Title
Honoring Women's History Month, the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, and Declaring March 8, 2009 as "International Women's Day in Philadelphia."
Body
WHEREAS, In 2009 the continuing struggle for women's rights and gender equality is increasingly global, yet it will always be rooted in our own communities; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations theme for International Women's Day 2009 is "Women and Men United to End Violence Against Women and Girls;" and
WHEREAS, Women and girls in Philadelphia continue to suffer at alarming rates from gender-based violence, as well as from economic and social inequalities; and
WHEREAS, Recent statistics show over 70,000 reported domestic-abuse cases in Philadelphia for one year. Historically the rate of domestic violence increases during economic recession; and
WHEREAS, Over half of non-rape sexual assault victims and almost 40% of rape victims are girls under age 18; and
WHEREAS, Lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women and girls face added discrimination and related issues that include violent hate crimes, bullying in schools, high rates of substance abuse, and suicide; and
WHEREAS, Our City's many undocumented immigrant women are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation because of their lack of legal status and constant fear of deportation;and
WHEREAS, In the Philadelphia area women earn 76 cents for every dollar that men make, which is even less than the national average of 78 cents, and women remain concentrated in low-wage occupations; and
WHEREAS, Women are still disproportionately unpaid caregivers, both for children and for elders. This reality, in addition to insufficient economic supports such as child-care subsidies, negatively impacts women's paid employment and thus their struggles to attain economic self-sufficiency; and
WHEREAS, The growing housing and foreclosure crisis has hit women--particularly those of color, low income, and single heads of househ...
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