Hi John,

I think I smell the aroma of a new pack of pencils, hear the chatter of parents and students talking about getting into routines, notice a little extra crunch in fallen leaves, and feel the nervous energy of the first day of school jitters flooding the streets of D.C.

When I was a kid, I truly came alive when preparing to go back to school. By mid-July, my school supply list was compiled and my first-day outfit chosen, and I can still feel the rush of picking up my class schedule to compare with my friends. Sure, I would stress myself out trying to make sure that everything was the way that I envisioned it (spoiler alert, it rarely was), but at least I knew that the school policies and administrators would have my back, right? Well…

Students in more than half of the country are starting the year WITHOUT a final Title IX rule…

Since the Biden administration released a final Title IX rule in April, those opposed to inclusive schools, including several individuals, organizations, and 26 states have filed lawsuits to stop the enforcement of the rule, which would extend clear protections for all women and girls in their schools.

Unfortunately, the courts ruled in their favor to temporarily block the rule, which means students in over HALF of the country are returning to school without explicit Title IX rule protections for pregnant and parenting students, LGBTQI+ students, and student survivors of sexual harassment and assault.

This situation is messy, to say the least, and agonizing to say just a little bit more, especially since right-wing extremists are ignoring that Biden’s proposed protections would create safe learning environments for all students. In addition to shouting about this debacle from the rooftops, I’m also telling my senators to protect Title IX. Will you join me?

Survivors could be forced to relive their abuse through defamation suits

Would you believe that there’s no federal legislation that protects survivors of sexual violence from being sued by their abusers for defamation? Well, it’s true.

Abusers can retaliate against and silence their accusers by filing retaliatory SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation), like defamation suits, against them. Defamation suits, even if they are baseless, can take years to sort through and financially burden the survivor.

The main purpose of these suits is to silence survivors and limit their speech. Only 35 states have anti-SLAPP protections, and most of those protections don’t cover sex harassment and definitely don’t effectively prevent abusers from suing survivors in most places. Until federal legislation and state legislation are passed in the remaining states, survivors are at risk.

If you want to learn more about it, you can click around our Survivors Speaking Out toolkit, and if you need legal or PR support, you can learn about NWLC’s offerings through the Legal Network for Gender Equity and TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.

Must Do’s and Must Reads ✅📖

• Want to dig deeper into this summer's Olympic festivities? Check out our blog about Olympians Lin Yu-Ting and Imane Khelif and how gender policing hurts everyone.
• I Regret To Inform You That Season Two of Hearsay Has Come to an End. I am both mourning and celebrating this incredibly fun and powerful season. Listen to the finale, where we interview WNBA stars Aliyah Boston and Alysha Clark and Executive Director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, Terri Carmichael Jackson! You can also take this time to catch up on everything we yapped about in our older episodes!! Let me know if you have a favorite episode from this season (because I definitely do.)
• As if we need another reason to combat trad wives, this article reminded me that we need to be on alert for them spreading anti-child care rhetoric. The crumbs have been there from the beginning, but now they’re saying the quiet part out loud: they think no one but mothers should be the caretakers of their children. Why pay someone to take care of your kids when you can get paid through brand deals to take care of your kids AND spread misinformation and stigma about child care? 🙄

Person Who Lived Rent Free in My Head in August: Octavia Butler 💫🙇🏾‍♀️

Last year, person after person told me that The Parable of the Sower was the best book that they had ever read. Admittedly, I am not the biggest science fiction or fantasy consumer (I like my books to be full of meet-cutes or teach me something sociological), but I won’t forget how I felt after finally reading it. I was shocked that the book began on July 24, 2024, amazed at the world that Octavia Butler built, heart wrenched about how she imagined the future when she wrote these books in the 90s, and interested in seeing this world from the perspective of a complex, young Black woman.

I am currently reading the sequel The Parable of the Talents, and am gripping every page and soaking up every word. As one of the most important science fiction writers and afrofuturists, Octavia Butler dared to dream of a future for Black women, dared to infiltrate a space that was led by white male authors, and made a legacy through her books that allow her readers to say “well, she warned us.”

Feminist Moment of Joy 🎂🎉

In classic Leo fashion, the most joyous and significant moment of August was my birthday. For the first time in my adulthood, I hosted a birthday party and invited both friends and family. My anxiety about getting everything perfect subsided when I saw all of my favorite people finally meeting one another and laughing over common interests. Surrounded by the beaming August sun and more loved ones than I could possibly imagine, especially without the back-to-school nerves that used to weigh on me in Augusts past, I was reminded of the importance of community and the authentic love that is present in my life in countless forms. I hope that at some point this month you were able to be overwhelmingly reminded of how loved you are just as you are.

Eagerly and bashfully,

Jessica Baskerville
she/her/hers
Media Manager
National Women’s Law Center