PI’s Weekly Media Digest: Seattle bans ‘conversion therapy’; gun violence as a pandemic; reframing food for politics; and more
Welcome to our media digest for the week of August 5, 2016! Below you’ll find summaries of news coverage on the issues of preventing violence, trauma, nutrition, health equity, mental health, and more. The views expressed in these articles do not reflect those of Prevention Institute.
Health Equity
Black Lives Matter releases platform calling for policy reform in 6 key areas
Black Lives Matter released a six-point platform that includes reparations, economic justice, ending the war on Black people, divesting from the prison industrial complex, community control of police, and increased political power, noting “In recent years we have taken to the streets, launched massive campaigns, and impacted elections, but our elected leaders have failed to address the legitimate demands of our Movement. We can no longer wait.”
Sociologist finds that minor infractions with police set homeless residents back significantly
Mother Jones interviewed a sociologist who spent five years conducting ethnographic research on Skid Row, and shared what he learned about interactions between law enforcement and Skid Row’s homeless residents: “Right away I started seeing how the police, in part just because of their numbers in Skid Row, were creating a situation I'd never seen before. Just as a guy was starting to get on his feet—for example, he had finally secured a bed at a shelter—some small infraction would cut him back. It could be as little as getting a single ticket for loitering. For people living on dollars at day, to suddenly have to pay $150 for a sidewalk ticket is huge! If they don't pay, they can be arrested. Not only do they have to spend time in jail, they usually lose their bed at the shelter or their room in low-rent apartments. In a lot of shelters or apartments, if someone doesn't show up at the end of the day, the managers give away all their things. So now they'd be right back to square one. Broke, homeless, just trying to get a roof over their head. The bootstraps were cut. For someone like you or me, you get a ticket, you pay it, it sucks. That ticket can mean we can't have a drink tonight, or we have to cut back at the grocery store. Our interactions with police and the criminal justice system are generally just a nuisance. But once you go below a certain socioeconomic status, these seemingly trivial, mundane, momentary interactions with the police restructure everything.”
Trump family defends Ailes’ criticism of women who don’t defend themselves from sexual harassment
ThinkProgress reports on the Trump family’s comments defending Roger Ailes, who resigned last week after many sexual harassment claims were filed against him, and disparaging women who are subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace for not changing careers or strongly rebuking their harassers. “‘If every woman who experienced sexual harassment switched careers, the labor force may well descend into chaos.’ In surveys with representative sampling, 40 percent of women say they’ve experienced unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion in the workplace. Sixty percent report having experienced sexist or offensive behavior. Yet according to a major report from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, very few victims come forward or take formal steps against abuse. Many say they fear that they won’t be believed, or will suffer retaliation — exactly what is happening to the Fox women, who are being questioned by Trump and others with the same tack used 25 years ago to discredit Anita Hill.”
President Obama shortens sentences of 214 federal inmates in one day
President Obama cut short the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century. Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent drug related crimes. Obama has commuted 562 sentences during his presidency — more than the past nine presidents combined. Advocates for more aggressive presidential clemency, while praising the moves, say the current pace will fail to fulfill the promise of Obama's 2014 clemency initiative and the commutations have come at the expense of traditional pardons, which are more useful to former offenders looking for jobs or seeking to restore their voting or gun rights.
Seattle City Council bans ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTQ youth
The Seattle City Council this week banned so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth, making it the latest in a string of cities and states to outlaw the harmful and unscientific practice. The American Psychological Association has warned of risks from the so-called treatment, including depression, anxiety, self-hatred, and self-destructive behavior. Major medical organizations have rejected the harmful practice.
Racism underlies North Carolina’s requirements to present state-issued ID’s when voting
The editorial board of the Virginian-Pilot explains the hidden racism underlying North Carolina's new voting restrictions that require all voters to present state-issued ID's when voting -- which African Americans in the state disproportionately lack. The state also barred same-day voter registration, eliminated seven days of early voting and ended out-of-precinct balloting. As the federal judge that ruled that these laws were unconstitutional argued, "The new provisions target African Americans with almost surgical precision.”
Transgendered population singled out during TSA screenings
Al Jazeera reports transgender individuals are often singled out during TSA screenings, often "required to undergo pat-down searches by officers of the opposite gender, reveal or remove items such as chest binders and prosthetic penises and defend challenges to their gender identities and their right to opt out of body scans, among other problems."
Supreme Court sides with VA school board opposed to allowing transgender students choose restroom
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court sided with a Virginia school board opposed to the Obama administration's directive that transgender students be allowed their choice of public restrooms. The case was brought by a transgender student who contested the school district's refusal to let him use the boy's bathroom. (via BMSG)
Zero-tolerance doesn’t reduce misbehavior and disproportionately impacts black students
A new study shows that zero-tolerance school laws disproportionately impact Black students and lead to increases in suspensions. The study also found that the laws fail to reduce misbehavior. Many states, most recently Michigan, are now revising such disciplinary policies.
Do Black Americans with college experience face more discrimination than those without?
A Pew Research Center study found that 81 percent of Black Americans with some level of college experience say they've faced discrimination, compared with 59 percent of Blacks who have never attended college. The article notes that Black people who attend college become more exposed, through classes or institutions, to conversations about racism and, therefore, have a heightened awareness of these issues. (via BMSG)
Violence Prevention and Unintentional Injury
57% of mass shootings from 2009-2014 targeted family members or partners
New research derived from FBI data between 2009 and 2014 analyzed all shootings that resulted in four or more deaths and found that 57 percent of mass shootings targeted family members or intimate partners. In those shootings, 64 percent of the victims were women or children. The author calls for expanding the dialogue on gun violence to include discussion of its links to intimate partner violence. And, according to a new analysis from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, more than 20 percent of the 132 officers killed on duty between 2010-2014 were responding to a domestic dispute.
Should we treat gun violence as a pandemic given its high cause of deaths?
NPR’s Michelle Martin urges we treat gun violence like a pandemic, noting that in the U.S. homicide is the leading cause of death for Black males aged 20 to 34, the second leading cause of death for Black females aged 15 through 24, the third leading cause of death for white males aged 15 through 24, and the fourth leading cause of death for white females 15-24. Suicide is also the second leading cause of death for white males aged 10 through 34 – with guns often the preferred choice. This Baltimore Sun op-ed argues that popular discourse about gun violence ignores its traumatic impact on survivors, police, first responders, witnesses, families, children and their communities. He also pleads for trauma-informed social policies. Alternet’s Kali Holloway notes, “Police in multiple states have voiced criticism of open carry laws, which many say make their jobs more difficult, stressful and dangerous. Instead of listening to these police criticisms, those who continue to demand unfettered gun rights—nearly the whole of the GOP and its base—imperil the same police lives they claim to want to protect.”
Op-ed calls for government leaders to address police brutality
This op-ed for The Tennessean stresses the need for government leaders to understand and address the dire state of police brutality and killings and urges leaders in the Black community to condemn the murder of police, as those acts only perpetuate violence and discrimination.
Olympics help Black Lives Matter go global
Across borders and continents, the Olympics are helping Black Lives Matter to go global -- and showcasing the police brutality that plagues Rio de Janeiro.
GenForward poll shows impacts of police brutality on Black Americans and Hispanics
According to a new GenForward poll, two-thirds of young African-Americans and 4 in 10 Hispanics say they or someone they know has experienced violence or harassment at the hands of police.
NFL’s claim that its youth football program is reducing concussions is unfounded
A new study shows the NFL's claim that its youth football program is reducing concussions is not supported by the data. “Heads Up Football” was found to have no demonstrable effect on concussions during the study, and significantly less effect on injuries over all, than U.S.A. Football and the league have claimed in settings ranging from online materials to congressional testimony.
Food and activity environments
Schools with higher numbers of Hispanic, Black, and low-income students are closer to tobacco and fast-food retailers
According to a new study, compared to schools with mostly white students, schools with higher numbers of Hispanic, Black, and low-income students are more likely to have tobacco retailers and fast-food restaurants in easy reach. Reuters reports: “The researchers randomly selected more than 18,000 public schools across 97 counties, then analyzed their proximity to retailers within an 800-meter radius – roughly equivalent to a 10-minute walk. They report in the American Journal of Public Health that 40 percent of the schools were near at least one fast food restaurant, 77 percent were close to at least one retailer likely to sell tobacco products, and 38 percent of schools were close to both. Schools with higher numbers of Hispanic, black, and low-income students receiving free and reduced-price lunch were more likely to have tobacco retailers and fast-food restaurants within a ten-minute walk.”
Reframing the ‘food discussion’ to get it into the Presidential election conversation
The New York Times reports on activists and organizations trying to bring the food system into the Presidential election conversation: “People who think food needs to be higher on the national agenda should do a better job connecting the dots, said Bob Kerrey, the former governor and United States Democratic senator from Nebraska. “You need to start off by understanding that agriculture is primarily a manufacturing business and make food an economic issue, rather than labeling it as a health or environmental issue,” he said. “Then you have to walk across the gulf between that and the people who are actually buying the food.””
Use of Uber and Lyft among underserved populations
The American Prospect looks at use of Uber and Lyft among members of communities underserved by existing transit and taxi options. Concerns and barriers remain – including cost, user/driver ratings systems that open the door to racist ratings of passengers of color, lack of access for people with disabilities, smartphone ownership, and the requirement to pay with credit cards or PayPal.
Economic variables that may explain the 37% rise in BMI over the past 3 decades
A University of Virginia study showed that economic variables could explain 37 percent of the rise in body mass index over the past three decades.
California
Supporters of Prop 63, which bans high-capacity magazines, require background checks for ammunition sales
Supporters of Proposition 63 - a ballot measure that would ban possession of high-capacity magazines - require background checks for ammunition purchases among other regulations, have raised $3.8 million so far, compared with $467,000 raised by two committees opposing Proposition 63.
Mental health
Mental health care coverage from ACA hasn’t led to equitable mental health treatment
The Atlantic reports on new research showing that mental health care insurance coverage furnished through the Affordable Care Act has not translated to equitable increases in mental health treatment: “The Affordable Care Act is providing unprecedented access to treatment, but it’s failed to narrow disparities between white and Black patients.”
Health Systems Transformation
CMS finalizes 2017 payment increases for health care
CMS last week finalized fiscal year 2017 payment increases for hospice care, inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). CMS also finalized new quality measures for hospice care providers, IRFs, and SNFs.
Community Catalysts analyzes Essential Health Benefits with an equity lens
Community Catalyst details the pros and cons of the ACA’s Essential Health Benefits (EHB) – which required health plans on the individual and small-group market to cover the same ten benefits without discrimination. A recent report by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) however, found some concerning issues with the coverage of the rehabilitation and habilitation services. The blog notes, “As more and more people gain coverage through the marketplaces, it is critical that they, especially the most prone to discrimination, get the care they need.”