There are some great actions that you can take this weekend to support survivors of sexual violence. First of all, Sarah reported that SAFER endorsed the Campus SaVE Act back in April, and now you can head on over to Change.org to tell Congress that you support it, too! Security on Campus has provided a quick run-down of all the ways in which SaVE will make campuses safer places for all students:
SaVE improves safety by having campus authorities both inform and assist students seeking to report a crime to law enforcement or obtain a no contact order. It creates more transparency by reporting domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking incidents along with sexual assault on annual campus crime reports. It also establishes accountability through equal rights for parties in a complaint, prompt and equitable resolutions using a consistent evidentiary standard, and written decisions of all hearings.
Additionally, the Campus SaVE Act requires universities to provide education on primary prevention, risk reduction, consent, reporting, and bystander intervention throughout the school year. Collaboration will also be established between the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and Health & Human Services to develop best practices for campuses seeking to prevent violence.
If you’re in New York City, you may or may not have already heard about the protest that’s happening at 5:00 pm today in front of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse. Despite overwhelming evidence against them, two New York City police officers were acquitted of charges of rape on Thursday. I was saddened and also completely unsurprised to hear that “defense lawyers pounced on the credibility of the woman because she was very drunk on the night in question and did not remember many details.” Consent simply can’t happen when someone is intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness of physical incapacitation. This kind of victim-blaming happens way too often to rape survivors. Join the protest this evening to support this survivor and take a stand against cronyism.
Finally, tomorrow is International Day of Action for Women’s Health (IDAWH), which was started by the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) in 1987. This year, IDAWH marks the launch of a multi-year campaign called Recognise Reproductive Rights, Organise for Reproductive Rights. Visit WGNRR’s website for more information!
