Fairfax County Commission for Women

10/11/2021

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we are highlighting holistic resources available in Fairfax County (link in bio). For national resources, education, and more, visit thehotline.org.

09/16/2021

As the election in Virginia approaches, here are some important dates to keep in mind! If you are looking for information on voter registration, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website by using the link in our bio.

08/24/2021

Two Days Away!
Join with the many women’s and organizations of diverse backgrounds at the this Thursday at noontime at the U.S. Supreme Court. We’ll have great speakers, brand new t-shirts and signs! Wear your masks and come celebrate !

*xualviolenceevhs and many more

08/20/2021

Resources

https://fb.watch/7v36mGBaBY/

08/20/2021

Come one, come all to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on , August 26th at Noon, and lift your voices in the fight for our equality! We'll have tees, signs, and great programming! The speakers will be terrific. So, let's get inspired together!



https://fb.watch/7v2bgfMili/

08/20/2021

Come make it happen and join us at the U.S. Supreme Court on , August 26th at Noontime and let's rally for our !

https://fb.watch/7v1LKT8pnW/

08/16/2021

10 Days Away‼️Can you join us to make a statement and raise our voices on inequality⁉️

WHERE: U.S. Supreme Court
WHEN: 8/26 Noon

Women's March
ERA Coalition The Female Lead Feminist Majority Feminists of Speech The Female Quotient Female Collective National Women's Law Center NWPC Greater Pasadena National Women's History Alliance National Women's Political Caucus of Washington (NWPC-WA) National Labor Women's Network National Women's Political Caucus National Organization for Women (NOW) Loudoun County NOW Women's Media Center Generation Ratify Generation Ratify Amherst, MA Generation Ratify Virginia Generation Ratify Carroll County Generation Ratify Michigan


🌈 *xualassault *xualabuse *xualharassment

08/09/2021

🚨BREAKING🚨 All invited near and far, young and old, straight, , and ‼️ All means all‼️Join us for a ✅RALLY✅ at the steps of for Women’s Equality Day, August 26th at noontime. We’ll have signs, new t-shirts and ERAYes masks for sale! And you can get creative with it and make your own signs, too! This is going to be a fabulous presentation and photo op used over and over again‼️ .ratify.era


🌈 *xualassault *xualabuse *xualharassment

07/03/2021

Happy Fourth of July ‼️🎆
We stand for:
❤️ ️⃣
🤍The of women & girls 👧🏽 👩🏿‍🦳👭
💙
❤️
🤍
💙 🌈 🏳️‍🌈
❤️
🤍
💙
❤️
🤍 🌏
💙 🐾
❤️ Communities
🤍
💙
❤️
🤍
💙
❤️
❤️🤍💙
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

06/19/2021

: The Board is honored to declare June 19 as in .

In Fairfax County, we work every day to begin to right the wrongs of our history and lift up our communities. That’s why we passed to put at the center of every decision we make.

06/15/2021

Get to know, Ana! She is a !

Fairfax County Department of Family Services, Domestic and Sexual Violence Services can help you, too! Never hesitate to reach out! https://www.facebook.com/fairfaxcountyfamilyservices/videos/1228666614241519

06/15/2021

"The Commission for Women was successful in shining light on the women who work every day, putting the safety and care of residents first. To watch the forum, visit the Fairfax County Commission for Women’s page here."

Thanks WDVM for highlighting the amazing women of the County and those serving in the Fairfax County Government! We are just catching this now! It is never too late to celebrate our !

https://www.localdvm.com/news/virginia/fairfax-honors-female-frontline-workers-for-womens-history-month/

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WDVM) — The Fairfax County Commission for Women held a forum to honor women who have worked on the frontlines throughout the pandemic in celebration of Women’s History Mo…

06/13/2021

Happy Pride Month! Take time this month to learn and educate others about the history behind Pride Month and to appreciate the work of the countless people who fought for LGBTQ+ rights throughout history.

06/09/2021

While we are terribly saddened to lose our dear friend and fellow Fairfax County Commission for Women ⁦Commissioner, Sondra Seba Hemenway. So glad we can honor her in this small way.

https://www.tysonsreporter.com/2021/06/09/womens-rights-advocate-fairfax-county-leader-dies-in-mclean-at-67/

True to her past as a former presidential staffer and Pentagon assistant, Sondra Seba Hemenway stayed up until 3 a.m. tweaking a TV script for a Fairfax County leader the night before a filming for Women's History Month. Hemenway was helping out as part of the Fairfax County Commission for Women,

05/18/2021

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUldOmupz8qHdAQadQwT41GZpN9SE2-UrD8

“The Criminalization of Black and Brown Girls:
Adversity, Abuse and the School-to-Prison Pipeline”
Wednesday, May 19, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
You must register in advance at this link.
After registering you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Girls and young women experience criminalization and racial profiling by law enforcement in ways that are overlooked and can have lifelong consequences. The tragic reality is that Black and Brown girls and young women often enter the juvenile justice system because of status offenses such as truancy and are overwhelmingly victims of physical and s*xual abuse and violence.
With the increased attention to criminal justice reform and racial justice, this is the time to get serious about the racist and s*xist policies and practices targeting Black and Brown girls. The welfare of our children should be foremost in reform, not an after-thought.

The program features Cherice Hopkins, Senior Counsel of Rights4Girls; Valerie Slater, Executive Director of Rise for Youth; Ta’ Dreama McBride, youth leader, and Juandiego Wade, member of the Charlottesville City School Board.

NOW and NCBW are honored to be supported by the following co-sponsors:
AAUW of VA * Alexandria Commission for Women * Arlington County Women’s Commission * Charlottesville NOW * Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues * Coalition of Labor Union Women * Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – – South Atlantic Region * Fairfax County Board of Supervisors * League of Women Voters of Virginia * Legal Aid Justice Center * Loudoun County Chapter, NOW *NAACP-Arlington Branch #7047 * National Council of Negro Women – Northern Virginia Section * National Women’s Political Caucus, VA Chapter * Network NoVA * Virginia Council on Women * Virginia Democratic Women’s Caucus * Virginia Organizing * Virginia Poverty Law Center

05/09/2021

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms from the Fairfax County Commission for Women! We’re celebrating and thanking you this

05/01/2021

“On a warm day in late September nearly 10 years ago, [Fairfax County Chairwoman of the Commission for Women] Lisa A Sales
was in the basement of her Virginia home, going through files belonging to her former tenant, a man who had just been arrested and would later plead guilty to assaulting her.⁠
⁠
Dmitry Mikhaylov, a Russian immigrant attending graduate school, had not immediately struck Sales as a multimillionaire. Now she began to wonder about his real background. Could he have ties to the Russian mafia?⁠
⁠
Sales was suspicious enough to call a neighbor in the FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, later following it up with a call and email to the bureau’s Washington field office concerning her former housemate’s “suspicious activity” — essentially, his access to a massive trove of money. The field office never responded.⁠
⁠
Sales eventually came to believe the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
had helped her former tenant move to the United States, and is protecting him as part of a legal maneuver roughly similar to the Justice Department’s witness protection program. The reason, she argues, is that he’s the son of one of the agency’s most valuable assets of the past two decades.⁠”
⁠
Full Story: https://news.yahoo.com/how-a-brutal-assault-led-a-woman-to-one-of-the-ci-as-most-valuable-russian-spies-090022725.html
⁠
📷: Schukar
Repost Yahoo News

*xualassault *xualbattery *xualviolence

04/29/2021

NEVER have we seen this image before in our American history: President Joe Biden with Madam Vice President Kamala Harris & Madam House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. So proud of these ladies creating a powerful and emotional moment for the women & girls of America‼️ 🏛

04/22/2021

Thank you Congressman Gerry Connolly for inviting our Chair Lisa A Sales to share her survivor’s story on your panel on behalf of *xualassaultawarenessmonth , and to discuss the need for a National Action & Change Culture Plan to end *xualviolence, a month we hope we, one day, have no need to commemorate. We’re so glad Fairfax County Domestic & Sexual Violence Services’ Michelle Mueller could also be on hand to talk about . Let’s work in partnership with the White House Gender Policy Council to advance policies that make America safer for all and to overcome disproportionately faced by women and other vulnerable populations. To register for the Zoom: https://ushr.zoomgov.com/webinar/register WN_xKAgkiXgQieEXOzLGkAvqg

04/17/2021

This month is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Did you know that an American is s*xually assaulted every 73 seconds? Sexual assault is an extremely widespread issue, but it's impossible to prevent an issue if you know little about it. It's our responsibility to educate others, prevent s*xual violence, and support and empower survivors.

*xualassault *xualviolence

*xualassaultawarenessmonth
Fairfax County Government

04/11/2021

So proud of the Commission’s very own Misha Rowe for her bravery and willingness to share her story (and statewide at that) about a very serious illness she is forced to live with in effort to get legislation passed in . Misha has been through so much and she tries never to show it! And if ever you get a chance to hear her 🎶 music 🎼 one day, check her out!

04/08/2021

The shelves are nearly bare at BRAWS: Bringing Resources to Aid Women's Shelters, so please help us continue to serve the women and girls in the region who need pads, tampons, bras and underwear. does an amazing job of serving vulnerable populations including school-aged kids, homeless women, those who are victims of s*xual and domestic violence, and incarcerated women. Please, won't you consider making a donation to BRAWS either by way of Amazon gift card or dropping off much needed supplies to their Vienna office in honor of ? While the Commission for Women took up a collection for BRAWS, you may also donate directly to their website: braws.org. We all thank you!

03/22/2021

BRIEFING ROOM
Statement by President Biden on the Passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021 in the House of Representatives
MARCH 17, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
I applaud the House of Representatives for passing the Reauthorization Act ( ) with bipartisan support — and I urge the Senate to follow their lead to renew and strengthen this landmark law.

Writing and passing VAWA is one of the legislative accomplishments of which I’m most proud. VAWA has transformed the way our country responds to violence against women. And, with each re-authorization, the Congress has expanded VAWA’s provisions on a bipartisan basis to improve protections, including for Native American women and survivors from underserved communities, and improve efforts to prevent intimate partner violence.

While we have made significant progress, there is still much work to do. As many as 1 in 3 women are subjected to , , *xualassault, and at some point in their lives, and the rate is even higher for women of color, Native American women, and members of the community. Growing evidence shows that COVID-19 has only exacerbated the threat of , creating a within a pandemic for countless women at risk for abuse. In short, this is an urgent crisis.

This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue — it’s about standing up against the abuse of power and preventing violence. I am grateful to the House of Representatives for their leadership and dedication to ending gender-based violence. Now, I urge the Senate to follow past precedent and bring a strong bipartisan coalition together to ensure the passage of VAWA so that I can sign this legislation as soon as possible.

03/20/2021

agrees:

BRIEFING ROOM
Statement on the House of Representatives Passage of House Joint Resolution 17
MARCH 17, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
Today, an historic number of women in Congress in a bipartisan vote—under the leadership of our historic Speaker — expressed their support for a principle in which I also deeply believe: that in the United States of America, no one’s rights should be denied on account of their s*x.

When Congress first sent the Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification, I was a 29-year-old first-time Senate candidate. As a young Senator, as now, it was a simple proposition for me — fighting for the ERA was about fighting for the dignity of women, and for the dignity of our nation. Nearly 50 years later, it is long past time that we enshrine the principle of gender equality in our Constitution.

Gender equality is not only a moral issue. The full participation of women and girls across all aspects of our society is essential to our economic prosperity, our security, and the health of our democracy. This is especially critical right now, as the collision of a public health crisis, economic crisis, and caregiving crisis has erased decades of women’s economic gains and pushed more women out of the American workforce than we’ve seen in more than 30 years.

Now is the time for us to recommit ourselves to tearing down the systemic barriers that continue to fuel gender disparities and limit opportunity for half of the American people.

03/15/2021

Fairfax County Commission for Women will honor “Women Warriors on the Front Lines of the Pandemic” for their leadership, courage and commitment to inform, guide and inspire Fairfax County residents during this unprecedented and extraordinarily perilous time of the Coronavirus pandemic.

03/15/2021

ICYMI: TONIGHT‼️ 7PM‼️ Don’t forget‼️ Bring your questions to our Facebook LIVE County Commission for Women and help us honor and give lift to these amazing women who have done so much for us on the front lines of the and long before it‼️ You can also watch on Fairfax County Television Channel 16 or live stream from their site. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this one‼️ At the Commission, we are all volunteers and working hard for the residents‼️💕
Please come to us at any time to share your thoughts and we’ll see if we can help bring results in the County‼️

*xualviolence *xualassault

03/14/2021

Introducing our final three Fairfax County ‼️ Supporting those most in need in our communities is the work of . The Fairfax County Commission for Women is proud to recognize these for their service. Congratulations and thank you‼️🙏🏼

03/14/2021

Introducing the first two of five more Fairfax County ‼️During these unprecedented times, these community members have stepped up to help those in need. The Fairfax County Commission for Women is proud to recognize these for their work serving the people of the county. Congratulations and thank you!!

03/14/2021

Introducing our third Women Warrior Honoree, Deputy Chief Tracey M. Reed of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is a combination career and volunteer organization providing fire suppression, emergency medical, technical rescue, hazardous materials, water rescue, life safety education, fire prevention and arson investigation services. The Department is committed to providing emergency and non-emergency services to protect the lives, property, and environment of our community. Chief Reed is all about mentoring young women, building their confidence and empowering them! Congratulations, Chief Tracey‼️ We so appreciate your service‼️🙏🏼
Don’t forget to tune in at 🚨7PM tomorrow night 🚨on our Facebook LIVE to celebrate, honor and listen to these leaders at our “Women Warriors on the Front Lines of the Pandemic Virtual Forum”. Hear the latest and experience the through their eyes. More information can be found on our website if you give us a quick Google. 😁 This programming can also be viewed on television Channel 16 or streamed from their site as well.
Fairfax County Government

03/13/2021

Introducing our second Women Warrior Honoree, Captain Brooke D. Wright, Fairfax County Police Department. The Department’s vision is to provide ethical leadership through engagement with the community to fight crime, improve the culture of safety at work and within the community to preserve the sanctity of all human life, and to keep pace with urbanization. Captain Wright is an award-winning police officer and has participated in leadership panels for Future Women Leaders in Law Enforcement and Police Leaders of Tomorrow. Congratulations, Captain Brooke, and thank you for your service‼️🙏🏼

03/13/2021

Introducing our first Women Warrior Honoree, Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu, ’s Director where the focus is to protect, promote, and improve the health and quality of life for residents. She has been a steady hand guiding us through the
. Congratulations and thank you for your service, Dr. Gloria‼️🙏🏼

03/12/2021

SAVE THE DATE for our event Monday night when Fairfax County recognizes Women Warriors on the Front Lines of the .
The Fairfax County Commission for Women will hold a forum with women leaders from our communities. Join us either on Fairfax County TV Channel 16 on Monday, March 15, 2021, at 7 p.m. or on our Facebook LIVE page.
Stay tuned as over the next several days we will be introducing you to our honorees via our social media platforms. Don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, too .

03/08/2021

03/08/2021

Please share this post and join the Fairfax County Commission for Women (CFW) on March 15th at 7PM as we celebrate Women's History Month 2021! This year, the Commission is holding a Facebook LIVE Forum where the theme is honoring
▶️"Women Warriors on the Front Lines of the Pandemic"◀️ for their leadership, courage, and commitment to serving those in need across Fairfax County during this unprecedented and extraordinarily dangerous time of the . The Commission will be honoring the highest-ranking women in the county’s 🏥Health, 👮‍♀️Police and 🚒Fire departments as well as a handful of special community members spread across our magisterial districts. Guests are encouraged to submit questions to our panelists in our Facebook Live comments section before or during the event.
Please join us LIVE on our new page on 3/15 at 7PM
OR you can watch on local television Channel 16 or Channel 16 LIVE stream from your computer:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/.../chann.../live-video-stream
For those interested in learning more about the and our Women’s History Month Forum, you can also find us on ✳️Twitter ✳️, and on ✳️Instagram ✳️.
Check out our website for more information coming soon:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/.../commission-for-women

02/20/2021

Get to know the of the Commission for Women in our next series of posts where we’ll introduce Commissioners by District. Shafuq Naseem is Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw’s appointment to the . We hope by getting to know us, you’ll feel comfortable reaching out to us with concerns.