Articles by Steven Gilchrist

In October 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. According to the United States Department of Justice this legislative act offers funding and technical assistance to local, state, and tribal jurisdictions for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.  Matthew Wayne  Shepard (December 1, 1976 - October 12, 1998) was a University of Wyoming student who was pistol-whipped, tortured, and left to die after being tied to a barbed-wire fence in Laramie, Wisconsin on October 6, 1998. In May 1995, Matthew Shepard graduated from the American School in Switzerland (TASIS). While at the American School he participated in theater classes and took German and Italian classes as well. James Byrd, Jr. (May 2, 1949 - June 7, 1998) was murdered on June 7, 1998 in Jasper, Texas after being dragged behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. James Byrd graduated from Jasper Rowe High School in 1967 and later became a vacuum s...

Later this year, from October 18, 2020  –  October 24, 2020, National Retirement Security Week will take place.  Since 2006, National Retirement Security Week has taken place  annually during the 3rd week of October.  The goal of this campaign is to help raise awareness among the American workforce regarding retirement best practices and to encourage people to take steps towards these best practices. In 2006, U.S. Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) introduced Congressional legislation enacting the first resolution establishing National Save for Retirement Week.  According to a survey from National Today.com, approximately 2/3rds of Americans are worried that they won't be able to save enough money for retirement. For more National Today.com retirement survey results visit:  https://nationaltoday.com/national-retirement-security-week/

Boston, MA. - The Garden of Peace: A Memorial to Victims of Homicide exists to pay special tribute to people who have been murdered in Massachusetts.   The Garden was dedicated on September 24, 2004.   Now there are over 800 names of homicide victims from Massachusetts who have their names enshrined on river stones in the Garden of Peace.   Each person commemorated in the Memorial has an important story to tell.   The Garden is important because it is a place where families and friends of homicide victims can remember the lives and the memories of their loved ones. Catherine Melina created the original design for the Garden of Peace.   Judy Kensley Mckie, whose son Jesse was murdered, sculpted the Ibis Ascending statue.   The statue features three ibises which symbolize the transcendence of pain, anger, and grief. The Garden of Peace has three main elements. Tragic Density – the granite orb that symbolizes grief; The dry riverbed with h...

  In 2015, the documentary The Hunting Ground was released.   The documentary focuses on how sexual assault cases are handled on various college campuses in the United States.   The Hunting Ground was written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering.   Students who have endured sexual assaults from colleges and universities including Harvard Law School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Florida State University were interviewed for the documentary.   The Hunting Ground covers topics such as Title IX legislation, institutional cover-ups, and retaliation that victims face for coming forward with sexual assault charges. Additional information from The Hunting Ground includes: * More than 16% of female college students become the victims of sexual assault. * 88% of women who are sexually assaulted on college campuses do not report that they have been assaulted. * In 2012, 45% of colleges/universities reported no i...

The creation and increased popularity of the Internet has allowed millions of users the ability to buy products, re-connect with old friends, and learn about new places and environments.   However, the Internet has also allowed child predators to lurk in the dark corners of the World Wide Web and share illegal images of children.   In the United States it is a federal crime to knowingly access, distribute, manufacture, and possess with the intent to view child pornography.   All 50 states and the District of Columbia also have laws against child pornography.    According to a July 29, 2012 Boston Globe article by Jenifer B. McKim about investigating Internet child pornography: “There has been a proliferation of sexual abuse pictures in recent years with the spread of high-speed Internet access and identity-masking software, according to Ernie Allen,” who is the founding chairman of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According t...

M embers of the United States Senate are in the process of trying to pass legislation that would create an independent an unbiased military justice system.   S.1752 also known as the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) is a bipartisan bill proposal.   The idea for S.1752 is derived from the overwhelming problem of sexual assaults in the United States military. The problem of sexual assaults in the military is documented in the movie Invisible War .   Written by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, the documentary tells the story of several women and men veterans who were sexually harassed, assaulted, or raped by other members of the military while serving the country. The documentary reveals that prosecuting sexual assault cases in the military can be difficult because of how the current military justice system operates.   One expert in the documentary says that the average sex offender has over 300 victims in their lifetime.   Most offenders do not get caug...

E very year on November 25 th , people from around the world join together to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.   According to the United Nations, 35% of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence or non-partner sexual violence.   Additionally, worldwide research from the U.N. also indicates that approximately 120 million women have been forced into sexual acts at some point in their lives and about 133 million women have undergone female genital mutilation. On November 25, 2014 at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke about the global pandemic of violence against women.   Moon said: “Violence against women and girls is a global pandemic that destroys lives, fractures communities and holds back development.   It is not confined to any region, political system, culture or social class.   It is present at every level of every society in the world.   ...

I n 1993, the United Nations began to formally observe the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.   The U.N. General Assembly signed Resolution 47/196 in 1993.   This resolution declared October 17 of every year as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.   The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about the importance of eradicating poverty and destitution across the globe, particularly in developing nations.   The theme for this year’s day is – “Working together out of poverty.” Although the U.N. formally adopted the commemoration of the day in 1993, there was an event held in 1987 to honor victims of poverty, hunger, fear, and violence.   Over 100,000 people gathered at the event held in Paris, France on the Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the Trocadero.   The commemoration was led by Joseph Wresinski – founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World.   Wresinski once said: “Wherever men and women are conde...

H omelessness is a complex problem that occurs in cities and towns across the United States.   According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. experience homelessness on any given night.   Furthermore, over 1.5 million Americans use a shelter or transitional housing annually.   There are several factors that cause homelessness including: alcoholism, broken families, drug addiction, mental illness, unemployment, and poverty; however, access to affordable housing is the main reason why people experience homelessness.   Scarce affordable housing is especially prevalent in urban communities.        A goal that the Obama administration has advocated for is to eradicate homelessness among veterans by 2015.   In 2009, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki promised that the administration would eradicate homelessness among veterans by 2015.   This goal is certainly a noble one and in order for ...

I n early November 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau released new data regarding poverty in the United States.   The data indicated that 1 in 15 people in the U.S. are amongst the poorest of the poor – a record high since the Census Bureau began maintaining poverty records 35 years ago. According to a November 4, 2011 article written by Associated Press reporters Hope Yen and Laura Wides-Munoz, “About 20.5 million Americans, or 6.7 percent of the US population, make up the poorest poor, defined as those at 50 percent or less of the official poverty level.”   There are approximately 46.2 million people living below the federal poverty line.   In 2010, the poorest of the poor was defined as an income of $5,570 or less for one person and $11,157 for a family of four.   Since 2007, 40 states and the District of Columbia have had increases in the number of people considered the poorest of the poor.   No states saw a decrease in these numbers.   The District ...

I n May 2011, a study was published concerning an inexcusable human rights crisis.   The Associated Press reported on the story in the central African country of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).   The study indicates that approximately 1,152 women are raped in the DRC every day.   This translates into a rate of 48 women being raped in the Congo every hour.   The study also indicates that on average, 29 Congolese women out of every 1,000 had been a victim of rape nationwide.   Compared to women in the DRC, women living in the United States face a lower incidence of rape.   The annual rate in the U.S. is 0.5 per 1,000 women. A woman in Congo is 58 times more likely to be a victim of rape than a woman in the United States.    This staggering information is based on the occurrence during a 12-month period from 2006 – 2007 where more than 400,000 women in the Congo were raped.   The DRC has a population of nearly 72 million people and is ab...

BOSTON – 2010 marked the 100 th anniversary of the establishment of the National Urban League (NUL).   The organization was founded in New York City with the goal of empowering people through economic development and raising the standard of living and quality of life for urban communities.   These noble goals were on display this past summer when the NUL held its annual convention in Boston.   The NUL has more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and Washington, D.C. The theme for this year’s NUL conference was “JOBS REBUILD AMERICA.”   It was first time in 35 years that the conference was held in Boston, a city of firsts.   Boston had the 1 st public library, 1 st public school, and the 1 st public transportation system in the United States. I was not able to attend the conference, however; I was able to attend an affiliated program called The State of Black Boston .   The program was held on July 25, 2011 at the Hynes Convention Center.   T...

U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) publicly acknowledged in his recent autobiography sexual abuse that he suffered when he was an adolescent. Brown’s abuse portrays a childhood of violence from family members, camp counselors, and acquaintances. Brown’s public acknowledgement about his personal life bring continued attention to a societal problem that often goes underreported and silenced. Experts consider sexual assault to be the most underreported violent crime in America. The month of April is recognized as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAM). The purpose of the awareness month is to inform the general public about sexual violence and educate people about sexual violence prevention techniques. The 2011 SAAM campaign theme is “It’s time … to get involved.” According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website, “The 2011 national Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign explores common, everyday behaviors and offers individu...

L ast week a very powerful and emotional topic was discussed on a new episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show . The subject of this episode was child abuse and the affects that abuse has on male victims in particular. The show offered an inside look into how victims of abuse can cope with what happened to them and how they can help other abuse victims. This episode of The Oprah Show was informative because it highlighted a difficult topic that can have devastating societal effects. For well over twenty years, Oprah Winfrey has been an advocate for the rights of children. She was instrumental in the passage of the National Child Protection Act of 1991 – which created a national database of convicted child abusers. In an episode of her show that aired on Monday, September 15, 2008, Winfrey encouraged her audience to support the Protect Our Children Act, U.S. Senate Bill 1738. During this episode, Winfrey explained to her viewers the pervasiveness of child pornography in America, particular...

T his past summer on July 26, during a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama and advocates for people with disabilities, joined together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into federal law. The ADA was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. In the United States, one in six Americans or approximately 43 million people live with a disability. Examples of what the act created can be seen in any American community. Automatic doors in buildings, handicap access ramps & parking spaces, sidewalk ramps, accommodating seats in arenas and theaters; these facets of society were a result of the Americans with Disability Act. A disability is defined by the ADA as, “a physical or mental impairment that substantially affects a major life activity.” In his remarks at the White House on the exact day of the 20th anniversary of ...

O n March 2, 2010, about 350 people attended the 3rd annual White Ribbon Day Proclamation Event in Massachusetts. The program was held in Gardner Auditorium at the State House in Boston. Nine speakers including elected officials, a local sportscaster, social workers, and advocates against domestic violence led the program with the theme “Men for Change.” As participants entered into the auditorium they were given White Ribbon Day pledge cards and white ribbon lapel pins. The White Ribbon Day campaign is an awareness program to encourage men of all ages to speak out and to not tolerate or perpetuate domestic violence against women. The White Ribbon Pledge asks that men make both a private and public commitment to advocate for healthy, respectful, and safe relationships and communities. The idea for the White Ribbon Campaign began in 1991 as a way to pay tribute to the 14 women students who were murdered by a lone gunman on December 6, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 13 other students ...