California NOW

DV Awareness Event in Sac, October 1st

Sunday Comics

The strip Between Friends did a week-long series of strips on how to help a friend in an abusive relationship. (Click each strip for full-size.) Not the sort of thing usually tackled by a daily comic strip. Tell the strip's creator thank you for bringing attention to the issue!

Victory For Mother Who Fought to Protect Her Children From Abuse

The story of Holly Collins has become a rallying point for the movement to expose the deeply flawed family law system and its failure to protect women and children from family violence. Collins just returned to the U.S. after 14 years in hiding with her children. She went into hiding with her children following a custody battle that put the children in the custody of an abusive father. Despite warnings from doctors, social workers and psychologists that the children were at risk in their father’s care, the family court judge ordered the children be placed in the father’s custody. After a year, and continued reports of abuse, Holly Collins-- desperate to protect her children--took the children and fled with them, ending up eventually in the Netherlands. There they were provided with asylum after an international court found it would be too dangerous for the children to return, and Holly was declared a human rights refugee. When the FBI located the Collins in 2006 to pursue federal kidnapping charges against Holly, the Netherlands refused to extradite her, and the charges were later dropped. But, the local authorities in Minnesota refused to drop the charges. Then, after constant pressure from politicians, organizations and Jennifer Collins' own efforts, Alan Rosenfeld, Collins' attorney was informed just weeks ago that if Collins came and turned herself in, the charges would be dropped.

Budget Crunch Hurts OC Women's Shelter

The Women's Transitional Living Center in Orange was caught in the state budget stalemate, and is waiting for $270,000 in payments from the state. The shelter has already lost $300,000 in funding, and has been forced to layoff 19 staff members.

Today, only days from being forced to close due to lack of funding, the shelter sought emergency short-term funding from the County Board of Supervisors. County Supervisor Chris Norby tried to get the shetler on the agenda Tuesday but was denied by Supervisors’ Chairman John Moorlach, and his attempts to address the shelter funding as an emergency item were not supported by other supervisors. TLC Executive Director Rocio Watson was told to come back in two weeks for the next supervisors' meeting.

“I hope we are here on Oct. 7,” she said.

The WTLC shelter houses more than 120 women and children who are victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. They have provided emergency shelter, transitional housing, advocacy and legal services to thousands of victims from throughout Southern California for more than 30 years.

"If we can't keep our doors open, the money that has been collected will be used to pay for hotel rooms for the victims until other housing is located," Watson said.

Thank Supervisor Norby for his efforts, and urge him to keep trying to help the shelter obtain temporary funding.
Tell Chairman John Moorlach his inaction is inexcusable.
Tell Vice Chair Patricia Gates, Supervisor Bill Campbell, and Supervisor Janet Nguyen to take action to save the shelter immediately, and let them know you are disappointed in their inaction.
Make a tax-deductible donations directly on their web site, or mail a check payable to WTLC, P.O. Box 6103, Orange, 92863.

More Reasons to Vote No on 4

A new report by Child Trends found that approximately 18 percent of women aged 18 to 24 years old report having experienced forced sexual intercourse at least once in their lives.

The fact is, young women are more likely to be assaulted. Most young adult women report being age 16 or younger at the time of first forced sexual intercourse, including 13% who were age 11 or younger, 15% who were ages 12-14, and 30% who were ages 15-16. Moreover, they are more likely to experience reproductive coercion including birth control sabotage, refusal to accept birth control use, or other attempts to force pregnancy. Read more on the reproductive health consequences of intimate partner violence from the Family Violence Prevention Fund.

A pregnant teen already in a dangerous situation doesn't need the restrictions of Prop. 4. Most teens do go to their parents when faced with an unintended pregnancy. But teens in crisis need options.

Wednesday Video: Violence Against Women and Self-Defense

Excerpts from "A Passion for Justice" on violence against women and self-defense. Includes segments with Eve Ensler, Lateefah Simon and Helen Grieco.

Prop. 4 is Dangerous: Pass It On!

Californians have made themselves clear -- by saying “NO!” twice in the past three years to dangerous parental-notification ballot initiatives. But anti-choice forces won’t give up and have placed a similar initiative, Prop 4, on November’s ballot.

Like Props 73 and 85 before it, Prop 4 would put our most vulnerable teens at risk. It would prohibit young women from obtaining an abortion without government-mandated parental notification -- unless they go to court. And this law goes even further than Props 73 and 85 by expanding liability for doctors who provide care for teens!

Many teens won't, and some simply cannot, turn to their parents when facing an unintended pregnancy -- even if politicians tell them they must.  Put simply, this initiative delays critical counseling and medical care for our teens.

After the jump, read a letter from a school counselor on how Prop. 4 puts our most vulnerable teens in danger, and see what you can do to stop Prop. 4 and protect California teens.

No On Prop. 4 Website Launches

CA NOW Strongly Opposes Proposition 4 and is working with our allies and the Campaign for Teen Safety to encourage voters to vote NO On Prop 4! Proposition 4 threatens teen safety by mandating parental notification prior to a minor terminating a pregnancy. Parents rightfully want to be involved in their teenagers' lives and we want our daughters to come to us if they become pregnant, and most do. But in the real world, laws like this don’t work. Prop 4 can't force teens to talk to their parents, but it may force them to do something desperate and dangerous.

Go to the No On Prop 4 website and see how you can help protect teen safety

Sign the Pledge to Vote No on Prop 4!.
Sign up to be a No on Prop 4 Volunteer.
Learn more about how Prop 4 threatens teen safety.
Attend a local No on Prop 4 Event!.
Donate to the Campaign for Teen Safety.

Sacramento NOW Turns Fear Into Action

Upon hearing about a series of sexual assaults in the hip and sassy part of Sacramento known fondly to locals as “midtown,” the Sacramento chapter of the National Organization for Women took matters into their own hands…or fists, as it were.  The chapter decided to take a pro-active approach to the terrible news and host a self-defense workshop taught by well-known self-defense instructor Midge Marino.  The chapter blocked off the street at 24th and E, one of the sites where an attack took place, to teach women in the community to fight back and to symbolically reclaim the space as safe.

The class was offered at a sliding scale donation basis and was attended by a number of women in the community, women of all ages and backgrounds.  Even Mayor Heather Fargo was there showing her support (as always!) for women in the Sacramento community and being a positive, present resource for safety in Sacramento.  Their efforts earned them a spot on the nightly news on all four local stations.

Author Who Broke the Silence Around Incest, Louise Armstrong, Has Died

Feminist author Louise Armstrong, author of the groundbreaking book Kiss Daddy Goodnight: A Speak Out On Incest, has died*.

Armstrong was one of the first writers to expose and analyze the issue of incest, and wrote several books on women and sexuality, including Of 'Sluts' and 'Bastards': A Feminist Decodes the Child Welfare Debate , Rocking the Cradle of Sexual Politics, What Happened When Women Said Incest, and The Home Front, Notes from the Family War Zone.

Armstrong took on tough topics and helped bring them--most notably incest--out of the darkness and into the light in order for it to be properly addressed by the feminist movement. The speaking out on this issue was a radical step towards addressing abuse and healing the women who survive it, and Armstrong's work was pivotal to that step.

*I haven't found any news of Armstrong's death anywhere in the mainstream media, but heard it through a group working to address domestic violence and sexual abuse.