Senate Subcommittee Hearing on Rape Today

This afternoon Senator Arlen Specter will chair a hearing by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, entitled "Rape in the United States: The Chronic Failure to Report and Investigate Rape Cases." The hearing will highlight the under reporting, dismissal and treatment of rape cases by law enforcement.

For a brief introduction into today's hearing listen to NPR's Morning Edition: Power Breakfast featuring today's panelist Carol Tracy of the Philadelphia-based Women's Law Project. Eleanor Smeal will also be a featured panelist on behalf of the National Center for Women and Policing, a project of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

To listen to the hearing live at 2:15 pm today tune into to the live webcast. We will also feature excerpts from FMF President Eleanor Smeal's remarks later today.

Panel I
The Honorable Susan B. Carbon
Director
Office of Violence Against Women
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Panel II
Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey
Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia, PA

Sara R. Reedy
Butler, PA

Carol E. Tracy
Women's Law Project
Philadelphia, PA

Julie Weil
Jupiter, FL

Scott Berkowitz
President & Founder,
Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network
Washington, DC


Panel III
Lawanda Ravoira
Director
NCCD Center for Girls and Young Women
Jacksonville, FL

Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor
Vice-Chair for Education, Department of Psychiatry
Director, National Crime Victims Research
& Treatment Center,
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC

Eleanor Smeal
Feminist Majority Foundation
Arlington, VA

Michelle Madden Dempsey
Associate Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA

Feminist movie review: Vera Drake

Sunday was a drizzly, gray sort of day, so I stopped by DC indie video store Potomac Video for a pick me up.

After much indecision, due to my insistence on finding movies with strong female leads, I settled on Vera Drake and Hitchcock's Notorious. If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend Vera Drake as a solid feminist drama.

The film, starring Imelda Staunton, came out in 2004, but is still timely for its themes of illegal abortion and women in the criminal justice system. The film is set in London in 1950, and the title character is a woman who works as a domestic servant while serving as the glue of her close-knit family.

Vera also "helps young girls out" in secret when they need to end unwanted pregnancies. Her warm personality leads her to gently assist harried mothers, sanguine partygirls, foreign workers, rape survivors, and other young women.

My boyfriend remarked that the film normalized abortion, which was precisely what appealed to me. See also: largely positive review from Christianity Today, despite inaccuracies on the sanitation procedures Drake uses in the movie.



***Spoiler alert***



When one of her patients falls ill, local police identify Vera and arrest her. Although the detectives are sympathetic, including Woman Police Constable Best, you watch Vera's life crumble as she descends into the British justice system.

There is a constant tension between rich and working class, between men and women, and between the medical establishment and Vera's informal, unpaid services. There's lots I could write about, but two components of the movie interested me in particular:

1. The word abortion is not mentioned on the DVD case, and is not mentioned until the British police interrogate Vera. When they ask whether she performs abortions, Vera says, "That's your word for it." Only when they ask whether she has helped girls out does she respond in the affirmative.

Today, of course, we have "choice" as a euphemism for abortion, which has advantages and disadvantages.

2. The film highlights the importance of women in policing and the judicial system. WPC Best accompanies the detectives and gently reassures Vera and her friend Lillian Clark throughout questioning. Although she cannot help Vera, WPC Best guides Vera through the system and puts thought into Vera's comfort to the extent she can.

Vera's trial is heard by a male judge, who decides to make an example of her through a harsh sentence, despite her motivations and lack of a criminal record. It is clear a prison term could break the elderly Vera, but he is unsympathetic.

FMF's National Center for Women and Policing works with women in local and federal law enforcement to promote gender-responsive policing and work environments. But we still need more feminists in high levels of the criminal justice system.

Feminist judges understand that women need protections against abusive partners, that girls may need abortions without parental consent, that anti-abortion laws hurt women.

Vera Drake's reality is not far from our own - it is still the reality for billions of women around the world. Conservatives in the US are waging an all-out war on abortion rights, and we need you to keep working to protect women's lives.

Have you seen this movie? Comment and let us know what you think! Or arrange a film screening on your campus. Drop us a line at campusteam@feminist.org if you want ideas for the screening, and keep up the great work!

Countering Antis on Campus

If you organize around choice, you've probably encountered resistance from anti-choice activists. FMF receives quite a few calls and e-mails from antis, but generally it doesn't bother us. Our receptionist Danielle is always polite and adroit at handling angry callers, and she really deserves a medal for her patience.

We recently heard from the Kutztown University FMLA after they received anti-choice e-mails criticizing their work and the KU Women's Center's materials on choice. The e-mail author said she would work to "shut down" the Women's Center, so the FMLA decided to notify campus offices and the administration to ensure the university would be fully prepared to respond to any further threats.

Jesse, the Kutztown FMLA president, e-mailed me to let me know how they handled the situation. I thought they did a great job, and encouraged him to share their experience on our blog. I really liked one strategy he mentioned where they held maroon and gold KU umbrellas in front of the antis to create a buffer between the protesters and students.

If your group has encountered similar opposition and developed successful strategies for addressing anti-choice opposition, comment below or e-mail campusteam@feminist.org. We always emphasize a nonviolent, non-confrontational response, and the KU FMLA's experience is a great example.

If you or your group ever receive threats of violence, report it to local and campus police immediately. If they do not respond appropriately, contact FMF's National Center for Women and Policing. Margie Moore, the center's director, is a great resource, and you can reach her at 703-522-2214.

Responding to the Anti-Choice Movement

Guest post by Jesse Michener, Kutztown University

Over the past few years, FMLA at Kutztown University has confronted a vocal anti-choice minority on our campus, in our community and in our nation. Three years ago we had a group of anti-choice and homophobic protesters show up on our campus. We did not have time to plan a coordinated response, and we did not respond effectively.

Students gathered to counter protest. Everyone was angry, and the protesters got the response they were looking for. If there is one thing I learned from the time I have spent volunteering at abortion providers, it is that the antis, for the most part, are looking for a reaction; they are trying to upset people. So as time progressed and we realized that our campus was being targeted by anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ protesters, we decided to find a way of effectively responding.

Diversity groups came together from across campus and formed the Silent Witness Safety Response Team. We received training on how to create a buffer between students and protesters in a non-confrontational way. This allowed students to be able to walk freely back and forth across campus and not feel as though they were being attacked (to learn more about Silent Witness, visit http://www.silentwitnesspa.org).

We had organizations on campus offer safe places for students to go while the protesters were on campus in order to talk about their emotions, and we had other groups hand out pins that said “Hate is Not a KU Value.” The antis ended up bringing KU students together and helped social justice groups on our campus learn to work together.

But that wasn’t the only time that we have been confronted with anti-choice protesters. During our Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics, a national movement sponsored by the Feminist Majority Foundation, we had anti-choice community members show up at our meetings.

We had our tables defaced; we learned that when that happens, we have to report the incident to Student Government. We received e-mails from antis; we learned to turn them over to our Women’s Center, Chief of Public Safety and Police Services, and other university officials. During our Roe v. Wade celebrations, we had anti-choice protesters show up at our event; we learned to meet with our Public Safety officials before events to ensure everyone’s safety.

Throughout our experience, we have found that the best action we can take when reacting to the antis is to avoid confrontation. Instead, we focus on supporting the people that they are attacking and the pro-choice work we do. We have used the anti-choice attacks to build stronger relationships with social justice organizations on our campus and build strong bonds with other students.