Feminism and Intersectionality

The issues that divided early suffragettes still plague women today. For all the progress that has been made, women's rights activists have also taken steps backwards. Feminism, as a movement, has not done a good job at being inclusive of minorities. Women of color have been left on the peripheries while feminism largely caters to white viewpoints.

Feminism is discussed in terms of waves.  First wave feminism encompasses the nineteenth century and early twentieth century suffragettes who fought for the right to vote. Second wave feminism generally encapsulates the period from the 1960s to the 1990s. This period runs concurrent with anti-war and civil rights movements and the dominant issues for feminists in this time period revolved around sexuality and reproductive rights. Third wave feminism is generally seen as starting in the mid-1990s and is sometimes referred to as girlie-feminism or "grrrl" feminism. Its adherents often confounded followers of second wave feminism because many third wavers rejected the notion that lip-stick, high-heels, and cleavage proudly exposed by low cut necklines identified with male oppression. The third wave celebrated ambiguity and refused to adopt "us versus them" ideology.  As a result, most third-wavers rejected the word "feminists" because they found it limiting and exclusionary.

The fourth wave of feminism is still crystallizing. Feminism is now back in the realm of public discourse. Issues that were central to the earliest waves of the women’s movement are receiving national and international attention by mainstream press and politicians:  problems like sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, unequal pay, slut-shaming, the pressure to conform to an unrealistic body-type, and the fact that gains in female representation in politics and business are minimal. At the same time, reproductive rights that had been won by second wavers are now under attack. It is no longer considered “extreme" to talk about societal abuse of women, rape on college campus, unfair pay and work conditions, discrimination against LGBTQIA+ friends and colleagues, and the fact that the U.S. has one of the worst records for legally-mandated parental leave and maternity benefits in the world.

With the rise of fourth wave feminism, the concepts of privilege and intersectionality have gained widespread traction amongst younger feminists. The term intersectionality was first introduced in 1989 by critical race theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw, who provided a framework that must be applied to all situations women face, recognizing that all the aspects of identity enrich women's lived experiences and compound and complicate the various oppressions and marginalizations women face. It means that women cannot separate out numerous injustices because women experience them intersectionally.

Intersectionality helps us to understand that while all women are subject to the wage gap, some women are affected even more harshly due to their race. Another instance where intersectionality applies is cases of LGBTQ murders - people of color and transgender people are more likely to be victims than cisgender people. These are just two examples of why intersectionality matters. To truly bring about change that is meaningful for all, everyone's voice needs to be at the table.

Selected Library Resources:

• Cynthia Grant Bowman et al., Feminist Jurisprudence: Cases and Materials, KE478.A4 B43 2011
• Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs et al., eds., Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia, LB2332.3 .P74 2012
• Women and the Law Collection - HeinOnline
• Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
• Lisa A. Crooms, Indivisible Rights and Intersectional Identities or, What Do Women's Human Rights Have to Do with the Race Convention, 40 Howard L.J. 619 (1997), available on HeinOnline
• Lisa A. Crooms, A Stone' Throw to Justice: Liberty, Equality, and Women's Rights in the Supreme Court Opinions of Justice Thurgood Marshall, 52 Howard L.J. 559 (2009), available on HeinOnline

Additional Resources:

• 10 Landmark Court Cases in Women's Rights
• Timeline of Major Supreme Court Decisions On Women's Rights
• Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement
• Black Women and the Suffrage Movement: 1848-1923
• The Root: How Racism Tainted Women's Suffrage

Retrieved from https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/women/intersectionality
February 6, 2022

Take the time to read them.  Given the magnitude of the problem, one or more of these statistics probably applies to you.  Even if not, you can recognize the pain and suffering these facts represent.  If you are a victim/survivor, the scars are probably still there.

But the point right now is the legislation we desperately need.  Too many of our legislators either don’t see the need and/or don’t care enough to do anything about it.

Here are the statistics:

• In the United States, an average of 20 people experience intimate partner physical violence every minute. This equates to more than 10 million abuse victims annually.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc.2 This is commonly considered “domestic violence”.
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors and in some cases might not be considered “domestic violence”.
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.
• 1 in 10 women have been raped by an intimate partner. Data is unavailable on male victims.
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked. Stalking causes the target to fear she/he/they or  someone close to her/him/them will be harmed or killed.
• On a typical day, domestic violence hotlines nationwide receive over 20,000 calls.
• An abuser’s access to a firearm increases the risk of intimate partner femicide by 400%.
• Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
• Intimate partner violence is most common against women between the ages of 18-24.
• 19% of intimate partner violence involves a weapon.
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.
• 1 in 10 women have been raped by an intimate partner. Data is unavailable on male victims.
• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 59 men in the United States is raped during his/her lifetime.
• 9.4% of women in the United States experience intimate partner sexual assault in their lifetimes.
• 19.3 million women and 5.1 million men in the United States have been stalked.
• 66.2% of female stalking victims reported stalking by a current or former intimate partner.
• 1 in 3 female murder victims and 1 in 20 male murder victims are killed by intimate partners. A study of intimate partner homicides found
• 20% of victims were family members or friends of the abused partner, neighbors, persons who intervened, law enforcement responders, or bystanders.
• 72% of all murder-suicides are perpetrated by intimate partners.
• 94% of murder-suicide victims are female.
• Victims of intimate partner violence are at increased risk of contracting HIV or other STI’s due to forced intercourse and/or prolonged exposure to stress.
• Intimate partner victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.
• Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.
• Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8,000,000 million days of paid work each year, the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs.
• Intimate partner violence is estimated to cost the US economy between $5.8 billion and $12.6 billion annually, up to 0.125% of the national gross domestic product.
• Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.
• Between 2003 and 2008, 142 women were murdered in their workplace by former or current intimate partners. This amounts to 22% of workplace homicides among women.

It took nearly four years to draft and pass but the first Violence Against Women Act, co-authored by Sen. Joe Biden and Rep Louise Slaughter, became law in 1994.  It was the first comprehensive national legislation to deal with violence against women including domestic abuse and sexual assault.  It had widespread bipartisan support and has been reauthorized roughly every five years since.

That is until now.

With bipartisan support the House passed an updated bill in early April of this year.  Sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), the only Republican sponsor, this updated version expands several tenets of the older bill. It provides additional financial aid for women who have experienced domestic violence to stay in their homes and it increases punishment for cyberbullying.  But it also includes one that the NRA doesn’t like and because of which they tried to block passage in the House.  The bill bans all intimate partners who have been convicted for abuse and stalking from purchasing a firearm.  The NRA failed.

The Republican-controlled Senate has failed to act on the House version.  They have a problem with that part of the House bill the NRA objects to.  So Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Joni Ernst are working on a bipartisan version of the reauthorization.  It is not known if any of the House updates to the legislation will be included.

Given the cold, hard statistics listed above, is there any doubt the provision  banning gun purchases should be included in the bill?  How much more violence are we going to allow in this country?  Apparently the NRA and its’ supporters/protectors think a gun is more important than the life of a woman or child.

It’s time to inundate your Senators with calls, letters and emails: pass the House reauthorization of VAWA.

Statistics from NCADV (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
www.ncadv.org      Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE(7233)  or  www.TheHotline.org

1. Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J. & Stevens, M. (2011). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf.
2. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.). Infographic based on data from the national intimate partner and sexual violence survey (nisvs): 2010-2012 state report. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-infographic-2016.pdf
3. Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J. & Stevens, M. (2011). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. National Network to End Domestic Violence (2017). Domestic violence counts national summary. Retrieved from https://nnedv.org/mdocs-posts/census_2016_handout_national-summary/.
8. Campbell, J.C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., Curry, M. A., Gary, F., Glass, N., McFarlane, J., Sachs, C., Sharps, P., Ulrich, Y., Wilt, S., Manganello, J., Xu, X., Schollenberger, J., Frye, V. & Lauphon, K. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1089-1097.
9. Truman, J. L. & Morgan, R. E. (2014). Nonfatal domestic violence, 2003-2012. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J. & Stevens, M. (2011). The national intimate partner and sexual violence
13. Bridges, F.S., Tatum, K. M., & Kunselman, J.C. (2008). Domestic violence statutes and rates of intimate partner and family homicide: A research note. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 19(1), 117-130.
14. Smith, S., Fowler, K. & Niolon, P. (2014). Intimate partner homicide and corollary victims in 16 states: National violent death reporting system, 2003-2009. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3), 461-466. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301582.
15. Violence Policy Center. (2012). American roulette: Murder-suicide in the United States. Retrieved from www.vpc.org/studies/amroul2012.pdf.
16. Ibid.
17. World Health Organization (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85239/1/9789241564625_eng.pdf?ua=1.
18. Ibid.
19. Truman, J. L. & Morgan, R. E. (2014). Nonfatal domestic violence, 2003-2012. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf.
20. Rothman, E., Hathaway, J., Stidsen, A. & de Vries, H. (2007). How employment helps female victims of intimate partner abuse: A qualitative study. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(2), 136-143. doi: 10.1037/1076-8998.12.2.136.
21. World Health Organization (2004). The economic dimensions of intimate partner violence. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/42944/1/9241591609.pdf.
22. Ibid.
23. Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R. & Hamby, S. (2011). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence and other family violence.

https://www.globalfundforwomen.org/key-issues/
Women’s rights are the fundamental human rights that were enshrined by the United Nations for every human being on the planet nearly 70 years ago. These rights include the right to live free from violence, slavery, and discrimination; to be educated; to own property; to vote; and to earn a fair and equal wage.

https://www.unwomen.org/en/

U.N. Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. We are partners for advocates and decision-makers from all walks of life, and a leader in the effort to achieve gender equality. The UN system continues to give particular attention to the issue of violence against women.