Sexual Assault

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The Administration Must Act: Immigrants in Detention Deserve Equal Protection from Sexual Abuse

By Sandhya Bathija, Washington Legislative Office at 6:14pm

In 2009, Claudia Leiva Deras, a domestic violence survivor who is now a lawful U.S. resident, was held in immigration detention at the Cass County Jail in Plattsmouth, Neb. While Claudia waited there for the outcome of her immigration hearing, she faced months of brutality at the hands of a fellow detainee. Claudia was hit, kicked and choked daily. She was also sexually assaulted and left bleeding, with no one to turn to for help.

Note to Military: Sexual Assault Includes Rape

By Sandra S. Park, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 5:59pm

The government has turned a blind eye to these crimes has allowed them to continue, imperiling the lives of victims and degrading their service.

"Work It Out" With Your Rapist? No Way.

Outrageous: After a student in Texas reported her rape by a fellow student, school officials told to "work it out" with her rapist.

Exposing the Ugly Details of the Military Sexual Violence Epidemic

By Sandra S. Park, ACLU Women's Rights Project & Rachel Natelson, Service Woman's Action Network at 5:08pm

On Monday, a federal court judge heard oral arguments in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case brought by the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) and the ACLU seeking records from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs regarding their response to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence in the military. While the hearing has yet to yield a final ruling, one point was clear: the government continues to refuse to disclose documents that could reveal the human toll of military sexual and domestic violence.

Sen. Brown Should Seize Opportunity to Help Military Families

By Carol Rose, Executive Director, ACLU of Massachusetts at 10:28am

Sen. Scott Brown can make good on his promise to support our troops and veterans this week by supporting a proposal by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to ensure that military servicewomen and their families have the same access to medical care as their civilian counterparts.

Sen. Shaheen’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (the Act that funds our troops) would allow the military health system to cover abortion care in cases of rape and incest — and only in those cases — just as the federal government does for all otherfederal employees, women enrolled in Medicaid, and women in federal prisons.

Girls on Rights

By Busi Mkhumbuzi, Soweto, South Africa & Busi Mkhumbuzi, Soweto, South Africa at 3:00pm

Despite the universal call for nations to recognize the rights of women, millions of girls today are denied their human rights.

Bullying Goes Beyond the Fist

December 6th, 2010, was a day in my life I will never understand, and probably never come to grips with. I thought that a school was the safest place to be — it turned out that I was never more wrong in my life. You see, that was the day I was raped at school and the day I went to a teacher for protection. I thought I would be taken care of. At age 17 you are not fully an adult. You rely on others who are adults to help you. This did not happen to me. I was told to "confront my attacker." My world began to spin. The bullying went beyond the fist. It went through the skin and bones to my very soul, and now I had no help at all. How was I going to tell my parents about this? What was going to happen to my world? In fact, the teacher I had told saw my parents that night and never said a word. Eventually my family and I turned to the police, but if it was not for a friend of mine I confided in nothing would have ever happened, and I wouldn't be sharing this with you or trying to pull others up through the hell they have been through.

Sexual Assault in the Peace Corps

By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 11:30am

This month Congress took an important step to address sexual violence in the Peace Corps. The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Protection Act, named after a volunteer who was murdered while serving in Benin, would require the Peace Corps to provide sexual assault risk-reduction and response training, employ victim advocates, develop sexual assault guidelines and establish a Sexual Assault Advisory Council.

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