ADDENDUM NOW ISSUES POLICY MANUAL 1997 – January 2019
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ADDENDUM NOW ISSUES POLICY MANUAL 1997 – January 2019 NOW Issues Policy Manual Addendum 1997 – Jan 2019 The following is a comprehensive addendum to the Issues Policy Manual for the National Organization for Women. This addendum runs from 1997 through the present. For policies adopted prior to 1997, please see the original Issues Policy Manual (1966-1996). Conference-adopted policy is identified by the year of adoption in bold type; policy adopted by the National Board is identified by the month and year of adoption. This addendum contains the following categories: Affirmative Action ................................ 3 Incarceration/Law Enforcement ........ 133 Child Abuse........................................... 5 Judges/Courts .................................... 147 Child Care ............................................. 8 LGBTQIA+ Rights............................ 151 Declaration of Sentiments ................... 10 Media/Communications .................... 165 Disability Rights ................................. 13 Military .............................................. 173 Domestic Relations/Family Law ......... 22 Politics/Elections ............................... 178 Economic Justice/Employment ........... 28 Racial & Ethnic Diversity ................. 199 Education ............................................ 57 Religion ............................................. 219 ERA ..................................................... 62 Reproductive Freedom ...................... 224 Environment ........................................ 72 Sexual Harassment ............................ 247 Feminist History/Tributes ................... 74 Sports ................................................. 252 Global Feminism/US Foreign Policy .. 80 Violence against Women .................. 255 Health/Health Care .............................. 99 War/Peace/Disarmament ................... 275 Human Rights ................................... 121 Young Feminists ............................... 282 Immigrant Women/Immigrants......... 125 Questions regarding the formatting and accessibility of the policy manual may be directed to [email protected] The policy manual is available on the chapter leadership website (password-protected) at http://now.org/for-now-leaders/ AFFIRMATIVE ACTION RACIAL INCLUSION ACTION PLAN NOW 2011 WHEREAS, the National Organization for Women (NOW) has a herstory of passing multiple resolutions on racial diversity and immigration but not fully implementing them for varied reasons; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Combating Racism Ad Hoc Committee and the board committee on Ending Racism create a tool kit, by the 2012 National Conference, which will emphasize racial and ethnic inclusion, immigration issues, and the dismantling of white privilege, and include, at minimum: • the three articles that were recently distributed to the NOW National Board -- i.e., Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Latoya Peterson's On Being Feminism's 'Ms. Nigga,' and Hepshiba's White Privilege Diary Series #1 -- White Feminist Privilege in Organizations; and • a model racial inclusion plan that contains cultural communication dynamics education; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW hold a diversity-inclusion-themed national conference in 2014 and explore the provision of conference scholarship funds to ensure the attendance of economically disadvantaged feminists of color. WOMEN'S AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EDUCATION CAMPAIGN 4/01 WHEREAS, white women have been the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action programs that open doors in education, employment and contracting which were previously closed to women; and WHEREAS, the low number of tenured female professors and the low number of women enrolled and earning degrees in math, science and computer science demonstrates the need for continued outreach and recruitment of women in these fields; and WHEREAS, women-owned businesses are awarded only a minute portion of public contracts; and WHEREAS, many business organizations such as the National Business Round Table, the National Association of Manufacturers, and unions recognize the benefits that affirmative action programs and policies bring to business by building a diverse workforce; and WHEREAS, millions of older women and women with disabilities now live below the poverty level because they have been denied equal opportunity and pay equity; and WHEREAS, women still suffer from being deprived of economic opportunity and equity; and WHEREAS, the National Organization for Women activists across the nation must be prepared to combat the assault on affirmative action exemplified by national campaigns of distortion and misrepresentation, led by Ward Connerly and others, which have succeeded in eliminating affirmative action in some states; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW continue its work with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and other organizations to strategize new ways to work together to preserve and protect affirmative action and counteract threats to it. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 1999 WHEREAS, an anti-affirmative action climate is growing nationally; and WHEREAS, affirmative action policies have played an important role in breaking down barriers to equal opportunity and equal employment; and WHEREAS, the National Organization for Women (NOW) has a long history of support for Affirmative Action Programs and is against discrimination based on race and gender; and WHEREAS, all city, county, and state entities are required to file Title VI Assurance Plans; and WHEREAS, the federally-required Disparity Reports on government contracts show discrepancies Issues Manual Addendum 1997 – Nov 2019 3 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION disproportionately benefiting white males; and WHEREAS, these reports are available to all people in all cities, counties and states; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW) be urged to promote the creation of a commission to look at these reports and their corresponding issues; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, as an alternative, chapters be encouraged to establish ad hoc groups to work in coalition with other community organizations to gather and review this data in order to judge the feasibility of filing a complaint with the appropriate agencies (EEOC, Federal Attorney General) on behalf of women. Issues Manual Addendum 1997 – Nov 2019 4 CHILD ABUSE ADDRESS SEXUAL VIOLENCE AS A PROBLEM ON PREK-12 CAMPUSES &` BRIDGE GAPS FOR MINORS 07/2018 WHEREAS Title IX applies to prek-12 campuses as well as college campuses and while 1 in 5 college aged women are sexually assaulted, high schoolers report high numbers of assault and sexual violence, including sexual harassment, with trans students still at higher risk; and WHEREAS Title IX applies to prek-12 campuses as it does all education levels, yet various education and political campaigns fail to address it, regardless of the investigations of prek-12 institutions currently underway by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and not counting the prek-12 survivors having been rejected their complaints. As of June 2018, There were 162 prek-12 schools under investigation by the OCR for mishandling sexual harassment and 137 for mishandling other forms of sexual violence; and WHEREAS prek-12 survivors, like other survivors face issues with trauma and knowledge of rights and how it affects our timeliness of filing OCR complaints within the given span of allotted time; and WHEREAS younger prek-12 students face barriers in finding their Title IX guidance officer; and rates of sexual violence in high schools are only marginally lower and too face issues with hostile climates and retaliation from which they are protected under Title IX; and WHEREAS prek-12 students face greater risk given that they face both student on student sexual violence and teacher on student sexual violence; and WHEREAS ending sexual violence and sexual discrimination are priorities of NOW; and WHEREAS prek-12 survivors face particular gaps in finding justice and advocacy. Child Advocacy Centers (CACS) do not educate or train staff in Title IX but deal with many Title IX challenges; and WHEREAS there is very limited coordinated activity addressing PreK-12 sexual violence CACS do not communicate with state sexual violence coalitions or national organizations and state sexual violence coalitions which provide technical assistance, direct services and legal help to survivors often has an age limit which restricts minor survivors and the one organization that does address sexual violence for prek-12 students (Stop Sexual Assault in Schools) mainly addresses parents and teachers; and WHEREAS National organizations who handle Title IX cases for college students often turn away minors and age limits are faced in dealing with survivors that alienate many minor survivors and prek-12 survivors do not face protections under the Clery Act; and WHEREAS prek-12 Survivors are restricted by their knowledge of sexual violence and these definitions are provided by comprehensive sexual education and this is not provided to all students but it should provide age appropriate information on reproductive rights and responsibilities as well as legal rights against sex discrimination; and WHEREAS being minors, prek-12 survivors often face particular issues with expression and choice of action post- assault as they are subject to whether their parents and school officials believe them and minors do not know their rights to take their own action should these individuals not believe