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Dear Friends,
This March we celebrated Women's History Month and the countless contributions and achievements of women throughout history. This month we reflected on the often overlooked achievements women, especially women of color, have made and how they inspire and enable us to continue to make change. We thank the women who have made it possible for us to continue in their footsteps fighting for gender justice and equality today. This month we also had some exciting action as an organization. First, we highlighted the importance of youth leadership through our New Jersey Youth Advisory Board presenting at the NGO CSW Forum. Second, we released a new report focusing on the effect of the overturn of Roe v. Wade on girls, young women and gender-expansive young people of color. Lastly, IMPACT (Invincible Mamas Pushing Action & Change Together) started a National Advocacy Alliance to come together to build a collective power of young moms who share the same passion. Through these activities and more, we continued to uphold our mission of achieving social, economic, and political justice with and for girls, women and gender-expansive young people, and we look forward to continuing to do so for many years to come.
National Crittenton
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The New Jersey Justice Collaborative For Girls* Youth Advisory Board presented at the NGO CSW Forum
The New Jersey Justice Collaborative For Girls* Youth Advisory Board hosted a live virtual panel to discuss how movements can be authentically youth driven. The NGO CSW Forum is the civil society gathering that runs parallel to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The webinar was a success and it was so inspiring to listen as members of the Youth Advisory Board shared their experiences in their own New Jersey organizing work and what they hope other youth-centered movements will embody. To watch the recording of the panel click here!
We released a new report. - In Our Words: The Impact of the Overturning of Roe V Wade on Girls, Young Women and Gender Expansive Young People of Color
The fragility of our democracy is most deeply experienced by the people pushed to the margins of our society. People of color, trans people, disabled, and poor communities have always been the most susceptible to oppression at the hands of the very systems that should be supporting them. Yet, any person in the United States who has ever felt concern about pregnancy, maternal and fetal healthcare, birthing, and caregiving has known that reproductive justice has teetered on the edge of collapse depending on who we are, where we live, our income–all of which determine our access to sex and health education, preventative care, and mental health support and services. So much of our history and too much of our present is mired in control–of our bodies; the books and curricula we can access; professional opportunities that lead to generational wealth; the basic human rights of guaranteed housing and healthcare–by people who are well-protected by systems and institutions that were created with their safety, dignity, comfort, and privilege in mind.
What rarely happens is asking those most impacted by policy what they think, what it means for their lives, and how we can and should do better. National Crittenton has a long history of addressing root causes in systems change, and centering the communities most impacted by systems doing harm. In Our Words curates the reproductive justice conversation among girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people of color who are already parenting, who are not yet ready to parent, who need healthcare simply because it is a necessity, and who will not remain silent as their most basic human rights are stripped away by people in positional power so far removed from the reality of their lives and the needs of their communities. Read the report here and sign up for the webinar Thursday April 13th here!
IMPACT started a National Advocacy Alliance
The IMPACT National Advocacy Alliance is a national alliance consciously centered on young mothers, birth givers, and their families. Their goal is to come together and build a collective power of young mamas who share the same passion. The Alliance will focus on actively advocating for change, especially when it comes to broken systems and policies that affect young families and their communities; they will do this alongside each other, the IMPACT Steering Committee members, and advocates and allies that align themselves with us.
As an Alliance member, you will be provided with training, webinars, leadership opportunities, and chances to participate in committees, panels, and other advocacy efforts. We will work to create and connect with regional, and local young mom networks and organizations so we can further our advocacy efforts and collaborate with like-minded people. This will be a place where we can exchange resources, collaborate, troubleshoot, and create new efforts.
This is a collaborative effort between National Crittenton and the IMPACT Steering Committee (SC). Invincible Mamas Pushing for Action and Change Together (IMPACT) is a national network developed and led by young mothers from across the country. Through the power of lived experience and community voice, the network is committed to identifying and eradicating biased policies and broken systems that were designed to hinder parents’ ability to support their children. To learn more and/or apply for the Advocacy Alliance click here!
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UN Commission calls for closing the gender digital divide
U.S. News - 3.18.23
The U.N.’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality on Saturday called for wide-ranging efforts to close the gap between men and women in today’s technology-driven world and urged zero tolerance for gender-based violence and harassment online.
In a document approved by consensus after all-night negotiations at the end of a two-week meeting, the Commission on the Status of Women expressed grave concern at the interrelation between offline and online violence, harassment and discrimination against women and girls, and it condemned the increase in these acts.
It called for a significant increase in investments by the public and private sector to bridge the gender digital divide. It also called for the removal of barriers to equal access to digital technology for all women and girls, and new policies and programs to achieve gender parity in emerging scientific and technological fields.
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Judy Heumann, who led the fight for disability rights, dies at 75
The New York Times - 3.8.23
Judy Heumann, who spent decades attacking a political establishment indifferent to the rights of disabled people and won one fight after another, ultimately joining and reforming the very establishment she once inveighed against, died on Saturday in Washington, D.C. She was 75.
An announcement on her personal website did not specify the cause.
A quadriplegic since childhood, Ms. Heumann (pronounced human) began her career in activism waging a one-woman battle to be allowed to work as a teacher in New York City when discrimination against disabled people was not widely understood as a problem.
She went on to become an official in the Clinton administration, a special adviser in the Obama State Department and a fellow or board member at some of the nation’s leading nonprofits. She was also featured in the Oscar-nominated 2020 documentary “Crip Camp.”
Over time, she saw a revolution occur in the government’s involvement in the lives of disabled people such as herself. And she, as much as anyone else, helped bring about that revolution.
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College students have never had a roadmap for navigating sexual assault — until now
19th News - 2.28.23
When college students survive sexual assault, there’s no playbook that tells them what to do next — from where to get medical attention to what their school’s investigation process looks like. An innovative new resource from the advocacy group End Rape on Campus (EROC) comes close to being a step-by-step guide for the higher ed community. Launched earlier this year, the Campus Accountability Map & Tool compiles sexual assault data and information on prevention efforts, support resources, reporting protocols and investigation procedures for more than 750 U.S. colleges and universities.
All of this material is publicly available, but students have struggled to access it because it’s not in a centralized location. Instead, it is spread across federal databases and university websites. By gathering this information in one place, the Campus Accountability Map & Tool removes common barriers survivors encounter while seeking help.
“This has actually been something years in the making,” said Kenyora Parham, executive director of EROC, which was founded in 2013.
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A growing number of states vow to stop seizing benefits owed to foster youth
The Imprint - 3.19.23
As she struggled to raise four children, Oulu Noonan longed for financial security, a spacious backyard for her kids and money to pay for college. Since leaving Oregon’s child welfare system at age 19, she grappled with poverty and homelessness.
Now, at age 33, Noonan knows what could have made a difference: access to more than $50,000 in benefits that had been set aside for her because of her father’s disability. Like other foster youth across the country, however, the child welfare agency kept the money.
Nationwide, an estimated 5% of all children and youth in foster care qualify for Social Security Administration disability and survivor benefits. But when they receive them, child welfare agencies often intercept payments that can amount to more than $900 a month. An investigation by the Marshall Project and National Public Radio estimated that in 2018 alone, child welfare agencies in 49 states and the District of Columbia seized at least $165 million owed to foster youth, and used the money to pay for the cost of their placements in the child welfare system.
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Wyoming outlaws abortion pills
CNN - 3.18.23
As the fight over abortion pills heats up nationally, Wyoming on Friday prohibited the medication in what NARAL Pro-Choice America called a “first of its kind” law, and also enacted a near-total ban on abortion.
Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill making it a felony to prescribe, sell, or use “any drug for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion.” Violators could face up to six months in prison and a $9,000 fine.
The legislation takes effect July 1.
Medication abortions are already included in the overall abortion bans in a number of states. Some states have restricted telehealth abortion care, limiting access to medication abortion.
A leading abortion-rights advocate said Wyoming’s explicit prohibition of the pills is unique.
“There’s no stone that anti-choice extremists will leave unturned as they seek to do everything they can to ensure that abortion is banned across the nation,” NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju said in a statement Saturday. “This first-of-its-kind ban on medication abortion, as well as the total ban, are just the latest proof.”
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Six organizations
fighting back against anti-trans legislation in Tennessee and beyond
Them - 3.10.23
Last week, Tennessee Republicans passed two sweeping bans aimed squarely at transgender people: a hard ban on gender-affirming care that promises to medically detransition youth in the state, and a ban on “male or female impersonators” in public, the first such drag ban in the country to pass a state legislature.
And while it gives us a grim chuckle to report on Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s own high school drag shenanigans, the reality is that this is an increasingly dark and frightening time for trans people in the Southern United States and beyond, as over 385anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone. When cis allies go in search of organizations to support, their money often ends up going to the same handful of large, general-purpose LGBTQ+ nonprofits, rather than being sent directly to communities that are most affected by the anti-trans crisis.
If you're looking for something more targeted, here are just a few organizations that work with and provide services for trans people in Tennessee, the South, and beyond, which we don’t think get quite enough love. Time to give out some roses!
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Democratic AGs condemn DeSantis administration for asking Florida colleges for information on students receiving gender-affirming care
CNN - 3.3.23
A coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his administration's request to public colleges in the state for information about students receiving gender-affirming care, saying it intimidates physicians and could have a chilling effect on students seeking the care.
The coalition, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said in a letter sent on Friday to DeSantis, a Republican, that they have an "interest in protecting the rights and medical decisions of the many students and staff members in the Florida state university system who are citizens of our states."
"The information request you have issued threatens to undermine the private medical decisions made by transgender individuals together with their families and health care providers and risks the lives and welfare of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities," the letter says.
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Axios explains: gender-affirming care in the U.S.
Axios - 3.3.23
A growing number of states are authorizing restrictions on gender-affirming care, stoking public confusion about what it entails and where it's permitted.
Individual states have started enacting bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth in 2023, and more than 100 anti-trans health care bills have been introduced in state legislatures so far, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Most of these bills look to bar access to care — mainly surgery, hormone therapy and puberty blockers — for minors who seek to have their gender identity supported. However, some states are targeting people under 21.
Some pieces of legislation look to prohibit both state and private health plans from being required to cover these medical services.
While most of the measures focus on classifying gender-affirming care to minors as medical malpractice, some could make it a crime punishable by large fines and prison times.
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How the Asian wave at the 2023 Oscars could diversify the Asian stories told on screen
The Seattle Times - 3.10.23
Ke Huy Quan, his voice trembling with emotion, accepted his best supporting actor award from the Screen Actors Guild on Feb. 26 with a moving speech. “When I stepped away from acting, it was because there were so few opportunities,” he said. “And now, tonight, here we are, celebrating James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Hong Chau, Harry Shum Jr. … The landscape looks so different now than before.”
Quan, who is Vietnamese American, won for his performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the trippy metaverse dramedy that led both the total Oscar nominations this year (with 11 total) and a wave of nominations for film artists of Asian descent. Four of the year’s 20 acting nominees are of Asian descent, the most ever: Yeoh, Quan and Hsu for “Everything Everywhere,” Chau for “The Whale.” Asian representation in other categories included “Everything Everywhere” co-director Daniel Kwan (with Daniel Scheinert), nominated for directing, screenplay and best picture; novelist/screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro nominated for adapted screenplay (for “Living”); and filmmaker Domee Shi, a previous winner in the best animated short category, receiving her first nomination for best animated feature, for “Turning Red.”
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Nearly 100,000 women of color went missing in 2020, and now one state wants to do something about it
Yahoo! News - 3.3.23
Despite making up only 13 percent of the female population in the U.S., studies have shown that Black women account for 35 percent of the country’s missing women.
Legislators in Minnesota hope to establish the nation’s first-of-its-kind organization to investigate the disappearances of a disproportionately high number of Black women and girls in the United States.
House Bill HF55, which would create the Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls, was approved by the Minnesota House on Feb. 20 by a majority of 110–19. The groundbreaking endeavor is anticipated to cost about $2.5 million and would examine the circumstances of missing persons and cold cases, Yahoo! News reported.
The bill’s author, Rep. Ruth Richardson of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, said it is a high priority in the governor’s budget and expressed optimism it would pass this year. In her opinion, it’s a blueprint for a national response.
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