SEXUAL PRIVACY OF
WOMEN ON WELFARE Pinkie Gordon Lane
The ACLU Mountain States Regional Office came across a
welfare application used in ... (a certain state) for women and their
illegitimate children. Among the questions:
-When and where did you first meet the defendant (the child's father).
-When and where did intercourse first occur.
-Frequency and period of time during which intercourse occurred.
-Was anyone ever present. If yes, give dates, names, and addresses.
-Were preventive measures always used.
-Have you ever had intercourse with anyone other than the
defendant. If yes, give dates, names, and addresses.
(THE PRIVACY REPORT, American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation, Vol. IV, No. 3, Oct., 1976.)
When and where did you first confront lonliness?
When and where did you resist the urge to die?
Did you pull a blind around your sorrow?
Was anyone present? If yes, give names and dates and addresses.
Did you survive?
Were preventive measures always used?
Who listened to the rage of your
silent screams? Give the frequency and period of time,
dates and names and addresses. . .
Will you promise never to breathe ice?
To follow the outline of a city street whose perspective
darkens with the morning light?
