The White House has launched a first-of-its-kind national action plan to end gender-based violence, such as domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.

Domestic (Intimate Partner) Violence Fast Facts

The US National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, released Thursday, includes seven pillars under which the Biden administration aims to focus its efforts, including providing support for survivors of gender-based violence, addressing online harassment and abuse, and conducting more robust research as well as collecting additional data on gender-based violence. Within each pillar, there are overarching goals and objectives for the administration to work toward in its effort to prevent this type of violence nationally and abroad.

“Our hope is that the Plan will also be useful to local and state governments as well as community organizations across the U.S. to guide and support their efforts to end gender-based violence,” Jennifer Klein, assistant to the President and director of the White House Gender Policy Council, said Thursday in a statement to CNN.

Read more here. 

Montana has become the first state in the union to ban “drag story hour” for children at public schools and libraries.

The state’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the new bill on May 22 after the legislature passed it.

The legislation (pdf), which went immediately into effect, was written to prohibit minors from attending “sexually oriented shows” and watching obscene performances on public grounds.

The new law defines a drag queen as “a male or female performer who adopts a flamboyant or parodic feminine persona with glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup,” while a drag king is a performer who adopts a flamboyant male persona.

It further defines “drag story hour” as “an event hosted by a drag queen or drag king who reads children’s books and engages in other learning activities with minor children present.”

Gianforte signed the bill because he “believes it’s wildly inappropriate for little kids, especially preschoolers and kids in elementary school, to be exposed to sexualized content,” spokeswoman Kaitlin Price said in a statement.

Read more here. 

On any given day—in communities across the nation—thousands of children are being victimized by sex traffickers.

In 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 31.9 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation—up from 29.3 million reports in 2021 and 21.7 million in 2020. NCEMC is a national nonprofit founded in 1984 by John and Revé Walsh, whose son Adam, 6, was abducted from a department store in Florida in 1981. The boy was later found murdered.

Many are unaware that child sex trafficking is a growing problem in the United States, regarding it as an issue occurring in other countries. But the reality is that this problem happens every day—close to home—in big cities, small towns, and rural areas in every state.

Read more here. 

May 25th is National Missing Children’s Day In 2022, NCMEC assisted law enforcement, families and child welfare with 27,644 cases of missing children. You can help bring them home by sharing a missing child poster from your area. Tag @MissingKids with the hashtag #NationalMissingChildrensDay Visit: https://missingkids.org/gethelpnow/sea

The report by Dr. Vivek Murthy cited a “profound risk of harm” to adolescent mental health and urged families to set limits and governments to set tougher standards for use.

“What advice would you give to young people who are new to social media?”

“Have you ever felt like you need to change your social media use…?”

Teens and young adults from across the country answered these questions in a text survey in 2020. Their answers are eye-opening.

“I would tell young people … the internet is far off from reality and the more time you spend on it, the more you forget what real life is actually like…,” one person wrote.

“Don’t let social media control your life or your self-esteem,” another texted.

The study, published in September, reveals a striking awareness about the potential harms social media can have on teenagers’ mental health, but also their persistent attempts to counter these harms.

Read more here. 

Every company in America should be following the example of Goya Foods and their Goya Cares program. #CommunityCreatesChange Join us. Learn more from President & CEO, Bob Unanue and Goya Cares Rep, Natalie Maniscalco. #HumanTrafficking #YouthMentalHealthAwareness #Education #Resources #Solutions = #Warriors

Today’s guest will be Michael Cutler. Retired INS Special Agent and lifelong New Yorker. He’s got the facts. He shares with us. A must listen.

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Full immersion discussion of border, national security threat and why children are the currency fueling much of this criminality.