State Law and Social Policy

State Law and Social Policy Chapter 10 By: Heidi Davis, Jessica Farmer, Ashley Sluder, and Hanna Sparks

What is the state? • The state is an abstract concept that refers to all forms of social organization representing official power in society: the government, law and social policy, the courts and the criminal justice system, the military, and the police.

What does the state do? • The state works with other institutions to assign roles, and distribute resources • It regulates other institutions and sets guild lines for expected behaviors • Channels resources and power

What does the state do? • The state regulates: • Family • Education • The economic system • Religion

Government and Representation • The government is one of the institutions that makes up the state • The U.S. government is said to be a democracy because it is based on equal representation • The government is not representative of all people and those that are elected to office do not necessarily represent all interests equally.

The Constitution • “The founding fathers thought women’s political identity should be restricted because their presence in politics was immoral, corruptive, and potentially disruptive, and the women should be represented by fathers, husbands, or brothers” (613 Shaw and Lee).

The Constitution • This ideology meant women had no legal identity • They had to depend on their relationship to a man • Women had no claims to citizenship rights as a woman until the 19th century

Time Line • 1984- Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions aims at securing citizenship rights for women • 1986- 14th amendment gives right to due process and equal protection under the law ( BUT the terms citizen and person did not include women) • 1920- 19th amendment gives women right to vote

Equal Rights Amendment of 1923 • Made to address problems with 14th Amendment • ERA affirms women and men hold equally all the rights of the U.S. constitution • Defeated June 30, 1982 because it failed to be ratified by the states

Female Representation in National Legislatures Worldwide • No country had more than 50% women 1. Rwanda 48.8% 25. Afghanistan 27.3% 64. Nepal and Italy 17.3% 68. United States 16.3% These statistics do not mean very much without the back story to explain them, but they still say something to how women are represented in their countries.

Women and Law • The U.S. kept the British common law that utilized the doctrine of femme couverte, or covered women: Husband and wife were one person under law, and she was his sexual property.

Covered Women • Women could not seek employment without the husband’s consent • Women could not keep their wages, own property, or sue • They could not exercise control over their children, or control their reproductive lives • Rape could not exist inside a marriage

Cases and Acts • Women did not have legal protection against violence until the 80’s and 90’s • Rape shield law • Notification of sexual offenders • Temporary and Protective restraining orders • Violence Against Women Act 1994

Cases and Acts • Griswold v. Connecticut 1965 • Gave rights to contraceptives • Roe v. Wade • Gave rights to abortions • Muller v. Oregon • Reaffirmed justification for limiting women’s employment based on protecting women’s reproductive functions • For the “well-being of the race” women’s right to contract freely needed to have limits

Divorce • Before the creation of a no-fault divorce people had to sue for a divorce and someone had to be found in blame • Alimony- payment women traditionally received as compensation for unpaid work as wives and mothers, has been cut since the 70’s.

Public Policy • State policies determine rights and privileges • The state has the power to exclude/discriminate groups, and create policy in favor of groups • State represents the dominate groups in society and supports their interests

Welfare • Race and Gender inequities strongly influence poverty in the U.S. • 8 million families are living in poverty • 22% Latinas/os 10% Asian American • 25% African American 9% White

Boot Strap Myth • This myth means the individual is able to “overcome” and succeed regardless of structure aspects of the labor force and societal systems that promote classism • “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” • This myth can explain the social stigma of people on Welfare • PRWORA and changing AFDC to TANF are examples of cutting assistance to families

Criminal Justice System • Men (mostly men of color) are more likely to end up in prison • 7% of prisoners women, African American women 3 times more likely than white women to end up in prison • Women are more likely to be first time offenders, less likely to use firearms, and more likely to use household items as weapons

The Military • Women were not always allowed to serve in military • Military promotes masculine cultural traits EX: violence, aggression, competition • 1 in 7 of soldiers serving in the Iraq war is a woman (45% of those women are mothers) • Women often face sexualized violence and harassment • Homophobia in the military “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy”

State Law and Social Policy