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Women in the United States

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The legal status of women in the United States is, in comparison to other countries, equal to that of men, and women are generally viewed as having equal social standing as well. In the early history of the U.S., women were largely relegated to the home. However, the role of women was revolutionized over the course of the 20th century. Labor shortages during WWII led to an influx of women in the workforce, which helped to build toward the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s.

Women in the United States
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)14 (2015)
Women in parliament26.7% (2021)[1]
Women over 25 with secondary education95.4% (2015)
Women in labour force56.0% (2015)
Gender Inequality Index[2]
Value0.179 (2021)
Rank44th out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index[3]
Value0.769 (2022)
Rank27th out of 146

However, there are several major pieces of legislation aimed to bolster women's rights that the United States has never ratified, including the U.N's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Equal Rights Amendment.

History

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Main article: History of women in the United States

The earliest women living in what is now the United States were Native Americans. European women arrived in the 17th century and brought with them European culture and values. During the 19th century, women were primarily restricted to domestic roles in keeping with Protestant values. The campaign for women's suffrage in the United States culminated with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. During World War II, many women filled roles vacated by men fighting overseas. Beginning in the 1960s, the second-wave feminist movement changed cultural perceptions of women, although it was unsuccessful in passing the Equal Rights Amendment. In the 21st century, women have achieved greater representation in prominent roles in American life.

The study of women's history has been a major scholarly and popular field, with many scholarly books and articles, museum exhibits, and courses in schools and universities. The roles of women were long ignored in textbooks and popular histories. By the 1960s, women were being presented more often. An early feminist approach underscored their victimization and inferior status at the hands of men. In the 21st century, writers have emphasized the distinctive strengths displayed inside the community of women, with special concern for minorities among women.

Laws

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Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

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The United States has never ratified the U.N.'s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, although it played an important role in drafting the treaty.[4][5] As of 2014, the United States is thus one of only seven nations which have not ratified it – also including Iran, Palau, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tonga.[6]

Equal Rights Amendment

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38 states as of January 2020 have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [7] Three-fourths or 38 out of 50 states are required to ratify a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Several states originally ratified the ERA, but subsequently rescinded the ratification. Recessions in other amendments have been ignored by the courts.[8] The status of the ERA is currently unclear.[9]

Marriage

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Child marriage, as defined by UNICEF, is observed in the United States. The UNICEF definition of child marriage includes couples who are formally married, or who live together as a sexually active couple in an informal union, with at least one member — usually the girl — being less than 18 years old.[10][11] The latter practice is more common in the United States, and it is officially called cohabitation. Laws regarding child marriage vary in the different states of the United States. Generally, children 16 and over may marry with parental consent, with the age of 18 being the minimum in all but two states to marry without parental consent. Those under 16 generally require a court order in addition to parental consent.[12]

Parental leave

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The United States is the only high income country not to provide required paid parental leave.[13]

Reproductive rights

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Main article: Birth control in the United States

Birth control is legal nationwide as of 1965.[14][15] Abortion was made legal nationwide as of 1973, with states allowed to place regulations on abortion which fall short of prohibition after the first trimester of pregnancy.[16][17] On June 25, 2022, the guarantee of a right to abortion under 25 weeks of life was revoked by the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.[18] This decision left abortion largely to states to regulate, leading to a flood of legislation from states seeking to restrict the procedure. Many of those states have made a point of pushing the limits of the Dobbs decision in hopes of banning the procedure at as early a gestational age as possible and to encourage further judicial action to enshrine pro-life values.[19] There have been a myriad of legal challenges, as well as a push to protect abortion at both the state and federal levels.[20]

Representation in government

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President and Vice President

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A woman has never been President of the United States. Kamala Harris is the first woman to become Vice President of the United States, in 2021.

United States House of Representatives

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The first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives was in 1917, Jeannette Rankin, who represented Montana. Women who served before her were finishing someone else's term who died in office or had resigned.[21]

In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. Pelosi is the only woman in U.S. history to serve as Speaker. In 2019 she was again elected Speaker for the 2nd time (55th) and the first former Speaker to return to the position since 1955. As Speaker, Pelosi was the second highest ranking female elected official and second in the presidential line of succession.

As of 2021, there are 119 women of 435 total in the U.S. House of Representatives, 88 Democrats, 31 Republicans.[1]

United States Senate

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In its first 130 years in existence, the Senate was entirely male. In 1931, Hattie Wyatt Caraway was the first woman to win election to the United States Senate. Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate in 1949. In 1992, an unprecedented four women were elected to the Senate, Patty Murray, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Carol Moseley Braun who was also the first woman of color in the Senate. Today, of 100 members of the U.S. Senate, there are 24 women senators, 16 Democrats and 8 Republicans.[1]

Presidential Cabinet

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In 1933 Frances Perkins was appointed United States Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, making her the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. In 1949, Georgia Neese Clark was the first woman appointed Treasurer of the United States followed by Oveta Culp Hobby as United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953.

The 1970s would see several women appointed for the first time in cabinet positions such as Carla Anderson Hills, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1975, Juanita M. Kreps, United States Secretary of Commerce in 1977 and Shirley Hufstedler, Secretary of Education in 1979.

In the 1980s, Elizabeth Dole was appointed United States Secretary of Transportation in 1983. Elaine Chao would become third woman and first Asian American to hold this position in 2017. Susan Engeleiter was appointed the head of the Small Business Administration in 1989.

In the 1993, Janet Reno as United States Attorney General and Sheila Widnall as United States Secretary of the Air Force were the first women appointed to their positions. Three women have served as United States Secretary of State. The first was Madeleine Albright in 1997. In 2005 Condoleezza Rice became the second woman and first person of color to serve in this position. She was succeeded by former First Lady of the United States and U.S. Senator, Hillary Clinton in 2009.

Ann Veneman as United States Secretary of Agriculture, Gale Norton, United States Secretary of the Interior and Susan Livingstone, United States Secretary of the Navy were all the first women appointed to their positions in 2001 and 2003 respectively.

Janet Napolitano became the first woman to be appointed United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2009 and Gina Haspel was the first woman appointed Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2018.

United States Supreme Court

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On the Supreme Court, there are four women justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The first woman justice was Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981 followed by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993.

State and local governments

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As of 2021, there are 9 women state governors, 6 Democrats, 3 Republicans; there are 17 Lt. Governors, 10 Democrats, 7 Republicans. Women hold 31.0% of the seats on state legislatures. Of the 100 largest cities in the United States, 31 have a woman as mayor.[1]

Twenty-one state supreme courts (the highest state court) are currently or have been majority female.[6][12]

Desire to leave the United States

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According to a Gallup poll from January 2019, 40 percent of women under the age of 30 would like to leave the United States, as compared with 20 percent of men in the same age group. By about 50 years of age, however, this gender gap disappears.[22]

Rankings

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Gender equality ranking

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As of 2021, the United States is ranked 30th of 156 applicable countries in gender equality on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index.[23]

Statistics

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Education

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As of 2014, women in the United States earn more post-secondary (college and graduate school) degrees than men do.[24]

Marriage

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As of 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, average age at first marriage in the United States is 27 for women and 29 for men.[25]

Workforce

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As of 2014, women are 46.5% of the total United States workforce.[26]

Sex discrimination has been outlawed in non-ministerial employment in the United States since 1964 nationwide; however, under a judicially created doctrine called the "ministerial exemption," religious organizations are immune from sex discrimination suits brought by "ministerial employees," a category that includes such religious roles as priests, imams or kosher supervisors.[27][28]

A woman's median salary in the United States has increased over time, although as of 2014 it is only 77% of man's median salary, a phenomenon often referred to as the Gender Pay Gap. (A woman's average salary is reported as 84% of a man's average salary.)[29][30] Whether this is due to discrimination is very hotly disputed, while economists and sociologists have provided evidence both supporting[31][32][33] and debunking[34][35] this assertion.

Voting

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While the majority of women tend to vote Democratic, they have differences in voting between women of different races. White women tend to vote for the Republican party, black and Hispanic tend to vote for the Democratic party.

National exit polling among women
Year Branch % of Democratic women vote
1976[36] United States Presidency 52 52
 
1980[37] United States Presidency 46 46
 
1982[38] United States House of Representatives 58 58
 
1984[39] United States House of Representatives 54 54
 
1984[40] United States Presidency 42 42
 
1986[41] United States House of Representatives 54 54
 
1988[42] United States House of Representatives 57 57
 
1988[43] United States Presidency 49 49
 
1990[44] United States House of Representatives 54 54
 
1992[45] United States House of Representatives 55 55
 
1992[46] United States Presidency 45 45
 
1994[47] United States House of Representatives 53 53
 
1996[48] United States House of Representatives 55 55
 
1996[49] United States Presidency 55 55
 
1998[50] United States House of Representatives 53 53
 
2000[51] United States House of Representatives 54 54
 
2000[52] United States Presidency 54 54
 
2002[53] United States House of Representatives 50 50
 
2004[54] United States House of Representatives 53 53
 
2004[55] United States Presidency 51 51
 
2006[56] United States House of Representatives 56 56
 
2008[57] United States House of Representatives 57 57
 
2008[58] United States Presidency 56 56
 
2010[59] United States House of Representatives 49 49
 
2012[60] United States House of Representatives 56 56
 
2012[61] United States Presidency 55 55
 
2014[62] United States House of Representatives 52 52
 
2016[63] United States Presidency 54 54
 
2016[64] United States House of Representatives 54 54
 
2018[65] United States House of Representatives 59 59
 
2020[66] United States Presidency 57 57
 
2020[67] United States House of Representatives 57 57
 
2024 United States Presidency 53 53
 

Reproductive health

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This section is an excerpt from Women's reproductive health in the United States.[edit]

Women's reproductive health in the United States refers to the set of physical, mental, and social issues related to the health of women in the United States. It includes the rights of women in the United States to adequate sexual health, available contraception methods, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. The prevalence of women's health issues in American culture is inspired by second-wave feminism in the United States.[68] As a result of this movement, women of the United States began to question the largely male-dominated health care system and demanded a right to information on issues regarding their physiology and anatomy.[68] The U.S. government has made significant strides to propose solutions, like creating the Women's Health Initiative through the Office of Research on Women's Health in 1991.[68] However, many issues still exist related to the accessibility of reproductive healthcare as well as the stigma and controversy attached to sexual health, contraception, and sexually transmitted diseases.[69][70]

The Department of Health and Human Services has developed a definition for sexual health in the United States based on the World Health Organization’s definition of sexual health.[71]

“Sexual health is a state of well-being in relation to sexuality across the life span that involves physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual dimensions. Sexual health is an intrinsic element of human health and is based on positive, equitable, and respectful approach to sexuality, relationships, and reproduction, that is free of coercion, fear, discrimination, stigma, shame, and violence.[72]

The United States government recognizes that gender is a factor which plays a significant role in sexual health.[72]

With this being said, there is a war on women's rights in the United States. It is based on politics in the United States and for candidates to be able to get votes or funding for certain area agendas. With this being said, one of the first pushes with making laws tighter for agendas would be the law in Louisiana. This allowed women who have had abortions in the past to be able to sue the doctor who did the procedure for up to ten years past the abortion date. The law stated that they could sue for damages not only done to the women, but also to the emotional damages of the fetus. This was a political move that has gotten the ball rolling for more states to put laws into place against abortions or for abortions depending on the political agenda they are pushing in each state.[73]

Violence

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Main article: Violence against women in the United States

Violence against women has been recognized as a public health concern in the United States.[74] Culture in the country has promoted the trivialization of women-directed violence, with media in the United States creating the appearance of violence against women unimportant to the public.[75]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice reports that about 1 in every 4 women suffer from at least one physical assault experience from a partner during adulthood.[76] Studies have found that around 20% of women in the United States have been victims of rape[77][78] with many incidents of rape being underreported according to a 2013 study.[79]

In 2017, the United States was ranked the world's 9th safest country for women by the New World Wealth research group.[80]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Women in Elective Office 2021". Center for American Women in Politics, Rutgers University. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ^ Baldez, Lisa (8 March 2013). "U.S. drops the ball on women's rights". cnn.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  5. ^ "cedaw2014.org – Just another WordPress site". cedaw2014.org. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b "cedaw2014.org – Just another WordPress site". cedaw2014.org. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  7. ^ Chappell, Bill (2020-01-15). "Virginia Ratifies The Equal Rights Amendment, Decades After The Deadline". NPR. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  8. ^ Wegman, Jesse (2022-01-28). "Opinion | Why Can't We Make Women's Equality the Law of the Land?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  9. ^ "D.C. Court Questions Ability to Advance Equal Rights Amendment". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  10. ^ Child Marriage UNICEF (2011)
  11. ^ Child Marriage ICRW (2010)
  12. ^ a b www.usmarriagelaws.com
  13. ^ "In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe". New York Times. February 22, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  14. ^ "Griswold v. Connecticut, The Impact of Legal Birth Control and the Challenges that Remain". Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Katharine Dexter McCormick Library. May 2000. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  15. ^ Dunlap, Bridgette (March 22, 2013). "Eisenstadt v. Baird: The 41st Anniversary of Legal Contraception for Single People". RH Reality Check. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  16. ^ "Roe v. Wade". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  17. ^ "Abortion Rate in 1994 Hit a 20-Year Low". The New York Times. January 5, 1997. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  18. ^ "DOBBS, STATE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL. v. JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATION ET AL" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  19. ^ "Abortion Laws by State". Center for Reproductive Rights. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  20. ^ McCammon, Sarah (May 7, 2023). "Jonathan Mitchell, the legal mind behind the Texas abortion ban". NPR. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  21. ^ "Mississippi Is Sending Its First Woman To Congress. Here's When Your State Did That". National Public Radio. March 21, 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  22. ^ "Record Numbers of Americans Want to Leave the U.S." Gallup. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  23. ^ "India Slides, US Gains in Gender Equality Ranking". ABC News.
  24. ^ "Mitch McConnell says more women graduate from college than men do". PolitiFact. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  25. ^ "Getting Married Later Is Great for College-Educated Women - Eleanor Barkhorn". The Atlantic. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  26. ^ "Aug 2014 Diversity Jobs Report: Women Make Up 46.5% of Workforce - WCC Blog". blog.womenscareerchannel.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  27. ^ "Featured Document: The 19th Amendment". Archives.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  28. ^ Caroline Mala Corbin (2007). "Above the Law? The Constitutionality of the Ministerial Exemption from Antidiscrimination Law". Fordham Law Review, Volume 75, Issue 4, Article 3. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  29. ^ "Barack Obama, in State of the Union, says women make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns". politifact.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  30. ^ Fitzpatrick, Laura (April 20, 2010). "Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?". Time. Archived from the original on April 22, 2010.
  31. ^ Men and Women of the Corporation: New Edition (3 November 1993). Kanter, Men and Women of the Corporation, Basic Books, 1977. Basic Books. ISBN 0465044549.
  32. ^ "Office of the White House, Council of Economic Advisors, 1998, IV. Discrimination". Clinton4.nara.gov. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  33. ^ "Levine, Report for Congress, "The Gender Gap and Pay Equity: Is Comparable Worth the Next Step?", Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2003" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  34. ^ Sommers, Christina Hoff (February 1, 2014). "No, Women DON'T Make Less Money than Men". The Daily Beast.
  35. ^ Biggs, Andrew G., Perry, Mark J. (April 7, 2014). "The '77 Cents on the Dollar' Myth About Women's Pay". The Wall Street Journal.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ "How Groups Voted in 1976 – Roper Center". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  37. ^ "How Groups Voted in 1980 – Roper Center". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  38. ^ "1982".
  39. ^ "1984".
  40. ^ "How Groups Voted in 1984 – Roper Center". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  41. ^ "1986".
  42. ^ "1988".
  43. ^ "How Groups Voted in 1988 – Roper Center". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  44. ^ "1990".
  45. ^ "1992".
  46. ^ "How Groups Voted in 1992 – Roper Center". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  47. ^ "1994".
  48. ^ "1996".
  49. ^ "How Groups Voted in 1996 – Roper Center". Archived from the original on 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  50. ^ "1998".
  51. ^ "2000".
  52. ^ "CNN.com – Election 2000 – Results". September 12, 2001. Archived from the original on September 12, 2001.
  53. ^ "2002".
  54. ^ "2004".
  55. ^ "CNN.com Election 2004". www.cnn.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
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  60. ^ "2012".
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  62. ^ "2014".
  63. ^ "2016 United States presidential exit polls CNN".
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  65. ^ "2018 midterms: EXIT POLLING | CNN". CNN. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  66. ^ "2020 United States presidential exit polls CNN".
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  68. ^ a b c Rosser SV (December 2002). "Overview of Women's Health in the U.S. Since the Mid-1960s". History and Technology. 18 (4): 355–369. doi:10.1080/0734151022000023802. S2CID 144004991.
  69. ^ Borrero S, Schwarz EB, Creinin M, Ibrahim S (2008-12-15). "The impact of race and ethnicity on receipt of family planning services in the United States". Journal of Women's Health. 18 (1): 91–96. doi:10.1089/jwh.2008.0976. PMC 2743980. PMID 19072728.
  70. ^ Wellons MF, Fujimoto VY, Baker VL, Barrington DS, Broomfield D, Catherino WH, et al. (August 2012). "Race matters: a systematic review of racial/ethnic disparity in Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reported outcomes". Fertility and Sterility. 98 (2): 406–409. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.05.012. PMC 3409320. PMID 22698638.
  71. ^ World Health Organization (January 2002). Defining sexual health: report of a technical consultation on sexual health (PDF) (Report). pp. 28–31. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  72. ^ a b Department of Health and Human Services (May 2012). CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and STD Prevention and Treatment (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  73. ^ Yeoman B (2001). "The Quiet War on Abortion". Mother Jones. 26 (5): 46–51. ProQuest 213811750.
  74. ^ Wright, Paul J.; Tokunaga, Robert S. (May 2016). "Men's Objectifying Media Consumption, Objectification of Women, and Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 45 (4): 955–964. doi:10.1007/s10508-015-0644-8. PMID 26585169. S2CID 20376803.
  75. ^ Stankiewicz, Julie M.; Rosselli, Francine (2008). "Women as Sex Objects and Victims in Print Advertisements". Sex Roles. 58 (7–8): 579–589. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9359-1. S2CID 143452062.
  76. ^ The Violence Against Women Act of 2005, Summary of Provisions. National Network to End Domestic Violence. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  77. ^ Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-10-01.
  78. ^ Kilpatrick, Dean G.; Resnick, Heidi S.; Ruggiero, Kenneth J.; Conoscenti, Lauren M.; McCauley, Jenna (July 2007). "Drug-facilitated, Incapacitated, and Forcible Rape: A National Study" (PDF). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. United States Department of Justice. pp. 43–45. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  79. ^ National Research Council. Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2013.
  80. ^ Pash, Chris. "The 10 safest countries in the world for women". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-03-23.

Further reading

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  • Rosenau, William (2019). Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol: The Explosive Story of M19, America's First Female Terrorist Group. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 978-1501170126.
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