Now Trump will be President for a second term, the reproductive rights of women not only in America, but also around the world, are under threat. Tiara Sahar Ataii, an international aid worker for a British charity and writer for Forbes 30 under 30, expressed her worries about how Trump’s stance on reproductive rights could translate over to global policy.
“A really specific way in which a second Trump presidency would impact women around the world would be the extension of the global gag rule.”
The “gag rule,” as defined by the Guttmacher Institute, “prevented foreign nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) from using their own, non-U.S. funds to provide abortion services, information, counselling, referrals or advocacy.” The rule, which was expanded under the Trump administration, was rescinded by the Biden administration in 2021.
Prior to the US presidential election on Tuesday, Ataii, who has worked with women in countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, and Afghanistan, said that a potential woman president might “have a really good influence on reproductive rights and would therefore support issues that have been in the past decimated by republicans, such as the global gag rule.”
It should also be noted that Trump has previously supported making IVF free of charge, but has not detailed how he would implement this.
Male violence against women
Trump’s attitudes and comments towards women and girls have been highly publicised. On the #MeToo movement, Trump said in 2018: “It is a very scary time for young men in America, where you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of… Women are doing great.”
In 2016, a secret video recording was leaked of Trump bragging about groping and kissing women without their consent in 2005. “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women – I just start kissing them,” he said. “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
At least 26 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, including assault, since the 1970s. In May 2023, Trump was also found liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who says that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-90s. In 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Cohen, formerly Trump’s attorney, had paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential election to stop her from discussing an affair with Trump that allegedly took place in 2006. Daniels later claimed that she and Trump had had sex on one occasion and that the encounter was consensual. However, she also claimed that she “blacked out” during the encounter, that she was “shaking” as she dressed afterwards, and that she tried to meet him only in public scenarios in the future. Earlier this year, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts over falsifying business records related to the hush-money payments to Daniels in 2016. Trump denies all allegations against him.