WOC Alert 5/28/99 - Young Women Win One, Lose One; Wal-Mart's

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

>Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 22:00:54 -0400
>From: Women Leaders Online <wlo at WLO.ORG>
>Subject: WOC Alert 5/28/99 - Young Women Win One, Lose One; Wal-Mart's
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>WOC Alert 5/28/99 - Young Women Win One, Lose One; Wal-Mart's
>Accounting; Vatican Rag
>
>WOC Alert 5/28/99
>
>1. YOUNG WOMEN WIN ONE, LOSE ONE
>2. HELP WAL-MART'S ACCOUNTING
>3. VATICAN RAG(es) AGAINST WOMEN; WOMEN FIGHT BACK
>
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>
>1. YOUNG WOMEN WIN ONE, LOSE ONE
>
>This week, the Supreme Court gave young women a rare victory - it
>granted young women and their parents the right to sue school
>districts that refuse to take action  to stop egregious sexual
>harassment by other students.   It is amazing that even this common
>sense decision was in doubt, and with a 5-4 vote, controversial.  The
>case, which involves a young woman who was repeated assaulted and
>harassed by another student (while the school knew, yet refused to do
>anything), merely says the school has to act when it knows what is
>going on, and when there are serious acts of harassment involved.
>
>Of course, if you listened to the dissent and to some of the "Woe is
>I" coverage, you would think this decision means the end of public
>education as we know it.  Claims that this decision will bankrupt
>schools, and that boys would be punished for "just being boys" echoed
>through the airwaves.  (We can't help but think that the reactions
>were determined by which role - victim or victimizer - the speakers
>held in school)   But, for now at least, the law says that boys must
>be boys without being abusers, and girls finally have a modicum of
>protection in school.
>
>On the losing front, New Jersey's Republican Governor Christine Todd
>Whitman just got out her political calculator and deleted young
>women's rights from the equation.  As part of her strategy to move up
>to the U.S. Senate in 2000, Whitman has decided to support a law
>barring young women from receiving an abortion without mandatory
>parental approval.
>
>This is despite the fact that Whitman had previously staked her
>political profile on being strongly and courageously pro-choice in a
>party loaded with anti-abortion fanatics.  But Whitman's statements on
>this issue at this time make clear that this is no change of heart -
>she needs the votes of adult women, so she'll still call herself
>pro-choice; but since young women are disenfranchised politically, she
>might as well jettison their rights.   She is pushing parental consent
>only because she believes it is popular.
>
>Whitman's calculation is cruel and wrong headed, but does reveal much
>of her character and what kind of Senator she might become.  Young
>women will suffer and perhaps die (remember Becky Bell, who died
>because of the Indiana parental consent law?), and Whitman will gain
>nothing politically.  The anti-abortion fanatics will never support
>her, and she has now alienated the heart of her constituency.    She
>has also revealed herself as a woman who won't hesitate to climb over
>the bodies of other women in order to get ahead herself.
>
>ACTION:
>
>We need to remind Christine Todd Whitman that she was elected because
>she supported abortion rights, not despite that support.  Write to her
>and urge her to rescind her backing of this legislation, or risk
>losing her own electoral base.  After all, why should we elect a woman
>who will simply be "Orrin Hatch - lite" and not a strong advocate for
>other women?  You can reach Governor Whitman through her website
>http://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact.htm or by calling her at
>609/777-2500.
>
>
>2. HELP WAL-MART'S ACCOUNTING
>
>Wal-Mart recently announced that it was making a "business decision"
>and would not carry emergency contraceptives in any of its stores
>(although they do carry Viagra and guns, the twin symbols of
>masculinity). This decision will severely damage the ability of many
>women to prevent pregnancies from involuntary sex such as rape and
>incest, as well as consensual unplanned sex, particularly hurting
>women in rural areas where Wal-Mart may have driven out any
>competitors.
>
>We cannot let Wal-Mart force women into playing pregnancy roulette.
>And since they are characterizing this as a business decision, they
>should understand exactly what this decision will do to their
>business. Whether or not you are a regular Wal-Mart shopper, you can
>help them achieve this understanding.
>
>Just last month, WLO won a huge victory over Rush Limbaugh when we
>persuaded Amazon Books to stop advertising on Limbaugh's radio show.
>At first, Amazon didn't "get it" when our members wrote to complain
>about Amazon's financial support for a man who calls all of us
>"feminazis." But after our members persisted, Amazon finally saw the
>light and pulled the ads. You can read about our successful campaign
>at http://wlo.org/amazon.htm So now it's time to take on Wal-Mart. And
>if we succeed, we'll look for new ways to use our combined spending
>power to persuade corporations to respect their women customers.
>
>ACTION:
>
>Once a week, tell Wal-Mart how much you spent elsewhere that could
>have been spent at Wal-Mart. This includes all the normal stuff you
>would expect, plus groceries, since the current Wal-Mart corporate
>strategy is to include full grocery supermarkets in their new stores.
>
>Just keep a weekly running total, then email Wal-Mart
>(letters at wal-mart.com) with a message such as this: "This week, I
>spent $134.23 at stores other than Wal-Mart. I made a business
>decision not to patronize Wal-Mart for these purchases, since your
>decision not to sell Emergency Contraception made it clear that you
>did not want my business, nor that of other women. If you change your
>minds and start providing the medicine women need, please let me
>know."
>
>Please send a copy of your weekly emails to wlo_wal_mart at yahoo.com and
>we'll keep track of the money Wal-Mart is losing. When you finally get
>a reply which indicates that Wal-Mart has changed its mind, send it to
>wlo_wal_mart at yahoo.com so we can post it on our Wal-Mart page at
>http://wlo.org/wal-mart.htm
>
>
>3. VATICAN RAG(es) AGAINST WOMEN; WOMEN FIGHT BACK
>
>With the Roman Catholic Hierarchy fighting against women's rights
>worldwide (most recently against the right of Kosova/o rape survivors
>to receive emergency contraception), women worldwide are fighting
>back.  And leading the charge are our friends Catholics for a Free
>Choice (http://www.cath4choice.org).
>
>CFFC's "SEE Change" Campaign seeks to level the playing field by
>removing the church's unfair influence at the United Nations, an
>influence that gives the church heightened stature in policy making.
>Using its status as a Non-Member State Permanent Observer, the
>Catholic Church (under its title of Holy See) attends conferences
>(including all women's conferences, and population and development
>conferences) and influences health care policies to work against
>women.  Based on their religious beliefs, they use their so-called
>"nation" status to fight against birth control, against legalizing
>abortion (worldwide, a woman dies every 3 minutes from ILLEGAL
>abortion), and against using condoms to stop the spread of HIV.  As a
>nation, they fight to impose their religious beliefs against those of
>other religions, while other religious bodies are accorded the lower
>standard of Non-Government Organization (NGO) by the U.N.
>
>By any objective standard, it makes little sense to accord this
>organization status as a government.  It is a dictatorship, whose head
>is chosen by those outside the state, devoted only to religious
>issues.  As WLO member, the fabulous Dr. Nancy Phillips, pointed out,
>recognizing the Vatican as a government makes as much sense as making
>the Pentagon a state.  "After all," she said, "the Pentagon has more
>acreage, more employees, a separate legal code for many of its
>employees (UCMJ). And the 'permanent' population of the Vatican is not
>all that large, since many of the inhabitants are
>students/seminarians. A decent-sized military base might have more
>inhabitants."
>
>ACTION:
>
>You can join the "See Change" Campaign in the following ways
>
>1) Ask other organizations to endorse this campaign and be listed
>among those endorsing it.  (WLO has already endorsed the campaign)
>
>2) Distribute postcards.  The "See Change" postcards (see text below)
>are available in English, Spanish, and French
>
>3) Sign a postcard with a quick email.  CFFC would be happy to
>complete a postcard for you if you email your name, address, phone,
>and email.
>
>To join, contact Liz Bucar at the CFFC office immediately by e-mail at
>lbucar at igc.apc.org, phone (202) 986-6093, or fax (202) 332-7995.
>
>Text of postcard:
>
>Dear Secretary-General Annan,
>
>As a UN Non-Member State Permanent Observer, the Holy See often enjoys
>unique status as a voting partner with countries at UN conferences.
>Granting governmental privileges to what is in reality a religious
>body is questionable statecraft.  While the Holy See-the government of
>the Roman Catholic Church-has made positive contributions through the
>United Nations to peace and justice, this should not be used to
>justify granting the status of a state to a religious institution.
>
>Governmental participation in the UN should be reserved to actual
>states. The world's religions have been well represented through
>non-governmental organization status.  With NGO status, the Roman
>Catholic church would be able to continue its participation in the
>UN-like the World Council of Churches-without ambiguity or privilege.
>We call on you to open an official review of the Holy See's status at
>the UN.
>
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