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Proposal Details

Proposal ID506
ProposalPLATFORM: Women's Rights
PresenterPlatform Committee presenter, National Womens Caucus sponsor
Floor ManagerTheresa El Amin
PhaseClosed
Discussion07/19/2010 - 08/01/2010
Voting08/02/2010 - 08/08/2010
ResultAdopted
Presens Quorum31 0.6666
Consens Quorum73 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

6-The National Women's Caucus (NWC), an accredited caucus of the Green Party of the United States, researched, developed, organized and wrote the Women's Rights plank in the 2004 Platform. It became the first dedicated plank for women's rights in the Green Party's history.

The purpose of this proposal is to amend the 2004 Women's Rights section with: 1) Very minor edits to the Introduction, updatesfacts, and small sentence edits for better clarity.. 2) Minor edits to Social Equality, update facts, and rewrite a sentence for clarity and new legislation. 3) Rewrite *j.* under Economic Equality to update facts and for greater clarity. 4) Under Violence and Oppression, *n.* is re-written to better address this immense issue and to show that the Green Party recognizes that it must bring new ideas and solutions forward. This content is the result of many years of research, discussion and input, as well as collaboration with a researcher, writer and speaker on the topic of prostitution and trafficking. 5) Letter *o.* includes minor changes for clarity, additions and update.

6) The letter, *p.,* adds a new item for prostitution which the Platform has never before had. 7) The letter *s.* adds a new item to address the negative health and economic consequences to women and girls as a result of systemic violence. 8) The rest of the amendment deals with the change in letter sequencing that two new lettered items create.

Proposal

Instructions:

Amendments are introduced at the relevant point after the existing text. All existing text being amended is included in this amendment. The current Women's Rights plank, in full, can be found copied below this amendment.

Existing 2004 Text:
I. Social Justice

A. 1. Women’s Rights (Intro Paragraphs)

Since the beginning of what we call civilization, when men’s dominance over women was firmly established until the present day, our history has been marred with oppression of and brutality to women. The Green Party deplores this system of male domination, known as patriarchy, in all its forms, both subtle and overt – from oppression, inequality, and discrimination to domestic violence, rape, trafficking and forced slavery. The change the world is crying for cannot occur unless women’s voices are heard. Democracy cannot work without equality for women that provides equal participation and representation. It took an extraordinary and ongoing fight over 72 years for Women to win the right to vote. However, the Equal Rights Amendment has still not been ratified.

We believe that equality should be a given, and that all Greens must work toward that end. We are committed to increasing participation of women in politics, government and leadership so they can change laws, make decisions, and create policy solutions that affect and will improve women’s lives, and we are building our party so that Greens can be elected to office to do this. In July 2002 the Women’s Caucus of the Green Party of the United States was founded to carry out the Party’s commitment to women.

We also support, and call on others to support, the many existing and ongoing efforts for women:

AMENDMENTS:

Small Corrections and edits in Introduction as follows:

1st Paragraph, 1st Sentence: Comma after “established.”

1st Paragraph, 2nd Sentence: Delete clause after *discrimination* and add:

*all forms of violence against women and girls including rape, trafficking, forced sex which is also rape, slavery, prostitution and violence against women within marriage and relationships and in all institutions.*

1st Paragraph, last sentence: After *Amendment* add:

*first introduced in 1923 has still not been ratified by 2010, representing a continuous struggle of 87 years with no victory in sight.*

2nd Paragraph, last sentence: Add *National* before *Women’s*

Existing 2004 Text:

Social Equality

a. We support the equal application of the Constitution to all citizens, and therefore call for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). We urge accelerated ratification by three or more of the remaining 15 states that are required to pass ERA into law and into the Constitution. We urge renewed efforts and campaigns to ratify the ERA. We support House Resolution 98, using the precedent of a three-state strategy for ratification.

AMENDMENT: Update legislation and small edits as follows:

a. First sentence: After *Constitution,* Add:

*of the United States of America*

a. Delete last Sentence and replace it with:

*We support the Equal Rights Amendment reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 21, 2009 as H.J.Res 61.

Existing 2004 Text:

b. We call for equal representation of women in Congress instead of the current 13%.

AMENDMENT: Change 13% to:

*15% in 2010.*

Existing 2004 Text:

Economic Equality:

j. Since, nationally, women still earn only 70% of men’s wages for equal jobs, the Green Party calls for the introduction and passage of federal and state laws to achieve pay equity, and funding for the enforcement of such laws.

AMENDMENT: Rewrite as follows:

j. Since, nationally, women earn only 77% of men’s wages for equal work, despite outnumbering men in the workforce and despite the U.S. 1963 Equal Pay Act, we support intensified effort to see this unfair gap closed, including support for the Paycheck Fairness Act now in the Senate as S.182 and similar legislation, and greater effort at enforcement.

Existing 2004 Text:

Violence and Oppression:

n. Rape, domestic violence and other violence to women are increasing nationwide. We must address the root cause of all violence even as we specifically address violence to women. We cannot allow this to continue and call for increased funding for programs to address it.

AMENDMENT:

n. Rewrite as follows:

n. Violence against women is increasing nationwide. We must address the root cause of all violence even as we specifically address violence to women. We support stronger legislation, programs and enforcement. We also call for new dialog and re-thinking that can lead to better language, ideas and solutions. We urge that the term, domestic violence, be replaced by the term, violence, because the term, domestic violence, is perceived as not real violence and leads to it not being treated legally and practically for the violence that it is. We urge that the term, sex work, not be used in relation to prostitution. With the increasing conflation of the violent and illegal trafficking in women and girls for forced sex with prostitution, it is impossible to know which is which and what violence the term, sex work, is masking. No source in existence knows which prostitution comprises forced sex and which comprises free will or choice prostitution. Forced sex is rape, and it is a crime. An increasing number of experts think the percentage of choice prostitution is very small, leaving the larger number of women exposed to serious and fatal violence. Much of what is commonly called prostitution is actually sex trafficking by definition. The Green Party calls for a safer world for women and girls.

Existing 2004 Text:

o. The Green Party has zero tolerance for the illegal international trafficking in humans. Of the millions of humans trafficked worldwide, the large majority are women and children who are bought and sold as slaves and forced to labor against their will primarily in prostitution, but also in agriculture, sweat shops, domestic service and in other forms of servitude. According to Human Rights Watch, in all cases coercive tactics – including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical force, or debt bondage – are used to control women. Figures from 2003 show 50,000 victims, both women and children, were trafficked to the U.S.

AMENDMENTS:

o. Second sentence: Period after *slaves.*

Start new sentence after *slaves.*:

They are kept captive and in debt-bondage that can never be paid off. Most are sold over and over again for forced sex prostitution. Forced sex is rape and a serious crime. Some are forced to labor in agriculture, sweat shops, hotels, restaurants, domestic service and other forms of servitude.

Last sentence: Rewrite:

Estimates of human trafficking in the U.S. vary greatly from 18,000 to 50,000 to over 100,000.

AMENDMENT:

New Item *p* under Violence and Oppression

p. The Green Party calls for new U.S. legislation relating to prostitution modeled on the Swedish law passed in 1999, now adopted by other countries and being considered by more, that has drastically reduced human trafficking and prostitution in Sweden. That law criminalizes the purchase of services from prostitutes, pimps and brothel keepers instead of criminalizing the prostitutes. The Green Party urges the U.S. to open dialogs and visit with Sweden as a step toward introducing legislation in the U.S. Congress to address the exploitation, violence and harm to women through prostitution.

Existing 2004 Text:

p. The Green Party supports all efforts to eradicate this extreme abuse of human rights, including but not limited to enforcement of existing laws and passage of tough new ones, punishing traffickers, aiding victims, increasing public awareness, reforming immigration laws, supporting existing programs and creating new ones.

AMENDMENT: Change from *p* to *q.*

Existing 2004 Text:

q. We support the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report as an important document to begin to combat this abuse. We support and urge enforcement of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (HR 3244) signed into law on October 28, 2000. This Act authorizes funding for the prevention of trade in human beings and for protecting victims. It gives the State Department a historic opportunity to create an office with the exclusive responsibility of ending traffic in humans and protecting the victims of this world-wide trade. We urge committed political support to achieve the cooperation of all different levels of government.

AMENDMENT: Change from *q* to *r.*

AMENDMENT: New Item as follows:

s. The Green Party urges a more thorough dialog and understanding of violence against women and girls, including from prostitution and trafficking, that causes health and injury damage that seriously degrades their lives, even to death or premature death including from HIV, syphilis and many other diseases, as well as causing severe economic hardships. We call for solutions to this enormous problem that can result in awareness and the introduction of legislation in the U.S. Congress to address it.

Resources

Time line: Compilation into new 2010 GPUS Platform upon completion of the voting on all proposed amendments.

Resources: Time and effort of volunteers to compile the platform

References

6Visit the Platform Committee webpage for this proposal at: http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/comments/?p=562.
 
On the webpage, you can see various formats of the proposal created by the GPUS Platform Committee and the amendment proposal sponsors including the 2004 and 2010 texts side-by-side. You can also read and respond to comments from Greens around the country, including many who are not on the Green National Committee.

---------------------------------------------
Here is the 2004 text of the section being amended:

2004 Original Language
Chapter 2: Social Justice

Section Title: A. Civil Rights and Equal Rights

Subsection Title: 1. Women’s Rights

Since the beginning of what we call civilization, when men’s dominance over women was firmly established until the present day, our history has been marred with oppression of and brutality to women. The Green Party deplores this system of male domination, known as patriarchy, in all its forms, both subtle and overt – from oppression, inequality, and discrimination to domestic violence, rape, trafficking and forced slavery. The change the world is crying for cannot occur unless women’s voices are heard. Democracy cannot work without equality for women that provides equal participation and representation. It took an extraordinary and ongoing fight over 72 years for Women to win the right to vote. However, the Equal Rights Amendment has still not been ratified.

We believe that equality should be a given, and that all Greens must work toward that end. We are committed to increasing participation of women in politics, government and leadership so they can change laws, make decisions, and create policy solutions that affect and will improve women’s lives, and we are building our party so that Greens can be elected to office to do this. In July 2002 the Women’s Caucus of the Green Party of the United States was founded to carry out the Party’s commitment to women.

We also support, and call on others to support, the many existing and ongoing efforts for women:

Social Equality

a. We support the equal application of the Constitution to all citizens, and therefore call for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). We urge accelerated ratification by three or more of the remaining 15 states that are required to pass ERA into law and into the Constitution. We urge renewed efforts and campaigns to ratify the ERA. We support House Resolution 98, using the precedent of a three-state strategy for ratification.

b. We call for equal representation of women in Congress instead of the current 13%.

c. The Green Party calls for U.S. passage of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, which was adopted in 1979 by the U.N. General Assembly and ratified by 173 countries. The U.S. is one of the very few countries, and the only industrialized nation, that have not ratified it.

d. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission should actively investigate and prosecute sexual harassment complaints. Women who file complaints must not be persecuted and should be protected under federal and state law. We must enshrine in law the basic principle that women have the same rights as men, and promote gender equality and fairness in the work force to ensure that women receive equal pay for jobs of equal worth.

e. We support the inclusion of an equal number of women and men in peace talks and negotiations, not only because these efforts directly affect their lives and those of their husbands, children and families, but also because when women are involved, the negotiations are more successful.

Reproductive Rights

f. Women’s rights must be protected and expanded to guarantee each woman’s right as a full participant in society, free from sexual harassment, job discrimination or interference in the intensely personal choice about whether to have a child.

g. Women’s right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The “morning- after” pill must be affordable and easily accessible without a prescription, together with a government-sponsored public relations campaign to educate women about this form of contraception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception and the means for contraception; consultation about abortion and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of age or marital status.

h. We endorse women’s right to use contraception and, when they choose, to have an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women’s age or marital status. Contraception and abortion must be included in all health insurance policies in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally offer these services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public health agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for those services. We oppose our government’s habit of cutting family planning funds when those funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out contraceptive devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions.

i. We encourage women and men to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It is the inalienable right and duty of every woman to learn about her body and to be aware of the phases of her menstrual cycle, and it is the duty for every man to be aware of the functions and health of his and his partner’s bodies. This information is necessary for self determination, to make informed decisions, and to prevent unintended consequences. Unplanned conception takes control away from individuals and makes them subject to external controls. The “morning-after” pill and option of a safe and legal abortion need to remain available.

Economic Equality

j. Since, nationally, women still earn only 70% of men’s wages for equal jobs, the Green Party calls for the introduction and passage of federal and state laws to achieve pay equity, and funding for the enforcement of such laws.

k. Single mothers are the largest and most severely impoverished group in the United States, which explains why 25% of the children in our country live below the poverty line. Welfare reform has forced mothers to abandon their children to travel to minimum wage jobs. With the extreme pay inequity, single mothers cannot afford child care, nurture their children, and move out of poverty.

l. The Green Party supports real reforms to end poverty and return dignity and opportunity to all mothers. We call for implementing innovative programs that work with the particular and special needs of motherhood. We also support other programs such as a universal basic income (known also as a guaranteed income or Citizen Dividend, as described in True Cost Pricing and Tax Fairness ) that will provide for those who nurture the next generation – work that is of incalculable importance to our society.

Violence and Oppression

m. Language is often used as a weapon by those with power, and women have traditionally borne the brunt of inflicted injuries. Freedom of speech is vital to democracy. However, we believe that this freedom should not be used to perpetuate oppression and abuse.

n. Rape, domestic violence and other violence to women are increasing nationwide. We must address the root cause of all violence even as we specifically address violence to women. We cannot allow this to continue and call for increased funding for programs to address it.

o. The Green Party has zero tolerance for the illegal international trafficking in humans. Of the millions of humans trafficked worldwide, the large majority are women and children who are bought and sold as slaves and forced to labor against their will primarily in prostitution, but also in agriculture, sweat shops, domestic service and in other forms of servitude. According to Human Rights Watch, in all cases coercive tactics – including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical force, or debt bondage – are used to control women. Figures from 2003 show 50,000 victims, both women and children, were trafficked to the U.S.

p. The Green Party supports all efforts to eradicate this extreme abuse of human rights, including but not limited to enforcement of existing laws and passage of tough new ones, punishing traffickers, aiding victims, increasing public awareness, reforming immigration laws, supporting existing programs and creating new ones.

q. We support the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report as an important document to begin to combat this abuse. We support and urge enforcement of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (HR 3244) signed into law on October 28, 2000. This Act authorizes funding for the prevention of trade in human beings and for protecting victims. It gives the State Department a historic opportunity to create an office with the exclusive responsibility of ending traffic in humans and protecting the victims of this world-wide trade. We urge committed political support to achieve the cooperation of all different levels of government.



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