What is WOMEN S WAY? The WOMEN S WAY Impact

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1 What is WOMEN S WAY? WOMEN'S WAY is the leading funding, advocacy and education organization for women in the Greater Philadelphia region, at the forefront of identifying needs, sharing knowledge and building awareness to challenge social inequities and empower women. WOMEN S WAY and our supporters work tirelessly to ensure that the best interest of women and their families is of the utmost priority to legislators. For 38 years, WOMEN'S WAY has courageously taken positions on cutting-edge issues relating to women and girls. Our work has been uniquely strategic and effective engaging and convening people from all walks of life to create a truly collective and Powerful Voice for Women. The WOMEN S WAY Impact WOMEN S WAY utilizes our expertise in issues relating to women and girls to invest in the community in a responsive way both through longer-term partnerships with dynamic nonprofits serving women, girls and families and through the Community Women's Fund which allows us to address the immediate, time-sensitive needs of women and girls. Become a WOMEN S WAY Advocacy Ambassador and help us mobilize members of your community to take action on issues impacting women and girls in Pennsylvania. We've funded vital projects such as sexual assault survivor counseling, women's maternal healthcare, girls' empowerment programs, work readiness, financial literacy, supportive housing and shelters for survivors of domestic violence just to name a few. WOMEN S WAY 123 S. Broad St., Suite 1399 Philadelphia, PA E: info@womensway.org P: F:

2 Our Advocacy Priorities We know that women and girls need us right now. Too many are still unsafe in their own communities; some are victims of sex trafficking, sexual assault, or domestic violence; many lack access to education and employment opportunities; and many cannot afford quality child care, health care, or adequate housing. Women and girls are counting on WOMEN'S WAY. Women and girls depend on WOMEN S WAY to fight for policies that will make them healthier, safer, and more selfsufficient. WOMEN'S WAY and our supporters are a courageous voice for positive change. By convening the voices of many, bridging people from diverse communities, and strategically fighting for critical policy changes, WOMEN'S WAY is living its motto - A Powerful Voice for Women! WOMEN S WAY is currently leading advocacy efforts to: Protect women's access to affordable reproductive healthcare services Expand women s access to critical healthcare services to keep them and their families healthy End human trafficking across the state of Pennsylvania Promote economic security for lowwage earning women and their families Join WOMEN S WAY as an Advocacy Ambassador and equip yourself with the knowledge to help women and girls in our community.

3 Healthcare & Reproductive Rights Keeping Women Healthy A woman's health impacts her personally and touches the lives of all who depend on her. Her health affects her ability to keep a decent job and to take care of herself and her family. Health care expenses often push vulnerable women and their families to the breaking point. WOMEN S WAY is committed to providing women with access to affordable healthcare so they are able to keep themselves and their families happy and healthy. Women's reproductive rights continue to be used as a wedge issue coming under the worst attacks in decades. The struggle to maintain reproductive freedom remains an uphill battle and WOMEN S WAY is working tirelessly to defend women s reproductive autonomy. WOMEN S WAY currently chairs Raising Women s Voices of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a coalition dedicated to advocating for health care reform implementation policies at the state and federal level that support and protect the full-range of comprehensive reproductive health care services for women. We want to ensure that the promise of health care reform becomes a reality for ALL women and we won t stop until all Pennsylvanians have access to the critical care that all members of this community need and deserve. How Does Health Care Reform Impact Women? The passage of health care reform brought with it many significant gains for women. For example, a woman with a pre-existing condition such as breast cancer will no longer be denied insurance coverage and the practice of gender rating will be prohibited so a woman can no longer be charged more for insurance than a man. As of 2012, a number of preventative care services must now be covered by health insurance companies without charging a deductible. These include well woman doctor s visits, diabetes screening for pregnant women, domestic violence counseling, breastfeeding support, DNA testing for the HPV virus for women 30 years of age or older, counseling on sexually transmitted diseases, HIV screening and birth control, along with contraceptives education and counseling. Many Americans, however, are unaware of this new co-pay free access to these preventative health care services and others have questions regarding implementation and coverage. WOMEN S WAY is dedicated to educating women on their rights under the Affordable Care Act and ensuring they are able to take advantage of these new preventative health care services offered without co-pay!

4 Recent Attacks on Reproductive Healthcare On January 5, 2015, the very first day of the 114th Congress, two lawmakers introduced a measure to ban abortions after 20 weeks, in direct violation of the protections afforded under Roe v. Wade. Reps. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reintroduced the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, HR36, the same legislation that successfully passed the House last year. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who introduced a companion 20-week abortion ban in the Senate last year that was stalled by Democratic leadership has already indicated that he plans to re-introduce his own measure in the next few weeks, too. Now that the Senate is GOP-controlled, Republicans are anticipating that they ll have enough support to pass the ban in both chambers this year, helping the anti-choice community gain momentum for this particular tactic to limit reproductive rights. In fact, a house vote on the 20 week abortion ban has been scheduled for Thursday, January 22 the anniversary of the Roe. Wade decision. How You Can Take Action: Call your legislator & urge him or her to oppose HR36 using this sample script: Hello, my name is. I live in Representative/Senator s district and I am calling to urge him/her to vote NO House Resolution 36 and to uphold federal laws that protect the best interest of women and their families. To find out who represents you in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, click here. Visit the WOMEN S WAY Action Center and send your legislator an expressing your opposition to this legislation and urging him/her to protect women s health by voting NO to HR36. Attend a WOMEN S WAY rally. Stay up to date on upcoming rallies by following WOMEN S WAY on facebook and by checking our website s events page. Bring friends! Encourage friends and family to take action using the above methods.

5 Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts Ending the Exploitation of Women and Girls in the City of Brotherly Love Human Trafficking in Philadelphia Pennsylvania is not immune to the abominable crime of human trafficking. It is happening all over our state, including Philadelphia and surrounding counties. Most Philadelphians are shocked to learn that trafficking occurs right here, in our own backyards and many aren t even sure what trafficking actually entails. What is Human Trafficking? Victims of trafficking are tricked, lured, coerced, or otherwise removed from their home or country, and then exploited for commercial sex or labor purposes. Right now, human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world. It is a crisis taking place across the United States with traffickers exploiting both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Why this Issue? WOMEN'S WAY became involved in working to end human trafficking because it is a crime that drastically impacts women and girls. Studies indicate that the average age for a U.S. female to be forced into sex trafficking is only 12 years old. The Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition WOMEN S WAY has lead the Advocacy Sub- Committee of The Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition, a coalition that works to assist victims, bring traffickers to justice, and end this horrific crime that is plaguing our city and state, as well as the PA Anti-Trafficking Advocacy Work Group. These broad coalition includes social service agencies, law enforcement, government agencies, faith-based groups, and advocacy organizations. Celebrating the Passage of the Pennsylvania Act 105 WOMEN S WAY and the Philadelphia Anti- Trafficking Coalition are thrilled to announce the passing of Act 105, comprehensive legislation addressing human trafficking in Pennsylvania.. This bill, passed in July 2014, creates clear statute defining sex and labor trafficking, and strengthens protections for survivors and measures to hold offenders accountable. This life-saving piece of legislation went into effect in September Implementation The Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition, along with advocates from around the state, now turn our focus to education about the law and accountability to ensure that it is being implemented effectively. In 2015, WOMEN S WAY will support these efforts and will also pursue advocacy strategies to advance a safe harbor bill that prevents minors from being prosecuted for solicitation If you or your organization is interested in joining the Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition or learning more, please Diana Marques at dmarques@womensway.org.

6 Making Work Pay for Women in PA The Making Work Pay Coalition is a group of advocacy and direct service organizations that have come together to develop recommendations for measures that government can implement to better ensure that low-income families are always better off when parents go to work, work more hours or earn promotions or raises. We think almost everyone would agree that when parents of low-income families go to work, earn promotions, work extra hours, or take second jobs, they and their families should be appreciably better off. And they should feel like they are making significant progress in being able to meet basic needs and provide for their children. Although research shows that increases in wages, generally, do not lead to so-called benefit cliffs, families that are working hard are often not helped as much as they should be. And quite often, even though they have more income, these families do not feel like they are getting ahead. There are a number of reasons for this. One reason is that families that rely on public assistance work supports -- like SNAP or cash assistance -- face a high marginal tax rate when they begin to earn wages or when their wages increase. Many public assistance programs include earned income disregards to assure that families are better off when they go to work or get raises. Because of these disregards, benefits go down by less than earned income has gone up. But the amount by which the family is better off can be relatively small not always enough to make an appreciable difference in the family s ability to make ends meet. How You Can Take Action: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders WOMEN S WAY and the Bucks County Women s Advocacy Coalition are convening advocates from around the state to learn join us in our efforts to ensure the policies governing women s lives are working to promote economic security. If you are interested in joining the coalition or learning more, contact Diana Marques at dmarques@womensway.org

7 Join Our Mailing List To learn more about how you can raise your voice in support of women s safety, equity and justice, sign up for our monthly e- newsletter, f Follow WOMEN S WAY on Social Media Stay up to date on all of WOMEN S WAY s upcoming events and time-sensitive issues impacting women and girls by following us on all of the following social media platforms. Click the icons below: