News Article

Rape treatment plan facing big budget cut

The Boston Globe, November 5, 2009

The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program (SANE) championed by advocates as the most sensitive and effective way to treat victims of rape and sexual abuse, is taking a 40 percent hit from the state budget ax, one of a series of cuts Governor Deval Patrick announced last week to close a $600 million budget shortfall.  More

Action Alert

MA: Sexual Assault Services Slashed

November 16, 2009

Earlier this month Governor Deval Patrick cut $1 million (one third of the budget) from the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program. This cut will mean the near elimination of a crucial system of coordinated care for survivors of sexual violence.   Take Action Now!

Action Alert

No Arbitration for Rape in DoD contracts

October 5, 2009

GREAT NEWS!!! Senate Amendment 2588 that will prohibit defense contractors from requiring arbitration in cases of rape or sexual harassment PASSED the Senate by a vote of 68-30. See how your Senators voted here http://bit.ly/D9fKU
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Action Alert

Petition: Put Polanski in Prison

October 1, 2009

Roman Polanski raped a child. He pled guilty and then fled the country to avoid sentencing. The law should not reward a fugitive for his successful efforts to evade justice. Demand accountability. Sign the petition to put Pulanski in prison!  More

Press Release

Vice President Biden Announces Appointment of White House Advisor on Violence Against Women

June 26, 2009

Vice President Biden announced the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as the new White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. This is a newly created position, dedicated specifically to advising the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues. Ms. Rosenthal is one of the nation’s foremost experts in domestic violence policy.   More

Opinion

An Open Letter to Whoopi Goldberg

Wendy Murphy, September 29, 2009

Yesterday on "The View", you said Roman Polanski pleaded guilty to "unlawful sex with a minor", but that it wasn't " rape rape". So I've been wondering –What the hell is "rape rape"? I know you said your point was to articulate the nature of the crime to which he pleaded guilty - which, you said, was somehow DIFFERENT from "rape". It isn't.   More

News Article

New Policy Permits Asylum for Battered Women

The New York Times, July 15, 2009

The Obama administration has opened the way for foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the United States. The action reverses a Bush administration stance in a protracted and passionate legal battle over the possibilities for battered women to become refugees.
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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

News Article

Convicted Rapists in US Military

CBS News, March 18, 2009

The military is increasingly issuing something called "moral waivers," so they can enlist military personnel with felony convictions for crimes like rape and sexual assault.   More

News Article

DoD: Sexual assault reports increased in 2008

Army Times, March 17, 2009

Reports of sexual assaults involving military victims or perpetrators are on the rise more than 8 percent over the previous fiscal year and increased more than three times as much in Iraq and Afghanistan.   More

Magazine Article : Feminist Analysis

Incest: a Feminist Core Issue That Needs Re-Politizising

Les Penelopes, January 1, 2004

The issue of incest in the U.S. is a political issue, one of violence toward women and children that belongs to feminism. It has been hijacked and defused. Women's language has been stolen and reshaped to suit others' agendas. My hope is that reviewing the history might galvanize the action so urgently needed to get our own back.   More