theGrio’s 100: Gwen Moore, speaking out for women’s rights on Capitol Hill

theGRIO'S 100 - The Wisconsin Democrat has served in the U.S. House since 2005, representing a district that includes parts of Milwaukee...

TheGrio Staff

Jan 31, 2014

Who is Gwen Moore?

The Wisconsin Democrat has served in the U.S. House since 2005, representing a district that includes parts of Milwaukee.

Why is she on theGrio’s 100?

Moore has become a leading voice in Congress on women’s issues. When the chamber was debating the Violence Against Women Act on the House floor in 2012, Moore described her own experience of being raped.

“And then the appointed boy, when he saw that I wasn’t going to be so willing, completed a date-rape and then took my underwear to display it to the rest of the boys,” she said, according to the Huffington Post. “I mean, this is what American women are facing.”

“Violence against women is as American as apple pie,” she told colleagues. “I know, not only as a legislator, but from personal experience. Domestic violence has been a thread throughout my personal life, up to and including being a child repeatedly sexually assaulted, up to and including being an adult who’s been raped.”

What’s next for Gwen Moore?

Moore for now seems content in the House, unlikely to run for the Senate or governor. Instead, she is likely to raise her profile even further, through speeches on the floor of the House and appearances on cable news.