Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s decision to grant full clemency to Cyntoia Brown was the right thing to do, but it doesn’t erase the injustice she endured. The criminalization of the trauma she suffered as a victim of sex trafficking and abuse is reprehensible and unacceptable. Cyntoia
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON – An alarming rise in “personhood” laws – including a new focus on beyond-the-pale criminal prosecution of pregnant women- is opening up a dangerous new front in the far-right’s attack on reproductive rights. As an editorial series in the New York Times described: “These criminal statutes are results of
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt WASHINGTON – Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has revoked the “Rethink Discipline” guidelines, issued during the Obama administration, which reminded schools of their responsibility to address racial discrimination in school discipline. Without these guardrails, schools can continue to funnel minority students into the “school to prison pipeline,” which
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON – The National Organization for Women (NOW) was proud to be a sponsor of the historic Women’s March that took place following Donald Trump’s inauguration, and of the subsequent March last year. NOW has a long history of support for grassroots actions and street protest. NOW
WASHINGTON — Throughout 2018, women across the country have experienced several highs and lows. NOW and its allies have refused to sit quietly and watch those who attempt to turn back the clock on women’s rights. We have been tested, but we have risen to the challenge and continued to speak truth to power. Though
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON – Last week a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl in Border Patrol custody died of dehydration and shock at the U.S. border. 8 hours after being taken into custody, she began suffering seizures and spiked a fever of 105.7 degrees Fahrenheit when she was taken to a hospital, where
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON – Congress has finally passed legislation to reform the way sexual harassment cases are handled in the House and Senate. Members will now be held liable for all forms of harassment as well as retaliation against whistleblowers, and they will also be required to reimburse the Treasury
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON — Justice has failed Cyntoia Brown so many times. At the age of two, Brown was put up for adoption, and when she was 16 she was sold as a sex slave to a 43-year old Nashville man. This perpetrator held a gun on her and hit,
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON – As we wind down the month-long observation of November’s Native American Heritage Month, the National Organization for Women celebrates the history and legacy of the first American feminists. Native American women were more than just mothers of the tribes’ children—they were builders, warriors, farmers, and craftswomen.
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON — The National Organization for Women regrets the unfortunate ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in the first case of female genital mutilation brought under the federal law banning this horrific practice. We believe this ruling to be erroneous for a
