Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will undoubtedly be remembered as a trailblazer for gender equality and a fierce advocate for social justice. Guiding all of her work was her core belief that “women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” Her long life of service and leadership proved her commitment to that belief.
Across the country, many of us are mourning her passing, and the passionate, principled stances she brought to the Supreme Court. Throughout her time on the bench, she defended women’s equality in the workplace, upheld LGBTQ rights, and wrote stinging dissenting opinions in defense of racial justice. We are left with the uncertainty her vacancy brings on the Supreme Court and in the movement to advance social justice. However, Justice Ginsburg’s commitment to women’s rights offers us guidance and calls on all of us to uphold her legacy as we continue to fight!
Justice Ginsburg attended Harvard Law School, and was one of only nine women in her class of over 500 men. Upon graduating from law school, she faced barriers seeking a job in a male-dominated field, but this only fueled her commitment to fighting for women’s rights. In 1971, she founded the Women’s Rights Project with the American Civil Liberties Union. As a lawyer, she argued several cases before the Supreme Court, which advanced gender equality, and in 1993, she became the second woman ever to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. She accomplished all this, as many of us do, wearing the multiple hats of mother, wife, grandmother, colleague and friend. And she did it all with a level of grace, professionalism and civility that feels so sorely missed in our current culture.
In honoring Justice Ginsburg’s legacy and life-long commitment to gender equality, we must also acknowledge the work that remains. Female-identifying populations continue to face inequality through violence and exploitation. Women still endure attacks against their autonomy to make important decisions regarding their bodies, health and futures. FAIR Girls, as an organization that serves female-identifying clients, can and will continue Justice Ginsburg’s work and uplift her legacy by providing vulnerable girls and women with the resources and services they need not only to survive, but to thrive.
Justice Ginsburg understood that true equality and liberation for girls and women depends on freeing the most vulnerable among us. When discussing the #metoo movement, she stated that her hope “is not just that it is here to stay, but that it is as effective for the woman who works as a maid in a hotel as it is for Hollywood stars.” Meaningful progress must include those girls and
women who are too often left behind, forgotten, and hidden. FAIR Girls knows this includes the more than 15,000 female-identifying victims, identified through the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline last year and the many more who are still being victimized and unreported.
FAIR Girls supports survivors of trafficking by offering direct services including crisis intervention, safe emergency and transitional housing, case management and economic empowerment. FAIR Girls also facilitates awareness through prevention education in our communities and local schools, empowering youth with tools to stay safe from exploitation and trafficking and becoming advocates themselves. And, in the echoes of Justice Ginsburg’s advocacy, FAIR Girls is committed to amplifying the voices of the female-identifying survivors we serve everyday in our continued fight for systemic change and justice. We do so through policy advocacy rooted in their lived experiences and needs, including reducing their criminalization, providing meaningful pathways to justice for their restoration, and barrier-free access to specialized housing, resources and services.
Justice Ginsburg had a gift for forcing others to recognize the inherent humanity of women in a society that continuously sought to dehumanize them. She once stated that she would like to be remembered as “someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability.” She will undoubtedly be remembered that way. However, while she helped pave the way for many young women who will follow in her footsteps, Justice Ginsburg knew the fight was far from over. She left each of us with a mandate to use our own abilities, skills, networks, and passion to continue the hard work. And as we continue in this fight for true gender equality, protection of rights, and justice for all girls and women, we too must rise to her challenge to fight to the very best of our ability.
