Jan
11
Law Professor Will Ask U.S. Supreme Court To Reverse Decision That A Woman Can Be Fired For Being Stalked
Filed Under Announcement, Guest Post, News, Powerful Women, Stalking | By Dawn Martin | 1 Comment
During Stalking Awareness Month, Supreme Court will Decide whether Stalking Victims are Protected against Employment Discrimination
Washington, D.C. – On January 13, 2012, the Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case of Martin v. Howard University. The National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation and civil rights attorney Dawn V. Martin, want the high Court to hold that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects a woman from being stalked in her workplace and from being terminated for reporting it. NOW Foundation has filed an Amicus (friend of the Court) Brief in support of Ms. Martin. This case is particularly timely in light of recent attention to the failure of universities to respond to resports of sexual attacks on campuses and because January is Stalking Awareness Month. Howard, specifically, still fails to take complaints of sexual harassment seriously. See Bello. v. Howard University, 1:11-cv-02106-CKK; http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/177504/158/Lawsuit-Howard-University-Negligent-In-Sexual-Assault-Harassment-Case. Howard opposes the participation of NOW Foundation in the case.
78% of stalking victims are women. 54% of female murder victims reported their stalkers to the police before being killed by them. In a 2009 documentary about the case, Kim Gandy, then, the President of NOW, said: “We’ve had situations like this, where women, stalked in the workplace, were fired, or let go, because they were stalked.” Ms. Martin said, “No woman should have to choose between her job and her safety.”
Law Professor Dawn Martin was stalked on the campus of Read more
