The Shriver Brief : Poverty Law Commentary & Insights : Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law : Affordable Housing, Healthcare Reform

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released the results of a 2010 comprehensive study on the prevalence of sexual violence in the U.S. The results of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reveal an increase in the rate of such incidents; over 50 million people each year are estimated to be victims of some form of sexual or intimate partner violence. Sexual and intimate partner violence has become an epidemic, making it a major public health issue that will require preventative measures at both the public policy and community level. The study looks at the characteristics of sexual and intimate partner violence as well as the long-lasting effects of violence on the mental and physical health of the victims.

Several key findings from the survey highlight the increase in rates of sexual violence victimization among men, as well as an epidemic of abusive relationships among adolescents and young adults. Teen dating violence, intimate partner violence among young adults, is becoming a more prominent issue as young people struggle to form healthy relationships. February has been designated Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month to shed light on the growing problem. 

The CDC uses expansive definitions of sexual and intimate partner violence that extend beyond rape to include other forms of sexual aggression, such as sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, and non-contact unwanted sexual experiences. Included in their definition of Intimate Partner Violence is sexual violence generally as well as domestic violence, psychological aggression, stalking, and control of reproductive health. The rate of violence among intimate partners is explored separately, highlighting the complexity of interpersonal relationships as they relate to violence.

Women are more likely than men to be victimized by sexual and intimate partner violence. It is estimated that in 2012, 1.3 million women reported experiencing rape—53.2 million women will be raped in their lifetime—this translates to one in five women in the U.S. Among female rape victims, over half report that the perpetrator was an intimate partner, and the majority report experiencing rape in their teenage and early adult years—30% between the ages of 11 and 17 years and 37% between the ages of 18 and 24. As mentioned, these numbers reflect a growing problem among adolescents and young adults. Many of the dynamics of intimate partner violence among teens mirror abusive adult relationships, but because of the unique nature of adolescent relationships, addressing teen dating violence requires specific measures for prevention.

In regards to other forms of sexual violence the numbers remain high for female victims: one in six women are stalked, and one in four women report experiencing severe physical violence from a partner. In recent years we have learned more about stalking and how it relates to intimate partner violence—nearly three in four stalking victims know the perpetrator. The Internet has emerged as a new medium for violence; “cyberstalking” is on the rise as a serious form of intimidation and aggression. The popularity of social networking sites has made it easier for some perpetrators to harass victims; this type of online abuse is particularly prominent among young people. While “cyberstalking” may be virtual, the consequences for victims are very real. Those victimized by stalking were more likely to report both short- and long-term physical and mental trauma—post-traumatic stress disorder, physical injuries, asthma, diabetes, etc. January has been deemed Stalking Awareness Month, an effort to inform the public of this crime and hopefully prevent it.

Although the results show a high rate of victimization among women, significant numbers of men were also shown to be victims. The survey shows that 1.2 million or one in 71 men will experience rape in their lifetime—these numbers are significant when compared with previous data on sexual violence against men. Like female rape victims, over half of men reported previously knowing the perpetrator. Men are also being victimized in other ways: one in seven men reported experiencing severe physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner while one in nineteen men reported being stalked. These significant numbers warrant specific responses and interventions to address the needs of male victims.

Beyond gender, the study looks at the prevalence of sexual and intimate partner violence by race and ethnicity. Women of color in particular reported experiencing high rates of violence: one in five African-American and one in seven Latina women will experience rape in their lifetime. Among Native American women, over 26% were rape victims. Some of the highest numbers of sexual violence victimization were among those women who identify as multiracial, with over half (53.8%) experiencing some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. Men of color experienced sexual violence at higher rates than white men; the highest percentages were among Latino men (26.2%) and men who identified as multiracial (31.6%).

Local statistics on sexual and intimate partner violence showed that in Illinois nearly 40% of the female population and 25% of the male population will experience some type of sexual violence in their lifetime.

Physical and mental health outcomes for victims of sexual and intimate partner violence are shown to be both long term and severe. Victims surveyed report physical outcomes such as high blood pressure, persistent headaches, asthma, and diabetes. Victims were also two to three times more likely to report having poor mental health.

In order to address widespread sexual and intimate partner violence, both prevention and intervention-based approaches are necessary. There needs to be a collective response from federal, state, and local governments to crimes of sexual violence where perpetrators are held accountable and victims are given options. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a change in the federal definition of rape, a change long overdue. The new, more accurate definition will allow for better reporting of rapes and a more appropriate response to victims seeking justice. The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), currently pending in Congress, would step further in the right direction to help victims of sexual violence. Improvements to VAWA that are contained in Senator Leahy’s bill, S.1925, would build the capacity of local communities to maintain critical victim services already in place as well as increase outreach to traditionally underserved populations. Learn more about VAWA reauthorization and the list of senators not yet signed on as co-sponsors. If your senator is not yet a co-sponsor (both senators from Illinois are), please contact your senators and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor of S.1925, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

In addition to policy changes, there need to be changes in the way communities approach and understand sexualized violence. You can increase awareness of violence in your own community—do your part to make your voice heard.

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The Social Security program has done wonders to alleviate poverty among the elderly. A report recently released by the National Institute of Health looks at one of America’s growing populations, people aged 90 years or older—who they are, where they live, and their economic security. This age group is expanding to be a larger proportion of both the elderly population (age 65 and over) and the total U.S. population. While the 90-and-over population is overwhelmingly white (88.1%), the report shows that this group’s poverty rates are consistent with statistics for the total U.S. population—that women and people of color are more likely to be living in poverty.

Of the entire population of 1.9 million Americans aged 90 and over, the poverty rate was 14.5% in the years 2006-08. Among those living in poverty, over 80% were women, a disproportionately higher share of the 90+ population. Because women in this age group outnumber men 3 to 1, this makes them a very significant population. Like women in general, poverty rates for the “oldest old” were higher for elderly people of color: nearly a fourth of African-Americans 90 and over were living in poverty, with similar rates for Hispanics. The economic security and life quality of the “oldest old” population is significant because they are growing as a group; the report estimated that the number of Americans 90 and over will quadruple by the mid-century. Illinois is among the top 10 states that have the highest population of people 90+ at 78,800.

Because so many of those in the 90-and-over group are at an increased risk to be poor, an effective economic safety net must be in place to prevent or alleviate poverty among this fragile population. While some politicians and others have advocated cutting programs such as Medicare and Social Security in order to reduce the federal deficit; these two vital programs are relied on by millions of older Americans, and especially those aged 90 and over. More than 98% of elderly 90 and over received Medicare coverage, and receipt of Social Security benefits is also nearly universal—for over 90% of the 90+ population Social Security made up almost half of their income. Major cuts to these programs would result in an increase to the already high number of those 90 and over living in poverty.

A recent report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on poverty in America suggests that poverty rates among the general population of elderly (those aged 65 and up) are rising as well. The report compares the “official” poverty rates and the new Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to determine who is considered poor or low-income. The SPM goes beyond the “official” poverty measurement (which is focused primarily on disposable income before taxes) and takes into account essential expenses such as variation in health care costs—a cost that is substantial for aging seniors. The report stated that in 2010 nearly 1 in 6 individuals 65 and older were living in poverty; this is almost double the rate measured by traditional poverty standards.

Many older or retirement-age Americans are worried about their economic situations in their later years. A report released by the AARP Public Policy Institute surveyed Americans 50 and over about their economic expectations for their old age. The majority of those surveyed lacked confidence in their economic situation as they continue to age. Nearly half of the participants expected their standard of living to decrease as they get older. The majority (57%) stated that they were not confident in their ability to finance a comfortable life through their retirement. As a greater proportion of our population reaches old age and the elderly live longer, there must be strong support of government programs and policies that address the needs of this growing population and do so much to alleviate poverty.

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What a difference a year makes. Last January the House Republicans and a handful of Democrats were pushing to redefine rape in order to further restrict access to abortions.  The Hyde Amendment, the federal law that restricts the use of government funds to pay for abortions, exempts pregnancies resulting from rape or incest (and pregnancies that could endanger the life of the woman). The “Protect Life Act” (HR 358) and its companion bill the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” (HR 3), each contained a provision that would have rewritten the Hyde Amendment to drastically limit the definitions of rape and incest—the rape exemption would have been limited to “forcible rape,” excluding such crimes as statutory rape and cases in which the woman was drugged, and incest would have been limited to cases in which the woman was a minor. (It should be noted that this legislation would restrict access to abortions in ways beyond redefining rape and incest, and the restrictions would not be limited to government-funded abortions.)

“Forcible rape” is not defined in the federal criminal code, nor was it defined in the legislation. A likely result would be that no pregnancies would be covered by this rape exemption. Under public pressure, the bills were amended, and they passed the House without redefining rape or incest. The bills are currently pending in the Senate. Narrowing the definition of rape, for whatever purpose, belittles the seriousness of the crime and the suffering of its victims.

In contrast, last Friday the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the definition of rape would be expanded to better reflect what rape is and who its victims are. The revisions to the Uniform Crime Report’s definition of rape will make reporting of the crime more accurate and provide a better understanding of its effects on victims. The definition is used by the FBI to collect information from local law enforcement agencies about reported rapes, and the new definition is more in sync with most state rape statutes.

The new definition of rape is: “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

This definition includes victims and perpetrators of any gender, goes beyond vaginal penetration, and encompasses instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent, including due to the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age, and does not require physical resistance to demonstrate lack of consent. The old definition used by the Department of Justice was so inadequate that it did not include many of the alleged sex crimes of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, or rape facilitated by “date rape” drugs, which make victims weak and confused, or even causes them to pass out, so that they cannot refuse sex or defend themselves.

Rape is a serious crime that often has life-long consequences for its victims—negatively impacting their physical, mental, social, and economic well-being—and may include pregnancies that need to be terminated. The definition of rape should not be toyed with for political ends such as further restricting the constitutional right to an abortion. The new Department of Justice definition of rape recognizes conduct that will not result in pregnancy, and therefore, not add to the need for federally funded, or any, abortions. However, whether or not a rape results in a pregnancy should not limit how it is defined in law. The Justice Department’s expanded definition of rape is a positive step in recognizing all of its victims and the brutality of the crime, and in holding perpetrators accountable. Anything else belittles the crime and its victims.

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In a horribly ironic turn of events, Topeka, Kansas, has decriminalized domestic violence in the middle of October, a month devoted to raising awareness about preventing and ending it. October has been domestic violence awareness month for over twenty years, a period of time during which exceptional progress has been made. Once thought of as a private matter, an accepted norm among many couples, domestic violence is now recognized as a crime. Unfortunately, rates of domestic violence in the U.S. remain extremely high, and survivors continue to face barriers to seeking protection and getting justice. The recent developments in Topeka have created yet another barrier for survivors to exercise their legal rights as they became political fodder in budgetary debates. This only highlights the continued critical need for increased awareness of domestic violence and its harmful effects on individuals and entire communities.

Domestic violence affects women of every racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic background. One in four women experiences domestic violence in the United States, and more than three women on average are killed each day by an intimate partner. These women suffered in silence with few legal protections before the 1980s, when states began to criminalize domestic violence and establish protective orders. It wasn’t until 1994, however, that domestic violence was finally recognized as a federal crime. The passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) legally defined and federally criminalized domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. On October 11, however, Topeka, Kansas, took a huge step backwards when its city council voted to nullify their authority to prosecute misdemeanor cases of domestic violence. The whole mess began in September when, in response to budget shortfalls, the district attorney (DA) for the county in which Topeka is located announced that he would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors and the duty would instead fall on the city. Topeka’s city council was angered by the increased responsibility without increased funding, and for five weeks the city and the county engaged in a standoff over who would be forced to provide legal protections for domestic violence victims. Then on October 11, Topeka decriminalized misdemeanor cases of domestic violence, the most common misdemeanor prosecutions in Topeka. The city hoped this would force the DA to begin prosecuting misdemeanors again, and it was right. Facing pressure from all sides, the DA announced that his office would begin prosecuting domestic violence cases again, but the city council has yet to repeal the ordinance decriminalizing domestic violence.

Both the DA and the Topeka City Council have assured the public that they take domestic violence very seriously, but their actions tell a different story. Budgets are reflections of a society’s values, and funding decisions are essentially priority decisions. The fact that Topeka was willing to risk the safety of survivors and their children to make a political point sends a message to the community that domestic violence is a low priority. In fact, domestic violence is such a low priority that the city and the county are unwilling to pay for its prosecution unless they are absolutely forced into it. Not only did Topeka’s decision diminish the importance of domestic violence and trivialize survivors’ experiences, it also placed real women in danger for the five weeks during which domestic violence was not a criminal offense. At least 30 domestic violence cases required action during those weeks. Instead, the perpetrators were released from prison with the understanding that what they did was not a crime.

Using survivors as pawns in political power struggles minimizes domestic violence and creates additional obstacles for survivors to gain the protections and services they need. Raising awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence and the effects it has on individuals and communities can help combat misunderstanding and ensure that prevention and survivor safety are top priorities. Awareness-raising campaigns exist around the country, educating people on the dynamics of domestic violence, prevention techniques, and the availability of resources for survivors.

The Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence has released a series of press statements detailing Topeka’s decision to decriminalize domestic violence. They are watching the situation carefully, and are poised to intervene if the DA again halts the prosecution of domestic violence. Visit their website to learn how to get involved. You can also help raise awareness simply by talking with your friends, family, and members of your community about domestic violence.

For more information on domestic violence, visit www.futureswithoutviolence.org or http://www.nnedv.org/. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the national domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233) or log on to www.thehotline.org.

This blog post was coauthored by Hannah Green.

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The summer was a season of triumphs for women around the world, whose fundamental human rights were upheld, sometimes for the first time, by the international human rights community. In July, the United Nations (UN) released Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice, a report that focused on the legal barriers women and girls face around the world and how advocates are working to break down these barriers. In early August, the UN ruled on its first maternal death case, establishing that governments have an obligation to guarantee all women access to adequate and timely maternal health care. Then, in mid August, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled on its first ever case brought by a domestic violence survivor against the United States. The decision established that governments have an obligation to enforce protective orders and that the failure to do so is a human rights violation. The progress around the world only highlights the work that must be done here in the United States to ensure that all women have equal rights and protections under the law and in practice, including the important right to the enforcement of protective orders.

Domestic Violence in the United States

The number of women in the U.S. who experience domestic violence is vast—it is truly a ubiquitous experience, affecting women of all ages, races, ethnicities, and sexual preferences. Indeed one in four women reports experiencing violence from a current or former partner or spouse. These women suffered in silence with little recognition from the legal world before the 1980s, when states began to criminalize domestic violence and establish protective orders. Finally, in 1994, the federal Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA) defined and federally criminalized domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Its passage signaled the United States’ refusal to continue silently to tolerate these crimes. Despite this progress, ignorance and prejudice continue to surround domestic violence survivors who face many barriers to justice and protection. Police can be slow to respond, believing domestic violence to be solely a private matter, and survivors’ credibility is often questioned in court. State and federal domestic violence acts have given women the opportunity to pursue legal protections, but without enforcement, legal protections in and of themselves are meaningless.

Jessica Lenahan’s Story

On June 23, 1999, Jessica Lenahan’s three children were discovered dead in the back seat of their father’s truck after he engaged the police in a shoot out that also resulted in his death. Ms. Lenahan’s estranged husband had abducted their children from outside her home, violating the restraining order she had obtained against him after he emotionally and physically abused her. Despite Ms. Lenahan’s many calls to the police station informing them of the restraining order and her husband’s actions, the police failed to even search for the children. Ms. Lenahan (formerly Ms. Gonzales) sued the township, claiming that her due process rights had been violated when the police failed to enforce her restraining order. Her case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the Township. The 2005 decision in Town of Castle Rock v. Jessica Gonzales established that survivors do not have a constitutional right to police enforcement of a restraining order because they do not have property rights to the order itself. In other words, the court determined that Ms. Lenahan did not have a right to due process, and thus did not look at whether or not due process was carried out. The decision, however, threatens the safety of domestic and sexual violence survivors around the country, who now have no legal recourse if their protective orders are not enforced.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

With legal options in the United States exhausted, Ms. Lenahan took her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Established in 1959, IACHR is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights in the Americas by upholding the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. International human rights law guarantees certain substantive positive rights that the U.S. Constitution does not, rendering the property right concerns that were the focal point of the U.S. Supreme Court case moot. Thus, Jessica Gonzales v. U.S.A., centered on the claim that the United States violated Ms. Lenahan and her children’s human rights to life, equal protection before the law, and the right to protection of the law from abusive attacks. In its decision in favor of Ms. Lenahan, IACHR established that governments do have an obligation to enforce protective orders and that the U.S. had violated Ms. Lenahan’s human rights in failing to enforce her restraining order.

Applying a Human Rights Framework Domestically

Included in IACHR’s decision were a number of recommendations for the United States to more adequately address domestic violence. These recommendations, echoed by the recently released report from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against Women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Rashida Manjoo - Addendum - Mission to the United States of America, click “E”, page 27), include the creation of meaningful standards for the enforcement of protective orders. As a member of the Organization of American States (OAS), the United States is obligated to comply with the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and IACHR rulings, but it shouldn’t have to be forced into protecting women from violence. Instead, the United States should lead rather than follow in the fight to end domestic violence. 

For more information on using a human rights framework domestically, read the September-October 2011 special issue of the Clearinghouse Review, “Human Rights: A New (and Old) Way to Secure Justice.”

This blog was coauthored by Hannah Green.

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Sexual violence is occurring in our nation’s high schools in staggeringly high numbers. Even though it remains an extremely underreported crime, the available data points to its prevalence in secondary schools. Almost 4,000 incidents of sexual battery and over 800 rapes and attempted rapes were reported in public high schools in the 2007-2008 school year. And by the time they graduate from high school over one in ten young women will be forced to have sexual intercourse. Schools are not only in a good position to prevent and respond to sexual violence, but they are also required to by law. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. All public and private elementary and secondary schools, school districts, colleges, and universities receiving any federal funds must comply with Title IX. On Monday, April 4, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a Dear Colleague letter to explain that the requirements of Title IX cover sexual violence and to remind schools of their responsibilities to take immediate and effective steps to respond to sexual violence.

Students who are victims of sexual violence must overcome major challenges as they try to meet school obligations while coping with the emotional and physical effects of the violence they have endured. In order for students to succeed in school, they must feel safe and attend to their mental and physical well-being. The new guidance reinforces schools’ Title IX obligations to create safer schools for both individual students who are survivors of sexual violence and the entire student population, and suggests steps to make that happen.

School’s Responsibilities under Title IX
The letter provides clear explanations of each school’s responsibilities to respond to sexual violence and examples of how a school might fulfill these requirements. The next few paragraphs highlight some of the most important pieces of the guidance. Schools have always been required under Title IX to allow students to file complaints regarding sex-based discrimination. The new guidance clarifies that sexual harassment and sexual violence are included in the umbrella term “sex-based discrimination.” In addition, the guidance clarifies that students can file complaints of sexual violence regardless of where the incident took place. This acknowledges that students may feel uncomfortable in school as a result of an incident that happened off school grounds, especially if the perpetrator attends the same school or other students find out about the incident.

The letter emphasizes that schools must have clear steps for students to file complaints under Title IX and make this widely known throughout the school community. This is especially important in regards to sexual violence—students are already hesitant to report it and are unlikely to look for ways to get help from their schools. Schools have to investigate all claims of sexual harassment and sexual violence, and they have to do this separately from any simultaneous law enforcement investigations, as long as it does not compromise a criminal investigation. In other words, schools have to conduct their own investigations whether or not a student chooses to report the violence to law enforcement or pursue court proceedings, or if a court finds the alleged perpetrator not guilty. The legal standard for a Title IX violation is the preponderance of the evidence standard (i.e., it is more likely than not that sexual harassment or violence occurred), a lower standard than needed to convict someone of a crime.

One of the most important pieces of the new guidance is its requirement that schools are responsible both for ending any ongoing violence and for preventing further harassment or violence from occurring. This shifts the emphasis from punishing the perpetrator to ensuring the victim’s safety. A survivor may need special accommodations to feel safe in school. This means providing a survivor with the option of receiving special accommodations whether or not the perpetrator is punished. The letter gives examples of actions schools can take to prevent further incidents, which range from changing class schedules to providing counseling services. The new guidance stresses that the burden of change should fall on the perpetrator rather than the survivor when possible to prevent re-victimization. 

Ensuring Success in School Initiative
The new guidance offers greater clarification of Title IX as it relates to the challenges students who are victims of sexual violence face in school and prioritizes the safety of students over all other considerations. The Shriver Center applauds the Office for Civil Rights on their renewed commitment to creating safe schools that allow all students to achieve success.

The Women’s Law and Policy Project at the Shriver Center created the Ensuring Success in School Initiative in 2003 to promote the safe and successful completion of school among elementary and high school students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence. As part of this effort, the Ensuring Success in School Task Force was statutorily created, and in June 2010 the Task Force submitted its final findings and recommendations to the Illinois General Assembly. These recommendations are well complimented by the new guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, highlighting both the national nature of this problem and the responsibility of schools to respond promptly and effectively. Indeed many of the Task Force’s recommendations are included in the clarification of Title IX, making the adoption of the Ensuring Success in School Task Force recommendations even more salient.

For more information contact Wendy Pollack, director of the Women’s Law and Policy Project at the Shriver Center.

Hannah Green, domestic and sexual violence education and economic opportunity specialist at the Shriver Center, contributed to this article.

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Students who are parents, expectant parents, or survivors of domestic or sexual violence face unique challenges as they try to stay in school, stay safe while in school, and successfully complete their education. Failing to complete school can have life-long consequences, with high school dropouts reporting lower employment levels, lower lifetime earnings, and overall poorer health. Teen pregnancy and parenting and domestic and sexual violence are factors that contribute to the dropout and push-out crisis, but have thus far received insufficient attention from policymakers in Illinois.

Because of this, the Women’s Law and Policy Project at the Shriver Center got together a coalition of education, youth, and violence prevention advocates and students and their parents from across Illinois in 2003 to address these issues. The coalition drafted a bill to support elementary and secondary students who are parents, expectant parents, or survivors of domestic or sexual violence, which was introduced by Rep. Karen Yarbrough in 2005 and again in 2007. In 2007, the legislation was enacted into law as Public Act 95-0558. The law created the Ensuring Success in School Task Force, charged with examining and making recommendations regarding barriers to school attendance, successful school performance and graduation faced by students who are parents, expectant parents, or survivors of domestic or sexual violence.

This summer, the Ensuring Success in School Task Force released its Final Report to the Illinois General Assembly. The report is the product of extensive research, consultation with experts, and public hearings held across the state, and it encompasses all of the task force’s findings and recommendations for how to support elementary and secondary students who are parents, expectant parents, or survivors of domestic or sexual violence.

Moving forward, the Shriver Center is convening a meeting of stakeholders to develop a strategic action plan based on the findings and recommendations of the report. If you are interested in participating in the first meeting, which has been set for Tuesday, September 7, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., or in future meetings, please contact Wendy Pollack at 312-368-3303. For those outside of Illinois who are interested in pursuing these issues in your area, also please contact Wendy.

For more background information on the Ensuring Success in School Initiative, contact Wendy, or see The Ensuring Success in School Act: Promoting School Success and Safety for Young People Who Are Parents, Expectant Parents, or Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence. The full text of the legislation as originally introduced in 2005 is available at ilga.gov.

Shana Heller-Ogden coauthored this article.

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Congress and several states take actions to stop evictions of victims of violence

For women and children in this country, domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness. Survivors of domestic violence (of which 90 to 95% are women), dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking living in rental housing are particularly vulnerable to homelessness because they are often threatened with eviction after an incident of violence. These evictions are frequently born out of property owners’ stereotypes about survivors of violence as individuals accountable for the acts of their abusers. Indeed, up until a few years ago, when victims of violence who lived in federally assisted low-income housing called the police to report intruders, being shot, or otherwise terrorized by their abusers, they would immediately receive an eviction notice.

In 2005, Congress adopted federal protections against evictions and denial of housing for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The 2005 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act prohibits evictions and admission denials of victims of violence who live certain types of federally supported low-income housing. The 2011 VAWA reauthorization should improve upon VAWA 2005 and expand it to cover other types of federal supported low-income housing. Any reauthorization must also extend those protections to survivors of sexual assault. 

On April 27, the Illinois Legislature passed H.B. 5523 and joined several other states, including Indiana, Colorado, Arkansas, Delaware, Texas and Virginia in protecting victims of violence from evictions based upon incidents of violence and/or their status as a victim of violence. Maryland has recently passed a similar bill. The governors of those states should sign the bills immediately.

However, property owners are not the only ones threatening survivors’ housing. A growing number of municipalities have adopted aggressive property nuisance codes or “crime-free” rental housing ordinances that obligate owners, under threat of losing their license to operate rental property, to evict all tenants when there is a crime or multiple police calls for assistance. To limit a survivor’s access to police assistance under threat of homelessness or to blame them for the crime committed against them likely violates their rights under the U.S. Constitution and Federal Fair Housing Act. While we support the idea of improving the quality and safety of rental housing, municipal actions cannot interfere with a survivor’s safety or hold them accountable for a perpetrator’s actions. Municipalities should amend these ordinances to eliminate these harmful and likely illegal provisions.   

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New research and new legislation on abstinence-only sex education has brought the ongoing debate between abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education to a new pitch.

A little context: abstinence-only sex education received small amounts of funding in the 1980s, but got its real start during the Clinton administration with the 1996 welfare reform law. As part of that law, Title V of the Social Security Act was amended. This amendment established funding for abstinence-only programs and outlined the eight requirements for a program to receive funding, including the promotion of abstinence until marriage, and teaching that abstinence is the only way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and that sex before marriage would likely be psychologically and physically harmful (the law is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 710). Every state, with the exception of California, applied for funds, and loosely interpreted the eight requirements, which largely went unenforced.

Under President George W. Bush there was a significant increase in federal funding for abstinence-only programs, including Title V and the Community-Based Abstinence Education program. The federal funding combined with state matching funds catapulted spending on abstinence-only programs to over $200 million per year by 2005 (up from $9 million in 1997). The Bush administration also began more stringently enforcing the requirements for funding, and states, wary of the restrictions on teaching about birth control and safe sex, slowly began to drop their federal funding requests.

Meanwhile, study after study showed abstinence-only sex education to be not only ineffective, but sometimes even harmful to adolescents. In 1997, teen pregnancy rates in the US went up for the first time in 15 years, along with teen STD rates. The Obama administration finally ended funding for abstinence-only sex education, allowing Title V to expire, and instead redirected funds toward comprehensive, evidence-based programs.

Now, in 2010, the Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has released a study claiming to have at last found an abstinence-only program that works. The study, “Efficacy of a Theory-Based Abstinence-Only Intervention Over 24 Months,” raised new hopes for proponents of abstinence-only education, but the kind of abstinence-only program used in this study is vastly different from the Bush-era programs – so much that it would not have qualified for federal funding. The program in this study was neither moralistic nor disparaging toward sex or contraception, and only advocated abstinence until “a time later in life,” not until marriage. 

These changes are certainly steps in the right direction, but withholding critical information from teens on safe sex still raises serious questions, especially given the fact that 25 percent of the 12 year-olds who participated in this study were self-reportedly already having sex. For more information about this study and its findings, see our latest WomanView. 

Much to the dismay of teen pregnancy prevention advocates, Bush-era abstinence-only programs have not gone away – far from it, actually. Renewed funding for Title V, to the tune of $50 million a year over the next five years (plus state matching funds, up to an additional $38 million per year), was part of the health care reform bill, signed into law last week. 

Preventing teen pregnancy is, of course, important. The Shriver Center supports medically accurate, comprehensive sex education that is appropriate to students’ age, developmental level, and cultural background, not more failed abstinence-only programs. Through our Ensuring Success in School Initiative, we also support teens who are already parents or expectant parents so that they can stay in school, graduate, get good jobs, and raise healthy families.

For more information on sex education policy or on our efforts to support teens who are parents or expectant parents, please contact the Women’s Law and Policy Project.

WomanView is a publication of the Women’s Law and Policy Project at the Shriver Center, focusing on legal and policy issues affecting low-income women and girls. You can subscribe to WomanView here. 

Shana Heller-Ogden coauthored this blog post.
 

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The effects of domestic and sexual violence are not checked at the door when a survivor of violence enters her place of employment. Oftentimes individuals who experience domestic or sexual violence report missing work due to the violence in their lives, enduring harassment by the abuser at work, suffering health problems that affect job performance, or losing employment due to the violence. A study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that, during a 12-month period, more than half of stalking victims lost five or more days of work, and about 130,000 stalking victims reported that they were fired or asked to leave their jobs because of the stalking. Yet, according to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 70 percent of U.S. workplaces have no formal program or policy that tackles workplace violence.

It’s time for the federal government to act, following Illinois’ example, where late last month the Illinois General Assembly passed an important piece of legislation that is a notable victory for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, their families, and advocates. The Illinois Senate voted unanimously to concur with House Amendments No. 1 and No. 2 on Senate Bill 1770, an amendment to the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA). Originally enacted in 2003 with then–State Senator Barack Obama as principal sponsor, VESSA provides unpaid, job-guaranteed leave and nondiscrimination protections for eligible employees who are survivors of domestic or sexual violence or who have a family or household member who is a survivor of domestic or sexual violence.

Since its enactment in 2003, VESSA has provided significant benefits and workplace protections for Illinois employees. VESSA allows a covered employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off from work to deal with the violence in her lives without losing her job during a 12-month period. VESSA also prohibits an employer from discriminating, harassing, or retaliating against an employee who is exercising her rights under this law.

Once signed into law, the amendment will expand VESSA to cover more employees in the private sector by decreasing the private employer threshold number of employees from 50 or more to 15 or more. The amendment adds language providing that an employee who works for an employer with at least 15 but not more than 49 employees may take up to 8 work weeks (rather than 12) of unpaid, job-guaranteed leave to deal with domestic or sexual violence during a 12-month period.

VESSA has proven to be a lifeline for employees coping with domestic or sexual violence. While VESSA allows for several weeks of leave, most employees who take leave take significantly less. And, of the 107 complaints that have been filed since enactment, most VESSA claims notably allege discrimination by the employer.

With the recession being a perpetual reminder of the crucial nature of job preservation and economic stability, the passage of S.B. 1770 is a surefire victory that will help more survivors of domestic and sexual violence maintain their employment and economic stability as they strive to remain safe and ultimately escape a violent situation. Action on the federal level is more pressing than ever.

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