September
16, 2008 Vol. 14, Issue 12
Speaking
Up is
a project of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Produced by
PR Solutions, Inc.,
CHARGES
FILED AGAINST
The complaint alleges child
labor violations involving 32 youth under age 18; seven of them were
under age 16. State law prohibits employing a child under age 18 in
a meatpacking plant. The children at Agriprocessors allegedly worked
more hours per day and more days per week than the law allows, and
were not paid overtime. The state also alleges that plant managers
concealed the youth during federal and state inspections, and
exposed them to dangerous chemicals.
Most of the youth are
undocumented, and are seeking special U-Visas, allowable under the
Victims of Trafficking and
Violence Prevention Act of 2000, to stay in the
“We are gravely concerned about
the exploitation of women and children in plants like this one when
labor laws are not enforced, and about the human rights violations
that have accompanied some of these raids,” said Family Violence
Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. “Everyone is entitled to
humane treatment and due process, and some of those affected by the
immigration raids around the country have rights under the
Violence Against Women
Act. We continue to ask officials to take all steps
necessary to protect the rights and respect the dignity of all
people.”
Please see the Outreach article
for information on how to help victims of violence, in Postville and
elsewhere, get U-Visa fees waived. More information about
regulations needed on T- and U-Visas is available here.
SHOP FOR A CAUSE AT MACY’S ON SATURDAY
Macy’s and the Family Violence
Prevention Fund (FVPF) are teaming up to prevent domestic and sexual
violence and raise public awareness! Shop For A Cause is a special
one-day-only shopping event that was created by Macy’s and once
again the FVPF is proud to participate. This year’s event takes
place on Saturday, September 20th.
Programs that are not holding
their own local Shop For A
Cause fundraisers can still participate by
purchasing shopping passes to benefit the FVPF. One hundred percent
of ticket sales benefit the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
By purchasing a $5 shopping
pass you are eligible to receive special savings on select
merchandise throughout the store in addition to regular and sale
merchandise specials; and your shopping pass includes a chance to
win a $500 gift card.
The September 20th, all day
limited exclusion savings pass includes:
• 20% off* regular,
sale & clearance women’s, men’s & kids’ apparel &
accessories, fine, bridge & fashion jewelry, bed & bath
items, housewares, frames, luggage, china, crystal & silver, all
kitchen & personal care electrics & technology items.
•
10%* off regular & sale furniture, mattresses & rugs.
•
And opening a Macy’s account will save you an additional 20%
off!
Shop For A
Cause is an easy way to support the Family
Violence Prevention Fund while gaining access to great shopping
benefits! Click here
to purchase tickets or or contact Mindy Nakashima at 415/252-8900,
extension 23 or via email at mindy@endabuse.org.
*Some exclusions apply, click
here
for more details.
OUTREACH
The National Network to End
Violence Against Immigrant Women, co-chaired by the Immigrant
Women's Project at Legal Momentum, Family Violence Prevention Fund,
and ASISTA Immigration Assistance, have issued an alert to encourage
the Department of Homeland Security to get the U fee waiver guidance
completed now. See below for information on how you can help. The
most effective action is asking your Member of Congress to call
Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Chertoff.
The
Problem
The fees for overcoming
inadmissibility and lack of passports are prohibiting many eligible
U crime victims from finishing their applications for status. The
guidance to fix this problem is languishing in the Department of
Homeland Security. The Department needs to issue it now, before the
September deadline many U applicants are facing to file for their
waivers.
What You Can
Do
1) Call Secretary Chertoff,
Department of Homeland Security.
2) Ask your colleagues to do
this, too.
3) Call your Representative and Senators in Congress
and ask them to call Secretary Chertoff as well. You are a voting
constituent and your clients may become voters if their U-visas are
approved.
Secretary Chertoff's Phone
Number
202/282-8495
The
Message
I work with victims of crimes
who have been certified by law enforcement as helpful to their
investigations or prosecutions. (Provide specifics, if helpful, but
be short. You may use trafficking examples, too, if you have been
asked to pay a fee for T
inadmissibility.)
Because of the exorbitant fees
for overcoming inadmissibility and the lack of a passport (again, be
specific here if helpful), these crime victims cannot finish their
applications for status.
These victims need a fee
waiver.
Please issue the guidance today
that would allow them to show why they merit the
waiver.
Thank
you.
NEXT MONTH
IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
Be on the look out for
Speaking Up’s
next issue devoted to Domestic
Violence Awareness Month. As in the past,
Speaking Up will
provide examples of effective public awareness and advocacy events –
news conferences, proclamation signings, candlelight vigils, galas,
marches and more.
We are updating our sample
activities list, and want to hear from you! Has your organization
organized a successful Awareness
Month event? Can it be replicated by others? Would
you be willing to share your experiences with other Speaking Up readers?
If so, please email
Speaking Up
editor Luci Manning at speakingup@prsolutionsdc.com.
Include an event description, details on planning, and how long it
took to organize. Also list your name, your organization and phone
number (we will include contact information in Speaking Up so readers can
contact you for details). Thank you!
POLITICAL
PARTIES ADDRESS VIOLENCE
PREVENTION
Issues relating to domestic and
sexual violence took center stage at the Democratic National
Convention in late August, highlighted by the selection of United
States Senator Joseph Biden (DE) as his party’s vice presidential
candidate. A longtime champion of measures to prevent violence
against women, Senator Biden is an author of the bi-partisan
Violence Against Women
Act and a co-sponsor of the bi-partisan International Violence Against Women
Act.
Senator Biden was nominated as
the Democratic candidate for vice president on Wednesday, August 27,
by Quincy Lucas, whose sister, Witney, was murdered by an
ex-boyfriend. “Violence against women often happens in the shadows,
out of public view,” Lucas said. “I’ve devoted my life to bringing
it into the light. But I can only speak so much. I realize that
sometimes to change lives, you have to change the law.”
“Joe Biden heard my story,” she
continued. “In 1994, he wrote the Violence Against Women Act,
so every woman would have a place to turn for support. He’s
constantly making sure it has the funding it needs. And today,
countless women get a second chance at life because of Joe Biden. So
it is in memory of my sister and in the name of women all across
this country, that I’m proud to place into nomination the name of
Joe Biden to be our next vice president.”
Then Senator Biden’s son, Beau,
who is Delaware’s Attorney General, introduced his father, “When
domestic violence was often a dark secret, Dad wrote the
Violence Against Women
Act, which gave countless women support, protection
and a new chance at life,” he said.
In the video distributed to
supporters immediately after his selection, Senator Biden discussed
his record in Congress and accomplishments, saying, “Most proudly, I
wrote the Violence Against Women
Act.”
Party Platform
The Democratic Party Platform
promises more funds for domestic violence and sexual assault
programs, and to create a special advisor to the President on
violence against women. It says, in part: “Ending violence against
women must be a top priority. We will create a special advisor to
the president regarding violence against women. We will increase
funding to domestic violence and sexual assault prevention programs.
We will strengthen sexual assault and domestic violence laws,
support the Violence Against
Women Act, and provide job security to survivors.
Our foreign policy will be sensitive to issues of aggression against
women around the world.”
It also includes a vow to
expand the Family and Medical
Leave Act to “enable workers to take leave to care
for an elderly parent, address domestic violence and sexual assault,
or attend a parent-teacher conference.”
Its reproductive health care
plank includes a commitment to “end health insurance discrimination
against contraception and provide compassionate care to rape
victims.”
Obama Pledges to Stop Gender
Violence Abroad
Senator Obama’s
campaign website addresses violence against women in the
international context: “The genocide in
Republican Platform Takes
Strong Anti-Trafficking Stance
The
2008 Republican Platform supports stronger measures to end human
trafficking. “Generations after the end of slavery in
“The principle underlying our
Megan’s Law, publicizing the identities of known offenders, should
be extended to international travel in order to protect innocent
children everywhere,” it continues.
The Republican Platform also
claims that faith-based organizations “tend to have a greater degree
of success than others in dealing with problems such as substance
abuse and domestic violence.” It supports mandatory sentencing
provisions for crimes including violent or sexual offenses against
children and rape, urging that gang rape, child rape, and rape
committed in the course of another felony “deserve, at the least,
mandatory life imprisonment.”
Read more about
Catholic dioceses are
increasingly responsive to domestic violence, according to a survey
released in advance of Domestic
Violence Awareness Month. In the survey, 35 dioceses
and archdioceses described their initiatives to help victims of
domestic violence. Many report collaborating with community agencies
to offer resources and assistance, and 31 of the 35 say they provide
links to community resources like safe houses and counseling
services. A majority also offer clergy education and advocacy for
victims and their children.
Diocesan programs have grown
steadily over the past 16 years, following publication of the
Bishops’ document, “When I Call for Help” which outlines the
church’s position and responsibilities toward those affected by
domestic violence. To read “When
I Call for Help,” click here.
In the survey, the Bishops
said, “Many abused women seek help first from the Church because
they see it as a safe place.”
“Domestic violence prevention
remains a high priority for the Church,” said Sheila Garcia,
Associate Director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’
Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. “We did the
survey with the hope that dioceses could benefit from each other
about what’s working.”
The survey, “Diocesan Responses
to Domestic Violence, was conducted last spring. To read the complete results, click here.
A BELOVED
PIONEER PASSES
Del Martin, a courageous and
visionary leader who helped shape the movement to end domestic
violence in the
In 1976, long before domestic
violence was a household term, Martin wrote a groundbreaking book,
Battered Wives.
It did an enormous amount to increase awareness and put the issue
before the public, as well as to open people’s eyes to the role that
misogyny and destructive social norms play in perpetuating
abuse.
Martin was the keynote speaker
at the first conference the Family Violence Prevention Fund ever
held, and a deeply engaged strategic advisor. “
Later in life, Martin became a
nationally respected advocate for gay rights. On June 16, she and
Phyllis Lyon, her life partner of 55 years, were the first couple to
wed in
“Del Martin’s impact on this
movement, and this country, will be felt for generations,” Soler
added. “She was an inspiration to so many of us. Her legacy includes
a movement that is stronger and more effective, and a nation that is
infinitely more committed to ending domestic violence, because of
her life’s work. I don’t think the world will ever know a more
dedicated and effective champion for equality.”
IN THE
NEWS
MILITARY –
Suicides of active soldiers are on pace to surpass last year’s
total, which was an all-time record, Army officials told the
Washington Post,
saying that failed relationships, legal and financial problems, and
stress associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are linked
to the 93 suicides so far this year. Last year, 115 active-duty
soldiers committed suicide. A separate report from the Department of
Veterans Affairs finds that suicide rates among young, male
CA –
Last month, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a law requiring judges to
explain their reasons for denying temporary restraining orders in
domestic violence cases. Assemblyman Jose Solorio championed the
bill, out of concern that some courts were “rubber stamping” denials
of restraining orders. He told the California Chronicle,
“Victims of domestic violence need to know why their temporary
restraining orders are denied.” The California Judicial Council also
recommended the legislation.
CA –
The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that sexual assaults
that leave victims pregnant may be punished more severely than
assaults that do not result in pregnancy. The ruling is from the
case of a 13-year-old-girl who was repeatedly raped by her
step-father, who then forced her to have an abortion. The girl’s
pregnancy was considered by the court to be a “great bodily injury.”
Justice Carol Corrigan wrote, “Because pregnancy must result in
childbirth, miscarriage or abortion, its infliction during a sexual
assault is, by definition, a substantial or significant injury,” the
Los Angeles
Times reports.
TN –
Public criticism helped convince the Davidson County Sheriff’s
Department to reverse its policy of restraining pregnant inmates
during trips to court and the hospital. The Department was
criticized for shackling and handcuffing Juana Villegas, who had
been arrested for careless driving, after she went into labor.
Villegas also was shackled to the hospital bed during part of her
delivery. Sheriff Daron Hall reversed the policy, noting that his
department “may have been doing a little more than may be necessary
in every case.” It will now use restraints only if there is credible
information that the inmate may try to escape, reports The Tennessean.
TX –
The first federal judge to be changed with sex crimes will continue
hearing cases unless Congress impeaches him or a higher court places
him on leave, KHOU reports. U.S. District
Judge Samuel B. Kent has been charged with abusive sexual contact
and aggravated sexual abuse by a former employee. He has been
reprimanded and suspended for four months, and federal investigators
are looking into the case. Judge
INTERNATIONAL –
The International Criminal Court issued an appeal for money for the
new Victims Trust Fund, Associated Press reports. The
funds will be used to help some 1.7 million women and girls who have
suffered sexual violence and rape in wars in the
IN THEIR
OWN WORDS
“We do not question the right
and duty of our government to enforce immigration laws. We do
question whether work-site enforcement raids, involving hundreds of
law enforcement officials using weapons, are effective and most
importantly, humane. It is our view that the answer is no… What
these actions [raids at a textile plant in
---John C. Wester,
Chairman of the
“The Federal Trafficking and Victims Protection Act of 2000 was an ambitious attempt to rescue women and children who are smuggled into the country as sex slaves and to step up prosecution of the pimps and traffickers who drive this ghastly business. It has fallen short on both counts… The House reauthorization would help prosecutions by adding the Mann Act’s somewhat easier-to-prove standards that calls for prosecution of pimps who ‘persuade, induce, entice’ women into prostitution… The social service groups that help prostitutes on the streets have zero