UPDATE FROM THE USA

by Meghan Malone, WEL National Coordinating Committee

One of our new NCC members, Meghan Malone, is currently temporarily working from Harvard in Boston. We asked Meghan to give us her on the ground impressions of the current situation in the USA affecting women’s lives.

She discusses three issues: the Epstein Files, immigration and state power, and policies relating to climate change.

The U.S. has recently witnessed many important developments for women and gender equality that have implications for WEL’s work and for women in Australia. While there is much to discuss, three issues have stood out to me.

The Epstein Files

The release of the Epstein Files in two tranches should highlight the prevalence of gender-based violence in all parts of the global community, including the halls of power. In this respect, they also speak to the importance of tackling bystander culture in relation to sexual violence and predation.

The responses of victim-survivors to the release of the files also demonstrate that U.S. authorities have failed to take a victim-survivor centred approach. While the names of alleged wrongdoers have been anonymised, the same confidentiality has not been afforded to the affected women. Moreover, victim-survivors have still not been contacted or supported by investigatory authorities. For many of these women, the release of the files has been re-traumatising and further deprived them of autonomy, without any resulting accountability for perpetrators. This should be a lesson for Australian authorities in what not to do in order to effectively respond to sexual violence.

On a positive note, the release of the Epstein files has shown there is enormous potential for tackling gender-based violence as a non-partisan issue (even if it continues to be weaponised for political gain by some politicians). It demonstrates the importance in the quest for gender equality of being able to unify across partisan divides in a period of heightened polarisation.

There is also cause for hope in the role played by Republican women like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert who forced a vote in the House on the release of the files. Their work demonstrates the value of women in positions of leadership in all parts of politics, a lesson which has even greater importance for Australian women in light of the ousting of Sussan Ley as leader of the Coalition.

Immigration and State Power

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been occupying U.S. cities, such as Minneapolis where U.S. citizens have been killed. This has included one woman, Renee Good. A number of important lessons can be drawn from this situation.

Firstly, given recent rallies in Australia against immigration, Australians should be aware of what may occur if this rhetoric goes unchecked - widespread civil and political unrest, and even loss of life.

Secondly, Australians should see this as an important demonstration of how state violence can be exercised against women, and citizens generally. We should be careful to ensure safeguards are in place to promote accountability of state officials and ensure they are sufficiently trained in de-escalation and trauma-informed policing practices. This is especially crucial given that state officials are first responders to incidents of domestic and family violence where many of the women may be from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Finally, the situation in Minnesota should fill us with some hope about the possibilities of people power. ICE has agreed to leave Minneapolis, although it is unclear what the conditions of the exit will be. This was the product of the citizens of Minnesota supporting immigrant communities and vigorously protesting excesses of state power. WEL members should embrace this as an example of what can be accomplished through collective action.

Climate change action

This week, Trump issued an executive order: “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth”. It revokes a number of key actions at the federal level to address climate change. While there will undoubtedly be litigation challenging the order, for the time being it directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately review plans like CO2 emission limits for fossil fuel-fired power plants, emissions standards of new coal fired power plants and regulations which seeks to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations.

This should be concerning for all of us. Climate change is a transboundary issue. Revoking initiatives to address climate change by the U.S. will affect the rest of the world, especially impacting on countries closer to Australia and Australia itself. Our Pacific neighbours will feel the brunt of climate change through rising sea levels and environmental degradation before the rest of the world, as will First Nations communities. We also know that climate change is a gender equality issue: women are generally most adversely affected by its impact.

There is a concern that these changes made in the U.S. may influence countries like Australia who remain heavily wedded to the fossil-fuel industry. This may be a popular approach given how Trump expressly ties his winding back of environmental policies to “economic growth” and the fact that many Australians are experiencing economic challenges under rising costs of living and a housing crisis.

Overall, Trump’s approach to climate issues in the coming months will be something to watch closely.