Feeling Attacked? Let's Stop the War on Women

Feeling attacked? What is this business with seemingly reverting back 50 or so years and taking away the rights women for so long have fought to have? And, if taking away rights is not enough, calling us names seems to be another approach.


I've heard a number of people question why Rush Limbaugh is receiving so much flak, when Bill Maher did not. I would argue that Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher hold very different positions in our society. One is a political figure, the other a comedian. Now, I'm not saying either of these men should degrade women--it's not acceptable in any form. But, I will say that I think this contributes to the varying responses they receive.


When I say I feel personally attacked, I mean, of course, as a woman. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why certain changes are being made. Some proposed changes over the last year include:

• Federal funding of Planned Parenthood was threatened.
• Reproductive rights of women have been threatened (in many forms).
• Virginia is attempting to mandate women undergo an invasive procedure, the transvaginal ultrasound, before any abortion.
• Missouri and Washington, D.C. have proposed legislation that would allow employers to deny women birth control coverage (even though most employers provide coverage for such things as Viagra for men).
• Several states have proposed bills that would allow doctors who perform abortions to be murdered (South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa).
• A Georgia State Representative introduced a bill that would make abortion illegal, in addition to making miscarriages illegal (what?!?!).
• The Texas State House of Representatives has passed the Sonogram Bill requiring women to get a sonogram before ending a pregnancy, forcing even victims of rape to have a sonogram at least 24 hours before the procedure. Gov. Rick Perry has signed the bill into law, which takes effect September 1, 2011. There are exceptions in cases of rape and incest. As Planned Parenthood reports: “While a woman can opt-out of seeing the sonogram image and hearing the heart tone, she cannot opt-out of a medically unnecessary sonogram, nor can she opt-out of the fetal description except within very narrow parameters for situations of rape, incest, judicial bypasses, and fetal anomalies.”
• Arizona passed a bill to allow doctors to lie to women to prevent abortions

What I've listed here speaks to reproductive rights specifically. However, in the U.S. and abroad, legislation to protect women against the violence and abuse from partners and family members fails to pass. Women are raped in war zones--and it's seemingly acceptable. Female babies are expendable and are disposed of with the trash. 

We must put a stop to this. We must speak up!

Many position the war on women in a political foundation. As a result, the following video was made:

For the LOVE of pets

I love animals. It's true. I absolutely LOVE them. As someone who studies violence and crime, I am constantly amazed at the ability of humans to hurt, betray, and violate one another, while pets remain so loyal and committed to their people, regardless of the horrid circumstances they are put through. I'm sure you have heard the stories about dogs who get thrown out of cars or survive their owners and yet steadfastly wait for the owners to return. These stories break my heart and also show me just how loving animals can be. A human turns his/her back so quickly, but the animal never stops loving.

Today's blog entry is about the love of animals and the links they have in lives of violence and abuse.  Recently, two states (Kansas and Florida) have taken steps to include animals in their domestic violence policies and statutes. These changes, however, did not occur out of the blue. No, in fact, animal heroes brought this change. When a Great Dane in Kansas placed itself over it's female owners body to protect her, it instead endured great injury at the hands of the woman's boyfriend. The boyfriend was using both sides of a hammer to hit his partner and the dog instead received these blows (resulting in a number of broken bones). Eventually the boyfriend threw both his girlfriend and this heroic Great Dane out of a second-story window. Both dog and owner survived and found refuge at a shelter. The shelter did not allow pets, but made an exception because the woman would not leave her pet.  Since this time, the shelter, Rose Brooks Center, has began renovations including the addition of a pet-friendly wing, dog kennels, a walking trail, and a pet-friendly outdoor play yard.

In Florida, two new bills have been passed. These include the Animal Abuse Registry bill and the Domestic Violence Against Family Pets bill. Both of these are important pieces of legislation and I recommend you look into both. However, I'm going to focus on the latter of these because it is the first of it's kind and makes a clear link between pets and humans in abusive situations. The Domestic Violence Against Family Pets bill is called "Horatio's law".  Situations of domestic violence are often volatile. Abusers frequently inflict harm on family pets as a way to "get at" their victims. Horatio, an 8-year-old Catahoula (picture above), was beaten so badly that he nearly died. He didn't though. His loyalty and love for his person, however, did leave him with a permanent indention in his head, nerve damage, and he now must wear goggles when in the sunlight. Horatio, like the Great Dane described above, laid himself over the body of his elderly female owner as her own son violently attacked her.  The woman and dog survived, but Horatio has since found a new home after his owner passed away in December.  Horatio's law "redefined the term domestic violence to include inflicting, or attempting to inflict, physical injury against an animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by one family or household member by another family or household member. It also includes placing a family or household member in fear of physical harm to a pet, which essentially widens the scope of the bill to include threats of violence against pets" (Dog Heirs).  

These cases or this news may not seem that important. But, I promise you it is. While working at a local Safehouse, I heard story after story about the violence pets experienced, the fear women faced leaving their pets behind, the stories of happiness they felt when finding out their pets could stay at a local shelter for free (this allowed the women, children, and pets to escape safely). I do, however, love the idea of having a separate pet-friendly wing so that animals and people can be together. Children, especially, do much better in these situations when their pets are with them.

And, though not stemming from a recent news story, I do want to mention that Oregon has been working to pass legislation that will allow judges to add animals belonging to victims to restraining orders under the Family Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA). And, Oregon is not the first. Maine passed this legislation and soon after 16 other states began including animals (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Vermont).

Below I've listed some other information that might bring to light the importance of these changes. The information is from the American Humane Society.

• 71% of pet-owning women entering women's shelters reported that their batterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologically control victims 
• 13% of intentional animal abuse cases involve domestic violence
• Between 25% and 40% of battered women are unable to escape abusive situations because they worry about what will happen to their pets or livestock should they leave

American Indian Women Targeted

Statistics support the notion that crimes against American Indian Women are of epidemic proportions.  In fact, 1/3 of Native women will be raped in their lifetimes and nearly 3 out of 5 will be assaulted by a partner.

I frequently encounter questions about this population in regard to how crimes against women are handled within this sect of the population.  Questions about whether crimes are handled within the tribe or within larger government corrections are most frequently asked.  Currently, Justice Department officials are seeking greater purview over reservations. One of the primary reasons for this is that sentences on reservations would then more closely mirror the sentences offenders receive within state courts for committing the same offenses.

Similarly, changes in law would also allow tribes to prosecute both Native and non-Native offenders within their tribal courts.

Essentially, Congress is currently attempting to close several primary gaps within legislation.  It seems the proposed bill targets such things as protection order enforcement, partner violence, and sentencing. Check out this article for greater detail.

In the meantime, if you were surprised by the statistics presented above regarding the disproportionate amount of violence perpetrated against American Indian Women, I strongly encourage you to check out the book "Conquest" by Andrea Smith.