults – all of us – are part of? Maybe just by saying ‘hey stop it, you’re being a jerk’. Can we change our culture by speaking out? I think so – it’s worth a try.

Reflections on Faith, Choice, and Mississippi

By Deborah Rosenbloom, Director of Programs

Last week, Mississippi voters defeated the highly controversial Amendment 26 also referred to as the Mississippi “personhood initiative” by more than 55 percent. As the pro-choice community breathes a collective sigh of relief, Jacques Berlinerblau writes for the Washington Post that supporters of abortion rights cannot rest easy.

He writes, “Yet this setback should not obscure a crucial truth: the hard Christian Right, which sponsored the Amendment 26, is the most swashbucklingest social movement out there. They will pull out all the stops, give you the razzle dazzle, double-down on doubling down. And, yes, they will be back, bigger and better than ever.”

As active members of the pro-choice faith community, JWI recognizes that faith is often used as a tool to stifle debate on reproductive health care. We urge the pro-choice faith community to join with us as we continue to take action and raise our collective voices to protect women’s fundamental reproductive rights. Our lives and the lives of our children were at stake in Mississippi and continue to be at stake at the local, state, and federal level. Faith alone will not suffice.

Silence and abuse on college campuses

The tragic abuses at Penn State and their aftermath are no longer news to the nation. And the event may not, on the surface, seem related to JWI’s particular mission. After all, our work with colleges pertains to protecting young women on campuses nationwide. But when we read about the Penn State case, the underlying story is all too familiar. This is another tragic illustration of the fact that there are no innocent bystanders when it comes to abuse.

While this is the story of what happened to defenseless boys, it’s still the culture of silence so pervasive on college campuses that allowed it to happen – and allows countless young women to be victimized (and re-victimized), often with little or no recourse, across the United States. According to a report based on a national study by the Center for Public Integrity, more than 20% of college women will be victims of rape or attempted rape by the time they graduate – and 95 percent of victims remain silent.

We encourage you to talk with the teens in your life — girls and boys, dating or not-quite-there-yet — about dating abuse. Here are some tips on how to start the conversation.

We send heartfelt healing wishes to the children abused by the former Penn State coach and their families.

Miss Representation – Must-See Documentary

By Ali Lewis, Data and Web Manager

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. –Alice Walker

I heard about Miss Representation through the powers of Facebook. The trailer was making its rounds on my friends’ pages. I watched and immediately felt a surge of “Yes! YES! This is what I have been feeling but unable to express!”

I watched the premiere on OWN with my three daughters, my son, two neighbors and one of their teenage sons. The film was eye-opening, empowering, and angering for everyone in my house that night.

It started with a slew of stats about media consumption:

• American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching TV.
• 17 hours a week listening to music.
• 3 hours a week watching movies.
• 4 hours a week reading magazines.
• 10 hours a week online.

That’s 65 hours a week or 9.5 hours each day! (Side note: Parents, get your kids outside and off the electronics! Take their phones, laptops, and televisions away! They’re addicted and it’s gonna be tough. They’ll yell and tell you they hate you. Be strong. You can do it.)

Women have come so far, but it seems that we’re moving backwards at the moment. Female politicians receive more news coverage for their appearance than their politics. Female news anchors dress scantily to increase ratings. Images of models are photoshopped to make them unrealistically thin. Women are more than mini-skirts and displays of décolletage.

The film gave us more stats:

• 78% of girls hate their bodies by the age of 15.
• 65% have an eating disorder.
• 17% cut themselves.
• Cosmetic surgeries have quadrupled on women ages 17 from 1997 to 2007 and have increased six times more since.
• Woman are 51% of the population, but only 17% of Congress and 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs

As women we need to take a stand to make our daughters and other young women have healthy views of reality and themselves. What is shown in the media is not reality. It’s not defined by what you see in movies, magazines, and television shows. Your reality is what you live and see daily. Your reality is who you are and what you do.

What can we do to make a change in the media and in our lives?

Speak up. Contact the networks, shows, production companies, and advertisers when you see content that you don’t approve of.

Shut it off. Don’t watch shows and movies that objectify women. Boycott ones that only portray women as shallow, vapid beauty queens.

Show the boys. Teach boys and men that objectifying girls and women is not right. A person is more than their appearance. They are their experience, personality, and minds.

Show the girls. Teach your daughters and other girls in your life to believe in themselves. Tell them they do not have to be waif-like sex kittens to be happy, successful people. More important that teaching and telling, however, is showing them by doing it yourself.

Support each other. As women, we must take care of each other. Cut out the catty, backbiting, and nastiness. Be kind to one another. Be helpful. Stand up for each other.

You must be the change you want to see in the world. –Mahatma Gandhi

On Personhood

By Lauren Levine, Executive Associate

On November 8, Mississippi voters will be asked the question, “Should the term “person” be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?” The proposed constitutional amendment, known as Initiative 26 or the “Personhood Amendment” is the pro-life movement’s attempt to overturn Roe V. Wade, starting in Mississippi.

But Mississippi is more than just the home to the personhood amendment. It is the state with the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S. In fact, it’s the only state to hit double digits with 10.6 deaths per 1000 births (CDC). Mississippi has the highest birthrate amongst teenagers aged 15-19, at 65.7% of all births in 2008 (CDC). And since this proposed constitutional amendment is motivated by religious beliefs, it should be noted that is also the state with the highest rate of unmarried pregnancies (CDC).

Given these shocking statistics, it’s shameful that anti-choice groups have made this the focus of political debate in Mississippi. Instead of proposing religiously and politically motivated legislation, lawmakers in Mississippi must bring attention to issues that will actually improve the lives of their constituents- improved preventative health coverage and comprehensive sexual education. Actual persons in the Magnolia state deserve better than Initiative 26.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.