This document provides information from various sources about the impacts of illiteracy and empowering women through literacy. It begins with statistics showing high illiteracy rates in the US and its social costs, including impacts on employment, income, health, and involvement in the criminal justice system. It then discusses how literacy can empower women by improving prospects for employment, personal finance, healthcare choices, and legal rights. The document advocates for grassroots literacy efforts like reading programs and adult literacy tutoring to address these issues.

1. Empowering Women through Literacy Ula Gabrielle Gaha M.A., M.L.I.S. University of South Carolina

2. laHSoHvam

3. Klingon laHSoHvam (Can you read this?) Source: www.mrklingon.org

4. Trees do not eat their own fruits Rivers do not drink their own water Cows give milk for others to drink So also enlightened people use their lives for helping others. Sanskrit Source: http://presidentofindia.nic.in/sp260608.html

5. Illiteracy Statisticsfrom “Illiteracy: The Downfall of American Society” In a study of 20 'high income' countries, the US ranked 12th on literacy tests. Illiteracy has become such a serious problem in our country that 44 million adults are now unable to read a simple story to their child. A few other shocking facts: 50 percent of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level. 20 percent of Americans are functionally illiterate and read below a 5th grade level. Nearly half of all Americans read so poorly that they cannot find a single piece of information when reading a short publication. Source: Education-Portal.com, 24 July 2007, http://education-portal.com/articles/Illiteracy:_The_Downfall_of_American_Society.html

6. National Network to End Domestic Violence ƒ Nearly 1 in every 4 women are beaten or raped by a partner during adulthood. ƒ 1 in 6 women & 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. 3 women are killed by a current or former intimate partner each day in America, on average. ƒApproximately 2.3 million people each year in the United States are raped &/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Women who were physically assaulted by an intimate partner averaged 6.9 physical assaults per year by the same partner. Approximately 37% of women seeking injury-related treatment in hospital emergency rooms were there because of injuries inflicted by a current or former spouse/partner. Source: NNEDV Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Fact Sheet, “Incidence, Prevalence and Severity,” http://www.nnedv.org/docs/Stats/NNEDV_DVSA_factsheet2010.pdf.

7. National Network to End Domestic Violence In 2008, a 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the nation found that over 60,000 victims were served in one day. Unfortunately, due to a lack of resources, there were almost 9,000 unmet requests for services. ƒ In 2008 the National Domestic Violence Hotline received 236,907 calls, but over 29,000 of those calls went unanswered due to lack of resources. Source: NNEDV Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Fact Sheet, “Overwhelming Needs Remain,” http://www.nnedv.org/docs/Stats/NNEDV_DVSA_factsheet2010.pdf

8. Violence Against Women International Human Rights Female infanticide Domestic Violence Sexual Abuse Female Circumcision Trafficking in Girls and Women Source: “Literacy and Violence Against Women,” Women in Literacy: Critical Issues in Literacy, www.proliteracy.org, 2011

9. Definitions Functional Literacy Functionally Illiterate Illiteracy Re-Literacy AliteracySource: Dr. Pat Feehan, University of South Carolina, “Libraries, Literacy, and Literature,” November 2010.

10. Definitions Cultural Literacy Information Literacy Content Area Literacy Source: Dr. Pat Feehan, University of South Carolina, “Libraries, Literacy, and Literature,” November 2010.

11. Content Area Literacy Empowerment versus Impotency Healthcare Employment Personal Finance Home Management Daycare Legal Rights Source: Nancy Harvey Davis and Pam Fitzgerald, “Adult New Reader ‘Street Smart’ Materials,” Literacy Clearinghouse

12. “How Illiteracy Affects Job Prospects”from Illiteracy: The Downfall of American Society 3 out of 4 people on welfare can't read. 20 percent of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage. 50 percent of the unemployed people who fall between the ages of 16 and 21 cannot read well enough to be considered functionally literate. Between 46 and 51 percent of American adults have an income well below the individual threshold poverty level because of their inability to read. Sources: Education-Portal.com, 24 July 2007, http://education-portal.com/articles/Illiteracy:_The_Downfall_of_American_Society.html National Institute for Literacy, National Center for Adult Literacy, The Literacy Company, U.S. Census Bureau.

13. Improving Daily Life Parental consent forms Report Cards GED preparation materials Job Applications Filing for government assistance Balancing a checkbook Registering to Vote Recipes

14. Improving Circumstances Finding Legal Aid and Attorneys Community Resources/Emergency Numbers Legal Rights Filing for Divorce Child Custody Immigration, Naturalization, and Citizenship Rights & Procedures

15. “How Illiteracy Affects Society” 3 out of 5 people in an American prison can't read. 85 percent of juvenile offenders have problems reading. Approximately 50 percent of Americans read so poorly that they are unable to perform simple tasks such as balancing a checkbook and reading prescription drug labels. To determine how many prison beds will be needed in future years, some states actually base part of their projection on how well current elementary students are performing on reading tests. Source: Illiteracy: The Downfall of American Society

16. Healthcare Prenatal Care Signing Consent for Treatment Using condoms Birth control choices Understanding Self-Care Substance Abuse/Self Help Groups (AA) Legislation Regarding Healthcare & Reproductive Rights 46% of American adults cannot understand the label on their prescription medicine. Source: Journal of American Medical Association

17. Statistics: 1996 Although women in the United States have steadily increased their educational status, the fact that 23 percent of women aged 25 and over have not gone beyond high school reveals that, as a group, women are still educationally disadvantaged. Source: Susan Imel, “Women and Literacy: Trends and Issue Alerts,” ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Columbus, OH, 1996

18. National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) : 2007 Literacy is defined as "using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential.” Twenty-two percent of adults were Below Basic (indicating they possess no more than the most simple and concrete literacy skills) in quantitative literacy, compared with 14 percent in prose literacy and 12 percent in document literacy. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007–064), Indicator 18.

19. National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) : 2007 Differences in average literacy scores were apparent by sex and race/ethnicity. Women scored higher than men on prose and document literacy in 2003, unlike in 1992. Men outperformed women on quantitative literacy in both years. Male scores declined in prose and document literacy from 1992 to 2003, while female scores increased in document and quantitative literacy. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007–064), Indicator 18.

20. Facts about Adult Literacy Rates in South Carolina and from the 2000 U.S. Census 828,804 adults in SC, aged 16 and over, do not have a high school diploma. This is 26.58% of the adult population. This statistic includes teens 16 and older who dropped out of school, but does not include the teens who are still enrolled in school. Of this number, 31% are aged 60 or older It is evenly divided between males and females, with men constituting 49.4%, females 49.6% 6% use English as a second language or speak no English at all. 29% are African-American, 57% are white

21. 2000 U.S. Census According to the Associated Press, half the adults in SC without a high school diploma survive on less than $12,000 a year In Columbia:about 1/3 of adults read below a 6th grade level Many are older adults who attended segregated schools before 1970 Some lived in rural areas, worked on farms, and had poor school attendance (before attendance became mandatory)

22. Now What? Grassroots Efforts If you can read, you can teach someone to read Volunteer to explain healthcare information Visit Homeless Shelters/Women’s Shelters & offer Storytimes Volunteer at Your Local Public Library Community Partnerships

23. Now What? Grassroots Efforts Reach Out & Read Medical College of Georgia, General Pediatrics Clinic (Augusta, Richmond Co.) Turning Pages Adult Literacy Tutoring (Columbia, SC) Smart Start The United Way, GA http://www.smartstartga.org/

24. Additional Sources Manjari Singh, Reference Specialist at Indiana University http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/bibs/litcyus.html Trends in Educational Equity for Girls & Women http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/equity/index.asp ProLiteracy www.proliteracy.org Family Violence Prevention Fund www.endabuse.org Klingon Translator www.mrklingon.org ALA Adult New Readers/Literacy Project www.buildliteracy.org

25. Sources: NNEDV •U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (July 2000). Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC. Tjaden, P.,&Thoennes,N) U.S. Department of Justice, Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women:Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey (1998). Bureau of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Homicide Trends from 1976-1999, (2001).

26. Sources: NNEDV National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey." July 2000. Tjaden, P. & Thoennes, N. (2000, July). Extent, nature and consequences of intimate partner violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. (NCJ 181867). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/181867.pdf

27. Sources: NNEDV Rand, M. Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Room Departments 5 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). Bachman, R. and Salzman, L., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence Against Women: Estimates From the Redesigned Survey 1 (January 2000). McDonold, R et al. (2006).“Estimating the Number of American Children Living in Partner Violent Families.”Journal of Family Psychology,30(1),137-142

28. Sources: NNEDV Whitfield, C.L., Anda, R.F., Dube, S.R., & Felitti, V.J. (2003). “Violent childhood experiences and the risk of intimate partner violence in adults.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 166-185. Havelin, K. (2000). Incest ‘Why Am I Afraid To Tell?’ Minnesota; Capstone Press. Wolfe, D.A., Wekerle, C., Reitzel, D. and Gough, R. 1995. “Strategies to Address Violence in the Lives of High Risk Youth.” In Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community Responses to Children of Battered Women, edited by E. Peled, P.G. Jaffe and J.L Edleson. New York, NY: Sage Publications. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice and Statistics, “Intimate Partner Violence in the United States, 1993-2004.” December 2006

29. Sources: NNEDV National Center for Injury Preventionand Control. (2003). Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States.) U.S. General Accounting Office. Domestic Violence Prevalence and Implications for Employment Among Welfare Recipients 19 (Nov. 1998). Lloyd, S., & Taluc, N. (1999). “The effect of male violence on female employment.” Violence Against Women, 5(4), 370-392 Bureau of National Affairs, Special Rep. No. 32, Violence and Stress: The Work/Family Connection 2 (1990). Miller, T., M. Cohen & B. Wiersema (January 1996). “Victims Costs & Consequences: A New Look.” Washington, D.C.; National Institute of Justice Report, U.S. Department of Justice. Kathryn Andersen Clark et al., A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, 8 Violence Against Women 417 (2002).

30. Sources: NNEDV Faily, 48, 481-490; Bybee, D.I., & Sullivan, C.M (2002). The process through which a strengths-based intervention resulted in positive change for battered women over time. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30 (1), 103-132 Lyon, E.,Lane S. (2009). Meeting Survivors’ Needs: A Multi-State Study of Domestic Violence Shelter Experiences. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and UConn School of Social Work. Found at http://www.vawnet.org . Domestic Violence Count 07 A 24- hour census of domestic violence shelters and services across the United States.The National Network to End Domestic Violence (Jan. 2008).

31. Sources: NNEDV “Intimate partner Violence in the U.S.” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Jan 2008.; Cassandra Archer et al., Institute for Law and Justice, National Evaluation of the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies Program 14 (Nov. 2002). “Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S.” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs: Bureaus of Justice Statistics. Jan. 2008. “Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S.” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs: Bureaus of Justice Statistics. Jan. 2008. Berk, R.A., Newton, P.J., & Berk, S.F. (1986). What a difference a day makes: An empirical study of the impact of shelters for battered women. Journal of Marriage and the