Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

That old glass ceiling continues to break, but the cracks don’t run deep enough.

NOW welcomes the news that the Boy Scouts of America have once again admitted to their long history of discrimination, this time against girls, and are taking steps to correct it.

For more than a century, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts have been an integral part of our society. But girls have been left to wonder, why were they left on the sidelines when boys got to earn badges, participate in scouting activities and be Eagle Scouts?

But there’s an even bigger question that remains unanswered. Why are Girl Scouts not afforded the same level of financial support on the federal, state and local levels and recognition for their fine work in supporting and providing opportunity? The fact the Eagle Scouts award is considered by some as more prestigious that the Girl Scout Gold Award speaks to this financial discrimination.

Are the Boy Scouts of America truly going co-ed, or are they setting up a parallel scouting experience that defined as​​ “separate but equal?” ​even as​ we know the practice usually plays out as separate and unequal in quality and opportunity.​

If this decision means that the Boy Scouts will be offering segregated activities and providing girls with fewer opportunities, or activities of lesser quality, there’s much more trailblazing needed from the Boy Scouts of America. We’d rather see​ a cultural shift of​ more respect and ​funding for the Girl Scouts as is their due.​

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

NOW is calling for sexual predator Harvey Weinstein to be removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. After decades of abusing his power to prey on women, the last place he should be is in Hollywood’s most powerful club.

This week the New York Times reported that Weinstein silenced numerous women who accused him of sexual harassment–and many more came forward after the article’s publication, including actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.

We are witnessing the downfall of a powerful man at the hands of empowered women. It took tremendous courage for these survivors to come forward, in spite of the looming threat of personal and legal retribution from Weinstein, and the fierce shame that so many survivors experience. I am deeply grateful to these women. Their bravery has inspired others to share their story–squelching the toxic culture of silence around sexual assault, and potentially sparing other women the same fate.

Weinstein has proven himself to be the worst kind of workplace monster: powerful and predatory. This week’s reports reveal Weinstein’s cold, calculated pattern of sexual harassment and assault–with his own employees used as pawns to manipulate women. Taken together, these accounts illustrate a disgusting abuse of power, wielded by Weinstein as an individual and with the weight of his company.

A sexual predator doesn’t deserve the privilege of an Academy membership–and all the opportunities to wield outsize power that come with it. If Weinstein has power in Hollywood, women are at risk. Stripping his membership is the obvious next step toward achieving justice.

Contact

M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Donald Trump’s hypocrisy and cruelty knows no bounds. The Administration of our Playboy-in-Chief, who famously said that avoiding STDs while he was dating models was his “personal Vietnam,” has issued a ruling that takes affordable contraceptive care away from scores of women. Women’s health will suffer as a result, and lives could even be lost.

The new regulation, issued by a zombie Health and Human Services Department operating without leadership at the top, will have a devastating effect on women’s health. Contraception is life-saving medical care. Unintended pregnancy is highly associated with infant and maternal mortality. Unintended pregnancy is also a significant risk factor for domestic violence.

The Trump Administration is reviving the old canard, which opponents of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate litigated before the Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case, that a for-profit corporation can possess religious beliefs that justify withholding contraception coverage from employees.

But as Caroline Mala Corbin, a law professor at the University of Miami, has said, “For-profit corporations do not and should not have religious rights. They have no soul, and they certainly don’t have a relationship with God.”

Some 99 percent of sexually active women, including 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women, use contraception at some point. According to the National Partnership, an estimated 17.4 million women need subsidized services and supplies because they are unable to access or purchase contraceptive services and supplies on their own. And more than half of young adult women say cost concerns have led them to not use their birth control method as directed.

Today’s cruel and dangerous action by the Trump Administration must be challenged in the courts and blocked from implementation. Once again, we see the appalling truth–the Trump Administration is harmful to women’s health.

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241