Call for Submissions

We recently posted an ad that has been getting a favorable response, and I wanted to make sure to share it with our readers, in case there was confusion about participation.

Make a difference (and money) doing what you love! Giving by Design, an up and coming arts organization is seeking submissions for their on-line gallery which is set to launch this Summer.

Giving by Design is a Georgia non-profit formed with the aim of offering a cost-efficient launch pad for self-represented student and emerging artists. A portion of every sale will go to the non-profit organization of the buyer's choice from our growing list of partner organizations.

We encourage artists in all mediums to submit work, there is no application fee. We are accepting works on a rolling basis, but the deadline for the May board meeting is April 25th.

For more information you can e-mail us, or visit our blog at http://givingbydesign.blogspot.com.

Due dates for consideration will fall on the 25th of every month. For example, the deadline for the June meeting will be May 25th. The application packet can be found by clicking here, or on our sidebar. We're really excited to see what you can do!

Yay for Small Victories! Wisconsin amends housing rights to include domestic violence victims

Govenor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin has officially signed the Safe Housing Act into law! This new law allows victims of domestic violence to break rental agreements without penalty if they provide their landlord with documentation such as a criminal complaint or a restraining order. The law also makes leases void if landlords punish tenants for calling police or emergency services and prohibits municipalities from enforcing ordinances that charge fees to property owners when tenants call police for help in domestic violence situations.

While supporters have praised this latest effort to reduce the number barriers to leaving domestic violence situations, Kathy Kintopf, account executive with Start Renting and board member of the Fox Valley Apartment Association opposes the legislations and believes that it would place an undue burden on landlords. She issued this charming statement.

“I don’t know if it really protects anyone else in the building if that victim moves out,” Kintopf said. “Where does it stop? Would the bank let me out of my mortgage? Landlords are in favor of helping people, but I’m not convinced this is the best way.”

There are a lot of things wrong with this quote. First, the primary victim is the only one who is in need of protection. The rest of the tenants are only in tangential danger. For example, if the abuser decides to set the apartment on fire, or ends up in a hostage taking situation or shootout with the police then the other people in the building are put in harms way. But that sort of problem is solved if the victim is allowed to move out.
As far as the question of "Where does it stop?" goes, that single sentence truly encapsulates the horrific amount of societal bias against victims of domestic violence. It insinuates that these are people who are either lying or who in some way deserve what they get. The scenario of the bank letting Ms. Kintopf out of her mortgage is not comparable and she must know that. In most areas of the country, finding a new tenant is no more than a minor inconvenience. Basically it seems that she would rather have blood on her hands than be "burdened" by a little lost money.

Tillman Family Protest

Black and Missing but not Forgotten has a post up about the family of Janet Tillman who are protesting what they view as police inaction in the case of Tillman's disappearance. According to Suburban Journals Tillman, who worked as a prostitute in Belleville, MO, was last seen October 16th 2007 getting into a solicitor's vehicle. Essentially, the family believes that it is Ms. Tillman's profession that has made her a low priority for the Belleville Police Department.

Her younger sister, Vickie Tillman, said the family believed the police investigation had been wanting from the beginning and demanded police work harder to find Janet.
"They don't think that she's a priority," Vickie Tillman said. "I have to try something; I can't just give up on it."
Family members allege police had failed to properly investigate because Janet Tillman was a prostitute and updates on the case were few and far between.
"She was my sister, she was my kids' aunt," she said. "It's no excuse for what they did. Is she any less of a person because of what she did? Is she any less of a human being? Their job is to protect and serve - at least I thought they did."

Belleville Police Capt. Donald Sax who did not work the case but who agreed to speak on the Department's behalf denies that any wrongdoing has occured in this investigation. He stated that the case would remain open and had just gone cold due to a lack of leads.

The family counters this claim with the startling fact that a month went by before investigators searched Tillman's residence. It seems to us strange as well the the Police Department is insinuating that she may have just left of her own accord while the family has repeatedly stated that she always called regularly to check in and would not have just left without packing, notifying them, and arranging care for her animals.

Please visit Black and Missing for further information on this story. No matter their profession a missing person is a missing person with family and friends who are desperate to find them. They all deserve the same level of respect and protection under the law and this kind of systemic class prioritization is wrong and can't be allowed to continue.

Innocence in South Carolina

South Carolina is one of only six states in the US that does not currently have a law allowing inmates to request DNA testing for purposes of exoneration. Recently, Democratic state Senator Gerald Malloy, introduced a bill known as the Post-Conviction DNA Procedures Act that would give an inmate the right to apply for DNA testing of evidence in the county in which they were convicted. The Innocence Project has been heavily involved in lobbying for this bill's passing, but today there was an editorial in The Herald, a South Carolina newspaper, that concisely explains that passage of this bill is long overdue.

If a DNA test can free an innocent person from prison, the state should provide a path for inmates to request a test.

"Simply put, nobody wins when an innocent person is convicted," Scheck said. "Not the victims, the police, the prosecutors, the courts or the public."

That sentiment seems unassailable. We hope that DNA testing becomes commonplace in any case where evidence could provide an answer as to the guilt or innocence of a prisoner.

I couldn't say it any better than that.

Via Innocence Blog

Postpartum Progress

As part of our work with Postpartum Health Alliance, I'd like to highlight a blog called Postpartum Progress.

Written by Katherine Stone, Postpartum Progress is the most widely-read blog in the United States on the subject of postpartum illnesses. Through this blog, Stone offers an amazing variety of resources including books, articles in the media, event notifications, and personal stories of support. Apart from the obvious utility of the resources Postpartum Progress provides, I think perhaps what makes Postpartum Progress so engaging is Stone's ability to be honest when relating painful and private moments of her past including thoughtful discussions about anti-depressants and hospitalization. She has probably saved countless lives just by showing women that they are not alone and that they can get through this difficult time.

If you have ever wanted to become more informed about this important and pervasive issue, Postpartum Progress is definitely the place to start. As a small sampling of Stone's work, I'll leave you with some entries from the Reader's Favorites section of Postpartum Progress.

5 Things Every New Mother Should Know About PPD
Postpartum Depression and the Glint of Judgment
Straight Talk About Hospitalization and Postpartum Depression

Rape is the rapist's fault

A national poll in Ireland shows that a large percentage of people believe that rape survivors bear some or all of the blame for their attack.

More than 30% think a victim is some way responsible if she flirts with a man or fails to say no clearly.

10% of people think the victim is entirely at fault if she has had a number of sexual partners.

37% think a woman who flirts extensively is at least complicit, if not completely in the wrong, if she is the victim of a sex crime.

One in three think a woman is either partly or fully to blame if she wears revealing clothes.

38% believe a woman must share some of the blame if she walks through a deserted area.

Cliona Saidlear, policy officer at Rape Crisis Network Ireland told the press that the results of this study account for the fact that Ireland has the lowest rape conviction rate in Europe.

“We as a society need to have this discussion. It is not just about what other people can do, these are attitudes we can change ourselves because this is not acceptable. If people are thinking somehow because you are drunk or wear certain clothes you are inviting rape then it makes it even harder for a woman to report what happened. You can see this in the massive levels of under-reporting by the victims of rape.”

This statement could just as well have been directed at an American audience. In a nation where this passes for journalism, and this passes for a harmless prank, we can't deny a serious problem of victim blaming with regard to violence against women. Fortunately, the study did show some hope in the fact that younger people were much more likely to place the blame solely on the perpetrator.

Via Feministing

Why you shouldn't mess with artists

They will remember what you look like.