We received some very sad news today.
Johanna Justin-Jinich, a student at Wesleyan University, was murdered yesterday while working at a bookstore near campus. A dedicated feminist, Johanna was a founding member of FMF's affiliate at Wesleyan and an active member of Wes Escorts, a group that protects women from angry anti-choice protesters outside of reproductive health clinics. A couple of us on the Feminist Campus team had the privilege of speaking with Johanna a few times earlier this year, and we were all impressed by her passion and knowledge about global women's health and rights. She had an amazingly bright future, and we are sorry that we will not have a chance to work with her again. Her death is a tragedy and we send our condolences to her friends, family, and the entire Wesleyan community.
While the details of this terrible story are still emerging, we understand that the man who killed Johanna had been harrassing her for years. If you or someone you love is being harrassed or stalked, here are a few organizations you can contact for help:
The National Center for Victims of Crime's Stalking Resource Center. A great resource. Call them at 1-800-FYI-CALL or e-mail gethelp@ncvc.org.
National Women's Law Center
US Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women
Working to Halt Online Abuse
About FMF's Choices Campus Program
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) started the Choices Campus Leadership Program to inform young feminists about the very real threats to abortion access, women’s rights, affirmative action, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights posed by right-wing extremists.We work with students on college campuses to effect change at the grassroots, national, and global levels. The Campus Program is built upon FMF’s philosophy that the most effective activism is informed activism--through study and action. Our program provides students with opportunities to learn about timely feminist issues, develop their leadership and organizing skills, and connect with the larger pro-choice and feminist movements.
For more information, visit http://www.feministcampus.org.
The Feminist Campus blog is written by staff members, interns, and student affiliates of the Feminist Majority Foundation's campus program. The individual views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
The Feminist Campus blog is written by staff members, interns, and student affiliates of the Feminist Majority Foundation's campus program. The individual views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Feminist Majority Foundation.
2 comments:
this is tragic news...it is always tragic news when a woman is stalked and killed...I am grief stricken even though I don't know Johanna. I take these deaths very personally--maybe I shouldn't. This death, like honor killings in Pakistan and other atrocities committed against women every single day, really get to me. Today, I was already feeling tired and down, unsure of what my activism is accomplishing, just worn out. Tomorrow I will get back in the fray, thinking of Johanna. Can one seriously offer condolences to Johanna's family and friends? No, there are no condolences for this. I can only say I will remember and I'll keep fighting.
Johanna, we will not forget. We will keep fighting in your name. We will get FURIOUS in your name.
Three women a day in the US are murdered by their intimate partner or an ex intimate partner. The work Johanna was doing at Wesleyan was aimed at curbing this statistic and at making women safer everywhere. Let's not forget all of the amazing work this young woman did in a short time while at the same time remembering how much more she could have done.
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