State, Law, and Social Policy

1. State, Law, and Social Policy

2. Social Institutions • Established patterns of social behavior organized around particular needs and purposes • Structured by gender, race, class, and other identities associated with systems of inequality and privilege

3. The State • Refers to all forms of social organization representing official power in society • Organized to maintain systems of legitimized power and authority • Teaches and enforces social values • Can work to maintain sources of inequality or as an avenue for social justice

4. Government • One of the institutions that make up the state • Creates laws and procedures • The political system

5. History • Women’s political identity was restricted • Women were represented by fathers, husbands or brothers • No separate legal identity (husband and wife were one person) • 1848 – Seneca Falls Convention, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (Elizabeth Cady Stanton) • 1868 – Fourteenth Amendment ratified to include due process: no person could be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or denied due process of law (person = man)

6. History • 1923 – Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): introduced to counter the shortfalls of the Fourteenth Amendment • Both women and men hold equally all the rights guaranteed by the US Constitution • Passed Congress in 1972, but was never ratified (fell 3 states short of the 38 needed) • 19 states have equal rights guarantees in their constitutions

7. Equal Protection Clause • 14th Amendment: “No state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” • Limited by the concept of state action: only applies to federal, state, and local governments, not private entities • Limited to action in which the government is substantially involved

8. Equal Protection Clause • The Rational Basis Test: Did the state have a reasonable purpose for passing the law? and is there some difference between the two classes or groups of people that makes it reasonable to treat them differently? • The Strict Scrutiny Test: Does the state have a compelling interest in passing the law? and is the legal classification absolutely necessary to accomplish that purpose? • The Intermediate Scrutiny Test: Provides that classifications by sex are constitutional only if they serve important government objectives and are closely and substantially related to the achievement of those objectives

9. 112th Congress • Women make up 16.5% of House of Representatives • Women make up 17% of Senate • Women make up 16.6% overall in Congress • 89 women total; 26 are women of color • Overall percentage of women in Congress fell from 17% to 16.6% from 111th Congress to 112th – first time overall figure fell from previous year

10. Welfare • 1996 – Aid to Families with Dependent Children was terminated and replaced with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (gave authority to states, time limits) • 2002 – Welfare Reform Act: increased hours mothers on welfare had to work, study, or receive training • 2005 – Deficit Reduction Act – reduced Medicare and Medicaid spending • All of these reforms have disproportionately affected women

11. Wealthfare • Government subsidizes corporations through: • Direct grants • Publicly funded research can be used by private corporations • Discounted fees for public resources • Tax breaks for the wealthy • Corporate tax reductions and loopholes

12. Anti-Abortion Laws • In 2012, 17 states set new limits on abortion. In 2011, 24 states did (Guttmacher Institute) • Many states now have only one clinic (North Dakota, Mississippi), and those are threatened by proposed legislation • 40 percent of female registered voters surveyed in 12 swing states consider abortion the most important election issue for women (Gallup)

13. Violence Against Women • No laws offering women legal protection against violence until 1980s (rape shield laws, mandatory arrest for domestic violence, public notification about convicted sex offenders, restraining orders) • 1994 Violence Against Women Act - created new federal interstate domestic violence, stalking and firearms crimes, strengthened federal penalties for repeat sex offenders, and required states and territories to enforce protection orders issued by other states, tribes and territories

14. Violence Against Women Act Contd. • Created legal relief for battered immigrants that prevented abusers from using immigration law to control victims and established the toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline • Authorized funds to support battered women's shelters, rape prevention education, domestic violence intervention and prevention programs, and programs to improve law enforcement, prosecution, court, and victim services responses to violence against women

15. Violence Against Women Act Contd. • VAWA has been reauthorized twice since 1994. It is now in jeopardy of not being reauthorized for the first time since its adoption. Two different versions have been proposed. • Senate version: bill would expand coverage for illegal immigrants and Native Americans who are victims of domestic abuse. It also specifies the inclusion of gay, lesbian and transgender victims. • House version: bill omits protections for Native American and LGBT victims of violence, and actually weakens existing protections for immigrants

16. Criminal Justice System • Rate of crime committed by women is steadily increasing • Most are imprisoned for property and drug crimes • African Americans make up 45.5% of all incarcerated women • Nearly 2/3 of incarcerated women are mothers • Almost half of incarcerated women have been physically or sexually abused

17. The Military • Militarism – predominance of armed forces in state policies or the intent of a government to maintain a strong military capacity and its use to defend or promote national interests • History of misogynistic and homophobic attitudes to enforce highly masculine codes of behavior • Women were not given formal status in the military until WWII • First women were admitted to military academies in 1976 (West Point)

18. Military • In 2010 women made up 15% of active-duty military and 20% of new recruits • African American women make up 1/3 of women in military • Women now serve in some combat roles • 1 in 10 service members involved in Iraq and Afghanistan was female • 45% of female service members in Iraq were mothers

19. Violence and Harassment in the Military • In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Defense stated that 2,617 (14%) of the 19,000 Service members who are estimated to have experienced one of the various offenses captured in the DoD definition of sexual assault reported the matter to a DoD official. In FY 2011, there were 3,192 reports of sexual assault made to DoD. Applying the same 14% estimate, that means there were over 22,500 sexual assaults in FY2011DOD Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military • At the nation's military academies, during academic program year (APY) 2009-2010, 12.9% of women reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact, and 56% of women indicated that they had experienced sexual harassment (this survey is administered every 2 years) Annual Report of Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies

20. Sexual Violence and Harassment • Among the active duty ranks, there were 3,192 reports of sexual assaults involving service members in fiscal year 2011 • At the military academies, during APY 10-11, there were 65 reports of sexual assault, up from 41 reported the previous academic year • The Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, saw an unprecedented 150% increase in reported sexual assaults, from 8 reported in APY 08-09 to 20 reported in APY 09-10. For female cadets, the past year rate of unwanted sexual contact increased from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 11.9 percent in 2010.