|
The Smartest, Simplest Policy Proposal of The Campaign by Adam B
Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 12:48:01 PM PST
And no one noticed it because Barack Obama unveiled it on October 31. It regards domestic violence, and it is a simple extension of current law:
Support Victims’ Economic Security: Victims of domestic violence often find themselves fired for missing work in order to find shelter or to get a court restraining order, even after receiving permission from their employers. Others have experienced harassment by abusers that interferes with work performance. Studies show that between one quarter and one half of domestic violence victims report that they have lost a job due to domestic violence. And a high percentage of sexual assault victims have reported that they have lost their jobs in the aftermath of the crime.
In the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama introduced and passed one of the most comprehensive sets of employment law protections for domestic and sexual violence victims in the nation. The Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) ensures that victims of domestic violence can seek treatment without losing their jobs. Barack Obama believes that similar legislation to what he passed in Illinois is necessary on the federal level.
Obama fully supports legislation such as the Security and Financial Empowerment Act, which gives victims of domestic violence greater economic stability and he is committed to enacting such legislation as president. As president, Obama will also expand the purposes for which leave can be taken under the Family Medical Leave Act to include reasons related to domestic violence or sexual assault.
Illinois was the first state to enact something like VESSA, and I'm not sure if there's a second. It provides an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, or who has a family or household member who is a victim of domestic violence, with up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid leave per any twelve (12) month period to address issues arising from domestic or sexual violence:
1. Seek medical attention for, or recovery from, physical or psychological injuries caused by domestic or sexual violence to the employee or employee’s family or household member;
2. Obtain victim services for the employee or employee’s family or household member;
3. Obtain psychological or other counseling for the employee or the employee’s family or household member;
4. Participate in safety planning, including temporary or permanent relocation or other actions to increase the safety of the victim from future domestic or sexual violence; or
5. Seek legal assistance to ensure the health and safety of the victim, including participating in court proceedings related to the violence.
VESSA leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule. And employers are prohibited from discharging, harassing or otherwise discriminating against any employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or retaliating against an employee in any form or manne as a result of taking VESSA leave.
Obama's domestic violence plan also covers boosting law enforcement and work on issues of domestic violence abroad, but this was the part that really grabbed me. Why hasn't it been done before?
But to be fair, Sen. Obama knows that government is not the only answer. As he wrote in an October 31 op-ed for the Chicago Defender, a newspaper serving Chicago's African-American community:
One in four women suffers from domestic violence in her lifetime. In 2005, over 175,000 women reported being victims of rape or sexual assault. These statistics are numbing; they are also heartbreaking.
And yet, they only dimly reflect the full scale of the problem. Too often, women fear their stories of abuse will not be believed or blame themselves, and as a result, they don't come forward. But while a crime can go unreported, its consequences cannot be undone.
Abuse scars not only the victim but her loved ones, sending currents of violence that ripple across our society. Right now, a woman who has fled an abuser is living on the streets, wondering how long it will be efore she has to turn to crime or prostitution to feed herself. Down the street, a child has shut the door and buried his head under the pillow so he doesn't have to hear his mother's cries, and there's a good chance he will grow up to be an abuser just like his father. ...
But government cannot stop a husband from striking his wife, or a woman from being assaulted on a deserted street. Ultimately, this problem has to be addressed by neighbors who are willing to report suspected crimes and by families who are willing to help loved ones come out of the darkness of isolation and into the light of justice. And we can all do our part by discussing this issue in public until we break down the stigma that still stops so many women from coming forward and bring about a change in the misogynistic attitudes that foster this violence.
Let's stop treating this as just a woman's issue. Whether it's hundreds of thousands of women being brutalized in the United States and around the world, or just a single friend whose boyfriend took advantage of her one night -- when a woman is attacked on account of her gender, it is a human rights issue. And so long as it continues, the conscience of our nation cannot rest.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/9/152317/429
A couple of comments from the thread:
It always drives me crazy (21+ / 0-)
when folks complain that Obama's gotten nothing done, and that he's all hot air. His work on domestic violence was tangible, needed, inexpensive, humane, and clearly the right thing to do.
When Obama was in the state senate, we met with him to get his support in extending medicaid eligibility to immigrant survivors of torture and severe human rights abuses who were seeking asylum - a group that is ineligible for any sort of assistance under the federal refugee benefits package. This is not a large number of persons, maybe only a hundred or so a year. Obama worked with other legislators and got it done. It was needed, inexpensive, and humane.
Obama worked with Republicans, effectively too, to get a bill passed requiring videotaping of confessions.
He deserves some criticism for not voting on the Mukasey nomination, but I do want to point out, he has done more in his career to prevent torture and police abuse, and help victims, than 95% of the rest of the members of the US senate.
Over the years, Obama's office has consistently been responsive on human rights legislation, immigrant protection, rule of law. I've interacted with him or his staff for nearly a decade, and although I can't claim to know him personally, I'm very much a supporter of his presidential campaign.
by ivorybill on Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 02:10:03 PM PST
Wow (8+ / 0-)
Have you ever thought about diarying the Medicaid eligibility story? Because even I never heard about that one.
by Adam B on Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 02:11:43 PM PST
I ought to... perhaps (16+ / 0-)
I can get the lead person on that issue to write a diary. I've met Obama twice, once on this issue and once on an immigration issue. Both times he was very helpful. I'm reluctant to write much about it, because I don't remember whether the bill finally passed in 2003 or 2004 - after he was in the US senate. He helped convince other Illinois legislators to vote for it, I know that. One of the things that Obama is famous for, for all you readers out there who are not from Illinois, is his ability to get Republicans to vote for Democratic bills. In this, he reminds me of Russ Feingold by the way - a true progressive who is unafraid to work across the isle when he is able.
(FYI - None of the candidates voted on the Mukasey nomination) |
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
