This week with all the guns and death, I thought I would focus my energies in the area of guns and domestic violence.
If you are in need of help please contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-SAFE(7233) available free, confidential in over 170 different languages 24/7/365.
Domestic violence and the related crime of dating violence can include verbal abuse, emotional abuse as well as physical violence and stalking. Physical violence includes hitting, slapping, punching, hair pulling, kicking, biting. Other forms of domestic violence are trapping the victim or kidnapping, sexual assault, threatening the partner or children with physical violence, up to and including death.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline was established in 1996 and is partnering with ARS, Americans for Responsible Solutions, the organization founded by Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelley in light of disturbing statistics to provide a toolkit with the hopes of literally saving women’s lives. Please visit the website above to download the toolkit, donate, or even to receive help.
- Female intimate partners are more likely to be murdered with a firearm than all other means combined
- Women in the U.S. are 11 times more likely to be murdered with guns than women in other high-income countries
- The presence of a gun in domestic violence situations increases the risks of homicide for women by 500%
- In states that require a background check for every handgun sale, 38% fewer women are shot to death by intimate partners
- More than half of the women murdered with guns are killed by intimate partner or family member
In the spring of 2014 for 8 weeks ARS and The National Domestic Violence Hotline conducted a survey. Below are some of the findings from the 4,721 people who called the hotline or utilized the on-line chat services.
- Nearly 52% said they would feel safer if Law Enforcement took their partner’s/ex’s/spouse’s firearms
- 67% believed their partner was capable of killing them
- 16% said their partner had access to firearms
- 22% had threatened to use a firearm to hurt the victim, their children, other family members or friends, household pets or to commit suicide
Again, if you are in need of help please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE(7233).
Thanks as always to the Sisters of Suffrage or Team WOW for their contributions including:
Ramara, Tara the Anti Social Worker, besame, officebss and Elenacarlena.
Hello to new members. If you would like to join our group please message Tara and she can add you or please follow us. We are always looking for new contributors to the weekly series and if you are so inclined feel free to pick a Saturday slot in the schedule posted in the comments to add a new voice or perspective.
Now on to the news of WOW…
Sexual Assault/Rape
Powerful photo series by artist Yana Mazurkevich about victim-blaming and sexual assault using as inspiration the Brock Turner case.
currentsolutions.co/…
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 6 years for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Still a pretty light sentence, but better than the wrist slap he got at first.
jezebel.com/…
Husband rapes, tortures his wife while holding her captive. He stabbed her, beat her, poured scalding water over her ears and tried to gouge out her eyes. She had given birth only two weeks earlier.
www.insideedition.com/…
If you are a federal public land current or former employee who has experienced sexual harassment, please consider contacting us confidentially. We are conducting an ongoing investigation into instances of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination in public land agencies.
hcne.ws/…
Man Jailed for sexual assault in Scotland
www.bbc.com/…
“Mumford and Sons say they will boycott a Swedish music festival after reports emerged that 17 women were sexually assaulted at the event last weekend.”
www.bbc.com/…
From the link above, “The problem is not isolated to Sweden. Three cases of sexual assault were reported at the 2015 Glastonbury festival, while a man was arrested for raping a 21-year-old woman at last year's V Festival in Essex.
Last week in Denmark, where the annual week-long Roskilde rock festival took place, police said they had reports of five cases of alleged rape or sexual assault.”
Sexual Harassment
Fox's Gretchen Carlson sues Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, also alleges harassment by Steve Doocy. www.hollywoodreporter.com/…
Jen Hayden has more about other victims coming forward...one as young as 16
www.dailykos.com/...
New Heading even more depressing Child Victims
“The advertisement on the Telegram app is as chilling as it is incongruous: A girl for sale is "Virgin. Beautiful. 12 years old.... Her price has reached $12,500 and she will be sold soon."
bigstory.ap.org/...
Virginia law takes parental consent out of marriage laws; only adults and emancipated minors can marry now.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
Here's background on US child marriage, from last October.
www.nytimes.com/…
Leslie Salzillo has a diary on the subject of child marriage worth a read.
www.dailykos.com/…
“I was told I was a Slut...”
www.xojane.com/...
Abortion
Americorps is shutting down its 20 year old healthcare training program. They have been under pressure since 6 employees provided transportation and support to abortion patients, and apparently that taints the whole program. Take action here.
act.weareultraviolet.org/…
In Brazile abortion demands ‘soars” with Zika threat
www.bbc.com/…
From the link…
The researchers analyzed the thousands of requests received by Women on Web in the five years before the Pan American Health Organization issued its warning on Zika on 17 November 2015.
It used this to predict how many abortion requests would have been expected between 17 November 2015 and 1 March 2016.
The analysis of countries that advised against getting pregnant suggested Brazil and Ecuador had had more than twice the expected demand for abortions.
Country |
Expected |
Actual |
Increase |
Brazil |
582 |
1210 |
+108% |
Colombia |
102 |
141 |
+39% |
Costa Rica |
49 |
67 |
+36% |
El Salvador |
18 |
24 |
+36% |
Ecuador |
34 |
71 |
+108% |
Honduras |
21 |
36 |
+76% |
Venezuela |
45 |
86 |
+93% |
Analysis from other countries, which did not advise against pregnancy, suggested smaller increases in abortion demand.
Speaking of Zika
Mitch McConnell to hold another vote on bill that includes Zika funding and restrictions on reproductive rights. Harry Reid says...
www.womenshealthpolicyreport.org/...
And the NYT editorializes on Zika response.
www.womenshealthpolicyreport.org…
The Good (enough for now but we can do much better) News
Hellerstedt, which was heavily featured in last weeks WOW is having an effect in several states, with lawsuits being worked on to challenge similar laws, as well as other restrictions that have no medical benefit.
www.womenshealthpolicyreport.org/...
Indiana University is filing lawsuit against fetal tissue restrictions passed in Indiana.
www.womenshealthpolicyreport.org/...
Germany updates rape law to a "No means no" standard. Previously victims were required to prove they had resisted; a recent WOW commenter discussed the recent case where the rapists videotaped the attack but couldn't be brought to justice because the (reportedly drugged) victim hadn't fought back - even though she could be heard saying "No" and "stop" on the tape.
www.nytimes.com/...
And Now For Something Hilarious (since we started so serious I thought I would close with something funny, even though this is a part of our/females life*side note both my teenage daughters had already seen this, so I must be doing something right*) Any Whooo...
And now a special request for a Sister in need.
This was in my message box after I got home from vacation over the fourth.
Our sister Elenacarlena in need of help for her fur-baby Oreo.
I am at my wit's end. I had to take my pootie Oreo to the vet last month, as detailed here, www.dailykos.com/…
Paypal instuctions…
www.dailykos.com/...