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Elections 2012: What's at stake for victims & survivors
November 03, 2012
What does this election have to do with sexual and domestic violence issues? Everything!!
When you go to the poll next week, we hope you’ll keep in mind what the outcome of these elections will mean for victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence and their children.
Victims and survivors are often particularly vulnerable when it comes to access to health care, including reproductive choices, immigration policy, and affordable housing. The orientation of law enforcement and the availability of community based support and advocacy services make all the difference in terms of safety and liberty for thousands and thousands of people each year. The consequences of these problems in our society cost us much more every day than the cost of working to prevent them and to support victims and their children.
With so much focus on the economy, we can also think about violence in economic terms:
- Helping victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence achieve financial security – through such things as equal pay, protections from job discrimination, and safe workplaces – is a critical component of helping them live a life without fear and violence.
- Ensuring that victims and survivors have control over their reproductive choices and access to affordable health care has economic implications for them and society.
- Supporting survivors in securing safe housing, education, and employment decreases a person’s risk for victimization.
Elected officials make daily decisions about these kinds of policies and funding priorities that affect the welfare, safety, dignity and liberty of sexual and domestic violence victims and survivors. While JDI does not and cannot make endorsements of candidates, we nonetheless work closely with executive and legislative branches of government at the state and federal levels.
Our elected officials make decisions every day about social and policy issues that sustain violence or end violence. That matters to our ability to stop it here in Massachusetts and around the country.
Look at the candidates’ websites. If you missed the debates, listen to them on Youtube. Ask yourself how a candidate’s positions will have an impact on the safety, dignity and liberty of victims and survivors.
Then get out and vote. The lives of sexual and domestic violence survivors depend on it. Community security and prosperity depend on it.
