Women gather to set priorities, strive for equality

ASHEVILLE – Buncombe County women came together Saturday morning at the YWCA of Asheville to learn about public policies affecting equality for women and to prioritize action items.

After listening to remarks by state and local officials and representatives from area advocacy and nonprofit groups, the crowd of about 50 voted access to health care and economic self-sufficiency as its top legislative priorities.

Violence against women and female civic participation were also highly ranked.

Every two years before the state General Assembly's long term session, North Carolina Women United hosts the forum to set its Buncombe County Women's Agenda.

State Rep. Susan Fisher and state Sen. Terry Van Duyn kicked off the event discussing why equality has yet to be achieved, charging Buncombe County residents to bring about change.

Women's issues are cross cutting, they said. Fighting for women and families defies political and economic division.

"We have still much, much work to do," said Fisher who spoke first to the energetic crowd, encouraging them to develop an agenda that will resonate with men, women and children across the state.

The Legislature is shredding the safety net for families and children in North Carolina, but these issues don't have to be partisan, added Fisher, who discussed barriers to comprehensive sex education and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Women and families across the state have similar needs, she said. People need to be employed. People need affordable childcare. People need affordable higher education.

"Buncombe County is all about bringing things back, rebuilding the safety net," Fisher said.

Van Duyn, who joined the state Senate in April 2014 after Sen. Martin L. Nesbitt Jr. died, remarked she was shocked during her first term by the Senate's focus on eliminating income taxes.

"All of the things we advocate for can't be done if we continue to starve the state of revenue," she said. "It's important that you understand what their real objective is, their real objective is to starve the beast and the beast is us."

Nonetheless, the recently re-elected state senator added that what happened in Buncombe County this past election shows that issues matter more than politics.

The race between Democrat Brian Turner and incumbent Republican Tim Moffitt was considered unwinnable, but we won it, she said to the cheering crowd. Women all over care about these issues, regardless of their background.

Echoing her remarks, Beth Maczka, executive director of the YWCA of Asheville, pointed to a national poll conducted by the YWCA.

The What Women Want study showed that 80 percent of women agreed on 80 percent of issues, regardless of political affiliation or income level, she said.

Representatives from Planned Parenthood, Helpmate, Our Voice, the League of Women Voters, Buncombe Country, the American Association of University Women and other organizations presented throughout the morning, discussing a variety of issues important to women including access to health care, domestic violence, sexual assault, affordable childcare and equal pay.

"There are just so many different organizations and initiatives out there that are directly related to women in Buncombe County," said Kelsey Tavares who was at the forum and works for Planned Parenthood.

"It's great for us to be able to come together and share ideas. The more we can see how we fit together and can help each other, the stronger we will be able to advocate for these issues."

Domestic violence is an excellent example of how we can work together at the federal, state and local level, crossing political lines, to better support women, said April Burgess-Johnson, executive director of Helpmate, a local domestic violence agency which works to eliminate fear and abuse.

Buncombe County launched its new domestic violence initiative in March after a spike in domestic violence homicides.

Lauded as the most comprehensive plan at the county level to date, it focuses on punishing offenders, victim support and protecting families.

The county is tied for second for the most domestic violence related homicides in the state, Burgess-Johnson said.

"With something like that, it doesn't matter if you are looking at these issues from a social justice lens or a crime and punishment lens, with this we can all meet together and agree it is wrong," she added.