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May 11, 2009
Tomgram: Nick Turse, Tyrie's Tough Times

[Note for TomDispatch Readers: Back in July 2008, this site posted a piece by Rick Shenkman, "How Ignorant Are We?" Based on his book, "Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter," it was wildly popular. Now, that book has just beenreleased in paperback, newly updated to include election 2008 (and sorry, despite the new president's qualities, the voters didn't pass the ignorance test this time either). Just thought you'd all want to know. Shenkman, by the way, runs History News Network, an exhilarating website for those who want to find out the latest news direct from history and the latest opinions of historians on the news.] 

Recently, Heather Boushey, senior economist at the Center for American Progress, pointed out that women "are now a greater share of those employed because the industries where men predominate have been hemorrhaging jobs." In fact, she noted that, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly survey of employers, between the beginning of the current recession in December 2007 and February 2009, job carnage has hit in this way: 76.7% of all nonfarm jobs lost and 73.5% percent of all private-sector jobs lost had been filled by men. This, in turn, puts more pressure on women who are now, in millions of families across the United States, the primary breadwinners. 

At the same time that more women are shouldering a greater burden in the work force, they're also making additional sacrifices at home to mitigate family hardships. "Women will take care of their families before making sure they have what they need to stay healthy," says the American Psychiatric Association's Nada L. Stotland. A recentsurvey by her organization showed that more than two-thirds of American women interviewed "say that the nation's sagging economy has negatively affected their lives or the lives of their loved ones." The findings also indicate that "women may be neglecting their own needs while focusing on other concerns." 

And that's the good news, so to speak. As part of the Tough Timesseries he has been doing for TomDispatch, Nick Turse ventured into the world of domestic abuse recently and discovered what tough times can really mean for some women. Tom

A Woman at the Edge
Tough Times, Domestic Violence, and Economic Abuse
By Nick Turse 

Even in good times, life for poor working women can be an obstacle-filled struggle to get by. In bad times, it can be hell. Now, throw domestic violence into the mix and the hardships grow exponentially -- as I discovered recently when I talked with "Tyrie" while she was at her job at a child-care center in one of New York City's outer boroughs. 

"This economy is hitting everybody really hard," the 40-something woman, originally from Trinidad, tells me. But it's hitting her harder than many. Tyrie is a domestic violence survivor whose personal suffering has been compounded by the global economic crisis. And she isn't alone.

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