Need To Know | September 04, 2021

Preparing for the fall of Roe vs. Wade; Unacknowledged Sexual Trauma; Paid Leave Affects Infants’ Brain Development

In Nyssa's weekly 'Need to Know' series, we recap the three most important stories related to reproductive health, sex education, and bodily autonomy.

Trigger warning: mention of sexual violence

How to Be Prepared If Roe v. Wade Is Overturned, Glamour

Glamour has put together a list of things you may want to think about as part of a preemptive plan for the potential, and devastating likely, fall of Roe vs. Wade.

From keeping track of your periods to investing in better birth control and starting a rainy day fund for the cost of an abortion (some can cost up to $800-950) to planning, or not planning, a pregnancy in more detail, thinking ahead will help if and when you seek an abortion.

Unacknowledged rape: the sexual assault survivors who hide their trauma – even from themselves, The Guardian

For the Guardian, Rachel Thompson, author of Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom and What We Can Do About It, shares her experience with "unacknowledged assault," a common experience where it can take rape or sexual assault survivors years—or even decades— to process the sexual violence.

Thompson details how it took her ten years to accept her assault, illuminates devastating research, and speaks with other survivors.

Another case for paid family leave: Newborns’ brain development, The 19th

Research from the Infant Studies of Language and Neurocognitive Development Lab at New York University shows infants whose mothers had three months of paid leave were more neurologically advanced than those whose mothers had three months of unpaid leave.

The Family and Medical Leave Act permits 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but White women disproportionally benefit as they are higher earners and can financially afford the unpaid time off from work. Read the full story at The 19th.