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BY CARRIE N. BAKER | In terms of women’s right to be free from violence, the Trump administration was brutal.
During Trump's presidency, the Violence Against Women Act was never reauthorized, for the first time since 1994. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos eviscerated Title IX protections against sexual assault on college campuses. The Trump administration’s immigration policies blocked immigrant women fleeing domestic violence from seeking asylum. Trump even opposed a United Nations Security Council resolution to end rape as a weapon of war until the Council deleted any mention of sexual and reproductive health and weakened references to the International Criminal Court, making it harder for women and girls to seek justice.
Trump incessantly modeled abusive masculinity, from physically stalking Hillary Clinton on the debate stage in 2016, to recently encouraging his supporters who conspired to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. As Jackson Katz wrote for Ms.:
“Donald Trump’s behavior has so dramatically lowered the bar for what is and should be expected of adult male behavior that it will take years to undo the regression.”
Reversing this damage is a key part of President-Elect Joe Biden’s pledge to pursue an “aggressive and comprehensive plan to further women’s economic and physical security and ensure that women can fully exercise their civil rights.” He has his work cut out for him.
Biden’s pledge to end violence against women centers on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), restoring Title IX protections against sexual harassment and assault on college campuses, and increasing protections and programs for women in marginalized communities—including Native American women, adolescent girls of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, older women, women and girls with disabilities, immigrant women, and women service members. (Click here to read the rest of this article on MsMagazine.com.)
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