They make a pill for that! (But they might not give it to you)

by Jessica Hille

You can’t watch TV without seeing a commercial for a pill of some kind. Some help you sleep. Some help you stay awake. Some make you stop sneezing. Some make you enjoy sitting in a bathtub in your back yard (apparently). Pills for men and women, like decongestants, and pills specifically for men, like the famous/infamous Little Blue Pill, are generally accepted without much controversy in our well-medicated society. Pills specifically for women, however, spark intense debate and inspire strict government regulation.

Consider the provisions in the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) that require health insurers to cover all FDA-approved contraception, making it available in many cases without a copay.  This long overdue policy should be a no-brainer.  Instead, it’s being challenged in dozens of lawsuits across the country.  The fact that access to contraception has been shown again and again to improve maternal and infant health and lower teen birth rates seems irrelevant to those who continue to view women primarily as wives and mothers. (Note: There is NOTHING wrong with being a wife and/or a mother. The problem comes in the requirement.)   

Then there are the ongoing battles over providing over-the-counter access to Plan B.  In 2011, the Obama administration announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would overrule the FDA’s recommendation to allow over-the-counter sales for Plan B without age restrictions.  The Administration’s perplexing stance received the criticism it deserved. In April 2013, a federal judge ordered the FDA to make Plan B available over the counter without age restrictions, saying the restrictions are “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.”  The Obama administration dropped their appeal of the decision just this week.

In Louisiana, the state legislature just passed a bill to ban what anti-choice extremists are calling “telemed” abortions, where doctors prescribe drugs used for medication abortions by video call. The restriction will make it much harder for women who live far from the state’s three cities with abortion clinics.

And now there’s the so-called “female Viagra,” a drug being developed to stimulate a woman’s sex drive. All these pills for women, dealing with sex and its consequences, evoke tremendous responses both in support and opposition. Some believe that contraception, particularly when combined with libido enhancers for women, will lead to promiscuity, lack of romance, and the end of civilization as we know it. If the robots and the zombies don’t get us first, sex-crazed, babyless women certainly will.  

Here’s a simple idea:  Women deserve to be able to access safe, effective medications that are integral to their health and their ability to control when and if to have a baby. Women, like men, also deserve fulfilling sex lives they can enjoy for a lifetime without being labeled unnatural nymphomaniacs. For health care and justice, we need a refill. 

Jessica Hille just finished her internship with Legal Voice.  She's just finished up her LLM inLaw and Policy at the University of Washington-Seattle. She is moving to Bloomington, Indiana to start a PhD in Gender Studies this fall and hopes to use her legal and advocacy background to promote gender equality and reproductive justice theory and policies.

50 Years of the Equal Pay Act: We’ve Had Enough of Not Enough

What would you do with an extra $11,000 a year?

Because if you are a woman, on average, $11,084 is how much less you make than a man doing the same job.  In other words, a woman is paid 77 cents for every dollar a man is paid for the same work.  And Seattle has the dubious distinction of the largest pay gap among the U.S.’s 50 top metropolitan areas; Seattle area women are paid only 73 cents for every dollar.

It’s been fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law.  At the glacial pace at which the wage gap has been shrinking – just a half-cent per year – it will take nearly another fifty years to close the wage gap.

We’ve had enough of not enough.

Today, we at Legal Voice call for action to end the practices and close the loopholes in existing laws that contribute to women making on average only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.  We and a coalition of other organizations are kicking off the Equal Pay Today! Campaign to work toward eliminating these practices that contribute to the wage gap:

• Less pay for the same job: Women are paid less than men in nearly every occupation.  Studies that show women were offered fewer job opportunities and lower pay, even when they had identical resumes as men.   To close the wage gap we must address discrimination in pay and promotions on the same job.

• Job segregation: Sex role stereotypes lead to women being segregated into female-dominated jobs such as retail sales, home health care, and child care – jobs that pay low wages and are often part-time.  Women remain under-represented in higher paying work traditionally done by men, such as construction, fire-fighting and policing.

• Retaliation against workers for discussing their pay:  Today, a majority of employees are either prohibited or actively discouraged from discussing their pay.   Policies preventing employees from sharing pay information keep women in the dark about pay differences, limiting their ability to negotiate for higher pay and to enforce their rights under the equal pay laws.

• Pay reductions due to pregnancy and caregiving responsibilities.  Women experience diminished income throughout their working lives.  Employers pay women less from the moment of hire, deprive women of opportunities to advance, or pushed them out of work altogether by failing to accommodate needs that may arise for women as a result of pregnancy and caregiving.

• Wage theft:  Being paid less than the minimum wage, being shorted hours, being forced to work off the clock, not being paid overtime, and not being paid at all are pervasive practices across many industries.  Women, especially immigrant women in low-wage jobs, are often the hardest hit by wage theft.

The number of Equal Pay Act claims has not declined over the past 15 years, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that investigates such charges.  So while the Equal Pay Act is great to have in our arsenal, it’s not enough to simply have it on the books if employers' practices continue to violate it.

As an initial step toward more comprehensive change, we’ve asked all 50 state governors to commit to work to close the wage gap in his or her state.  If you agree with us that it’s time for equal pay to be a reality, and not just a promise, join us and sign up here to be a part of the Equal Pay Today! Campaign.

Because who among us couldn’t use an extra $11,000 per year, after all?

26,000

by Bethany Kirk

That's the number of sexual assaults that the Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military estimates occurred in 2012. Here’s another: 3,374. That’s the number of sexual assault reports in 2012, up from 3,119 (2011) and 3,158 (2010), but not much higher than the 3,230 reported in 2009. It’s horrifying how many people were sexually assaulted, but it’s also appalling how few were reported. The underreporting is disturbing, but not surprising when you see the news: an officer in charge of a sexual assault prevention program being arrested for sexual assault; the Air Force chief of staff saying that the increase in military rape is a result of the “hook-up mentality” of young women; the fact that only 238 assailants were convicted last year.  The New York Times reports that sexual assaults at the three top military academies are at record numbers and that studies have shown sexual trauma to be the leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder among servicewomen. All this after years of promises to step up enforcement and reform military culture. 

Proposals like independent prosecutors, special victim’s counsels, and ending the power of senior commanders to unilaterally dismiss verdicts are a start, but woefully inadequate to addressing larger, cultural problems within the military.

When my friend, Sarah Garcia, joined the military upon graduating from college, I was concerned for her safety. But I was concerned about attacks from insurgents, not attacks from her comrades. It wasn’t long before I had new concerns. Expectations that she had to be either a “cold bitch” or a “slut.” The seeming inevitability of being groped or worse. The calculations involved with a decision to report –personal safety, careers, privacy, desire for justice. This combination of tense expectation with a casual sense of “cost of doing business” is indictment of a military culture that is beyond the aid of mere structural changes.

The thing is, though the military may be an intense example, the “military sexual assault crisis” is seen at all levels of our society. Nationally, almost 20% of women report experiencing rape at some time in their lives. Approximately 54% of sexual assaults are unreported. Out of every 100 cases of rape, only 9 are prosecuted.  The recent Department of Justice report on the University of Montana shows that blame and disbelief often assault survivors. Prominent politicians imbue uteruses with magical abilities to fight off “legitimate” rape.

The internet trolls (and some members of Congress) may see the Department of Defense report as an example of why women should not serve in the military but it appears that our culture does not want women serving in any part of society.  This is not just a military problem – this is a United States problem. And we owe it to ourselves to do better.

Bethany Kirk is a legal intern at Legal Voice. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Settle University and will receive a law degree from the University of Washington in 2014.

Photo Credit here.

Pregnant and Parenting Teens’ Right to an Education

by Jessica Hille

Article IX of the Washington State constitution makes the state responsible for providing education to youth in the state. But for teens who must balance pregnancy or child care with school, this promise of public education for all students may go unfulfilled. Students who become pregnant still face a number of obstacles particular to their situation as student-parents. These include balancing school and parenting time, limited access to health and child care, stigma, bullying, and discrimination.

When their schools are unable or unwilling to support them and their needs as pregnant or parenting teens, some students turn to alternative schools like South Lake High School in South Seattle. The school offers several programs for non-traditional high school students, including the Graduation Reality and Dual-Role Skills (GRADS), an in-school secondary program for pregnant and parenting teens to learn child care skills while finishing high school. The GRADS curriculum includes information on topics like economic independence, interpersonal relationships, and healthy families. Some traditional high schools in and around Seattle also offer GRADS courses, encouraging pregnant and parenting students to stay in school. South Lake High School also offers a free daycare center where babies and young children can stay while their parents are in class. Mothers can learn hands-on parenting skills and even be excused from class to breastfeed. Not all schools have a GRADS program, however, and the SLHS program is relatively small: the whole school’s capacity is 200.

Though programs like GRADS can be beneficial, schools cannot force students into alternate programs or schools. If students do choose to take this route, the schooling they receive must be at least as good as traditional courses offered by the high school. According to a 2012 report from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), many states do not have clear or comprehensive policies that protect teen parents and encourage them to finish high school. The report ranks Washington 16^th in the country terms of state policies that protect the rights of pregnant and parenting students.

The Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act was introduced in 2011 to protect students’ rights, but the bill has yet to make any progress in Congress. To encourage support and raise awareness among your elected representatives, you can send them a copy of the NWLC report.

The bottom line:  Pregnant and parenting students have the right to stay in school, participate in activities, and do make up work for missed classes. Discriminating against them is sex discrimination, which is illegal – not to mention wrong and shortsighted. All students have a right to a good education, regardless of their family situation. All students deserve the opportunity to succeed and the support they need. Helping pregnant teens and young parents stay in school gives them a better chance to go to college, start a career, and be good role models for their children. Depriving them of these opportunities serves no one – not the student, their children, or their community. Schools and legislators must develop better policies to more thoroughly protect students’ rights and help them become healthy, happy, educated adults.   

Jessica Hille is a legal intern at Legal Voice. She has a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis and will receive a Masters in Law in Health Law and Policy from University of Washington this spring.

To learn more about South Lake High School, including volunteer opportunities, visit their website. More information about GRADS is available through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

photo credit here

Small Steps Forward in the Uphill Battle Against Sexual Violence Can Make a Big Difference.

by Caitlin Zittkowski

In ancient Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king condemned by the gods for all eternity to roll a boulder up the side of a mountain, only to have it roll back down again when he neared the mountain's peak. The gods sentenced Sisyphus to this task because "there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor."

Sisyphus' struggle has been in the back of my mind as I have read news articles about the recent rash of sexual violence incidents. Those dedicated to combating sexual assault appear to be engaged in a similarly never-ending effort. Just as advocates seem to be nearing the summit, making progress against the occurrence of these tragedies, we discover another appalling event, the boulder backslides, and we are forced to begin again.

Within the past couple weeks alone, two such stories have come to light. Rehtaeh Parsons and Audrie Pott, two teenage girls who lived thousands of miles apart, both hanged themselves after allegedly being sexually assaulted by groups of teenage boys and subsequently suffered through having humiliating photos of the incidents circulated online. Though social media can provide proof to back up sexual assault accusations, such as in the Steubenville rape case, tipping the scales in what could be a deadlocked he-said, she-said situation, it also provides an avenue for bullying, turning sexual violence survivors into social pariahs.

And unfortunately this wave of sexual violence has not been confined to high schoolers. Recent congressional hearings concerning how the military has handled sexual assault among service members, spurred by incidents such as an Air Force commander throwing out a fighter pilot's sexual assault conviction, has shed light on this widespread but often unseen problem. In fact, women serving in combat zones are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by the enemy. In response to accusations that the military's autonomy has led to a lack of accountability, the Pentagon has proposed an overhaul of the court-martial system for prosecuting service members.

Though the Pentagon's proposal is a positive step, reports of sexual violence still churn up feelings of frustration and helplessness. Sexual assault ripples outward from those who survive it, affecting their family, friends, and community. But what can we do when we are seemingly surrounded by an onslaught of potential perpetrators and an often unresponsive legal system? People are angry, but fortunately anger can breed action, and because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, now is the perfect time to take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to tackling sexual violence. So here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Examine your own behavior. Objectively assess your own actions and words. Are your actions (or inactions) somehow contributing to a society in which sexual assault is commonplace? Even something as simple as commenting on how someone dresses without thinking about how such a remark could be interpreted (or not putting someone else who makes inappropriate comments in check) could be fostering an atmosphere that discourages sexual assault survivors from seeking support.

2. If you have children, you can prevent sexual violence by talking to them early and often about these issues. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center has steps materials to help you start.

3. Support (or start) a group in your community working to effect change. If you are in the Seattle area, you could attend a screening of The Invisible War, a documentary about sexual violence in the U.S. military, at in Mobius Hall at Cascadia Community College on May 2nd at 6:00 PM. The Kirkland-Redmond branch of the American Association of University Women is sponsoring the event, and they are looking for volunteers to greet attendees and staff an information table.

By taking even small steps, we can chip away at the boulder-sized problem sexual violence poses. Increasing awareness of the sexual assault epidemic will hopefully motivate more people to help push the rock up the mountain, making it more likely that we will one day reach the top. 

Caitlin Zittkowski is a former legal extern and current fan of Legal Voice.