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Minnesota Women's Press Honors Cheryl Thomas as a 2005 Changemaker
Tuesday, January 03, 2006 1:45 PM
Vol. 21, No. 20 Dec. 28, 2005 – Jan. 10, 2006 You can be a changemaker, too
It’s been a year dominated by turbulent events and heartrending natural disasters: the tsunami in South Asia, earthquakes in Pakistan, Hurricane Katrina, and, of course, the ongoing war in Iraq. So many lives lost, so many others changed forever.
We’ve also watched as many of those in positions of leadership have failed us—they’ve failed to lead, but they’ve also broken our trust with their greed, corruption and ineptitude. And we’ve seen those who profess faith most fervently continue to use their religion as a moral club to beat down the rights of those who don’t see the world their way.
Just opening the morning paper some days has qualified as an act of courage, which is why the good works of our 2005 Changemakers are so important. From the collaborative artistry of Ananya Chatterjea’s dance theater to the powerful research of Cheryl Thomas at The Advocates for Human Rights to the youthful truth-telling of TVbyGIRLS, their work reminds us that making change is not someone else’s business. Change is made when we follow where our hearts and our passions lead, and when we work together to ensure the right of each person to live in peace and with dignity.
In this issue, we’ve highlighted a few of the many extraordinary acts committed each day by ordinary people working to make the world better for women and girls. We hope their work inspires you, not just to get out of bed another day and open the paper, but to follow your heart and pursue your passion and make this imperfect world a better place. We’ve also tried to make it easy for you. This year, we’ve included resources with each piece where you can find more information and opportunities to get involved. We encourage you to make change your business this coming year. The world needs you. With hope for a more peaceful 2006,
J. Trout Lowen, Editor Safer in a strange land Elizabeth Noll
Assistant Editor
Countless reports get tossed in the circular file or are forgotten in a box behind leftover manila folders. Cheryl Thomas’ report got acted out onstage.
In December, at a statewide judges conference held in Minneapolis, actors from the Pangea World Theater portrayed scenes from a report written by Thomas and six others at the The Advocates for Human Rights. The report documented the difficulties faced by abused Twin Cities refugee and immigrant women. Confusion, bewilderment, shame and injustice unfolded onstage, just as they all too often unfold in the lives of women who find they’re not understood by police, doctors, lawyers or judges.
Thomas, director of the Women’s Human Rights Program at The Advocates, called the performance amazing. By coincidence, it happened exactly one year after the report, “The Government Response to Domestic Violence Against Refugee and Immigrant Women in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area: A Human Rights Report,” was published. The report has already triggered changes in the judicial system and continues to spark conversation and piecemeal improvements in other fields, from law enforcement to libraries.
What the researchers found was that
Abused Twin Cites refugee and immigrant women face serious obstacles when they seek justice and safety, found Cheryl Thomas and her fellow researchers. Photo by Sarah Whiting
refugee and immigrant women in the Twin Cities face enormous obstacles when they seek justice and safety after being abused. One of the biggest problems is having reliable interpreters at the crime scene, at the hospital, at the police station, in the courtroom and elsewhere. Even when interpreters are present, they’re not always reliable or ethical—some lecture the women or give them false information.
Since the The Advocates’ report was published, the state Supreme Court has changed the procedure for bringing complaints against interpreters, making it easier for victims or their advocates to voice their concerns and see results. There is also an effort afoot to guarantee that orders for protection are translated into a language the victim can read.
Last August, Thomas told MWP that she was overwhelmed by the interest that the report had generated; as of December, she and her staff were still giving presentations every week. “The pace has not really slowed at all,” she said. Recent audiences included the Ramsey County and Washington County bar associations; the Women’s Program is also trying to form a partnership with libraries. Academic institutions have asked for their time, too.
The program also has a presence at the state Capitol through their partnership with the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women. “[The coalition has] a very organized legislative committee on domestic violence issues,” said Thomas. “They’ve been hugely successful and really smart about how to negotiate domestic violence legal reform. So we want to work with them.”
The report concluded with 81 recommendations—for the governor and legislators, law enforcement system, prosecutors, courts, judges, child protective services administrators, medical and immigration officials and others.
Meanwhile, said Thomas, Minnesota Advocates’ work in other countries is “going crazy.” This year, a domestic violence law they’d worked on in Bulgaria for years finally passed.
“This is something just really amazing going on,” she said. “Bulgaria has never had anything like an order for protection law. The law was modeled on Minnesota law, and we consulted on it for seven years. Bulgaria never had one, nor had any other country in the region.”
A similar effort is underway in Tajikistan and the Republic of Georgia.
The Twin Cities report is the 15th written by The Advocates for Human Rights; Thomas said it’s by far the best received.
“I just am really heartened by the community response to it. We haven’t had this kind of response ever in any country where we’ve worked since 1993. It’s really been a very positive response,” she said.
“The point was to shine the light to a problem that’s in the dark. That’s what human rights reports do.”
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