National Council of Women’s Organization’s Blog

For Immediate Release       

Contact: Dawn Aldrich
dawn@ncwo-online.org
202-293-4505

National Council applauds appointment of first woman director of the U.S. Secret Service

Washington, D.C. March 27 – The National Council of Women’s Organizations, a nonpartisan coalition of 240 progressive women’s groups representing 12 million American women, today commended President Obama for appointing the first woman director of the U.S. Secret Service.

“We celebrate Julia Pierson’s selection as the first woman in 148 years to head the Secret Service,” said NCWO Chair Susan Scanlan.  “This is well-earned recognition of an outstanding agent with thirty years of exemplary performance at the agency. Congratulations to the President for empowering an outstanding and deserving woman to break yet another significant barrier to equal employment!”

In a statement accompanying his announcement, President Obama described Pierson: “Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own. Julia has had an exemplary career, and I know these experiences will guide her as she takes on this new challenge to lead the impressive men and women of this important agency.”

Pierson currently is the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chief for the United States Secret Service. She has been a Secret Service agent for over 30 years after beginning her career in Florida.

“We look forward to great things from Director Pierson,” Scanlan said.  “The Council is grateful for her service to country, for the example she sets for girls and young women, and for the leadership she will provide the dedicated male and female agents in the Secret Service.

###

The National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) is the nation’s oldest and largest coalition of women’s groups.  Our 240 member organizations represent women from all socioeconomic and demographic groups, and collectively represent more than twelve million women nationwide.  Member groups include grassroots, research, and advocacy organizations dedicated to political, social and economic progress for women.

On November 11, 2011, Eve Ensler told the world that she was Over It.

She’s over rape. And rape culture. And gender-based violence. And passivity. And victim-blaming.

Aren’t we all? Or, at least, shouldn’t we be?

Politicizing the violence is an affront to all victims and survivors of sexual assault. It is condescending to their experience and a pardoning of the perpetrators.

Rapes and sexual assaults and sexual harassment happen every day to countless people of any and all gender identities. Races. Ages. Religions. Political affiliations. Abilities. Sexualities. Incomes. NO ONE deserves it. NO ONE asks for it. NO ONE should be denied justice.

Eve tells us that approximately one billion women on the planet have been violated. ONE BILLION.

I have heard my friends, acquaintances, and strangers tell stories of being harassed, violated, beaten, and raped. I have heard others question the victims’ clothing, relationship to the attacker, sexual history, location, state of mind, and whether they’ve ever told a lie.

This doesn’t have to be the world we live in. We are better than this. We are hard-wired for human interaction, for compassion, for community. As Sohaila Abdulali so rightly stated, “rape is not inevitable, like the weather.”

We can do something to change this. We can do something to prevent future stories like those that have come out of Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church, Steubenville, Delhi. We can rise.

On Thursday, February 14, 2013, we are rising. One billion of us: women and men, young and old, victims, survivors, friends, family. There are One Billion Rising events taking place all over the world. (You can find one closest to you here. You can also start your own rising.)

Here in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) is proud to sponsor DC Rising. The rally will take place from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 14^th, in Farragut Square. It will feature members of Congress, diverse musical entertainment, and advocates from the women’s community.

We invite you, your friends, and your families to join us. Tell us why you’re rising. We’ll be dancing to build a sense of community and resistance. We’ll be dancing to laugh, bring joy, and love ourselves. We’ll be dancing to demand an end to violence. Join us as we call on the U.S. House of Representatives to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Learn about gender-based violence. Find resources for those impacted—directly and indirectly—by the violence. Dance with us. Rise.

This post was written by NCWO’s Director of Programs and Policy, Dawn Aldrich. Do you want to tell us why you’re rising? Send a picture or tweet to @DCrising214 and use #ReasonToRise.

Women voters will decide the winner of the Nov. 6 presidential election, according to political pundits, but they have heard almost nothing from candidates Pres. Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney about the issue of their basic constitutional rights.

In late summer, the following question was sent to both presidential campaigns:

“Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says the Constitution does not prohibit sex discrimination, but an April 2012 poll by Daily Kos/SEIU shows 91% support for constitutionally guaranteed equal rights. Do you believe the Constitution should specifically guarantee that women and men have equal legal rights?”

The reply from Pres. Obama’s campaign to the National Council of Women’s Organizations ERA Task Force:

 “President Obama has a proven track record of supporting the ERA. As an Illinois State Senator, he was a sponsor of a joint resolution ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, and as a United States Senator he was a cosponsor of the Women’s Equality Amendment.”

The reply from Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign to Mormons for ERA President Chelsea Strayer: none.

The 2012 Democratic Party platform includes ERA ratification, while the Republican Party dropped its 40-year support of the ERA in 1980 and declared opposition to it in 1984.

Gov. Romney has faced virtually no questions about his relationship as a former Mormon bishop to the political actions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, or Mormon Church), which since the 1970s has organized and supported anti-ERA activism nationally through its members.

Writer Jon Krakauer states, “Most political analysts believe that had theLDSChurchnot taken such an aggressive position against the ERA, it would have been easily ratified by the required thirty-eight states, and would now be part of the U.S. Constitution.”

Mormon opposition to the ERA continues to the present. A 2009Nevadalegislative hearing on a non-binding resolution supporting the ERA was packed with anti-ERA Mormons, primarily women.  The LDS church hierarchy is entirely male.

Judge Robert Bork, an unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee in 1987, was a mentor to Justice Scalia and similarly believes that the Constitution does not prohibit sex discrimination. He is Gov. Romney’s chief legal advisor.

The Equal Rights Amendment – “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by theUnited Statesor by any state on account of sex” – was passed by Congress in 1972 but got only 35 of the needed 38 state ratifications by a 1982 deadline.

It is reintroduced in every session of Congress, and legal analysis proposes that the existing state ratifications may still be valid.

The ERA would protect and advance equitable treatment of women and men in employment, education, and many other areas of law.  (See www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm.)

—
Roberta W. Francis, Co-Chair, National Council of Women’s Organizations’ ERA Task Force

Chelsea Strayer, President, Mormons for ERA

By: Mali Irvin,  Program and Policy Intern
National Council of Women’s Organizations

As you may have heard, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) made a few, to say the least, insensitive remarks about “legitimate rape” Sunday in response to a reporter’s question about whether or not he supports abortion in the case of that heinous, lifelong devastating crime that we in America have pared down into a four letter word. Rape. His answer (emphasis mine):

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s (pregnancy from rape) really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

Today Akin apologized for his remarks: “I was talking about forcible rape, and it was absolutely the wrong word,” Akin said. While I acknowledge his “apology”, Akin’s justification shows he is disconnected from the reality of rape. Continue reading →

On Monday, July 23, 2012, the American astronaut Sally Ride lost her 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer.  Ride died at the age of 61.

Not just any astronaut, Ride was the first American woman to travel into orbit aboard the 1983 shuttle, the Challenger.  At the time, she was also the youngest American to travel to space at the age of 32 years old.

Across the country this week, people celebrated the life and mourned the loss of Sally Ride.  President Obama called her a “national hero and a powerful role model.”  Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) remarked that even though Sally was the first woman in space, “she didn’t want to be the only.”  And she wasn’t.  Since Ride shattered the glass ceiling for women to travel into space, many others have followed.

Ride’s founding of Sally Ride Science demonstrates her commitment to awakening girls’ and boys’ curiosities in science, technology, engineering, and math.  Sen. Mikulski commented on this initiative stating, “She did not seek profit, she sought to inspire others.”  What an extraordinary woman.  Sally Ride’s contributions to STEM education, especially for young girls, are countless and her legacy will live on.

The National Council of Women’s Organizations is appreciative of the progress that Sally Ride made for young girls and women in the sciences, and we send our condolences and thoughts to her family and friends.

By: Dani Nispel,  Program and Policy Intern
National Council of Women’s Organizations

NCAA president, Mark Emmert, announced this morning that Penn State Football would not face the “death penalty.” The team would not be suspended for a year, but it would face punishments including a $60 million fine. Some are saying the sanctions against Penn State are more crippling than the “death penalty”, but it may not be over yet. The NCAA has had its say, as the governing body of athletics. However, The Department of Education has been investigating since November to see if Penn State violated the Clery Act. If the University did indeed violate the Clery Act by covering up sexual harassment, it could put their federal funding on the line.

Continue reading →

By: Maggie Fridinger,  Program and Policy Intern
National Council of Women’s Organizations

Every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States.  One in four women are subjected to violence during their lifetime.

Perpetrators do not discriminate in their acts of violence. Women are exposed to domestic violence regardless of race, sexual orientation, income level, and age. Abusers do not differentiate among women of legal residency status and undocumented immigrants. Violence touches all women.

I repeat: Perpetrators do not discriminate in their acts of violence against women.

So, why is the House of Representatives picking and choosing how women should be protected?

Continue reading →

By: Dani Nispel,  Program and Policy Intern
National Council of Women’s Organizations

What could happen on college campuses if Congress doesn’t pass the real VAWA?

When students and parents are looking at colleges and universities to consider, they will have no information about how safe that campus is. They’ll probably read about how many students have internships, the percentage of students who study abroad, and the average GPA of athletes. However, they won’t know how many sexual assaults and instances of dating violence or stalking take place on the campus each year. They won’t know what type of sexual assault or violence policies the institution has in place, and they won’t be able to know the disciplinary consequences of assaulting someone on that campus. There will be zero transparency.

Continue reading →

By: Dani Nispel,  Program and Policy Intern
National Council of Women’s Organizations

As domestic violence and sexual assault continue to be ignored and belittled by politicians and lawmakers across the country, we need all the support we can get. Unfortunately, there’s a marketing campaign out there by Domino’s Pizza that’s doing exactly the opposite. The campaign started back in April, but hasn’t gotten too much attention. A few days ago, Feministing highlighted it on their blog, but we need more attention. This is unacceptable and we need Domino’s to recognize that making light of rape and sexual assault when every 2 minutes someone is sexually assaulted, is not okay.
Continue reading →

By: Maggie Fridinger,  Program and Policy Intern
National Council of Women’s Organizations

Ever since I can remember, I have had an informal, anthropologic fascination with people watching.  Today, the office that I occupy in my graduate women’s studies program feeds my amusement.  From its basement level, I look up to watch commuters, current and prospective students, alumni, locals, and university administrators hustle past.  Occasionally, pedestrians will slow their pace to stop and read the “women’s studies program” placard, only to elicit a facial or verbal response.  More often than not, the response produced is a sort of heckle, scoff, or pooh-poohing of the relevance of women’s studies.  I wish I were kidding.

Continue reading →