How did gender, racial justice fare in Hartford?
Convening on the day insurrectionists lay siege to the U.S. Capitol, the 2021 Connecticut General Assembly’s legislative session was an opportunity for justice and democracy. While substantial legislation was passed to advance civil rights and racial justice, women’s economic empowerment, and the safety of women and girls, legislators fell short in a few areas that speak to our state’s collective commitment to equity and justice.
Racism as a public health crisis
Connecticut declared racism as a public health crisis. This law acknowledges the consequential effects of structural racism and establishes a commission that will engage experts and those most impacted by racism. The Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health will develop a strategic plan to eliminate policies and practices that create health disparities. In a state where food insecurity and pregnancy-related deaths are higher in communities of color, this law can save lives. Declaring racism as a public health crisis sets an expectation for every community to understand its role in systemic racism and to eliminate it.
Other bills designed to advance civil rights and racial justice were passed including The CROWN Act, ensuring protection against discrimination in the workplace based on hairstyles, and a bill ending prison gerrymandering. According to Connecticut Common Cause, by continuing to count incarcerated people as residents where the prison is located rather than their home of record, the state has been participating in the “dilution of African-American and Latino political power.” Ending prison gerrymandering increases the likelihood that legislative districts are drawn to reflect and represent residents.
Expanding voting rights
Nearly 4,000 people in Connecticut who are on parole have been excluded from voting. A law restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions honors their humanity and builds a stronger democracy. Two bills sought to expand voting rights by allowing early voting as well as no-excuse absentee voting. On the 2022 ballot, Connecticut voters will decide if they want to add early in-person voting, but the decision to permit no-excuse absentee voting will be a multi-year process.
Pay equity
Pay inequity haunts women throughout their careers and COVID-19 exacerbated earning disparities. House Bill 6380 sets the expectation that employers will provide comparable pay for comparable work. This legislation will be important for women of color who have historically earned as little as 55 cents on the dollar compared to white men.
Domestic violence
Senate Bill 1091 provides much needed protections for victims of domestic violence. The bill defines coercive control in the context of restraining orders, making Connecticut the second state to acknowledge that the exercising of power and control over the victim is often exhibited in domestic violence situations. The bill also establishes a grant program to provide legal assistance when applying for a restraining order; requires landlords to change locks when a victim has a restraining or protective order; continues the electronic filing of restraining orders established during the pandemic; and gives victims the option of testifying remotely in court proceedings, not in the presence of an abuser, if victims have a hearing for a restraining order, a protective order or a standing criminal protective order. These policy changes protect, validate, and empower victims.
Human trafficking
Connecticut strengthened its laws to eliminate sex trafficking, protect victims, and charge traffickers and “Johns” for their crimes. The Act Concerning Human Trafficking allows survivors to vacate a conviction by demonstrating that their participation in the offense resulted from being a victim of trafficking. The act also redefined sex trafficking to include trading “anything of value” for sex. Both elements of the bill recognize that victims of sex trafficking commit crimes under duress from their traffickers, who target, isolate, manipulate and control them.
Housing and defining consent in sexual assault cases
The legislature fell short in key areas that impact people of color and women. Inclusionary zoning proved to be a wedge issue revealing deep-seated beliefs about race, class, and who can live in which communities. An update of the Zoning Enabling Act begins the work of desegregating Connecticut. The law requires all zoning regulations to “affirmatively further fair housing,” enacts state-level legislation for accessory apartments, and removes terms like “character” and “undue concentration of population” from state law. However, local control has largely been maintained with municipalities retaining the right to opt-out of aspects of the law. For working class people of color who have long been excluded from housing in certain communities, inclusionary zoning and affordable housing are transformative levers for access and opportunity. We can only hope that the work of the Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health will highlight the consequences of exclusionary zoning for all Connecticut residents.
Additionally, the legislature did not make progress in developing a contemporary definition of consent in sexual assault cases to include contextual clues. Connecticut criminal statutes do not currently account for the circumstances, relationships, and context of a sexual assault, weakening the prosecution of this crime. We look forward to bipartisan efforts to craft this important language to inform our collective understanding of consent and further address the insidious problem of sexual violence in our communities.