Emily Evans
The numbers are shocking: Perpetrators have sexually or domestically assaulted more than half of Oregon’s women and girls. Oregon families face some of the least affordable childcare in the nation. And Oregon women have the highest rates of depression in the country.
These are just a few of the findings across “Eight that can’t wait” pressing issue areas of “Count Her In,” the first report on the status of Oregon’s women and girls in two decades.
The urgency in Oregon couldn’t be more clear, and the national context couldn’t be more dire. The catastrophic rollback of rights and opportunities for women and girls across the nation has already begun.
But Oregon won’t go back. Oregon must go forward.
Our collective desire for change is undeniable. Two weeks ago, approximately 130,000 eople participated in the Women’s Marches across our state. From Ashland to Astoria, Bandon to Bend, Portland to Pendleton, Oregonians marched in record numbers to make it clear they want to live in a state and a nation where every woman and girl can thrive.
For that to happen in Oregon, women and girls need to have equitable access to educational, social, political and economic opportunities. But right now, many of Oregon’s women and girls, particularly women and girls of color, do not.
Oregon’s lawmakers — past and present, Democrat and Republican — have much to be proud of when it comes to supporting gender equity in our state. The 2017 legislative session is filled with chances to lead again.
At the Women’s Foundation of Oregon, we’ve worked with experts, advocates and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to assemble a set of evidence-based and common sense policies that are already working elsewhere to address the “Eight that can’t wait.” These promising policies include:
— Sufficient, culturally competent services for sexual and domestic violence survivors so no one is turned away from a hospital or shelter.
— Basic prevention education in schools so violence doesn’t happen in the first place.
— Family and medical leave so all working Oregonians can recover from illness or care for loved ones without jeopardizing their paycheck.
— Health care equity so every Oregonian has their health needs met, including reproductive and mental health needs, regardless of location, citizenship status, gender identity or type of insurance.
— Updated employment laws so women, people of color, LGBTQ and other marginalized Oregonians can earn equal pay for comparable work.
The data is stark, and the stories speak for themselves. We live in a state that can’t wait. Oregon’s leaders have a clear mandate to craft public policies that address the systemic nature of the gender and racial inequities found in “Count Her In.”
Regardless of budget deficits, federal government upheaval or partisan gridlock, Oregon’s leaders must lead the nation by asking themselves a simple question before every decision this session: Is this action good for all women and girls?
Otherwise, to paraphrase Portland civil rights leader Kathleen Saadat, the largest demonstration in Oregon’s history was just a long walk in the rain.
Let’s get to work.
Emily Evans is the Executive Director of the Women’s Foundation of Oregon.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.