VAWnet News Blog

"What we will have here is places where women or people can come and get job skills that are coming out of traumatic situations such as human trafficking, prostitution, loss of a loved one or incarceration,” said bakery founder Sherry Camp.

“The statistics confirm that sexual harassment is alive and well across all industries—and  women of color working low-wage jobs are facing the brunt of this abuse,” said Emily Martin, Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice at the National Women’s Law Center.

Survivors face numerous barriers to keeping or trying to access safe housing. These challenges can force them into unsafe housing arrangements, living in danger on the streets, or even staying with or returning  to the abuser just so that they and their children have beds to sleep in.

"She jumped at the chance to help others, one of her sisters said, offering pep talks to her sisters when they were down and performing the Heimlich maneuver on her aunt as she was choking at a recent family party... Three days after Nia’s death, her sister Malika Harris said that her family was struggling to process what had happened and to accept that she was gone. In any other situation, her sister said, they would be turning to Nia for comfort."

The new law also allows victims to ask for flexible working arrangements, and makes discrimination against victims illegal.

"We're telling women that this space is for you, kind of turning the idea of ladies night on its head," Kampire Bahana (DJ Kampire), known for her all-African, bass heavy music, told CNN.