NOW-NYC Urgent Action Center  Make Sure All Women Can Access Birth Control!
The White House is being pressured by the U.S. conference of Catholic Bishops and anti-birth control groups to block access to coverage for millions of women. Medical experts have concluded that birth control is essential health care for women. That's why HHS mandated coverage of all FDA-approved methods of contraception without copays. The latest HHS regulations include a narrow exemption for religious institutions that predominantly employ people of the same faith. But that's not good enough for the bishops. Despite the fact that 98% of Catholic women use birth control, the bishops are pushing for even broader exemptions that could allow hospitals, universities, or any religious-affiliated nonprofit or service organization to block coverage.
Why should a small group of religious leaders block access to health care that virtually all women use? Take Action!
Call or E-mail the Whitehouse (202-456-1111) and tell President Obama:
"I support access to birth control for ALL women, no matter where they work. Don't allow some groups to opt out of coverage."
"Employers should not be in the business of deciding what health care services their employees can or can't use. Please don't take away birth control coverage for millions of women, especially when it has been deemed essential health care that will prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce medical costs, and support the health of women and their families." Get The Facts: Celibate Men New Leaders in Women's Health? Expand Access, Not Exemptions Stop the Tax on Women Reality Check: Catholics Use Birth Control ............................................................................................................... Demand Bloomberg and the D.O.E. Remove Toxic PCBs
from Our Public Schools in 2 Years, NOT 10!The Department of Education and Mayor Bloomberg have deemed it acceptable to leave PCB-leaking light fixtures in more than 700 public schools for another 10 years. Women's rights advocates, elected officials, parents, teachers, and health and environmental advocates are calling for an accelerated two-year timeline for switching to safe, more energy efficient lighting. In accordance with federal law, these obsolete fixtures MUST be changed anyway. Why wait and put the reproductive health of the more than 200,000 women and girls who attend and work in our public schools at risk? Read NOW-NYC's Press Release | Is Your Kid's School Contaminated?
Learn More at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Take Action: Contact Mayor Bloomberg and NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott
Sample message: I am outraged that the Department of Education is refusing to accelerate the timeline for the removal of dangerous PCB-leaking lighting fixtures from our public schools. PCBs accumulate over time and can stay in the body for decades, putting the reproductive health of women and girls and their future children at risk. The list of dangers from exposure is long and well documented. As a New York City resident, I demand that you implement a two-year timeline immediately. It's unacceptable to risk the health and safety of our kids and our public school teachers.
What are the dangers?
PCB exposure is especially dangerous to the reproductive health of women and girls and their future children. Being exposed to PCBs even years before pregnancy can have irreversible, long-term consequences for a woman's future children, including behavioral problems, lower I.Q., thyroid problems, growth deficits, and reduced immunity. Exposure can also lead to higher incidence of fertility problems, low birth weight, premature babies, stillborns, and birth defects.
Furthermore, female teachers and students who become pregnant also face exposure. Doctors have said that NO level of PCB exposure is safe during pregnancy. A pregnant woman can expose her developing fetus to these toxins by breathing contaminated air or touching something that contains PCBs.
Other health threats of exposure to adults and children include higher risk of asthma, respiratory infections, diabetes, heart disease, and lower cognitive function. ...............................................................................................................
FBI Broadens Definition of Rape: First Time Since 1929 After 80 years, The FBI’s archaic definition of rape has been updated by the Justice Department, matching existing state codes that include male victims and unconscious or intoxicated victims. As of the spring of 2012, the Uniform Crime Report will define rape as “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
This updated inclusive definition is hallmark in allowing more resources to fund and support sexual assault services and education. In 2011 alone Congress approved $592 million that would go towards violence against women, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, under the Violence Against Women Act and Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Of that total, $23 million will be allocated towards a sexual assault services program and $39 million will go to a rape prevention and education program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Advocacy from the feminist women's groups such as the Women’s Law Project, Ms. Magazine, and the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women factored into the definition change. The definition also helps combat gender stereotypes pertaining to rape and sexual assault victims. Finally, this update will give the FBI an opportunity to efficiently measure and understand the prevalence of rape in the United States, as well as provide accountability to perpetrators.
On December 8, 2011 an F.B.I. advisory board voted to update the F.B.I. definition of rape, which would be the first time since 1929. The outdated and alienating definition used by the agency stated that rape must be “carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” The new definition includes the rape of men and crimes that involve oral or anal penetration or penetration with objects. On December 15, 2011, F.B.I. director Robert S. Mueller III approved the new definition, which will go into effect in the spring of 2012. “That [former] definition was in some ways unworkable, certainly not applicable–fully applicable to the types of crimes that…it should cover,” Mueller told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Read more.
Learn More: US Redefines Rape | "Police, women's advocates see flaws in rape reporting"
............................................................................................................... Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Health Services: Urge Your Representative to Support the SDAWS Act! Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) have introduced and cosponsored bill called the “Stop Deceptive Advertising in Women’s Services Act” (SDAWS, H.R. 2543) which would take aim at so-called “crisis pregnancy” centers. These “clinics,” which almost never have any qualified medical personnel on site, purposefully target women who are dealing with unplanned pregnancies by posing as legitimate health clinics offering health information and medical services. These clinics often falsely claim to offer unbiased abortion or contraceptive services or referrals and then disseminate false information in order to promote an anti-choice agenda, aiming to persuade and coerce women into carrying their pregnancies to term regardless of the women’s personal circumstances or wishes. The SDAWS Act would prohibit these CPC’s from falsely advertising their services and propagating medically inaccurate and misleading information. The act will allow the Federal Trade Commission to investigate claims of misleading advertising by these centers, as they would do for any other product or service. Currently, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, but there is no news on when it will be brought for a vote. Take Action NOW By Urging Your Representative to Support this Bill: Call, email, or write your Representative and tell them why it’s important that they support this bill that prevents pregnant women or teens from being misled or deceived during a difficult decision making process. Here’s what you can say: My name is ____ and I live in ____[insert ] neighborhood. As your constituent, I urge you to support the Stop Deceptive Advertising in Women’s Services Act. This act will shield pregnant women from false advertising claims and deception implemented by crisis pregnancy centers for political motives, and will protect these women from being coerced into making decisions about their body against their personal wishes. Your support of this bill will have a great effect in helping to halt the war on choice, and will promote honestly and transparence in women’s healthcare across the country. Thank you. ............................................................................................................... Facebook Refuses to Remove Pro-Rape and Pro-Violence PagesWiping makeup off your shoe after a long day of kicking sluts in the face'
UPDATE: As of December 19, 2011, Facebook Pro-Rape and Pro-Violence page titles now contain "category indicators" for two categories: [Humor] and [Satire]. Apparently, if you claim you're making a joke, no matter how hateful or threatening, it's completely permissble.
UPDATE: On November 5, Facebook finally removed some of its pro-rape pages. It took a petition to Mark Zuckerberg and a day of furious tweeting (roughly 200 tweets per hour with the hashtag #notfunnyfacebook) for the social media giant to take notice, and do something. Read the story.
A Facebook spokesperson said:
There is no place on Facebook for content that is hateful, threatening, or incites violence, and we encourage users to report pages, posts or users who violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Reporting is the best way to surface hateful content for review by our multi-lingual team, who will promptly remove content that violates our terms. We take reports of questionable and offensive content very seriously.
Facebook has been quick to remove group pages featuring breastfeeding or same-sex couples kissing, yet they’ve refused to take down, “Abducting, raping, and violently murdering your friend, as a joke” and "Like This if You Know A Bitch Who Needs A Kick In The C**T.” After over 180,000 signed a Change.org petition and thousands participated in an online “day of action” (#notfunnyfacebook), the company has removed some of the pages. NOW-NYC has been in contact with Facebook to demand action and recommend improvements to their reporting system and community standards. Why did it take so much to get Facebook to enforce its own Terms of Service, which prohibits “hateful” content?
The pages Facebook has neglected to remove are (please note, these may be triggering):
* "Abducting, raping and violently mudering your friend, as a joke."
* "Riding your girlfriend softly and gently, so she doesn't wake up."
* "Wiping makeup off your shoe after a long day of kicking sluts in the face."
Big Companies Take Notice Before Facebook
In early October, several companies (including Sony, American Express and BlackBerry) removed their advertisements from these pro-rape Facebook groups and pages. Read the story
Do you think pro-rape pages merely express an opinion?!
In the past, Facebook has removed pages like "Third Palestinian Intifada," "The New Anti-Gay Movement," and "Abusing Belfast Rose Sellers" for violation of its Terms of Service. However, when it comes to protecting women from hateful and violent endorsements of rape and domestic violence, Facebook seems to think that pages explicitly endorsing rape do not incite violence or hate against women. Facebook is in clear violation of its own Terms of Service. Facebook’s rape pages are fueling a rape culture that tolerates and excuses sexual violence against women.
Take Action
Promoting rape and violence against women on Facebook is unacceptable. Let's confront Facebook on their own turf -- help us flood their site by reporting these pages (please note, the 'Report' button can be found on the left sidebar of the pages). Then, demand that Facebook enforce its own policy when it comes to these rape pages by Tweeting @facebook, using #notfunnyfacebook. You can also contact facebook at:
Facebook Corporate Office | Headquarters
1601 S. California Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304
(650)543-4800
Learn More | Read the NOW-NYC Press Release ............................................................................................................... From Change.Org: Demand the Peace Corps Protect Volunteers From Rape
Support First Response Action, a group founded by a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who is a sexual assault survivor, and managed by a board of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
The United States Peace Corps serves in more than 70 countries around the world. For most of the last decade, the Peace Corps lacked formalized, written policies or protocol in place to respond to incidents of sexual and physical assault committed against Peace Corps Volunteers. This despite the fact that, according to Peace Corps statistics, more than 1,000 incidents of rape and sexual assault have been reported by Volunteers since 2000. As a historically underreported crime, this number represents only a fraction of actual cases of sexual violence.
While advocacy and media attention have been effective in creating initial steps to improve Peace Corps response to violent crime, the current policy does not reflect best practices in the field of sexual assault response.
First Response Action has drafted legislation which would address the issue of sexual violence in Peace Corps in five key areas:
1. Enhanced Volunteer Safety and Security Training
2. Enhanced Response to Incidents Involving Physical and Sexual Assault
3. Establishment of Victim Advocates
4. Establishment of Sexual Assault Protocol Advisory Council
5. Commission of a Historical Report by the Office of the Inspector General
Sign this petition to stand with First Response Action in calling for the immediate adoption of this proposed legislation.
Read more: Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out on Rape
Watch: Abortion or Quit: Raped Peace Corps Volunteer Forced to Choose ...............................................................................................................
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