UPDATE: California SB967

And we have great news...California legislature passes YES Means YES Sexual Consent Bill!!!

The Senate unanimously passed SB967 as states and universities across the U.S. are below pressure to alter how they manage rape allegations. The bill now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not indicated his stance on the bill. Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, stated his bill would start a paradigm shift in how California campuses avoid and investigate sexual assault. Rather than utilizing the refrain no signifies no,the definition of consent below the bill needs affirmative, unambiguous and conscious choice by each celebration to engage in sexual activity.

Advocates for victims of sexual assault supported the alter as a single that will supply consistency across campuses and challenge the notion that victims have to have resisted assault in order to have valid complaints. Some critics say the legislation is overreaching and sends universities into murky, unfamiliar legal waters. The bill would apply to all California post-secondary schools, public and private, that obtain state money for student economic aid. The California State University and University of California systems are backing the legislation after adopting comparable consent standards this year.

The bill also requires colleges and universities to adopt victim-centered sexual-assault response policies and implement complete applications to avoid assault. The bill passed the state Assembly on Monday by a 52-16 vote. The 23-campus Cal State University endorsed the legislation in an Aug. 25 letter to de Leon.
Read the full article here...



Source: Daily News

Yes Means Yes and No Means No

California Senate Bill 967

What Does It Mean???

This bill requires the governing boards of post-secondary institutions in the state to adopt policies concerning campus sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The governing boards must adopt detailed and victim-centered sexual assault policies and protocols based on best practices and current professional standards including an affirmative consent standard in the determination of whether consent was given by a complainant. At a minimum, the policies and protocols must include: a policy statement on how the institution will protect the confidentiality of victims, an initial officer response to a report of sexual assault, a preliminary victim interview and followup interview, an interview with the accused, medical forensic examinations and coordination with the forensic examiner, participation of victim advocates, and procedures for anonymous reporting of sexual assault. The bill requires these governing boards to adopt certain sexual assault policies and protocols, and requires the governing boards, to the extent feasible, to enter into memoranda of understanding or other agreements with on-campus and community-based organizations to make services available to victims. The bill also requires the governing boards to implement comprehensive prevention programs addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. A comprehensive prevention program includes a range of prevention strategies, including, but not limited to, women’s empowerment programming, awareness raising campaigns, primary prevention, bystander intervention, and risk reduction.



Source: ALICE Law

Women's Equality Day 2014

Source: Twitter

What Is Women's Equality Day???

What is Women’s Equality Day?

At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.”

The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities.

Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971
Designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.


Source: National Women's History Project

Wendy Davis Wants to End Statute of Limitations on Sexual Assault & Rape

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis proposed ending the state’s statute of limitations on sexual assault at a press conference on Wednesday, during which she criticized opponent Greg Abbott for failing to advocate for rape victims. Davis presented the proposal as an expansion of her past legislative efforts on behalf of sexual assault survivors, following up on a recent statewide attack ad on Abbott accusing him of “siding with a corporation over a rape victim.”

"To turn around and make survivors pay the price for our failure ... is almost criminal in itself" says Davis.

Read the full article here...

New Birth Control Rules for Non-Profits

The new accommodation will allow religious nonprofits, such as Catholic schools and hospitals, to opt out of covering birth control by notifying the Department of Health and Human Services of their objections. HHS and the Department of Labor will then arrange for a third-party insurer to pay for and administer the coverage for the nonprofits' employees so that women still receive the contraceptive coverage guaranteed to them by the Affordable Care Act.

“Women across the country deserve access to recommended preventive services that are important to their health, no matter where they work,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. “Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to providing women with access to coverage for contraception, while respecting religious considerations raised by non-profit organizations and closely held for-profit companies."

The original accommodation required religious nonprofits to directly ask a third-party insurer to pay for and administer the contraception coverage if the nonprofit objected to covering it. But several nonprofits sued the administration over the rule, claiming that the act of filling out a form violated their religious beliefs by serving as a "permission slip" for its employees to use contraceptives.

The administration developed the new accommodation to pre-empt those lawsuits, which legal experts expected the Supreme Court to take up next year. The court already ruled in June against the administration's contraception coverage rule, which requires most employers to cover the full range of 20 contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration at no out-of-pocket cost to women. The court decided that closely-held for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby, a craft-supply store owned by a family of Christians, should be able to opt out of covering birth control for religious reasons.

Read the full article here...

Video: Hobyy Lobby Protest (San Francisco)

This video is from the Hobby Lobby protest on 7/3/14 at Union Square in San Francisco, California organized by W.O.R.D and also features our very own Kesha Johnson-Clark. Thank you to all who marched there and continue to support the movement!!!

Speaker Series: Sexual Assault Awareness Part 1

Kesha Johnson-Clark, August 2014
Kesha is the founder of SisterHood, Inc (a grassroots organization), a Business professional, a writer, poet and spoken word artist (Independent Grrl Recordings)


When is rape[1] justified? Is there such a case where the rapist is given just cause for their violent actions? First, let's be clear rape is a crime. There are more than 80,000[a] rape cases in the U.S. reported each year yet 3.4 million[b] more go unreported while 18% of those reported get convictions which may be a direct result to defective rape kits[c].

Classified as a major crime or a felony[d], rape as sexual assault[2] is the UNWANTED, UNSOLICITED, NON-CONSENTED, horrific and violent act of forced sexual intercourse including penal to vaginal penetration, penal to anus penetration as some cases may also include UNWANTED, UNSOLICITED, NON-CONSENTED oral, finger penetration or oral, vaginal and anus penetration by various objects with or without protection from disease and unwanted pregnancies. The "aggressor" can be male or female. The "victim" can be male or female. The "rape act" can be male to male, female to female, adult[3] to child[4], child to child, adult to adult. Those self identified as straight, gay or bisexual can be an aggressor or a victim. Those who self identified as transgender can be an aggressor or a victim.

Those who were previously, currently or who have never been sexually active can be victims or an aggressor. A person of any race/ethnic background can be an aggressor or victim. A person of any financial or socio-economical status can be an aggressor or a victim. A person with or without mental or physical impairments (aka disability[5] or slower functionality than) can be an aggressor or a victim. A person who is celibate[6], single, married, a parent with several or a newly expecting parent or dating be it casually or serious, long tern relationship can be either. A person of any age can be a victim while in some cases the aggressor may be younger than the victim.

Rape can happen at night, early morning or midday afternoon. Rape can happen to a person when they wear a dress, a skirt, shorts or a pair of jeans. Rape can happen when a person has long silky hair, dread locs or a bald head, with or without make-up on. Rape can take place at home, school, work, church or a designated place of worship, a friend or relatives house, a party or concert venue, when a person is alone or in close proximity to other people. Rape can happen on a date, in a car, at a park or in a back alley.

The rapist can be short or tall, overweight or slim, very attractive or not too good looking at all, pale or dark skinned, socially popular and well liked or a loner and social outcast just as the victim. Either can be a known drug addict, a closet junkie or clean and sober, a person with a degree of any kind or without a high school diploma or GED, working in any field or totally unemployed. They can be of any faith, religion or political affiliation. Regardless of the actions of family members or relative history or neighborhood reputations and gossip, they can also be either. And both can be someone you know or a complete stranger.

During the 1970s the first rape crisis center was established in San Francisco. In a two-year period, 1.1 million women were raped[7] with 21.6% of those cases, the victim was the age 12 or younger[8]


Part 1 of When is Rape Justified is complete. This series will continue shortly...


Reference
1. RAINN
a. Rape Statistics
b. Rape and Sexual Assault, Bureau of Justice Statistics
c. Rape Kits
d. Felonies
2. UCSC Title IX/Sexual Harrassment Offcie
3. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition
4. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition
5. Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition
6. Word Reference definitiona and usage
7. Rape and Sexual Assault
8. Rape and Sexual Assault



Related Research
Marital Rape, 1978
Rape and Sexual Assault, Medical University of South Carolina
Rape Is Grossly Underreported in the U.S., Huffington Post 2013
If We Want to Take Sexual Assault Seriously, We Need to Test Thousands of Rape Kits First, 2013