Meet Vanessa Prell

By Dana Fleitman, Program Coordinator

There are many young Jewish women working for positive social change. This month, in honor of Roe w Wade’s 40^th anniversary, we introduced you to Rachel, Laiah, Michelle and Esther, who are all committed to reproductive justice. Please meet the final activist we’re profiling this month – Vanessa Prell.

Vanessa Prell, 28, never sleeps in late on Saturdays. “I usually alternate Saturdays — so one Saturday, I go to volunteer at the clinic, and the next week I’ll go to synagogue.”

Vanessa is a volunteer with the Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force, a group that helps patients safely enter women’s health centers. “We wear bright orange shirts that say ‘pro-choice clinic escort’ and help folks access the building. There are usually protestors, and there are always several who are very aggressive.” She feels this service is important, as “it’s really hurtful that someone who doesn’t know anything about a person’s life can try to insert themselves into that person’s choice, especially when it’s something that has been agonized over and given serious thought.”

Vanessa has been a pro-choice advocate since her teen years. “Two of my best friends were raped in their early teens and sought abortions…and it made my heart hurt to see that they felt so ashamed about it. I wanted to do whatever I could.” She got involved in feminist organizing in college at UC Santa Barbara, especially working on rape prevention.

Vanessa describes herself as a religious Jew and feels that members of her progressive LGBTQ congregation strongly support her activism. “Because I wear a kippah, protestors often target me and try to have legal arguments with me and convince me that Jews don’t believe in abortion, which I don’t think is true. Jewish law doesn’t lay out abortion access the way we have it now, but I don’t feel tension over that…Judaism is a religion with a lot of compassion.”

She feels that it is important to remember that reproductive choice is only one aspect of a woman’s health. “Sometimes I feel like the pro-choice movement – and definitely the anti-choice movement –  talk about abortion like it defines people’s lives. It’s really important that we can talk openly about abortion, but it’s only one part of women’s lives and women’s health.”

Vanessa feels that the right to safe and legal abortion is under threat. “There are people who wake up every morning and say, ‘what am I going to do to make sure there is no more abortion, or no more birth control, in this country?’ They don’t think about what that really means for women. There are people every day who are trying to make our world smaller. We have to wake up in the morning and think of ways to push back.”

Since our early days as B’nai B’rith Women, Jewish Women International (JWI) has fought to give women control over their bodies and over their lives – but forty years after Roe, our reproductive rights are far from guaranteed. Sign the pledge and commit to protecting choice!

We Must Strengthen Polices to Prevent Sexual Violence on College Campuses

By Sophia Giberson, JWI Intern

On January 22nd Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Michael Crapo (R-ID) introduced S. 47, a bill in the Senate that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) introduced H.R. 11, an identical  bill in the House. VAWA was first passed in 1994 to protect victims of dating violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Due to the prevalence of domestic violence and sexual assault, this legislation should be a priority in the 113^th Congress. Violence against women is widespread among women of all ages throughout the United States. According to a recent survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 5 women will be raped or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Many blame this high rate of sexual assault on the victim, which leaves the victim embarrassed, ashamed, and fearful of the outside world.

My second year of college a close friend confided in me a story that changed her life forever. It was her second week of school and she was working closely with the baseball team as she was always interested in sports and staying active. One day after practice, she and friend decided to go to a party and meet up with some of the baseball players to get to know more people on campus. After having one drink, she found herself on the ground of a parking lot being raped by the two men. She was sexually abused by men she thought she trusted. After the incident, she fell into a deep depression, and was blamed by her friends for having too much to drink, when in fact she had barely consumed any alcohol.

This traumatic and life-threatening experience led her to become a driven social activist for preventing violence against women and girls. After suffering through the violent act of rape, she sought to prevent girls from experiencing what had happened to her by giving workshops and is now working for an organization dedicated to preventing human trafficking.

The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act, which is included in  the VAWA reauthorization bills, seeks to address violence women face on college campuses. The Campus SaVE Act requires that incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking be disclosed in annual campus crime statistic reports, expanding what campuses currently need to make public In addition, the act improves campus support for those who experience sexual violence.

The act of rape is intolerable and we must do all we can to prevent it from happening to women of all ages. My friend’s story is all too common. Men and women on college campuses should be educated about domestic and sexual violence and victims need basic protections. Congress should pass the Violence Against Women Act without further delay.

Take Action! Urge Your Senators to Co-sponsor VAWA Today!

Meet Esther Cantor

By Dana Fleitman, Program Coordinator

In celebration of the 40^th Anniverary of Roe v Wade, we’d like to introduce you to another young Jewish woman committed to reproductive justice.

Esther Cantor, 24, is a J.D. candidate at the University of Virginia focusing on the immigrant community, particularly victims of human rights violations and violent crime, and is looking for a career in public service. She may not be on the front lines of the pro-choice movement, but her commitment to pro-choice and women’s issues guides her professionally and personally.

“This is an important issue when it comes to social justice in general –  you can try to fix education or welfare, but until women can control how and when they have children, they can’t take responsibility over themselves and their lives,” notes Esther. “It’s impossible to pull yourself out of a hole when you have choice taken away from you.”

Esther feels a real sense of urgency around the attacks on abortion access, and says that her generation is alarmed and concerned. “Many of us feel very deeply about this but, if we don’t work at an abortion-focused organization, may not know how to be involved. I follow choice in the news, send things on to senators and try to keep aware. I’m not a single issue voter, but for me and most of the people I know who are young, this is an issue they pay attention to while voting.”

Esther was raised in a Jewish household Michigan. “One thing we always talked about was Tikkum Olam – that’s something that’s been very formative in my decision to be in a service career. I’m not sure I would have gone into service if it weren’t for that upbringing.”

She goes on to explain, “in a lot of ways, religion can get a bad rap these days because it can be seen as more repressive than open and more about what we aren’t supposed to do than what we are supposed to do. But at their hearts, most religions are about being good people and making the world a better place. That’s a central tenant of the Judaism I was raised in, and it makes me happy that the Jewish community and Jewish women are upholding that tradition.”

Since our early days as B’nai B’rith Women, Jewish Women International (JWI) has fought to give women control over their bodies and over their lives – but forty years after Roe, our reproductive rights are far from guaranteed. Sign the pledge and commit to protecting choice!

Meet Michelle Farber

By Dana Fleitman, Program Coordinator

Jewish Women International takes great pride in the Jewish community’s commitment to social justice. In honor of Roe v. Wade’s 40^th anniversary, we’d like you to meet another young Jewish female activist working to protect a woman’s right to choose.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always equated a woman’s ability to control her reproduction with her autonomy as a human being” says Michelle Farber, 23. Michelle is an activist with Seattle Clinic Defense, a small group that strives to make clinics a safe space for patients. “We go out when there’s anti-choice demonstrations to take back that space…when anti-choice people want to make that space political, we will take it back. This is a clinic, and it should be a safe space to receive care.”

Michelle is currently studying to be a nurse midwife and feels that “no one should be influencing what’s going on in my exam room besides me and a patient.” She stresses that “every woman has a different story, and no one should be involved in that choice besides her and her healthcare provider.”

Her Jewish background supports her activism. Michelle says, “A lot of my friends who come from different faith backgrounds have had to battle back those ideas that women should not have control over their bodies.  I’m proud that Judaism has always had a handle on that.” She recalls that she “grew up in a religious environment where we were not only encouraged, but required, to ask questions and think for ourselves, and that set me on a path to challenge the system. I’ve always felt proud to come from a religious tradition that is pro-choice and stands with women.”

Michelle’s been involved in pro-choice activism for as long as she can remember. She became political in high school through her chapter of Amnesty International, which set her on a path towards women’s rights and, eventually, reproductive rights. At the University of Connecticut, she started a campus group called Students United for Reproductive Justice in addition to assisting the women’s health clinic on campus.

Michelle feels this issue in urgent and wants people to “remember the history of when women did not have access to abortions – they will do it anyway, and women will die…without these services, women’s lives are in danger.” She stresses that there should be as many abortions as necessary without outside judgment. “It’s not just if a woman was raped, or doesn’t have money, or some other circumstance where other people outside can say that was a ‘good abortion.’ If a woman is not ready to have a child or does not want to have a child with that partner, there should be as many abortions as needed until we have a better social system to take care of women.”

Since our early days as B’nai B’rith Women, Jewish Women International (JWI) has fought to give women control over their bodies and over their lives – but forty years after Roe, our reproductive rights are far from guaranteed. Sign the pledge and commit to protecting choice!

Meet Laiah Idelson

By Dana Fleitman, Program Coordinator

Young Jewish women today are furthering a rich history of Jewish leadership in the pro-choice movement. Today, we’d like you to meet Laiah Idelson.

Laiah remembers writing a report on Jewish perspectives on abortion in high school. “I talked to a rabbi who told me that the mother’s life always comes first, because she is a living being.” This was very impactful for her as a young Jew; “so much of what you hear in the abortion debate doesn’t value a woman’s life or a woman’s judgment. That rabbi’s perspective made me very proud of my Jewish heritage.”

She started participating in activism as early as middle school and feels that Judaism informed her commitment to social justice. Laiah has worked on a variety of issues, including HIV/AIDS and domestic violence.  “I think Judaism teaches us to take care of our neighbors and that life in this world is very important…As Jews, if we believe in the value of the family and we believe in equality, then we must believe in legal and safe abortion,” says Laiah.

Laiah’s college internship with NARAL Pro-Choice America was eye-opening. “I was in the press office, and we were fielding calls from reporters all the time. The conversations around choice were shocking – I had been living in a bubble and thought we had all come beyond the issues being discussed.” Laiah feels that “my contributions to the cause were minimal, but what it left me with was powerful and led to my interest in domestic health issues as well as international issues.” Now, she’s pursuing a Masters in Public Health and focusing on maternal and child health both at home and abroad.

“From a public health perspective,” Laiah says, “it is important to preserve the right to safe and legal abortion because, when abortion access is restricted, we see negative outcomes for families and children, and women die.” She believes that the challenges of abortion access contribute to the rates of maternal mortality in the United States, as rates in the U.S. are higher than in other industrialized countries. “Women and families are equipped to make decisions on their own health – we trust them with many other important issues, and we need to add abortion to the list.”

She is frustrated by the divisiveness of abortion issues and the combative language of “pro-choice” and “pro-life.” “As young people, we can work to highlight the agreements that we have around abortion rather than the disagreements,” shares Laiah. “We can agree that we want healthy babies, healthy families and that abortion is a difficult decision.”

Laiah feels that preserving the right to abortion is urgent. Laiah vows, “my concern and passion for this issue will translate in my life and my career.”

Since our early days as B’nai B’rith Women, Jewish Women International (JWI) has fought to give women control over their bodies and over their lives – but forty years after Roe, our reproductive rights are far from guaranteed. Sign the pledge and commit to protecting choice!

Meet Rachel Lachenauer

By Dana Fleitman, Program Coordinator

JWI is proud that Jewish women have always been at the forefront of the pro-choice movement. Over the next few days, we are thrilled to introduce you to five inspiring young Jewish women who are carrying on this legacy of pro-choice activism today. Rachel, Laiah, Michelle, Esther and Vanessa have different careers and different perspectives, but they are all inspired by their Jewish background and are deeply committed to abortion access for all women. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Rachel.

Rachel Lachenauer, 23, is an Assistant Case Manager at the National Abortion Federation, where she primarily supports the organization’s hotline and counsels low-income patients, assisting them with navigating financial, logistical and emotional challenges.

Rachel explains that “The language has been coopted so that pro-choice people supposedly can’t have a spiritual, moral or religious connection to abortion access. But, to me, people having access to themselves, control over their bodies and being able to fully participate in their lives is spiritual. Everything that’s happening to limit women’s access to procedures is infringing on my moral, religious and spiritual beliefs.”

Rachel grew up in a Reform Jewish family in New York and says that abortion access was always a value that she and her family held. “It was seen as moral and right; there was a lot of flexibility in my household for freedom of expression, for people to be trusted and included. We always realized the inequalities and how marginalized so many groups are.” When she came to D.C. for the March for Women’s Lives at the age of fourteen, she realized she was in the right place. “As a young teenager to be in that environment with all these activists was very empowering,” recalls Rachel.

She continued to be involved through campus activism and pro-choice issues at American University and by volunteering at the DC Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force, where she helped patients feel safe coming to clinics.

Rachel truly values the opportunity to speak to hundreds of patients and is in awe of the strength that they demonstrate. “The more you talk to patients and hear about them and their strength as they navigate situations you would not know how to deal with…It’s intensely emotional and spiritual….They are incredible, and they have changed my life.”

Rachel believes that abortion access is about trust. “To not give people the freedom or opportunity to make decisions about their lives and their bodies is a way of saying, ‘we don’t trust you,’ and this issue is at the core of who we are as individuals.” She finds that her work around abortion has helped her see “the beauty in the diversity of experiences.”

Rachel notes that “Jewish women have been important to this movement and most social justice movements… this makes me proud to be a part of Jewish culture and Jewish life.”

Since our early days as B’nai B’rith Women, Jewish Women International (JWI) has fought to give women control over their bodies and over their lives – but forty years after Roe, our reproductive rights are far from guaranteed. Sign the pledge and commit to protecting choice!

Jewish Women International: A Legacy of Pro-Choice Activism

By Dana Fleitman, Program Coordinator

“It’s going to be a long fight,” said Barbara Greenberg. “It’s not something that’s going to be resolved in the immediate future. It’s going to be a long time.”

This insight was shared over 20 years ago by a Jewish Women International (JWI) – then called B’nai B’rith Women (BBW) – activist speaking on the right to choose. JWI has a proud and rich history of pro-choice advocacy and continues to fight for reproductive freedom today. On this 40^th Anniversary of Roe v Wade, JWI takes joy and pride in remembering the inspiring activism that our members have spearheaded over the years.

In 1968 –  five years before the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe vs. Wade — the delegates of our 1968 Convention passed a resolution calling for the liberalization of abortion laws. After Roe, the 1974 BBW International Convention adopted a platform stating “the right of a woman to plan her family through free choice must be guaranteed. Antiquated laws restricting family planning and contraception information, or forbidding abortions should be abolished.”

BBW continued to mobilize when Roe v. Wade was attacked. In 1989, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services upheld a Missouri law imposing restrictions on the use of state funds, facilities, and employees in performing, assisting with, or counseling on abortion. BBW women took action. BBW activist Paula Weinberger recalls, “We went out and marched…because it really affects us. It shows that the religious right has increased influence in public policy in this country, and where is that influence going to stop?”

A massive demonstration was held in Washington in November of 1989, and hundreds of B’nai B’rith Women members were among the estimated 300,000 people who marched for abortion rights. Showing solidarity, B’nai B’rith Women members marched in other cities across the nation – from Boca Raton to Kansas City to San Francisco. A 1990 article quotes Robin Winner, BBW’s Gateway Region President of Kansas city, recalling  “In terms of the Jewish community, we were the focal point…It was clear that BBW is a leader in the prochoice movement.”

In recent years, Jewish Women International (JWI) has upheld BBW’s legacy by fighting to protect women’s reproductive rights on a national scale. JWI leaders and activists have been vocal in their opposition to dangerous anti-choice legislation and efforts to undermine women’s reproductive health, from abortion services to contraception to family planning, in Congress. JWI leaders have also advocated for many key provisions in the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law that will give women preventive services like contraception, well-woman visits and domestic violence screenings with no co-pays.

Today, JWI is committed to working with Congress and the Administration to ensure the access to comprehensive reproductive health services that will benefit millions of women and families across the country.  We know that it’s going to be a long fight, and it’s one we’re fighting every day.

Forty years after Roe, our reproductive rights are far from guaranteed. Sign the pledge and commit to protecting choice!

Our letter to President Obama

In the wake of last week’s senseless tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, please join JWI in thanking President Obama for his remarks on Sunday and calling on him to put gun control legislation and access to mental health services at the top of his agenda. This is a first step in what we hope will be a concerted effort to build a world free of violence. Please add your voice to ours by co-signing our letter.

16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence

By Dana Fleitman, JWI Program Coordinator

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, kicking off 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.“From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women!” is the 2012 theme for this annual international campaign encouraging action to end gender-based violence worldwide.

JWI is awed and inspired by the countless brave women working tirelessly to end violence and promote gender equality despite the persecution and oppression that they face. Gender discrimination is a cross-cutting reality that transcends local, national and global levels; from a violent husband to an oppressive government, violence against women takes many forms and affects virtually all women worldwide.

From November 25^th through December 10^th, JWI will highlight women’s groundbreaking advocacy by posting about countries and their women activists, focusing on a different country each day. This offers just a small glimpse into an inspiring world where countless women in every nation take enormous risks each day to end violence.

Reforming Sexual Assault Policies on College Campuses

By Chelsea Feuchs

In the last few weeks, many stories have come to light regarding sexual assault on college campuses and inadequate administrative responses.  Particularly shocking to many readers are the names of the prestigious universities accused of not supporting survivors and not complying with Title IX regulations.

Amherst College handled a case brought to them with enough insensitivity to cause a lawsuit, not to mention a national scandal.  A recent article published by Women’s eNews brought attention to the exceedingly high amount of evidence and proof of guilt required at schools such as Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia. When our most prestigious institutions cannot handle cases of sexual assault with competence and care, it rightfully sparks fear in prospective students, their parents, and women across the country that lose faith in their ability to seek out help and justice when wronged.

As a college student at an Ivy League school myself, I have observed the complete ineptitude of an administration too worried about its image and its funds to properly handle cases of sexual assault.  First, information about students’ rights regarding rape is often difficult to find. One must sort through pages of information online to find her Title IX rights, let alone the number of a professional to call and confidentiality policies.

Psychological services are often under-funded and under-used and many health service centers do not perform rape kits.  Survivors who come forward are encouraged to handle their cases in house, being told that pursuing a state court case is too much of a hassle if one intends to keep up her studies.  Dealing with cases internally means that the harshest possible punishment for a convicted rapist is expulsion, and even this outcome is rare.

Prosecuting cases of sexual assault within a university setting leads to an entanglement and interests that almost always leaves a survivor underserved by the system.  The administration discourages the survivor from pursuing her case because holding such a hearing is an admission that there may be rapists on campus; convicting a student confirms this truth.  Lawsuits such as the one brought by William McCormick III against Brown University have scared colleges from convicting assailants for fear of legal repercussions.  In an effort to protect their image and their endowment, universities are hesitant to mete out punishment and often overextend themselves in protecting the rights of the accused, in turn disenfranchising the complainant.  The result of this messy process is a survivor of sexual assault left without adequate emotional, mental, and academic help, forced by institutional incompetence to question the legitimacy of her experience.

The system does not have to remain broken.  There are schools across the country, often those with less prestigious names, that take this issue seriously and step up with proper professional support when confronted with cases of sexual assault.  We need a culture that recognizes the existence of rape across educational, ethnic, and socio-economic lines.  We need our colleges to begin with the correct assumption that sexual assault does occur on their campuses and from that foundation create programs which are comprehensive, honest, and progressive.

We must work to support survivors, prosecute cases in a swift and fair manner, and let colleges that will not comply with proper regulations know that we will not accept their denial and bureaucratic maneuvers any longer, no matter how prestigious their academic reputation may be.  Ask Congress to pass an inclusive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill that includes the Campus SaVE Act, a critical bill that would update the Clery Act and add stalking, dating violence and domestic violence to the list of crimes colleges and universities have to include in their annual report.

White House Event Launches New Strategy for International Gender-Based Violence Prevention

By Valerie Mickiewicz, JWI Executive Associate & Library Project Coordinator

On Friday, August 10^th, President Obama issued an Executive Order on Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls Globally to advance the rights, status and security of women worldwide. This order does more than just promote abstract work to end violence against women; it is a firm step forward, using concrete data and research, toward ending harmful practices worldwide.

The same day the order was issued, I attended an event hosted by the White House to discuss the launch of this new strategy. It’s an approach developed by the Department of State and USAID in coordination with other relevant U.S. government departments and agencies, and it aims to prevent and respond to gender-based violence by:

• Coordinating gender-based violence prevention and response efforts among U.S. government agencies and other stakeholders;
• Integrating those anti-violence efforts into existing U.S. government work;
• Improving gender-based violence prevention and response with better data and research collection and analysis ; and
• Expanding and improving U.S. government programs that address gender-based violence.

The strategy uses data and statistics to demonstrate the tremendous impact violence has on women and their communities. Although collecting data sounds like passive work, it creates a vivid picture of the pain millions of women experience daily. An estimated one in three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. The forms of violence include human trafficking, sexual violence, female genital mutilation/cutting, and “honor” killings, among many others.  I hope that these startling facts will compel Americans to stand behind the White House’s important work on this issue.

Listening to the panel’s remarks at the White House gathering, I could feel the passion behind their efforts and see the inspiration they drew from organizations like JWI. Panel member Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, encouraged anti-violence organizations to continue fighting for victims of violence. Organizations like JWI are vital to this effort because we hold the government accountable to stand up for the women and girls who need it the most.

Take Action for VAWA in Your Home State

From the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women

It’s August and your Congressional leaders have headed home for four weeks. It’s time to find them in your state and community and ask them ONE QUESTION:  What have you done to get a final Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed that protects all victims of violence?

For nearly two months, Congress has done NOTHING to finish the job and get VAWA signed into law. We have no time to lose. 

Here is what you can do to help:

ACTION 1:  Find Your Congress Person at a Town Hall, Rally or Campaigning on the Street And Ask: What have you done to get a final VAWA passed that protects everyone?

ACTION 2:  Call Your Congress Person’s State or District Office and Tell Them Why VAWA is so Important to You
Find your Member of Congress here.  Tell them why VAWA is critical to you, your loved ones, family and friends and ask them “What have you done to get a final VAWA passed?”

ACTION 3:  Visit Your Member of Congress in Their District Office While They Are Home!
Spend the month of August telling your Congress Member to get VAWA done before the elections. Ask them in their office, on Twitter, through a letter to the editor or on Facebook “What have you done to get a final VAWA passed?”

ACTION 4: Invite Your Represenative in Congress to Come Visit Your Local Domestic Violence Program!
We all know the power of seeing what victims are really going through. Members of Congress need to see it for themselves. Chances are that they will want the press to know about their visit and that’s another opportunity for you to get the message out to the public about the need for VAWA.

Learn more about VAWA and its history, and download JWI’s VAWA toolkit for the Faith community, which includes talking points, tips for meeting with policymakers, and more.

Affordable Health Care for Women

By Lauren Reisig, JWI Intern

Infographic by UltraViolet

It’s a familiar scene for a woman: Standing at the pharmacy counter playing the “How much will my monthly birth control prescription cost today?” guessing game. There are numerous factors that contribute to the fluctuating cost of a prescription: brand vs. generic, deductibles, co-pays, insurance changes, etc. Rarely are such variables in the hands of the patient, and yet women and women’s health pay the price.

A woman who could afford birth control pills at $10 per pack may not have that same luxury when it costs $30 or even $90 per pack. Skyrocketing health care costs may force women to decline crucial disease screening at annual exams, or even forego exams altogether. Women are essentially being forced to choose cost over care.

Today, that all changes.

As of today, August 1, 2012, key provisions of the Affordable Care Act have officially taken effect, marking a breakthrough in the affordability of women’s healthcare. No more co-pays for preventive care. No more premiums for annual examinations. No more declining crucial screenings or counseling because of the cost. Bottom line: no longer will women have to choose between their physical and financial wellbeing.

JWI is a staunch supporter of these eight new provisions, listed below, which allow women, not insurance companies, to control the decisions made regarding their healthcare and their bodies:

• Well-woman visits
• Gestational diabetes screenings that help protect the mother and her child from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases
• Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling
• FDA-approved contraception products, which have proven health benefits like a reduced risk of cancer and protecting against osteoporosis
• Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling
• HPV DNA testing, for women 30 or older
• Sexually transmitted infections counseling
• HIV screening and counseling for sexually-active women

Of course, as with all health care and government policies, there exists a fine print. The regulations apply to new, non-grandfathered private health plans. As a result, changes will not take effect until the new plan year, and it is up to each individual woman to contact her insurance company to determine when these new benefits take effect.

The health care system will never be perfect, but today, it became a little fairer for women nationwide.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Save Campus SaVE

By Anonymous

Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a champion of VAWA, addresses the crowd at the rally.

At a recent rally to support the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), I was moved by a speaker who addressed the crowd and revealed that she was a survivor of abuse.  I was impressed with her ability to use her personal experience to motivate change and improvements for all women, and I would like to do the same for college women specifically.

I am a survivor of sexual assault, perpetrated by a fellow university student who was employed as my residential adviser at the time. I made the unpopular decision to report this incident to my university to try to pursue justice. I was granted a “sexual misconduct” hearing, which is the name used on campuses that do not want to admit to having abusers or rapists among their student populations. My anger over this title was dwarfed, however, by the combination of incompetent officers who oversaw my trial.  I was interrogated, demeaned, and blamed during questioning, despite the fact that I attend a very liberal university. While the vice president who oversaw my appeal did acknowledge that my hearing was mishandled, the college’s solution was to run through the entire, sickening experience again with different faculty.

To this day, I am stunned by the way my hearing unfolded. Fortunately, after I alerted the leadership at my college about how terribly my trial was handled, the process improved for those survivors who reported incidents after me.  Still, it shouldn’t take any student feeling mistreated during her pursuit of justice to make a school wake up and realize that its system is inadequate.  That is why we need to support Campus SaVE Act (H.R. 2016/S.843), a bill included in the Senate version of VAWA (which was stripped from the House version) that improves campus support for those who experience sexual violence.

Stories like mine are not uncommon, but they can be greatly reduced with support for the Campus SaVE Act. Congress must reauthorize a version of VAWA with critical provisions such as Campus SaVE so that college students can get the help they need after incidents of sexual assault.  Whether someone decides to come forward, pursue a legal route, seek out justice within the university system, or simply receive medical and psychological help, they need access to assistance within their college. Without Campus SaVE, survivors of sexual assault are unlikely to receive timely and comprehensive help, even at some of the most progressive universities.

For those of you who have experienced violence on a college campus, you too can advocate for critical campus provisions in a final VAWA bill signing onto this letter. I also urge everyone to contact your Representative and Senators today to advocate for this provision and help students both prevent and address sexual assault in a more sensitive, systematic way.

Everyone Is A Bystander When it Comes to Sexual Assault

By Lauren Reisig, JWI Intern

1 in 5 college women will be a victim of sexual assault.

75% of sexual assaults involve alcohol.

90% of sexual assaults are not stranger rape.

Less than 5% of these sexual assaults or attempted assaults will be reported.

While these statistics are alarming, watching one hand after another raise into the air as a group of college-aged women respond to the question, “Who knows a victim of sexual assault in college?” is truly eye opening.

The group’s response nullifies the excuses, “It could never happen to me” or, “Stuff like this doesn’t happen to people I know,” naïve justifications often used to defer the burden during discussions of sexual assault and domestic violence.

In fact, college bound students are at a higher risk for sexual assault than their non-college bound peers. On Wednesday, July 11, Rachel Wainer, Assistant Dean of Students at the Catholic University of America, and Miri Cypers, JWI Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist, spoke to DC interns regarding the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses, the second event this year in JWI’s Summer Series for Interns and Young Professionals.

Cypers outlined the Clery Act and other initiatives, including a new Obama Administration PSA campaign, 1 is 2 many, and S. 1925, the yet-to-be-approved Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act, to highlight steps taken to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence at the federal level. Wainer explained what these policies actually mean for the safety of students on college campuses, and how, despite these improvements to sexual assault legislation and policies in the past two decades, sexual assault and dating violence prevention is only as effective as a school’s sexual assault education and awareness programs.

The material in a university’s sexual assault prevention program needs to be disseminated in a way so that students are receptive to the information. Wainer stresses the problem with many of these programs is that they treat women like potential victims, and men like potential assailants. “The idea that it’s on the women to prevent sexual assault is insane,” Wainer says. Instead, all students need to be treated like potential bystanders, also known as “bystander intervention.”

By labeling every student as a potential bystander, it evens the playing field without putting either gender on the defensive. It doesn’t tell women they’ll be assaulted if they don’t watch their drink, and it doesn’t paint men as potential violent offenders purely because of their gender. It simply encourages all students to be aware of their surroundings, and learn how to look for signs that a fellow student may be in immediate danger so they are able to prevent a potential attack.

After all, no matter what the statistics say, one victim of sexual assault is one too many.