American Civil Liberties Union

Rebekah Havrilla, a former Army sergeant, received no justice after she was raped by a fellow soldier while serving in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Rebekah testified before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee at a hearing on military sexual assault, recounting her traumatic and downright appalling time serving in a command culture that tolerated sexual assault and harassment. Her subsequent experience with the military justice system re-traumatized her after she decided to come forward and report her rapist.

On this International Women's Day, March 8, we call on the United States government to apply the same human rights principles it preaches for women elsewhere around the world, to women here at home. We are currently in the middle of the two-week United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This year's 57th CSW focuses on elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. On Tuesday, the ACLU was invited to take part in an interactive discussion with a panel of world experts. The United States participated in the discussion as well.

To illustrate its cover story about the housing market’s recovery in Phoenix, last week’s Bloomberg Businessweek cover depicted four black and Latino caricatures with obscenely exaggerated features, celebrating in a house filled with cash. You might wonder why an article about a tentative economic upturn should be represented by such alarmingly racist stereotypes—as though it’s a problem that people of color to have access to credit. After intense blowback, Bloomberg Businessweek responded, asserting “Our cover illustration last week got strong reactions, which we regret. Our intention was not to incite or offend. If we had to do it over again we’d do it differently.” However, their “apology” and its focus on their “intention” misses the larger point: Reducing complex economic systems to a caricature, particularly when it is done with an agenda, obscures the real sources of inequality and unfairly blames the victim.

Today is March 1st – the start of Women’s History Month, which is dedicated to honoring women throughout history who have taken part in the movement to advance women’s rights. Over the years, women have fought tirelessly against discrimination to break down the social and economic barriers to gender equality.

While this month is a time to celebrate and reflect, it is also important to recognize that much work remains to be done. In 2013, women are still not treated equally in the workplace or in society. It has been nearly two decades since the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was enacted, yet violence against women remains a grave threat. It has been 35 years since the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was enacted, yet pregnant women are still being pushed out of the workplace by their employers. It has been 50 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, yet the gender pay gap still exists.