New Website

The DC Women's Human Rights Action Team has a new website which will replace this blog: www.dc-whrat.com.

1/26: Upcoming Panel: Women's Health at Risk

Discussion Panel
Women's Health at Risk: The Far-reaching Impact of Violence

Please join Amnesty International's DC Women's Human Rights Action Team, our distinguished speakers, and members of the community for a discussion panel on the impact of violence on women's health. Speakers will discuss women's human rights violations currently taking place in Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan which include the systematic sexual violence, rape and murder of girls and women. Speakers will link these forms of violence with women's health and will discuss ways in which their organizations and partners are working to improve women's health and human rights.

Speakers include:
Carrie Stengel, Program Coordinator at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA
Sarah Martin, Advocate at Refugees International
Ariela Blätter, Director of Crisis Prevention and Response at Amnesty International USA

When: Thursday 26 January 2006 at 6:30pm
Where: The Community Room at 400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Metros: Chinatown and Judiciary Square

Light Refreshments will be provided

Please RSVP to Rachel (gomette4@gmail.com) by the morning of Wednesday 26 January 2006.
For further directions, please email Rachel.

DC WHRAT monthly meeting January 11th, 7pm

Please join us for our monthly meeting this Wednesday 11 January 2006 at 7pm. We will discuss upcoming events and how the team wishes to get involved, and participate in an action for Guatemala. The meeting will be held at the Amnesty International office (600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, metro Eastern Market).

Meeting agenda:

--Plan a fundraiser/happy hour for February--Discuss Internation Women's Day activities (dancing and performance art)--Discuss topics for next teach-in and vote

--Domestic Violence panel: scheduled for January 25th or 26th

--April 28-30th: Amnesty International conference

--April is Sexual Assault Awareness month: discuss participation

--International Women's Day event

--Movie: Señorita Extravaganza: Discuss viewing it in group

--Action around Amnesty's Guatemala report; summary of report provided and letters will be written

Please remember: Wednesday 11 January 2006 at 7pm (DC WHRAT general business first) Amnesty International Office (600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) Eastern Market Metro For more information please email Rachel Kaufman at rachel_kaufman@hotmail.com

Photos from the VAWA petition drop

Here we are in front of Bill Frist's office, the last place we dropped off petitions. VAWA was FINALLY passed by both the House and Senate over the weekend. For a detailed analysis of the final bill go the

Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act!

Congress is about to adjourn for the year and they still haven't reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act. In order to ensure that no funding is lost for the domestic violence and sexual assault programs and services that depend on VAWA, it needs to be voted on before the end of the year - basically this week!

You can help by signing onto Amnesty International USA's petition or by calling your congress members directly. To find your MemberÂ’s contact information, including phone and fax numbers, visit http://www.house.gov/, http://www.senate.gov/, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators and Representative.

Yesterday, a group of people representing AIUSA (including Marla and myself from the action team), Girls Inc., NOW, and Break the Cycle delivered over 100,000 petitions to key members of congress. My arms are still sore from lugging the huge binders of signatures around all afternoon. The highlight of my day was swiping a Little Debbie snack from Bill Frist's lobby -it's the little things in life . . . The real high point of the day for me was meeting the people behind the scenes (the government relations folks at NOW, AIUSA, Girls Inc., and Break the Cycle as well as the congressional staffers) who have been working so hard to get VAWA reauthorized.

I should have pictures to post soon - Janel

Ni Una Mas!

I'm finally posting an update on the Juarez rally the action team organized a couple of weekends ago. On a very cold Saturday in early December, between 40-45 people showed up for a rally to support the murdered and disappeared women of Ciudad Juarez and their families (If we counted the bike messengers gathering for a Saturday ride next to our group, we would have well over a hundred!)

We had a great group of speakers that helped build public awareness about the situation in Juarez. Eric Olson (AIUSA), Matthew Pietz (DC Women's Human Rights Action Team), Macrena Cardenas (Mexican Solidarity Network), and Laurie Freeman (Washington Office on Latin America) all spoke about the femicide in Ciudad Juarez. In between the experts' speeches, members of the action team read stories of the disappeared and murdered women in an attempt to give them a voice at the rally.

We gathered over 60 signatures to submit to the Mexican Embassy here in Washington, DC. We'll send the signatures in with pictures from the rally. Thanks to everyone who came out! Janel