Women’s Rights Legislation: An Overview

By Rebecca Kamas on 07/22/2010 @ 02:00 PM

Yesterday I attended the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Intern Hill Briefing at the Russell Senate Building, where a panel of several outstanding women’s rights activists spoke about current issues that women face both domestically and internationally. We also heard from two congresswomen, Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Donna Edwards (D-MD), both of whom have championed women’s rights legislation. The panel of five women gave us overviews of several important pieces of legislation that are currently under review, and the benefits they would provide for women around the world.

Domestic Family Planning

The first issue we heard about was the domestic family planning agenda, particularly the Prevention First Act, which would provide preventative health services in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies and decrease abortions. This bill would:

1. Help women obtain family planning.

2. End insurance discrimination against women—requiring that private insurance companies include birth control in their prescription drug coverage.

3. Provide assistance to rape survivors and free access to emergency contraception for victims of sexual assault.

4. Help fund programs to decrease teen pregnancy and conduct teen pregnancy research.

5. Develop the first federal program for realist sex-education, including information about both abstinence and birth control.

The more contraceptive options a society has, along with easier access and the education to use them, the less a society has to depend upon abortion. In the United States, however, there are fewer contraceptive options than in other developed nations; access is far more complicated, and cost is prohibitive for far too many. In other developed countries like the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden—where effective contraceptive choices are easily accessible and inexpensive or free—the abortion rate is lower compared to the United States.

International Family Planning

There was also a discussion on international family planning, focusing on the pregnancy-related deaths in developing countries. One woman dies every minute of every day from pregnancy-related complications, and 99% of those deaths are in developing countries. Afghanistan was used as an example of a country that would greatly benefit from increased access to contraception and other health services. In Afghanistan, 1 in 8 women will die in childbirth; the average life expectancy for women is 44. Only 14% of women have a skilled childbirth attendant and only 12% have pre-natal care. The average woman in Afghanistan has 7.4 children. With the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, the chances that a woman will live past childbearing age is very slim.

International Violence Against Women Act

Daphne Jayasinghe, from Amnesty International outlined the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA), which is an important effort by the U.S. government to decrease violence against women globally. The bill would help support survivors, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent domestic violence, honor killings, and rape as a weapon of war. The I-VAWA would integrate anti-violence into other foreign assistance programs that provide health care, encourage legal reform and promote access to economic opportunity projects and safe schools.

The I-VAWA was introduced by the bi-partisan teams of Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Barbra Boxer (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) in the Senate, and Representatives Bill Delahunt (D-MA) and Ted Poe (R-TX) in the U.S. House of Representatives. One in three women suffer from violence and ending this tragedy should be a priority for everyone.

The Women's Treaty

Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, spoke about the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The United Nations adopted CEDAW in 1979, and the U.S. is one of only 7 countries that has failed to ratify the treaty, along with Iran, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, Somalia and Sudan. In the 186 countries that have ratified the treaty, it has led to reforms that have reduced violence and discrimination against women, sex slavery and trafficking. Millions of girls who were previously denied access to schools are now receiving primary education. Women’s health services have improved, saving lives during pregnancy and childbirth. And women have secured the right to inherit and own property.

In the United States, the Senate is responsible for ratifying international treaties, and a 2/3 majority (67 votes) is required for it to pass. Joining this treaty would commit the U.S. to take measure to ensure that women can enjoy basic human rights and fundamental freedoms by establishing judicial procedures to ensure protection of women’s rights, working to eliminate discrimination against women, and submitting national reports every four years on measures we have taken that promote and protect the rights of women.

Take Action

This event drove home the need for something to be done to protect women. Violence against women is a human rights violation, a public health epidemic and a barrier to solving global health challenges such as extreme poverty, armed conflict and terrorism. It prevents women from going to work, accessing educational and economic opportunities and participating in their communities. If you would like to help end the violence and give women control over their own lives, contact your congressional representatives here and ask them to vote to pass these bills.

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