In response, U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Lois Capps (D-CA) and Gwen Moore (D-WI), spoke out on behalf of the 99 percent–that is, the 99 percent of American women who have used birth control–arguing that the provision is a respectful balance between religious interests and individual conscience and freedom.

At the request of Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, the Institute of Medicine (an independent, nonprofit research organization) recommended in October 2011 that birth control and a number of other women’s health services be included in the essential health benefits package. The Administration decided to accept these recommendations and require employers to offer birth control coverage with no co-pay, in what Rep. DeLauro called a “commonsense reform long overdue.”

As it stands, the PPACA still includes a religious exemption, allowing houses of worship to refuse to offer contraception coverage in their employee health plans. But the National Conference of Catholic Bishops has been pressuring the Obama Administration for some time to broaden the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage to include Catholic or other religiously-affiliated schools, hospitals, universities and charities.

Speaker Boehner failed to mention that 28 states already require birth control coverage in employee health plans. Eight of those states don’t offer any religious exemption. Rep. Schakowsky argued that the religious exemption for houses of worship in the PPACA was a respectful compromise, and that many Catholic hospitals and universities already provide birth control coverage to their employees as a standard of care.

Surveys show that 99 percent of all women–and 98 percent of Catholic women–have used birth control at some point in their lives. “It’s not as controversial as they want you to believe,” Rep. Capps said. “The majority of women support this.”

Even with health insurance, contraception costs American women between $600 and $1,200 every year. While many women struggle to afford this basic health care, their husbands, fathers and brothers often have access to drugs like Viagra with no co-pay whatsoever. Full coverage for birth control and other women’s health services in the PPACA will finally bring an end to the “longstanding gender discrimination in prescription drug coverage,” said Rep. DeLauro. “Women’s health will finally be put on equal footing.”

The recent Susan G. Komen foundation fiasco showed the nation that women don’t want politics getting in the way of health care. Ultimately, the convictions of some religious leaders should not be allowed to trump the rights of millions of women employees to have access to birth control. Or, as Rep. Schakowsky put it, “Your health care benefits shouldn’t depend on who your boss is.”

Rep. Moore called the Boehner move a distortion of the separation of church and state. “It shouldn’t be the ability of the church to get on a bully pulpit and separate millions of women from critical health services,” she said. “Women want to exercise their religious freedom, and freedom period.”

Women’s rights groups have rallied to support the administration’s decision. Today, in response to Boehner’s remarks, NARAL Pro-Choice America launched the Win for Women: Defend Birth Control for the 99 Percent campaign. “We want to make sure women of all religious backgrounds are able to make the health-care decisions that are best for them and their families,” NARAL president Nancy Keenan said:

No one is being asked to prescribe or take birth control. Some politicians and their allies are using the debate around religious liberty to distract from their real goal: opposition to birth control, one of the many fronts in their ongoing War on Women’s Health. We will fight to make sure that women can get birth-control coverage without asking their bosses for permission.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Take Action:

Join the Feminist Majority Foundation in chastising the Washington Post for repeatedly running editorials attacking the Obama administration’s decision.

Join The National Women’s Law Center and Raising Women’s Voices in thanking Kathleen Sebelius for making the right decision.

Join UltraViolet in thanking President Obama and Secretary Sebelius.

Thank the Obama administration directly on WhiteHouse.gov.

Photo from Flickr user ProgressOhio under Creative Commons 3.0.

Print | Email | PDF

Nanny is thought to be a member of the Ashanti Kingdom of West Africa brought to Jamaica as a slave in the 18th century. She led a community of fugitive slaves (or “maroons”) in the rain forest called Nanny Town. Legend has it that through the 19-year “First Maroon War” she held out against the British colonizers and slaveowners through both militaristic and magical powers, defeating English armies by catching bullets in her buttocks and hurling them back. It is believed that she died in battle around 1734.

You can find historical accounts of Nanny of the Maroons in Jenny Sharpe’s Ghosts of Slavery and in Madeleine Burnside and Rosemarie Robotham’s Spirits of the Passage. But I am not very concerned with distinguishing between what of Nanny’s story is factual “history” and what is simply “myth.” As an interdisciplinary black feminist scholar, I tend to agree with Trinh T. Minh-ha in her phenomenal Woman, Native, Other, when she reminds us that Western historians and anthropologists long dismissed the vast historical knowledge of indigenous women since its tellers refused to distinguish between what was “just a story” and what “really happened.” When receiving the history of a Jamaican icon like Nanny, is it important to debunk if she really had magical powers? Scholar Raquel Z. Rivera, who coined the theory of liberation mythology,  says:

I look at myths not as stories or beliefs that are (necessarily) untrue but as tropes that poetically attempt to explain or get us closer to the unexplainable. The myth may or may not be true; my aim is not to determine if it is or if it isn’t true, but to explore the ‘dreams of freedom’ at the root of myth-making.

Myths, says Rivera, allow us to look back at the past to imagine larger-than-life outcomes and possibilities.

Today, Nanny of the Maroons is officially recognized as one of Jamaica’s national heroes (the only woman among seven). She is featured in the Jamaican Heroes National Park and appears on the Jamaican $500 bill. Jamaican author Michelle Cliff included Nanny in her novels Abeng and Free Enterprise. Not too long ago, Jamaican American artist Renee Cox featured Nanny as a subject in her art series, Queen Nanny of the Maroons.

Nanny is yet another black woman of history whom we can look to as a model of successful strategies of resistance. May we pour libation for these spirits who quite literally placed their bodies on the line for our freedoms.

Drawing of Nanny of the Maroons from the National Library of Jamaica, via Yale.edu.

Print | Email | PDF

Mary is a 28-year-old mother of two. She works as a medical assistant at a religiously-affiliated hospital. She had multiple complications with her most recent pregnancy and was told that she should never become pregnant again. For Mary, another pregnancy could be life-threatening. Mary loves her two children and wants to make sure she stays healthy for them. She and her obstetrician decided that an IUD would be the best way to prevent a future pregnancy.

At her doctor’s office, she found out that her insurance, because it is through her work, does not cover contraception. She was surprised and confused that, despite her doctor’s recommendation of an IUD, her insurance would not cover it.

I met Mary when she came to our Title X clinic. We were able to provide her with an IUD through a family planning grant. It was unfair to Mary that her insurance did not adequately protect her health and that she did not know in advance about the gaps in her coverage. I hope that in the future women like Mary can rely on their insurance plans for the resources to stay healthy and be there for their families.—Tara Kumaraswami, MD, Chicago, IL

Maria is 15 years old. I met her after she had her first menstrual period. She bled so heavily that she had to be admitted to the hospital and receive a blood transfusion. The best treatment for Maria’s condition (menorrhagia) is birth control pills. They regulate the menstrual cycle and prevent dangerous bleeding for patients like Maria. In fact, one-third of U.S. teens use contraception for reasons other than avoiding pregnancy.

Maria and her family are practicing Catholics. I discussed birth control pills with her parents. If she did not start the medication, every time she had her period she would be at risk of bleeding so much she would need another transfusion—possibly every month. After carefully weighing the decision, her parents decided that birth control pills would be the best way to keep Maria healthy and out of the hospital.

Birth control pills are not just for contraception—they help manage conditions like Maria’s as well as lower the risk for certain cancers. All families need affordable access to medications that safeguard their health, including birth control.—Yolanda Evans, MD, MPH, Seattle, WA

When I was in residency, I took care of Rita, a young Catholic mother of five. Rita was suffering from a serious heart defect. She was six weeks pregnant and had a defective cardiac valve that had to be replaced with a synthetic one. Pregnancy put her at high risk for a blood clot forming on the new valve and traveling to her brain, where it could kill her.

Rita had not been using contraception because she had no insurance to make it affordable—not because she didn’t want to use it. While in the hospital, despite taking blood thinners to treat her clots, Rita had a stroke. The woman I had spent hours with talking about caring for her five living children, her marriage, how to handle her unplanned pregnancy—that woman could now no longer speak or walk. When I think of birth control access, I think of Rita and her family.—Jennefer Russo, MD, Pittsburgh, PA

Susan worked in administration at a Catholic Archdiocese, and her employer provided health insurance that did not cover contraception because of the employer’s belief that birth control is immoral. Susan was in a relationship and did not want to become pregnant. Her partner refused to use condoms and the burden to prevent pregnancy fell on her.

Because of her high blood pressure, Susan could not take birth control pills, and she and her doctor decided that an IUD was her best preventive health care option. But Susan could not afford the hundreds of dollars for the device and insertion. She went without any birth control, became pregnant and then had an abortion that should have never become necessary.—Anonymous U.S. physician

Four years ago I graduated from medical school. I had paid for school on my own and was deeply in debt. I was excited to begin my residency and start earning a small paycheck. At the beginning of my residency I had an intrauterine device (IUD) placed using my new health insurance from Catholic Healthcare West. I wanted to be sure that I didn’t become pregnant and I knew an IUD was the best option for me. IUDs cost about $1,000 up front to insert. There was absolutely no way I could have afforded the payment without insurance. I shudder to think of women out there who would be left with few options if religious insurance plans were allowed to refuse this coverage.—Angela Angelucci, DO, Los Angeles, CA

My patient Ava is 45 years old and has four children. Two years ago she suffered a stroke. To prevent future strokes, Ava must take a blood thinner. Her condition is complicated because that medication causes heavy, sometimes life-threatening, bleeding when she has her period. An IUD is the safest option to reduce that bleeding.

But Ava’s husband works as a facilities engineer at a large Catholic hospital, and his insurance will not cover contraception for any reason. The fee for an IUD is over $1,000, an outlay that Ava and her family could not afford. I had to refer her to a Title X clinic for assistance. IUDs not only prevent unintended pregnancy, but they also help keep women like Ava healthy. An employer’s refusal to cover this necessary medication creates hardship for families like Ava’s and stretches the safety net meant to cover those without insurance.—Lori Gawron, MD, Chicago, IL

I care for many women who are employees and students at a large, well respected, Catholic college. These women have no objections to birth control—they are either not Catholic, or among the ninety-eight percent of Catholic women who have used birth control. Most have no idea their insurance does not cover birth control pills or any other contraceptive until they begin working or studying there. When they find out, some panic because they cannot afford the full cost. These amounts can be prohibitive for a family on a budget. The college educates and employs thousands of women; they should not be denied affordable birth control as a condition of studying or working there.—Anonymous U.S. physician

I recently cared for a 24-year-old woman named Somsri. She had come to see me about contraception. Somsri has a genetic blood disorder that caused a dangerous blood clot in her leg. To manage this condition, she needs to be on an anticoagulant cocktail for the rest of her life. Somsri also should not get pregnant because it would be very dangerous for her.

An IUD would be the best form of contraception for Somsri. Unfortunately, her health insurance did not cover the IUD’s cost, and she did not have $1,000 to pay for it out-of-pocket. Somsri left without an IUD. Her only affordable option was condoms, which have a significant failure rate.

Six months later Somsri was pregnant. Because of her condition, her pregnancy was very complicated and she nearly died, ultimately needing a hysterectomy to stop her bleeding.

All women deserve accessible and affordable contraceptive services, no matter where she works or how much money she makes.—Orawee Chinthakanan, MD, Atlanta, GA

Melanie has worked for many years as an emergency room nurse at a Catholic hospital. She wanted a long-acting, reversible contraceptive, specifically an IUD. But the hospital’s health insurance did not cover birth control. Melanie paid for birth control pills out-of-pocket, but she had experienced an unintended pregnancy while on the pill and knew that an IUD would be more effective.

However, Melanie could not afford the nearly $1,000 for the IUD and its insertion. Instead, Melanie obtained an IUD from a nearby study of a new, experimental type of IUD. Her need for an IUD plainly outweighed her worries about using a contraceptive without FDA approval.—Anonymous U.S. physician

Liz is 27 years old and has three children. I cared for her last year when I delivered her youngest child. Ever since then we have been trying to find her an affordable form of birth control. She is on Medicaid and has a managed care plan through a religious carrier. Most Medicaid plans cover birth control, but her policy has an exemption for contraception.

Liz lives with her children in a homeless shelter. She is trying to get on her feet and create a better life for her and her family. Her inability to access affordable contraception puts her at high risk of unintended pregnancy at a time in her life when she is already struggling for survival.—Dana Schonberg, MD, New York, NY

My patient Julia is in her 20s and poor. Julia loves her two children very much, but their births were medically complicated, and Julia does not want to have another baby. She is content with her family.

Even though Julia is Catholic, she decided that a tubal ligation—or “tying her tubes”—was the best way to prevent an unintended pregnancy. But Julia has Medicaid through a religious carrier, and her plan will not cover a tubal ligation. She had had no idea that her plan could refuse to cover certain services. Now Julia has to go back to using less effective forms of contraceptives that have failed her in the past.—Kathleen Morrell, MD, Brooklyn, NY

Kristen worked as a nursing assistant at a Catholic hospital. Her insurance did not cover contraception. Kristen, who is not Catholic, did not know about this policy until after she started working at the hospital. When Kristen first refilled her prescription for birth control pills, she discovered that she would need to pay $50 per month, a new expense for which she had not budgeted, as her last employer had covered contraceptives.

Kristen was able to afford her prescription for a few months, but could not continue. She later had an unintended pregnancy and needed an abortion.—Anonymous U.S. physician

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Photo from Flickr user nateOne under Creative Commons 2.0

Print | Email | PDF

Not only has the editorial board of the Post opined that the administration should have accommodated the “deeply held views” of those institutions, but the Post has printed other editorials in support of the Bishops, while refusing to print opposing viewpoints in favor of access.

If the administration had exempted every university, hospital, or business with a religious connection, it would have meant that millions of women of all faiths–students, teachers, nurses, social workers, marketing and administrative staff and other employees of those schools and businesses–would have been singled out to lose access to this important coverage, without regard to their own needs, beliefs and conscience.

The Post wants to put the Church hierarchy ahead of the right of individual women to be free from discrimination in their health care plans. That’s where the Post is just wrong.

Tell the Washington Post that women should be allowed to follow their own consciences.

Photo from fotopedia user dionhinchcliffe under Creative Commons 2.0.

Print | Email | PDF

My urge to scream is rooted in our common cultural practice of remembering Parks only as a demure and delicate old seamstress who sparked the civil rights movement. The common assertion is that Parks’ moment in history began in December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala. But we must confront this assertion, because each time we confine her memory to that moment we erase part of her admirable character, strategic intellect and indomitable spirit.

To be clear, Rosa Parks left us a deliberate legacy of activism, not an accidental activist moment. Furthermore, she, like many other Black women, should not be remembered in the shadows of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. or any other Black male civil rights activist, but rather right alongside of them. We must realize and teach that when Rosa Parks was helping lay the foundation for the civil rights movement, Dr. King was still in high school.

At the intersection of sexism and racism, it is not surprising that we remember Rosa Parks as demure and delicate, since the image of her sitting quietly with her hands folded politely in her lap is commonplace. However, if we get beyond our stereotypical expectations of who a Black woman can be, we bear witness to her steely grace and steadfast commitment to defending human dignity. She had been doing so for years before she ever got on that bus.

Rosa Parks was taught as a child to sleep with her clothes on in case she was awakened during the night to run from the Klan. Parks, as one of the first women to join the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), traveled throughout segregated Alabama to document racialized voter intimidation and brutality. It was Rosa Parks who interviewed Recy Taylor, a Black woman violently raped by six White men, and helped form the Alabama Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor. Parks was also a woman who vigorously supported the NAACP, Montgomery Improvement Association, Alabama Voter’s League and Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, just to name a few of her key activist roots.

Then in 1955 at age 42, she, like the women who did so before her, refused to give up her seat because of the color of her skin. Soon after that historic moment, those who loved her pleaded with her not to become the central figure of the Montgomery bus boycott–but it was Rosa Parks who courageously did so anyway, for her sake and for ours.

Please remember her this month, and every month, for all of who she was on the day she refused to give up her seat and changed our lives: a bold, remarkable, fierce, benevolent and righteously indignant woman. And join me in revealing more hidden activist histories of Black women. We can begin with those whose names we know, but then we must seek out the names and herstories of those we don’t. If you accept my invitation, here are some good books in which to begin the enlightenment: Freedom’s Daughter: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970; At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance-A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power; and Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC.

Photo from Flickr user Matt Lemmon under Creative Commons 3.0.

Print | Email | PDF

According to the media, the public holds the bickering, do-nothing Congress in unprecedented low esteem. But here’s some good news: In the weeks and months ahead, there is one area where our legislators can redeem themselves. The Violence Against Women Act is up for reauthorization, and if Congress passes a strong bill, millions of girls and women will have a better chance to escape and heal from sexual, domestic, dating and stalking violence.

We only have to read the latest headlines to know that our nation must continue its work to prevent and respond to the cruel sexual violence, lethal battery and assault that lead to murder and destruction in whole families. Shockingly, three U.S. women are killed every day in domestic violence incidents.

VAWA was originally passed in 1994 and currently has the bipartisan support of a third of the full Senate. In a nod to harsh economic times, the money authorized has been lowered to the 2000 level, programs have been consolidated, budgets tightened and accountability emphasized.

So why have two of VAWA’s former champions failed to sponsor this year’s bill? Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are missing in action, and we all know that sexual and domestic violence still occur all across the nation, including Utah and Iowa.It isn’t just the shelters and crisis centers calling for full Senate support–the religious, health care and civil rights communities are behind VAWA as well. Most important, the law enforcement community joins our call to sponsor and pass VAWA, with 47 state attorneys general adding their voices, including Utah AG Mark Shurtleff and Iowa’s Tom Miller. Unfortunately, conservatives in the Senate are attempting to drastically reduce VAWA funding through a matching funds scheme that would effectively shut down many smaller anti-violence programs and seriously impact services in larger programs. NOW cautions that this could be the first step toward eventually eliminating federal support.

As both a public health and human rights issue, ending violence against women is a responsibility we all share. If we truly want a nation free of sexual and domestic violence, we must commit to this goal at every level–as individuals, in our communities, in state legislatures and at the federal level.

Print | Email | PDF

“I would be delighted to participate,” I said. “What would you like me to discuss?”

She was very specific: She wanted me to discuss how black women suffered more than black men under slavery since they were always getting raped. My heart sank.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no desire to downplay or misrepresent this particular history of racialized sexual oppression under slavery, one which basically institutionalized the practice of rape for both economic incentives (the increase in slave labor) and white supremacy (the sexual policing and exploitation of bodies). However, for a month that is designed to celebrate the achievements of black people in history, I was flabbergasted that this particular story was asked of me.

Fannie Berry, who tells her story to a black female interviewer (for what it’s worth, we may want to think whether or not Ms. Berry would have been as forthcoming to a white and/or male interviewer), remembers Sukie as a strong and willful slave woman who flat-out resisted her master’s sexual advances. As Berry put it: “She tole him no,” which led to a fight between the two parties:

Den dat black gal got mad. She took an’ punch ole Marsa an’ made him break loose an’ den she gave him a shove an’ push his hindparts down in de hot pot o’ soap … It burnt him near to death… Marsa never did bother slave gals no mo’.

For this little insurrection, according to Berry, Sukie was sold off. But the strong-minded woman would not be bothered. On the auction block, as potential buyers were examining her–including prying into her mouth to check her teeth, as was routine–Sukie abruptly lifted up her dress and told her audience to “see if dey could fine any teef down dere.”

I like Sukie. I admit it. I like her brazenness, I like her self-possession. I like that she was able to tell her master “No!” even if it meant the punishment of being sold away from her loved ones. Even if it meant further humiliation on the slave auction block, which she then turned on its head by volunteering self-exposure as a clear act of defiance and a subversive embrace of the vulgar–or what the Crunk Feminist Collective calls “disrespectability politics.”

But notice: Sukie’s actions of resistance prevented the master from trying to sexually assault another slave (according to Berry, he “never did bother slave gals no mo’”). Moreover, Sukie clearly warns her future “master” that he’s going to be in for some serious violence if he tries to subdue her like her former master.

We will probably never know the full story behind Sukie’s actions and what finally happened to her or where she lived out the rest of her life. Maybe she was able to run off, maybe she didn’t survive, maybe she was eventually freed during emancipation, as Berry was. What we do know is that other slaves (and a future generation of black women, as represented by Berry’s interviewer) took solace in her story.

And that for me is the point of remembering stories like Sukie’s. She offers us protest strategies and reminds us that, even within an institutionalized system of slave rape, we can still reclaim our bodies. Neither “ultimate victim” nor “porn fetish,” Sukie subverts the tools of sexual violence and the auction block to make her own claim for full womanhood and full humanity.

While I prefer the story of when Sukie resisted rape (versus the “unspeakable” stories of the times when she couldn’t), hers becomes a healing story of sorts. The 400-year-old trauma of “slave rape” requires cathartic release, in which the subjugated body can be reclaimed in stories of resistance.

Poster from a 2011 performance of “Do Lord Remember Me” at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff.

Print | Email | PDF

Then, this January, my church gave out Black History 2012 calendars. Of 12 months depicting Black historical figures, only the month of May was a woman, the artist Edmonia Lewis.

And most recently, George Lucas’s new film Red Tails–which he had to self-finance because Hollywood studio executives saw no “market” for an all-black film–managed to exclude the black women in the lives of the Tuskegee Airmen, even though the fliers’ bomber jets bore the names of their wives. In fact, those wives fought their own battles to desegregate army posts while their husbands fought overseas. One of them, Mildred Carter, was an accomplished pilot in her own right who flew a plane alongside that of her husband while they were courting (now that would be a movie I would watch!).

Red Tails depicts black men as if they exist in a vacuum, with no ties to the communities they left behind or those they confronted overseas. The problem with black patriarchal history is that it is just as stubborn as white patriarchal history in focusing on male-dominated scenes of military might and power. To the victors go the spoils–and the narratives. What’s written out is the off-the-battlefield perspective, in which women and many others strongly influence the course of history.

This is no accident. Feminist historian Gerda Lerner once wrote, “To those in power, history has always mattered.”

In other words, patriarchs write History-with-a-capital-H, to create the illusion that unequal conditions have always existed, unchanging, and that oppression has always existed, unchallenged. That is the History that dominates not only textbooks but also movies, songs, art, literature, religious doctrines and media of all kinds–and through all that, individual psyches and the public consciousness. This History is writ large even within a supposed celebration of marginalized history.

The truth, however, is that there have always been those fighting against oppression–some successful, some not–many of whom have been women, particularly women of color. And none of these struggles had a certain outcome; history unfolds with the same murkiness and uncertainty that our lives do. There’s nothing dead about the past!

All of this is why I eagerly look forward to posting regularly during the short month of February on the subject of Black “Her” Story Month. The organizers of Black History Month have helped me out by declaring this year’s theme to be “Black Women in American Culture and History.” And in a leap year, no less!

Of course, a similar case could be made about Women’s History with a capital W and a capital H. I imagine I could logically expand Black “Her” Story Month to include March, Women’s History Month–and perhaps I shall. No longer can we pretend that “all the women are white, all the blacks are men, but some of us are brave.”

To those in power, history has always mattered, and I would very much like to subvert that power–even just by committing to blogging a full series about amazing black women in history, some of whom we’ve heard about, some of whom we’ve long forgotten, and almost all of whom deserve their own grand epic movie. Given Hollywood’s limitations, I hope that some of the creative writers, artists, scholars, and activists out there will begin to explore other venues, mediums and tools to keep these histories alive.

And no, I’m not aiming for that “inspirational” divorced-from-the-present-day approach that we often see in the usual Black History Month fetishizing of the past. I’m going to blog as if history from decades, centuries, even millennia ago could play out in the here and now of 2012. These spirits are churning, and they are still here.

I survive daily conditions that constantly threaten to undermine my sense of self as a black woman, and I thrive with my spirit intact because I know where I come from and I know where I’m going. I walk the steady path ahead because I’m being led by ancestral spirits. I know other worlds are possible and other strategies of resistance are effective because those who came before me have pointed the way: the Harriet Tubmans, the Ida B. Wells, the Cecile Fatimans, the warrior women, the mothers, the homemakers, the laborers, the women (of all sexual orientations) who resisted marriage, the educators, the leaders and the artists.

If we ever lose sight of how our past can guide our present and future, as women, as people of color, as the colonized, as the marginalized, then we concede the power of history to others. The many histories without a capital H tell us we don’t have to do so–that indeed, we have always had the power to resist.

If history matters to those in power, then it goes without saying just how much more it matters to the rest of us.

ABOVE: Images of Cecile Fatiman, Harriet Tubman and Ida B. Wells from Wikimedia Commons

Print | Email | PDF

In 2003, the CDC assessed the cost of intimate partner violence in this country at $5.8 billion each year. These costs arise out of medical care and counseling primarily, plus lost productivity from work inside and outside the home and additional costs for lost earnings over a lifetime. While the current report does not address the financial toll, it would stand to reason that costs have risen since then.

The suffering and tragic deaths women face at the hands of their batterers are certainly enough to heighten the conversation, and the profound economic stress and financial disruption occurring in the lives of women and their children, who are our neighbors, our friends, and family members should turn up the volume for all of us. Not surprisingly, the incidence of domestic violence increases as the soundness of our national economy decreases with rising unemployment and falling household incomes. When the financial pressures on a household rise, the likelihood that batterers will exhibit worsening violent behaviors also rises.

So, ‘they’ say she should just leave. “She should just leave” is not and never will be a simple solution.

Too often, women stay in abusive relationships because they cannot see a path to economic security for themselves and their children. Money, even money for rent, food or clothing, becomes a weapon used to control and manipulate. Without access to a debit card or check book, having the cash in hand becomes a serious roadblock to leaving.

When survivors do leave, they remain vulnerable to financial attacks from the batterer, are often unable to keep their current employment and protect their credit reports or bank accounts. Women may find their credit and credit ratings damaged by batterers attempting to ‘force them to return’ by cutting off credit or using the survivor’s name to run up debt, forge checks or falsify documents in real estate transactions. Some of these women find themselves in trouble with the law for check kiting or forgery, actions actually perpetrated by their batterers or by victims under duress. Under the extreme, albeit not as rare as you might think, circumstances when a survivor must change her residence or even her name to escape her batterer, she also leaves behind her work history and references, access to gap-fillers like unemployment insurance and even contributions paid into Social Security.

WOW’s new report, Living below the Line: Economic Security and America’s Families, underscores the precarious economics facing American women in general, many of whom are unable to cover the costs of their basic needs. The findings show 60 percent of single women and 74 percent of single mothers are living in a state of economic insecurity.

Understanding the depth of financial abuse that accompanies physical abuse and responding to both in tandem offers survivors greater protection and a more solid foothold as they rebuild their lives and their futures.

Leaving women precariously perched between violence and economic insecurity is simply unconscionable. Law enforcement, judges and other professionals working with survivors can take steps quickly to assess the economic as well as physical security needs of survivors. Only when we protect the financial welfare of survivors, prepare them to meet their basic needs and punish the batterers who abuse the financial health of their victims have we created a permanent path out the maddening wave of violence surrounding us now.

Wider Opportunities for Women, with a number of national allies, works with domestic violence professionals across the country as we build an understanding of the links between financial and physical security and the concurrent need to protect and strengthen both through responsive, responsible policies and programs. Through this work to empower and enable women, we are working to fight the cycle of abuse.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Photo from Flickr user ben pollard under Creative Commons 2.0

Print | Email | PDF

Despite enormous pressure from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Obama Administration recently decided not to broaden the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage under the Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act. This demand for additional exemptions would have denied millions of American women contraceptive coverage, including students, teachers, nurses, social workers, and other staff (and their families) at religiously-connected or affiliated schools, universities, and hospitals, as well as agencies and institutions like Catholic Charities.

The Catholic Bishops are now leading a backlash against this decision, and women are speaking out.  Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of women who may have been denied access to birth control will now have full access under their health insurance plan, with no co-pays or deductibles, beginning in August 2012. Birth control is the number one prescription drug for women ages 18 to 44 years. Right now, the average woman has to pay up to $50 per month for 30 years for birth control. As a result, many women have had to forgo regular use of birth control and half of US pregnancies are unplanned.

Women of all faiths are employed by hospitals and schools that are owned by religious interests, and they should not be denied equal health care coverage. We urge the Obama Administration to continue to stand strong for women’s health care.

Join us by sharing the posts below on Facebook, Twitter (using the hashtag #HERvotes), and other social media.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Take Action:

Join the Feminist Majority Foundation in chastising the Washington Post for repeatedly running editorials attacking the Obama administration’s decision.

Join The National Women’s Law Center and Raising Women’s Voices in thanking Kathleen Sebelius for making the right decision.

Join UltraViolet in thanking President Obama and Secretary Sebelius.

Thank the Obama administration directly on WhiteHouse.gov.

Read more:

HERvotes: Boehner Ups the Threat Against Contraception Coverage- Ms. Blog

The Fight Millennials Never Expected—Birth Control- Amplify

Do Republicans Have Sex?- Silver Ribbon Campaign

Margaret and Helen on the Issues- Margaret and Helen

Major Mainstream Religious Leaders Support White House on Contraceptive Coverage In Health Care Reform- Religious Institute

An Unholy Alliance Between The Bishops And The Right-Wing Attack Machine- Raising Women’s Voices

An Equal & Just World: A Woman’s Right to Control Her Own Reproductive Health- Jewish Women International

Religious Freedom in the Crosshairs of Catholic Bishops- Catholics for Choice

Co-Pay for Birth Control? Not Under my Conscience Clause- Bettina Hager, National Women’s Political Caucus

Select Media Coverage:  Catholics Supporting Contraceptive Coverage Under the ACA- Complied by Catholics for Choice

Seven Things You (and the Media) Need to Know about Birth Control -Jacqueline M., Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Women Are Watching Blog

Obama’s contraception exemption puts my patients at risk -Dr. Jennifer H. Tang, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health; Letter to the Editor, The Charlotte Observer

Contraception mandate doesn’t force use -Bernice Durbin, Letter to the Editor, USA Today

Why All Employers Should Provide Insurance Coverage for Birth Control -Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health

Delays and Barriers to Accessing BC at Georgetown -Sandra Fluke, Georgetown University Law Students for Reproductive Justice

How to Host a Birth Control Clinic in 3 Easy Steps -Emily T. Wolf, Fordham Law Students for Reproductive Justice

Obama Administration Ensures a Wide Range of Contraceptive Insurance Coverage, Even at Religiously-Affiliated Institutions -Women’s Law Project

Birth Control and Government: The Right of Refusal Should Belong to Women -Nancy K. Kaufman, National Council of Jewish Women

Through the Looking Glass on  Contraception Coverage -Debra Ness, National Partnership for Women & Families

For the Sisters -Megan Lieff, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Thank you, Obama, For Standing with ALL Women on Important Health Care Issues -Lacy Langbecker, the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health

Birth Control Matters -Nita Chaudhary and Shaunna Thomas, UltraViolet

Would you let someone make your contraceptive decisions for you? Didn’t think so -Mara Gandal-Powers, National Women’s Law Center


The Highs and Lows on Birth Control Access Coverage -Stephanie Drahan, National Women’s Law Center

Hey Media: It’s about the Health of Women and Families -Leila Abolfazli, National Women’s Law Center


Women of Childbearing Age: Take Your Talents Elsewhere -Jill C. Morrison, National Women’s Law Center

My Health Is Not a Pork Chop -Dania Palanker, National Women’s Law Center

Single 18 year-old female. Desperately seeking affordable and accessible contraception. – Keely Monroe, National Women’s Health Network

NASW Supports HHS Decision on Women’s Rights -National Association of Social Workers

Fight Against the Catholic Attack on Preventative Healthcare for Women -Mallen Urso, National Women’s Political Caucus

The Impact of a Religious Exemption for Birth Control to University Students – Emily T. Wolf, Fordham Law Students for Reproductive Justice

We’re Not Giving Up! – Amy Allina, Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need, National Women’s Health Network

Maryland Women Have a Right to Birth Control -Leni Preston, Maryland Women’s Coalition for Health Care

Critics Get It Wrong on Contraceptive Coverage -Marcia D. Greenberger, National Women’s Law Center

One More Time…- Jill Morrison, National Women’s Law Center

Breaking News: Access to No-Cost Birth Control Secured -Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

What Difference does a Co-Pay Make? Plenty!- Cindy Pearson, Raising Women’s Voices

The Greatest Advance for Women in a Generation- Jean Silver-Isenstadt, MD, PhD, National Physicians Alliance

#Fail on Birth Control from The Washington Post- Thomas Dollar, NARAL Pro-Choice America

Response to Washington Post Criticism of Contraceptive Coverage- Nancy Keenan, NARAL Pro-Choice America

Fight Against an Expanded Religious Exemption that Denies Birth Control Coverage- Dren Asselmeier, Center for Inquiry on Campus

Don’t Boss My Birth Control- Amy Cotton, National Council of Jewish Women

What is So Wrong With Abstinence Education? – Kat Sabine, the Bitch in the house

A Message About Birth Control from the 71% – Meghan Shalvoy, Feminist Majority Foundation

My Employer Shouldn’t Control My Contraception Decisions- Leila Abolfazli, National Women’s Law Center

Should Catholic Bishops Have the Right to Control Your Life?- Janet Hill, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)

Photo from Jim, The Photographer under Creative Commons.

Print | Email | PDF