Right now, we face critical challenges to women's equality, both in the U.S. and around the world—but it can be hard to keep up. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) participates in a Democratic Women’s Caucus roundtable on Dec. 9, 2021. Two of Speier’s bipartisan bills were included in the VAWA reauthorization: a bill closing the law enforcement consent loophole, and another requiring climate surveys for college and university students to assess efforts to address sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, stalking and dating violence. (Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Caring Across Generations)

BY MICHELLE ONELLO | Last week, President Biden signed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, bipartisan congressional legislation included in the fiscal year appropriations package. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), first passed in 1994 and championed by then-Senator Biden, provides critical support for women across the United States experiencing violence. This year’s VAWA reauthorization ensures funding for all VAWA grant programs until 2027 and includes several additional measures to protect women.

These changes include two bills introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who over a long career in public service has been a fearless fighter for women’s equality. One measure closes the law enforcement consent loophole by eliminating the defense of consent in law enforcement custodial settings and the other requires greater efforts from colleges and universities to address sexual violence on campuses. Another crucial measure supported by Speier, known as Kayden’s Law, will help protect at-risk children in custody battles.

Speier, first elected to Congress in 2008, has announced that she will not seek reelection in November. She sat down with Ms. contributor Michelle Onello to discuss the improved VAWA and its critical importance for women, as well as her plans after she retires from Congress. 

(Click here to read more)

We know it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. That's why going forward, we'll provide a weekly roundup of the stories we think are important that Ms. may not have covered. Here's what we're reading this week: 

• "Afghan Journalist: ‘This Is a Hard Time for Afghan Women’” — VOA News
• "There could never be an ‘Elona’ Musk – women are held to far higher standards than men” — The Guardian 
• "In almost every state, over half of all women of color earn less than a living wage” — The 19th

Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

President Biden has announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the nominee to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court.  Who is she?  What’s her background? And why is she one of the most qualified and prepared nominees that this process has seen in nearly a century? New from our "Road to Confirmation" series: We unpack Judge Jackson’s qualifications and examine what’s next in the process.

We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!

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