This Week in the War on Women

The #MeToo hashtag has been going around Twitter and Facebook, as women (and men as well) add their names to the depressingly long list of those who’ve been sexually assaulted or harassed.

I didn’t add my name, since I’m one of the lucky ones:  never been sexually assaulted.  I’ve been harassed, of course. And creeped on from age 13 by grown-ass men.  And followed.  And groped.   And, and, and….

And this is what being one of the lucky ones is like. 

Alexandra Petri, another of the lucky ones, reminds us that while we’re encouraged to treat these behaviors like weather (ie, inevitable), they’re more like smoke, because someone chose to light a fire.

This has to stop. Instead of saying, “You cannot smoke in here,” we are telling every woman, “there is going to be smoke in the restaurant, so encase yourself entirely in protective sheeting.” Instead of saying, “Do not go around lighting people on fire,” we are telling women, “Don’t be flammable.” But you can’t be human and not be flammable. 

Some men are posting #Ihave or #ItWasMe, admitting to harassment. Some women think this is a good first step, while others note that an apology on social media isn’t a substitute for accountability.  Some male allies are offering suggestions for #HowIWillChange.

Actress/Director Asia Argento has faced a stunning backlash in her home country of Italy, after she came forward after being sexually assaulted by Weinstein.  She’s decided to leave Italy for Germany.

Merelli points out that the opinion writers have been remarkably bold in their condemnation of Argento and other actresses speaking out against sexual assault — former journalist and MP Renato Farina, for instance, has suggested that the assaults described by actresses are “prostitution, not rape.” Vittorio Feltri, editor in chief of Libero, a right wing populist newspaper, said that since Weinstein didn’t physically harm Argento that the sex must have been consensual — and that, if anything, Argento should be thankful to Weinstein for forcibly performing oral sex on her. Politician Vittorio Sgarbi went still further, arguing that Weinstein “was actually assaulted by her.”

Some more on Weinstein and the structural forces that keep creating more Weinsteins, from Emma Thompson.  Actress Lupita Nyong’o tells of her own experiences with Weinstein — and it’s interesting that hers is the one case where Weinstein feels compleed to issue a denial.  And here’s Rebecca Traister on the conversation we should be having, instead of the one that feels like Groundhog Day all over again.

As always, this weekly WOW diary exists thanks to the efforts of many awesome contributors.  Thanks to Besame, ramara, Crimson Quillfeather, SandraLLAP, Eyesbright, and elenacarlena and the rest of the WOW crew for links and discussion.

Reproductive Freedom:

Maryland anti-abortion activists bought out two abortion clinics, one of which was one of the few clinics in the country where late-term abortions were performed (by Dr. LeRoy Carhart). Carhart, however, is now working in a new MD clinic.

An undocumented minor in a Texas shelter is being denied access to an abortion. Update: The appeals court has ruled that she will either have a sponsor by October 31, or “the matter will return to the courts”. Hopefully the court will then order that the HHS take her immediately to obtain the abortion she desires. We will keep watch on this story. 

Poland already bans abortion except in cases of rape, incest, fetal deformity, or danger to the woman’s health.  Conservative Prime Minister Beata Szydlo is trying to remove the exception for fetal deformity.

Very few places have legislation protecting workers from reproductive discrimination.  St. Louis recently passed a law prohibiting employment and housing discrimination based on any reproductive choice (abortion, birth control, pregnancy, fertility treatments).  Gov. Brown vetoed a similar measure in California.

Education:

Losing the war for girls’ education in Afghanistan. 

Losing the war for girls' education in the United States. A leaked memo “White House wish list” includes no more “touchier-feelier” programs like girls’ education curricula overseas — except in Muslim countries, of course, where close inspection of the curriculum is needed“to weed out jihadism”. What will they replace it with, creationism? Rhetorical question. Other highlights include more money for “school choice,” less money for job training, cutting funding for “multilateral” health programs, including changing sexual risk reduction to sexual risk avoidance, defund WHO, defund UN Population Fund, defund UN Women “in favor of actual pro-woman bilateral programming,” cut the USAID gender initiative and “Let Girls Learn,” and family planning will now be mostly “fertility awareness methods”. Oh, and the Office of Civil Rights will receive funding for their new “conscience protection unit”. In case you haven’t heard, doctors and others must not be discriminated against for refusing to perform an operation that goes against their personal religious OR moral code — such as, coincidentally, performing abortions. So I guess the CPU will be traveling to hospitals to ensure that no arm-twisting of doctors is going on. The leaked memo is posted in full at the link — read it for more information on your favorite programs. 

Intersectionality:

Oklahoma imprisons twice as many women per capita as any other state.  The war on drugs has fallen hardest on poor women and women of color.  (Video at link may auto-play.)

A labor exec from the Fight for 15 campaign has been suspended after complaints about his behavior toward women.

Violence and Harassment:

Study finds 75% of workplace harassment victims experienced retaliation when they spoke up. Not one woman is shocked to learn this.

Democratic Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who should have known better, made a statement to the effect that women “invite” sexual assault with their dress & behavior.  She later apologized and acknowledged that there was no excuse for sexual assault or harassment.

Harassment in academia parallels the problem in Hollywood, for many of the same reasons.

Once you have chosen your research area then you will often be working with the same 50-100 people for the rest of your career and the perpetrator is often in a far more senior position from the get go. It doesn’t take much to destroy someone’s career in industries where junior members of the community are so expendable. After all there is no shortage of actresses desperate for a role and no end to the number of postdocs grasping for that all-important permanent position.

The costs of domestic violence run deeper than the obvious.  Domestic violence costs $8.3 billion in expenses annually: a combination of higher medical costs ($5.8 billion) and lost productivity ($2.5 billion).

A woman decides to interview the man who sexually assaulted her 10 years earlier.

Gymnast McKayla Maroney reveals relentless sexual abuse by Olympic doctor.

The US military is currently dealing with multiple cases of sexual assault by the troops entrusted with preventing and prosecuting sexual assault.

Uncategorizable:

White House babysitter John Kelley laments the Good Old Days when women were held “sacred,”  while he smears a woman in Congress. Um, dude...You know you work for Mr. “Grab-em-by-the-pussy,” right?  (Tweet at link may auto-play.)

Good News and Action Items:

Kurdish women fighters helped defeat ISIS in Raqqa.

21 Streets In Lagos Are Being Named After Unsung Nigerian Women Heroes.

20 things men can do right now to support women.

Moms Rising presents #5Actons of the Week (although I think they meant Actions). The latest 5 were posted on October 13, but look to still be relevant. They include tell lawmakers to stabilize the health care markets, tell them to move forward on gun control, and share your story about how government programs help you and your family. Click to see the whole list and choose your poison or do them all! 

Petition: NARAL Demand Immediate Justice for Jane Doe, an unaccompanied, undocumented 17-year-old teen in Texas. UPDATE: The federal appeals court ruled to further DELAY Jane Doe's request for an abortion. TAKE ACTION NOW!