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The Topeka City Council tonight failed to repeal an ordinance allowing domestic abusers to leave jail to save money, leaving the women of Topeka with no recourse against abuse within the city. If they wish for justice to be served, women will have to be geographically located outside of the city limits… and even that is no guarantee of protection.
Government, even at its most basic level, exists to protect citizens within its geographical boundaries. A fight over a budget has stripped this community of this basic function of protection, from women who need it the most. We speak from personal experience: Kansas NOW lost our former lobbyist Jana Mackey to an act of relationship violence.
Last week, the Michigan House appropriations committee voted to approve a budget that includes a staggering $201.4 million cut to community health funding. The budget will eliminate all state funding currently available for family planning.
In addition to the fate of unions and public sector employees at the local and state level — the majority of whom are women — the battle over budgets will also determine the fate of key social services.
States across the country are closing youth prisons sending thousands of young people home. Yet, as almost none of the money saved will fund services they will, cutting them adrift.
