NATIONAL
ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN FOUNDATION, INC.ANNUAL REPORT 1995
NATIONAL
ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN FOUNDATION, INC.
THE NOW FOUNDATION |
The National Organization for Women Foundation was established in 1986
as a 501(c)(3) education and litigation organization allied with the National
Organization for Women, the largest feminist organization in the United
States, with its national offices in Washington, D.C. and affiliates across
the country. The two groups share some staff and office space, and have
overlapping boards of directors.
The NOW Foundation seeks to enhance the status of women worldwide through both education and litigation. An important aspect of the Foundation's work is to inform the general public, as well as policy-makers, about topics concerning the equal treatment of women. We do this in many ways, including public speaking, conferences, seminars, training programs, and educational materials. The Foundation has sponsored national and international conferences, including a Global Feminism Conference, several regional conferences on women of color and reproductive rights, and a Young Feminist Summit on Violence. Foundation projects have also included the compilation of informational resources on economic equity, affirmative action, racial and ethnic diversity, lesbian rights, violence against women and sexual harassment. The litigation efforts of the Foundation are essential to protecting reproductive health options for women, and we are in the process of expanding our litigation efforts to cover other areas of concern to women. |
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM - "STOP THE RESCUE RACKET" |
NOW Foundation established the "Stop the Rescue Racket" project
to address anti-abortion terrorism and clinic violence, a project vital
to protecting the health of women. The Foundation gathers information about
the activities of anti-abortion groups and individuals and has been active
(and ultimately successful) in urging the creation of a Justice Department
task force. Information on clinic violence is being tracked, and the relevant
information is being entered into a specialized computer database which
is constantly updated as we receive materials from clinics and activists
across the country. The Foundation's primary project in this area is the
NOW v. Scheidler lawsuit,
with its potential to de-fund the network of anti-abortion terrorists which
has already spread from the U.S. to countries around the world.
NOW v. Scheidler was originally filed in response to the violent attacks against women's health clinics in Florida. The lawsuit is a class action filed on behalf of two named clinics and the National Organization for Women, as class representatives (respectively) of all clinics in the United States and all women who might seek to use their services. It alleges that Joseph Scheidler, Randall Terry, Operation Rescue, and other anti-abortion groups and zealots are the organizers of a nationwide network coordinating violent attacks against abortion providers. Their acts include attacks on patients and clinic personnel, arson, bombings, extortion, invading clinics, damaging medical equipment and stealing fetuses. Our claims in NOW v. Scheidler are based on the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This federal law allows victims of anti-abortion terrorism to sue not only those who actually pull the trigger or light the match, but also those who promote and coordinate the violence. RICO provides for triple damages against those who violate it. RICO will also allow the plaintiffs to obtain an injunction against further violations of the statute. Five years after NOW v. Scheidler was filed in federal court, the case was dismissed on the grounds that RICO required the defendants' acts to be economically motivated. In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the statute does not require such a motive. The case was returned to the lower court, and we are preparing to go to trial. 1995 has been a critical period for this suit, as we fought the defendants' persistent delaying tactics, and funded the research, investigation, and legal preparation necessary for taking the depositions of those responsible for clinic murders and bombings -- including Paul Hill and Michael Griffin. The NOW Foundation is dedicated to a long-term litigation strategy to stop clinic violence. The Scheidler lawsuit is an essential part of the fight to preserve access to reproductive health options in the United States. The triple damages available under the RICO statute will help to compensate financially-strapped clinics for the damage they have suffered, provide a strong deterrent to those considering violence, and capture substantial resources funding the violent anti-abortion movement. A successful outcome in the Scheidler lawsuit will have a dramatic impact on the funding, and in many cases the very existence, of anti-abortion violence across the country. |
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING |
The Leadership Development and Training Program has conducted several trainings and produced important organizing materials. Speeches and programs informed and inspired students on college campuses in preparation for the 1995 Young Feminist Summit on Violence. Action Team trainings, which emphasize techniques for organizing around an issue in local communities, have been effectively used to educate community activists on issues of lesbian rights, reproductive rights, violence against women, welfare rights, and health care issues, while at the same time teaching valuable communication skills.. |
THE YOUNG FEMINIST SUMMIT |
The NOW Foundation sponsored and organized a Young Feminist Summit on Violence on April 7th-8th, 1995 in Arlington, Virginia. Attended by over 1,200 participants, the event drew young women and men from thirty-four states and the District of Columbia. Workshops addressed the various forms of violence affecting young women in our society. Topics included: sexual harassment in schools; violence in music, language and the media; the violence of poverty; lesbian and gay bashing; eating disorders; raising non-violent, non-sexist children; women of color and violence; surviving violence; date and acquaintance rape; sex and self-esteem; violence in intimate relationships; child abuse; terrorism at abortion clinics; the neglect of women's health care issues; violence against women from a global perspective; self-defense training; coalition building; conflict resolution; and prejudice reduction. In addition, attendees participated in working groups and formed grassroots action plans for returning to their own communities. Another summit, on a broad range of issues, is planned for 1997. |
LESBIAN RIGHTS PROGRAM |
In response to a ballot measure that would have adversely affected
lesbian and gay rights in Maine, NOW Foundation staff conducted trainings
on organizational skills. NOW Foundation Vice
President Rosemary Dempsey spoke at twelve universities and colleges
in Maine, educating students and the public on the issue of violence and
discrimination against lesbians and gays.
The Foundation organized to ensure that the Young Feminist Summit was attended by young people active in student gay rights organizations; Foundation staff conducted workshops at the Summit on the topic of lesbian and gay bashing. Staff also conducted a self-defense workshop for gays and lesbians during DC Pride Week. The Foundation staff participates in coalitions working on the health concerns of lesbians, domestic violence in lesbian relationships, and efforts to end employment discrimination against lesbians. And, the Foundation is an educational resource for activists throughout the country on issues of homophobia, hate crimes, equal marriage rights, and lesbian family issues. |
RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY |
The focus of this program is to educate community activists and the
society at large on the concerns of women of color as they affect all issues
addressed by the women's movement. This year, Foundation staff presented
prejudice reduction workshops for college interns, NOW leadership, the
Young Feminist Summit, and the American
Association of University Women. Educational materials were developed
on affirmative action and for a Valuing Diversity Kit. In California, we
provided educational materials and participated in coalition efforts to
ensure that activists and the public were better informed about efforts
to eliminate affirmative action programs, particularly for women and people
of color. In July 1995, Foundation President
Patricia Ireland participated in a panel discussion on affirmative
action for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in New Orleans,
Louisiana.
An on-going part of our work in this area is to network with many other organizations that address the issue of racism. Our public education and networking outreach includes an emphasis on how racism is interrelated with issues of sexism, homophobia, poverty, and violence. |
THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY |
Welfare Rights Project staff provided education and community outreach on the issue of welfare rights, the needs of women and children living in poverty, and the need for universal health care. Currently proposed welfare reform efforts will have a disastrous impact on women and children and will eliminate the limited safety net that poor women and children now have -- a safety net which is particularly necessary for women and children fleeing domestic violence. We work with women who are welfare recipients and have aided them in their community activism. We have worked closely with the National Welfare Rights Union and similar groups, and in April 1992, we co-founded Up and Out of Poverty Now, a coalition of feminists and welfare rights activists working to ensure that the voices of low-income women are heard. Foundation staff work closely with welfare rights groups, homeless organizations, anti-hunger groups and immigration groups to fight efforts to take away basic health care, education, housing, and programs to aid children. In August 1995, Foundation President Patricia Ireland gave the keynote address at the National Welfare Rights Union Conference in Houston, Texas. Our staff participated in conferences in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and West Virginia on welfare rights. |
INSURANCE DISCRIMINATION |
Foundation staff work to educate the public on how current insurance industry practices discriminate against women. Insurance Project Director Patrick Butler conducted months of research on the legal and economic issues surrounding the allocation of automobile accident and insurance costs and the disparate impact on women as a lower mileage group in the form of higher rates per mile costs. On June 20, 1995, he presented a speech to the D.C. chapter of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society on "Why Most Motorists are Underinsured: The Need for Exposure Unit Change." An article was published in The Journal of Actuarial Practice, Vol. 3, 1995, on the impact of Canadian human rights decisions on gender-based risk classification systems in insurance. |
GLOBAL FEMINISM |
The Foundation coordinates efforts to communicate with feminist leaders
around the world and to educate the public in the United States about the
status of women worldwide. As an on-going project, we have been particularly
active on the issue of violence against women around the world, publicizing
the plight of millions of women maimed by the practice of female genital
mutilation.
Staff and officers participated in the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, with NOW Foundation Secretary Karen Johnson serving on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Network for the Fourth World Conference on Women and Beyond. Two officers and two staff members attended the Conference and the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Forum. The Foundation worked to: advocate for policy changes based on the Platform for Action; advocate for the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women; network with organizations locally and globally that work for women's empowerment; and educate the public about the Conference and its goals. The staff presented workshops at the Fourth World Conference with organizational development as their focus. Knowing that the women's movement struggles internationally and locally, and knowing the various stages of organizational development that have marked the progress of the women's movement in the United States, we attempted to share two pieces of our progress with other organizations around the globe. One problem faced by women internationally which we have worked to resolve in the United States with some success is the development of consciousness-raising groups to help women understand the link between individual discrimination and political solutions. We distributed materials about consciousness raising groups and led a demonstration model to give participants ideas about the uses for consciousness-raising in their countries. A second problem in organizational development is the overall health and well-being of the group itself. Are new members joining? Is the leadership positive? Where do you find adequate funding? Do the groups work well with other like-minded organizations in their communities and countries? Does the media give the group coverage to help educate the public? Our staff conducted a workshop addressing these concerns and invited participants from around the world to share ideas. |
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN |
The Foundation works to educate the public about the problem of violence against women, and held the 1995 Young Feminist Summit on Violence to train young activists on the issue and inspire them to continue this work in their communities. We are actively engaged in involving young women and men around the issue of violence against women, bringing them together across the traditional dividing lines of gender, race, class, religion, physical ability, or sexual orientation. In addition, staff and interns have worked to collect information on state-by-state stalking laws and remedies, sexual harassment claims and the processes involved in pursuing such claims, and the global problem of female genital mutilation. |
PUBLIC EDUCATION |
In addition to the specific educational and training efforts described above, information about the status of women in our society and the issues affecting women's welfare was disseminated through many public speaking engagements of the Foundation's President, Patricia Ireland, and other officers. Foundation officers made public presentations during 1995 in the following states: California, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, the District of Columbia and Beijing, China. Public education is also served through the development of educational materials on women's issues. |
NOW Foundation's Governing Board |
Patricia Ireland - President Kim A. Gandy - Executive Vice President Rosemary Dempsey - Education Vice President Karen Johnson - Secretary
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Chief Administrative Personnel |
Mea Arnold - Public Policy Director Patrick Butler - Insurance Project Director Faith Evans - Welfare Rights Program Director Loretta Kane - Leadership Development Training and Community College Project Director Marquita - Sykes - Racial and Ethnic Diversity Program Director Kimberlee Ward - Lesbian Rights Program Director |