Florida NOW

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON – Every workplace should be safe from sexual harassment and abuse—but for too long, Congress has failed to protect the rights of employees to report this behavior without fear of retribution.  

That’s about to change. The Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace harassment through Education and Reporting (EMPOWER) Act has been introduced by Representatives Lois Frankel (D-FL), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), John Katko (R-NY), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL), along with 49 bipartisan co-sponsors.

The EMPOWER Act will protect employees from workplace harassment and make it less dangerous for survivors to come forward. The bill would outlaw non-disparagement and non-disclosure agreements in employee contracts, require public companies to disclose settlements, establish a confidential tip-line for reporting, and reform the tax code to ensure survivors aren’t penalized.

NOW endorsed the EMPOWER ACT in the last Congress and we are proud to do so again. We are equally proud of Rep. Frankel and her colleagues for working so diligently to ensure transparency, accountability, fairness, and justice for all workers. NOW members will work with the new Congress to pass the EMPOWER Act and demand the Senate do the same.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

WASHINGTON – The National Organization for Women (NOW) strongly condemns the Trump administration for their inhumane immigration and detention policies that have allowed thousands of migrant children to suffer from sexual abuse. Detaining children and separating them from their families is already traumatic enough, but the extent of these numerous sexual abuse allegations is terrifying, immoral and unconscionable.

Media has reported that from October 2014 to July 2018, the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) received 4,556 complaints, and the Department of Justice received 1,303 complaints, including 178 allegations of sexual abuse by adult staff of the facilities.

These numbers are a heinous fact, but Donald Trump would probably call them “fake news.”  His administration has even responded by saying the majority of allegations weren’t substantiated.  This is the same excuse sexual abusers and their enablers use to dismiss #MeToo survivors. They say if no one saw it happen, it must not have happened.  

But survivors everywhere know better.  And we know that sexual assault in immigration detention centers is real—and it must be stopped, with abusers held accountable.

NOW calls on the Trump administration to ensure that the legal protections to which migrant children are entitled are explained and made available. Procedures and rules must be put into place to prevent abuse, and there must be immediate investigation and safety measures enacted in response to these complaints.  Survivors must also be provided with health and support services to help them heal. The U.S. government must make every effort to ensure the safety and health of the thousands of migrant children in their custody.

#EnoughIsEnough.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump hates free speech – particularly when it comes to women’s health – and his administration has issued its long-awaited rule that bars groups that provide abortion care or abortion referrals from receiving federal family planning funds. Defunding providers and denying girls and women access to information about legal medical options has been a top priority of opponents of women’s reproductive health care.  

This “gag rule” prevents medical professionals from talking to their patients about health care options, including safe, legal abortions – forcing health care providers to choose medical malpractice or lose funding.  It is designed to prop up faith-based, science-denying “family planning centers” otherwise known as crisis pregnancy centers, that lie to women about abortion.

The “gag rule” is a first step towards the religious right’s goal of repealing Roe v. Wade. Safe and accessible health care – including access to abortion – is a human right. This is a sneak attack on the Constitution, which the Supreme Court has ruled protects abortion rights—and a direct attack on women’s health care providers, especially Planned Parenthood.  They are at risk of losing the critical funding they need to provide services to more than a million people who are the most vulnerable since they are part of our nation’s uninsured and low-income communities.

NOW supports the court challenges that will be filed to block this rule, and we stand in solidarity with Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide front-line reproductive care to women.  

Donald Trump can’t stop the truth from being told, and he can’t silence us from speaking out.  The “gag rule” must be overturned.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669