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The Right Wing’s War on Women Isn’t Just Policy—It’s in the Body Count

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The Pattern We Keep Refusing to Name


Women and girls are most often killed not by strangers in dark alleys, but by the people inside their homes—partners and relatives. In 2023, more than 51,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members—about 140 every single day, representing nearly 60% of all female homicides worldwide (UN Women/UNODC).


Yet governments and policymakers—especially those on the right—treat these murders as private tragedies instead of what they are: the most visible outcome of a political system that continuously devalues women, girls, and trans people.



The Body Count Behind “Family Values”


Right-wing politicians around the world cloak their agenda in “family values.” But scratch beneath the surface, and the numbers tell the truth:


  • Black women in the U.S. are killed by intimate partners at a higher rate than any other group; the gap widened during the pandemic.

  • Indigenous women and girls face a chronic crisis of disappearance and homicide, with cases often ignored or under-investigated.

  • Trans people—especially Black trans women—are disproportionately targeted in fatal violence, with nearly 400 recorded deaths in the U.S. since 2013.


The overlap isn’t accidental. It’s reinforced by policies that strip rights and protections away from the very groups most at risk.



How Right-Wing Policies Make Violence Worse


  • Abortion bans and reproductive restrictions: Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, women in multiple states have been forced into dangerous pregnancies. Research shows homicide is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and postpartum. Forcing people to carry pregnancies against their will is a death sentence for many trapped in abusive relationships.


  • Attacks on trans and LGBTQ+ rights: Bathroom bans, healthcare bans, and sports exclusions don’t “protect families”—they paint trans people as targets. Black trans women, already at the highest risk of fatal violence, now live under heightened stigma and danger.


  • Defunding and dismantling protections: Domestic-violence shelters and survivor services are chronically underfunded, while gun laws remain weak. Right-wing lawmakers have fought against firearm restrictions even though access to a gun makes intimate partner homicide five times more likely.


  • International rollbacks: In countries from Poland to Brazil, conservative governments have rejected agreements like the Istanbul Convention, signaling that women’s safety is optional, not a priority.


Each of these policies feeds the same narrative: that women’s lives, especially those of Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and trans people, are disposable.



A Fresh, Painful Headline: Celeste Rivas


On September 8, 2025, the decomposed body of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas—missing since 2024—was found in an impounded Tesla in Los Angeles. The car was registered to singer d4vd (David Anthony Burke). He has not been implicated, and the cause of death remains under investigation.


The grief is raw, the details still emerging. But Celeste’s case underscores what too many families already know: society shrugs until the body count can no longer be ignored.



The Psychological War


Even before violence escalates to murder, women and trans people endure years of abuse: coercive control, surveillance, financial isolation, threats. Survivors live with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and hypervigilance. Children who witness violence inherit trauma that shapes their entire lives.


When governments echo these same dynamics—restricting autonomy, enforcing silence, denying care—the psychological war moves from the home to the legislature.



Where Do We Go From Here


If we are serious about ending the war on women and trans people, we need more than platitudes. We need bold change:


  1. Protect bodily autonomy: Restore and expand abortion and reproductive rights; protect access to contraception and maternal care.


  2. Fund survivor services: Fully resource domestic-violence shelters, legal aid, relocation programs, and trauma-informed therapy.


  3. Enforce common-sense gun laws: Remove firearms from known abusers; treat strangulation and stalking as high-lethality indicators.


  4. Invest in marginalized communities: Build programs by and for Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and trans people to address violence where it hits hardest.


  5. Hold governments accountable: Ratify and enforce international protections like the Istanbul Convention; prosecute femicide as a distinct crime.


  6. Change the culture: Challenge “traditional family values” narratives that excuse male dominance and normalize violence. Teach boys and men that love means respect, not control.




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