Health

Vote against slavery: why you should vote for Polaris Project!

Posted on by Katherine Chon

“Good friend forgive me if I offend, I know I am not the only one with problems. I also understand that there are many people with greater problems than mines. But for you to take the time to consider mines, that I am most grateful. It is good that when one has climbed the ladder of success to the top, that he or she reaches down and help those that are not able to.” 
— YK

These are the opening lines of a letter I received earlier this week from a young women whose story is not unlike many of our own.  She came to Washington, DC seeking a better life with plans to get an advanced degree so that she could work with the poor and the oppressed, as she explained later in her letter.  She was excited to receive a job as a domestic worker, which would enable her to work towards her dreams.

What makes YK’s story different was that she was enslaved within the household, beaten, sexually assaulted, and prevented from leaving. 

YK is a survivor of human trafficking.

She was able to escape her situation through community support and currently is part of Polaris Project’s DC Trafficking Intervention Program (DC TIP).

Like YK, Janice* also had dreams that were exploited by a human trafficker.  When Janice was 12 years old, she should have been going to school and living the carefree life of other teenagers. However, after an older man offered to take care of her, Janice was forced into prostitution for five years and beaten each time she tried to leave.

Polaris Project was called in after a police investigation and began to provide Janice with food, clothing, and emotional support.  We also worked to reunite Janice with her family and she is enrolled in school.  Her trafficker was sentenced to prison and now Janice dreams of one day working in the criminal justice field.

While it is shocking that slavery can still exist in the 21st century, it is sobering to know that it is the third largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world.  The United Nations recently projected that human trafficking will only worsen with the state of the global economy.  Stories like YK’s and Janice’s show us that the face of human trafficking is often very personal and local, occurring in our own backyards. 

In fact, the FBI considers Washington, DC one of the top 14 sites in the country for the sex trafficking of American children.

When we started Polaris Project seven years ago, our mission was simple: find the victims, shape policy, and build a movement.

Interestingly, we began with a $5,000 seed grant from a local social entrepreneurship program and built an organization that has worked with more than 300 victims of human trafficking; testified before Congress four times to help pass landmark federal legislation (twice!); worked with legislators in D.C., VA, and MD to strengthen protections for victims; and, co-founded the DC Task Force on Human Trafficking in partnership with the D.C. U.S. Attorneys Office and D.C. Police with more than 30 other organizational members coordinating on cases and victim services.

Imagine what another $5,000 from winning this vote can do!  Click here to vote against slavery before 5 p.m. on Monday, March 30th!

*Names and details have been changed to protect the identity and anonymity of our clients.

Katherine Chon is the President and Co-founder of Polaris Project in Washington, D.C., a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

Congratulations to Vera Mayer, Public Citizen of the Year!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

The Women’s Foundation is proud to congratulate Vera Mayer, senior advocate with Iona Senior Services and coalition coordinator with the DC Coalition on Long Term Care (a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation), on being named Public Citizen of the Year by the DC Metro Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

An article in Washington Jewish Week explains that Vera was recognized for her "years of work to improve the quality of life for seniors and disabled adults in the District of Columbia."  Vera is also "cited as one of the moving forces behind the District’s Aging and Disability Medicaid Waiver application to provide for community-based long term care rather than institutional placements for aging and disabled adults who need assistance."

Gwen Rubinstein, a program officer at The Women’s Foundation who has worked with Vera, echoed these statements, saying, "Vera is a force.  Getting the Medicaid Waiver passed was a big, big deal.  She is a true force."

Congratulations, Vera, from The Women’s Foundation, and many thanks for your devotion and service to the Washington metropolitan area and the well-being of its aging and disabled citizens.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

D.C.'s HIV/AIDS report forgets women, but I haven't.

Posted on by Gwen Rubinstein

Inspired – and alarmed – by my colleague Lisa Kays’s blog post earlier this week about off-the-charts HIV/AIDS rates in the District of Columbia, I read the Department of Health’s recent report.

The report is powerful for what it includes – and what it doesn’t.

What it does include: voluminous statistics about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District, including trends, clinical indicators, geography and its effects on several “selected subpopulations.”

What it does not include: any real or sustained focus on women or illumination of the differences in the disease between women and men and the related implications for prevention and treatment.

For example:

  • While more men are living with HIV/AIDS in the District, women still make up more than one-quarter of those infected. In addition, between 2003 and 2007, women’s share of new HIV/AIDS cases increased (from 28.9 percent to 30.1 percent), while men’s share decreased.
  • While sex is the main mode of transmission for both men and women, women’s infection is driven much more significantly by injection drug use. Among people living with HIV/AIDS in the District, injection drug use was the mode of transmission for more than one-third of the women (35 percent) but less than one-fifth (19.2 percent) for men.
  • HIV/AIDS among women in DC is almost totally an epidemic of people of color. Nearly all of the women living with HIV/AIDS here (94.2 percent) are African-American or Latina, compared to three-quarters (76.5 percent) of men.

The report does not contain a dedicated section focusing specifically on women, despite more than 4,000 women (adults and adolescents) living with HIV in the city in 2007. “Special populations” with about the same or (even) fewer members do have their own sections.

Other notable oversights:

  • The report avoids discussing the potential role of incarceration in the spread of HIV in the District, including among women. One study, for example, exploring such a link, concluded that higher incarceration rates among black men explained the lion’s share of the racial disparity in HIV/AIDS infection between black women and women of other racial and ethnic groups (based on data from 1980 to 1996). Notably, the District has the highest black-to-white ratio of incarceration of any state in the country, according to The Sentencing Project.
  • While the report touts syringe exchange, condom distribution, HIV/AIDS testing and its AIDS drug assistance programs as effective responses to the epidemic, it does not discuss other needed interventions. A shortage of community-based addiction treatment (waiting lists are common) and other basic health services and the financial and other challenges facing local AIDS-service organizations (such as Whitman-Walker Clinic) undoubtedly hamper access both to prevention and treatment for all DC residents, including women.

Please add my voice to those calling for immediate response to this public health emergency – and don’t forget the women.

Gwen Rubinstein is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Help decide where we invest $5,000!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

It’s that time again–for the Leadership Awards online vote!

A committed group of volunteers has selected the 10 outstanding Leadership Awardees for 2009, who are doing innovative, effective work serving the health and safety of women and girls in our region.  Each awardee has received $10,000 to help fuel their work.

Now, it’s your turn to get involved!

Vote today for one of these 10 organizations and the one with the most votes by 5 p.m. on March 30, 2009 will win an additional $5,000!

What do you think is the most important strategy supporting the health and safety of our region’s women and girls? 

After-school programs for at-risk girls?  Advocacy for domestic violence survivors?  Support and assistance for elderly women?  Fighting human trafficking?  Job training programs that teach not only the skills for employment but how to cook healthy, nutritious meals?

Each of these strategies, and more, is represented by the 2009 Leadership Awardees.  Learn more about them and then cast your ballot here! 

Then, stop back by this blog and let us know who you voted for and why.  Help make the case for the organization and strategies that you think are best serving our region’s women and girls!

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Almost half of Boston teens blame Rihanna, not Chris, for her attack.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

As a follow-on to my colleague Gwen’s thoughtful post on the Rihanna domestic violence situation and the way it’s being handled in the media, I thought I’d throw in this piece from Feministing, about the reactions of some Boston teens to the story.

Sadly, it would appear that almost half of those Boston teens surveyed blame Rihanna for the attack.  More than half felt that both parties were equally responsible for the attack.

Jessica at Feministing sums it up well, saying, "Ah, victim-blaming. It’s always with us. What particularly depresses me about this statistic is that the victim-blaming is coming from young people. There’s this optimistic part of me that likes to believe sexist attitudes and hating women will lessen with new generations. Articles like these snap me back into reality."

Then there is Gwen, saying, "And just once, I would like to read a story that focused on how men have the power to stop this violence."

This wish seems particularly poingnant given what these surveys revealed about how young people view violence against women. 

And, in my opinion, helping further draw the connection that how domestic violence and women’s issues are portrayed in the media do get reflected back to us in the voices and actions of our young people.

As a silver lining, there are some amazing groups doing work to combat these perceptions and domestic violence itself, as well as to advocate for victims (rather than blame them).  Many of these groups are our Grantee Partners, and a few are 2009 Leadership Awardees. 

As of tomorrow, check back to our site to vote for your favorite Leadership Awardee, help them earn an extra $5,000 to fuel their work, and raise your voice for productive solutions and better, healthier, safer communities for women and girls.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

What's scarier than the economy? Try latest on D.C.'s HIV/AIDS rates.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

Well, so much for a break from the doom and gloom.  The latest update on the status of HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. is in and the news is not good.

The District now has a rate of 3 percent of its residents who are HIV-positive, a rate that surpasses that in West Africa and means that The District has surpassed the criteria for a "generalized and severe epidemic." 

African-American women represent nearly a quarter of HIV cases in D.C.  African-American men continue to bear the brunt of the statistics though.  An astonishing 7 percent of black men in D.C. are HIV-positive.

Aaron Morrissey of the DCist had this to say about the District’s reaction and plan to address this deepening crisis, "Certainly, it’s sobering to think about why it took the District until 2005 to start to really ramp up HIV/AIDS preventative services — and considering that timeline, origins for these massive figures start to become clearer. But if there is a bright side to this story, it is that D.C. has been steadily improving in the four years since…But even as such strides are taken, the battle cry has barely changed: in order to fight these incredible figures, there must be a steady maintenance of ‘determination and commitment from the District’s public officials.’ Anything less would be doubly as frustrating."

DC Appleseed, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation, was quoted in The Washington Post piece and their report card, HIV in the Nation’s Capital, was referenced in the DCist blog.

Just as the economic crisis has served as a tremendous call to action to rethink business as usual and refocus the nation’s economic priorities, we can only hope that these latest findings on a critical health issue for the District will spur action to find sustainable, effective strategies to prevent the further spread of this epidemic and care to treat those who are already affected.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Coverage of Rihanna fails to take advantage of an otherwise teachable moment.

Posted on by Gwen Rubinstein

As a 40-something (and a late one at that), I never thought I’d be blogging, let alone blogging about the young pop star Rihanna. But the news is full of stories about her assault, allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend.

If only the stories were less gossipy and voyeuristic and more informative.

Unless the focus of the reporting changes suddenly, this will be a missed opportunity to shed needed light on the reality of violence against women in the United States, especially for her younger fans.

The hard truth is that violence against women is common, has known risk factors (including a pattern of when it escalates from injury to homicide), and carries significant emotional and economic costs.

All of us, including the media, have an obligation to do more to lead our society toward more effective strategies for preventing it.

Here are some of the facts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
• Each year, women in the U.S. experience 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes;
• In 2004, these assaults resulted in 1,544 deaths, of which 75 percent of which were women; and,
• The annual cost of this violence has been estimated at $8.3 billion in 2003 dollars – not to mention the emotional costs to the women and children who experience and witness it.

Stories questioning “why she doesn’t leave” miss the mark.

First of all, it assumes a feeling of power on the part of the victim that the violence against her was intended to – and undoubtedly did – undermine. 

Second, staying may actually be self-protective, at least in the short-term. A little known fact is that women are actually at higher risk for injury and homicide after they leave an abuser. According to U.S. Department of Justice data, separated women experience violence intimate partner violence at rates significantly higher than single or married women.

Just once, I would like to read a story that framed this incident (or, sadly, the next one) within the larger context of the reality of violence against women in our society and its epidemiology.

And just once, I would like to read a story that focused on how men have the power to stop this violence.

I hope you will tell me about the stories you want to read.

Gwen Rubinstein is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Announcing the 2009 Leadership Awardees!

Posted on by WAWF

What do you get when you combine 58 volunteers, 66 nominations, 54 phone calls, 33 site visits, 20 presentations and hours of deliberation and due diligence?

You get the 2009 Leadership Awardees, of course!

Someone really wise once said, if you want to know how something began, look at how it ended.  As I reflect on that statement, and my experience with the Leadership Awards, I am still undecided about whether or not I agree.

As I was recruiting volunteers for the Leadership Awards this year, I blogged about my experience at the Leadership Awards Reception in March 2008.  The reception, that year’s “ending,” did indeed tell me a lot about the Leadership Awards Program – the inspiration, the passion, the dedication, the diligence of these organizations working so hard on behalf of women and girls.

That said, even as I stood in awe of those eight recipients, there was no way of knowing what an amazing journey it would be to the selection of the 2009 Leadership Awardees!

Among the recipients, we have representation from all over the Washington metropolitan area, including Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Washington, DC.  All are doing innovative, effective work on behalf of women and girls in our region in the area of safety and health.

We have organizations working with youth, and organizations working with the elderly. 

We have organizations providing basic needs of shelter to victims of domestic violence, and those helping survivors of domestic violence get a second chance in life by find new and sustainable careers.

We have an organization providing activities and infrastructure to girls during the after-school hours when they are most vulnerable, and an organization providing transitional housing for female ex-offenders.

So, who are these 10 exciting, inspiring organizations, you ask.  Click here to see the press release announcing the recipients!

As I sit in anticipation of what my second Leadership Awards reception experience will be like, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the tremendous job done by our outstanding volunteers this year in making this extremely difficult selection.

Because the reality is, while we can only give 10 awards this year, there are many wonderful organizations doing really important work in our community on behalf of women and girls.

So, please join me in congratulating our stellar slate of 2009 Leadership Awardees. 

And stay tuned for our second annual online vote to help your favorite awardee receive an additional $5,000!

Nicole Cozier is The Women’s Foundation’s Philanthropic Education Officer.

Weekly Round-Up: News and Analysis on Women and Poverty (Week ending March 6, 2009)

Posted on by The Spotlight and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty. And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• As reported in the Boston Globe, a Massachusetts cardinal is defending a collaboration between the church and a local health provider that provides abortions along with its other services. The cardinal is stating that abortions will not be provided in church-supported facilities and the poor will benefit from the partnership.

• The Miami Herald focuses on a local migrant’s daughter who recently won a scholarship to attend college.

• A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial argues that local programs providing education and medical care to low-income pregnant women will need more funding to counteract the city’s high infant mortality rate among minorities.

• The Providence Journal profiles an obstetrical nurse who, having once been pregnant while homeless herself, is devoting time to educating at-risk girls.

• The Dallas Morning News covers a hospital with a much lower rate of premature births than the national average.  It has achieved strong results through providing comprehensive prenatal care to a mostly low-income clientele.

• In an article on parents about to lose a childcare subsidy in Arizona, the Associated Press interviews a working mother expecting to struggle without the help.

• A Philadelphia area researcher has given cameras to impoverished mothers to chronicle American hunger, as reported by the Associated Press.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

Seeing the stimulus package through a gender lens.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

Today, the Chicago Foundation for Women released its analysis of how the economic stimulus package will impact women.

It’s findings?  Some of the big wins for women are:

  • To reduce job cuts for educators and teachers, nearly $45 billion was allocated to the Department of Education.
  • Medicaid, which supports the health of more than 20 million women, will receive $87 billion.
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families received $1.1 billion, as well as $20 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamps).
  • Community child care got $2 billion and child support enforcement received $1 billion, both of which help single mothers thrive.

More of their analysis can be found here.

The Chicago Foundation for Women conducted this analysis through its role as part of the Women’s Economic Security Collaborative, which Washington Area Women’s Foundation is also proud to be a part of.  The Collaborative’s goal is to find and implement effective strategies to raise awareness about policies impacting women’s financial independence.

Chicago’s analysis today is a great start to this work and we look forward to our work with the Collaborative to further encourage examinations of national policies and practices through a gender lens.

Because we know, as do all other women’s funds throughout the world, that when you see policies through the eyes of women, you envision better policies–and end results–for everyone.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.