Cleveland Women's

Counsel

CONVERSATIONS I HAVE HEARD

"Cleveland Women's Counsel. Drusilla speaking. May I help you?" That greeting usually opens a conversation that is never the same as the one before. Women in Cleveland have come to trust CWC as a place where women care and they know that someone will listen and provide resources and phone numbers, where they can get specific help.

A composite of the typical caller is 14 to 80, she is black, white, Indian and oriental. She is wealthy and so poor she has been eating dog food for the last four days. She is fanatically religious and an agnostic. Her questions and problems range from job counseling, divorce, lesbianism, abuse, incest, old-age discrimination, suicide and the women's movement.

Some women have no idea where to begin; some have all the facts needed, but not the support. Often all a woman needs to hear is that she has the right to

p.9. box 18472

cleve. hts., oh. 44118 321-8585

consider herself first in her decision to divorce. Many women are still made to feel as criminals when they decide not to have custody of their children. Because of the numerous calls concerning divorce, CWC has begun to do research on divorcing women. We have compiled a booklet to let a woman know what she might expect in the process. Our shortterm statistics on what happens to a woman in divorce (family, society, lawyers, and court) are alarming, so we have begun to see CWC's future thrust in that direction.

When a woman calls Cleveland Women's Counsel she may expect to talk to someone who will hear what she is saying, will take a short history, will give her the benefit of our research, files, and feedback. She may expect to be called back in a short period of time, and above all, she may expect confidentiality.

.. Drusilla Q. Smittle

&

MONEY

URGENTLY NEEDED

Dear Readers of What She Wants:

Cleveland Women's Counsel has received calls from 2000 women since last January. Having this referral and support service available for women meets an important need of women in Cleveland.

If you can help support this source, the time to do that would be RIGHT NOW. Money available from foundation sources does not cover the costs of operating this service. It is vitally important for support to come from individuals to continue. Please send a donation today.

CWC

P. O. Box 18472

Cleveland, Ohio 44118

IWY in Danger Wages Housewor

"Houston in November will be the target of the Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly forces in another of their attempts to squelch all human rights. The feminist, minority and lesbian communities must be there as an organized coalition to ensure their defeat," stated Gladys Benjamin, co-chair of the IWY Support Coalition.

Across the country results from the governmentfunded IWY conferences are being compiled. De'feates and victories both were reached by the minority, feminist and lesbian communities. One of the most alarming defeats came in Mississippi where the man heading the Mississippi Nazi Party was elected as a delegate for Houston.

"The IWY is being used by the government to ascertain the will of American women. If the resolutions passed in Houston come out against equal rights for women, against gay rights, for the denial of each woman's control of her own reproductive system and support a halt to the drive to meet the needs of minority women, we will all have real problems.

Members of the coalition believe that communication is the key to a Houston success. Women must organize nationwide support groups to go to Houston and must know who all the players will be and what the strategy will be for both sides. The coalition sees itself as a vital communication link to support groups across the country.

Ratification of the ERA, abortion on demand for all women, legislative protection for gays and childcare centers financially accessible to poor as well as middle class women are the four non-negotiable unifying points supported by the coalition.

Lesbian caucuses played an important part in most of the states with successful IWY conferences. It is especially important that these women reach Houston so that a strong united voice speaks against the attacks they have been subjected to and that the final resolutions reflect concern for their human rights.

The coalition further asks that all concerned

women:

1. Start an IWY support coalition in your city and join the network.

2. Contact your city or state National Organization for Women (NOW) and/or their Lesbian Task Force, Minority Women Task Force, etc., and ask how you can get involved.

3. Send money. If you can't get to Houston and vote for your rights, make sure someone is there to do it for you.

*B)/Whol Shia Wanky/October, 1977;--

Cleveland, Ohio 44101

WAGES FOR HOUSEWORK CAMPAIGN Because of the greater power of men--straight and gay--we lesbian women know first hand what violence they exercise against us and our children. The fight of many gay men to be with each other is to escape the role of dominance imposed on them by our dependence and poverty, which daily creates that brutality.

It is because of that violence that the lesbian movement is massive internationally. Some of us can afford to be open and live with other women: millions more are trapped in relationships with men by our lack of money, and are therefore invisible. But the launching of the "Save Our Children" campaign against us is an index of the enormity of the power that we have all built against subservience and invisibility. How much we have to offer to other women, and children--by our fight for independence--is measured by extermination atempts like this.

Our weakness as women in relation to men stems from the unpaid service we perform at home-raising children, caring for the old and sick, and preparing ourselves and our husbands or lovers to go out to work. Because we are not paid for that work, we take jobs outside our homes, often in social services, and almost always at low wages. Those of us who are lesbian have had to fight to get and keep every job, by staying "'in the closet" and taking care to be extra feminine and normal. These jobs are often our only, access to money at a time when the economic crisis is affecting women on many fronts. We are also fighting to keep custody of our own chlidren. Almost anyone who comes along.. husbands, relatives, governmental agencies--can lay claim to them. We are refusing to pay for our lesbianism by facing forced childlessness. The attack on us as being “unfit" to be mothers and "unfit" to hold jobs around children is an attempt to deprive both ourselves and our children of the possi bility of choosing our sexuality.

We stand behind our children's fight to be free, to have sexual choices, and not to be prey to anyone enlisting them for either heterosexuality or homosexuality. Our struggle in our own right against coercion makes us eminently fit to be mothers and teachers.

We don't want to choose for our children. We want them to have the power to choose for them-

44442.

851-8987 281-9962

selves, just as we want that possibility for ourselves. Those attacking us for recruiting are themselves recruiting into heterosexuality, and we want NO FORCED SEXUALITY.

The following statement was circulated by Wages for Housework to 5,000 women at the Los Angeles International Women's Decade Conference held June 18-20. The statement received wide support and was the basis of the following resolutions passed by the conference at large.

LESBIANS

WHEREAS our poverty and social pressure force too many lesbian women to choose between coming out as lesbians or keeping our children,

BE IT RESOLVED that we demand wages for housework from the government for all women so that we have the power to freely choose whether or not to be lesbian, and whether or not to have children, and, BE IT RESOLVED that we support our children's fight for their own sexual choices.

WELFARE

Because all women do housework, because we receive no money for that work, and because the powerlessness of women is rooted in out lack of money, we oppose any cuts in welfare (the first money women have won for our housework), and we demand wages for housework for all women from the government.

DECRIMINALIZATION

OF PROSTITUTION

WHEREAS we believe that all people have the right to control the use of their bodies, and

WHEREAS we recognize that countless people enter into prostitution as a remedy to poverty in the home and low wages outside the home, and

WHEREAS enforcement of the laws against prostitution result in violence and harrassment of prostitutes by law enforcement agents, and other preditors, and,

WHEREAS enforcement of laws against prostitution result in diverting the police from more appropriate activities of protecting people and property, BE IT RESOLVED that all laws against prostitution be ended, that there be an end to police harassment of prostitutes, that amnesty be granted to all prostitutes, and that all criminal records against prosti. tutes be destroyed.