Home : Women's Rights

Global AIDS Gag Holds Critical Funding Captive to Politics (11/09/2005)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed deep concern about a U.S. government policy that ties the hands of public health service providers and those who work with them in the global fight against AIDS.

Women Abused and Exploited by New Jersey Chinese Restaurant, ACLU Charges (10/31/2005)
NEWARK -- Two immigrant waitresses at the Rainbow Buffet restaurant in Fairview, New Jersey were exploited by their bosses, deprived of wages and tips, and subjected to physical and emotional abuse, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

United Nations Body Looks at Housing Conditions for Women in America (10/17/2005)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union is among dozens of groups and individuals providing testimony to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as part of a three-day consultation on women and housing in North America, which ends today. The ACLU and its clients, who are victims of housing discrimination, have testified on the poor housing conditions faced by victims of domestic violence and immigrant domestic workers in the United States.

Following ACLU Action, Public Housing Agency Agrees to Treat St. Louis Women Fairly (10/06/2005)
ST. LOUIS -- The American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri announced today that a St. Louis mother who is a victim of ongoing domestic abuse has reached an agreement with the St. Louis Public Housing Authority that prevents the agency from evicting her on the basis of her ex-boyfriend's harassment and abuse. Instead, the woman will be permitted to move to a new unit in order to conceal her location from her abuser, and agents and employees of the Housing Authority will participate in training about domestic violence.

Michigan Women Allowed to Join Fraternal Order of Eagles (07/12/2005)
DETROIT -- In a victory for women's equality, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today announced that they have reached an agreement with the National Fraternal Order of Eagles under which they will change their ""men-only"" policy and allow women to become full and equal members. A similar agreement was reached with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights regarding gender discrimination charges that were filed against a chapter of the FOE in 2002.

ACLU Disappointed with Supreme Court Ruling on Domestic Violence Orders of Protection (06/27/2005)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed disappointment over a Supreme Court decision finding that the U.S. Constitution does not recognize an entitlement by domestic violence victims to enforcement of their protective orders. As Justice Stevens wrote in the dissent, ""the Court gives short shrift to the unique case of [statutes requiring police enforcement] in the domestic violence context.""

Appeals Court Clears Way for Restaurant Worker Exploitation Case to Continue (06/17/2005)
PHILADELPHIA -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that a federal appeals court has ruled that a sex discrimination and labor exploitation lawsuit brought by two immigrant waitresses against a New Jersey Chinese restaurant may continue.

ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Army Veteran Against Library of Congress for Transgender Discrimination (06/02/2005)
WASHINGTON, DC -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in federal court here today against the Library of Congress on behalf of a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army whose job offer was rescinded after she informed the organization that she was in the process of transitioning from male to female.

Elks Lodge Settles ACLU Lawsuit, Agrees to Admit Women as Members (06/01/2005)
ROME, NY -- The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union today hailed the settlement of a lawsuit brought by a local woman who was denied admission to an Elks Lodge here solely because of her gender. Bonnie Orendorff has agreed to drop her lawsuit on the condition that the Benevolent and Protective Order Elks Lodge No.96 admit women members on the exact basis that they admit men.

ACLU Endorses Federal Hate Crimes Legislation for First Time, Says Conyers Proposal Properly Addresses Free Speech Concerns (05/26/2005)
WASHINGTON - After more than seven years of expressing concerns that federal hate crimes legislation would chill constitutionally protected speech, the American Civil Liberties Union today endorsed a new hate crimes bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).

ACLU Argues That Exploited Restaurant Workers Should Not Be Denied Their Day in Court (05/26/2005)
PHILADELPHIA -- Before a federal appeals court today, the American Civil Liberties Union argued that a federal trial court wrongly dismissed a sex discrimination and labor exploitation lawsuit brought by two immigrant waitresses against a Chinese restaurant.